Darkseid Is… In Mezco’s One:12 Collective (And So Are Some Other People) [SDCC 2016]

Ah yes, it's time once again to be regaled by the magnificence that is Mezco's One:12 Collective. If you thought the Toy Fair showings were eye opening, then San Diego Comic-Con's reveals may well just blow. your. mind.

I don't know quite how Mezco does it. One day, out of the blue, they have a cool mixed-media one-twelfth scale figure of Batman made as a special piece. The next, Mezco is blowing down the doors of what you thought was possible at this scale, and dropping some seriously amazing Marvel, DC, and television and movie characters in the One:12 brand. It's probably the fastest growing specialty figure line, and while that's a double-edged sword for collectors, the positives of getting the bossest Darkseid figure ever far outweigh the negatives.

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of this line. It surprised me, and that's a very rare thing in toys these days. While new licenses may get announced, it's rare that an entirely new line rises to such prominence so quickly among the collector base. We're so set in our ways, with what brands we like, that when a company like Mezco shakes things up, you get goosebumps thinking about the potential. When Mezco starts to realize that potential, things get wonderful, and every time the company shows up with something new, you can't believe it. That was true last San Diego Comic-Con, and that's doubly true this year.

Look at these figures. I mean, really look at them. There's craftsmanship in every nook and cranny, from the portraits to the tailoring to the accessorizing. It's masterful work when a company can do it at 1/6 scale (12"), but to see such consistency across the board at 1/12 scale (6") is nearly unheard of, especially in the states. But Mezco is doing it. Darkseid is just a fantastic example (his eyes light up!) of what the company can do. So is the new Spider-Man, which is a character that's been released more times than we can count, but there's a freshness to Mezco's take that gets you invested in yet another version of this same character again.

And those Ghostbusters? Hello?! We've been without quality Ghostbusters figures for so long, and we're now living in an era where there's an abundance of the classic team in all varieties. Plus, what company has the chutzpah to put out a Diabolik figure? That's a deep cut for people who spend their lives among the deep cuts. But it's real, and it's happening. Somehow. Matt Fraction will probably be really happy.

Sure, my kinship with the line is more for the things like that Harley Quinn, not so much because it's Harley, but because of that clever head sculpt of her blowing a bubble. That's just some terrific outside the box thinking, and it's exactly that kind of creativity that makes Mezco's products so appealing.

What started small has exploded, and with all the popularity and expanding licenses comes the potential to be too much too fast. Hot Toys, another company dealing in the same style of figures but on a larger scale (and with a heftier price tag), hasn't quite had that problem. People still turn out in droves to snap up all of its figures, and you'd think with the more budget-friendly pricing, Mezco might be able to stave off over-saturating its own market. It'll all depend on how strong the releases are, and with SDCC's showing, it's looking like Mezco is going to be riding high for some time.