Does anybody know who this is, why I should know him, or what I should get ready to do?
"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Inigo's father was a gifted swordsmith, and agreed to make a blade for the visiting Count Rugen. For months he worked, forging his masterpiece. The polydactyl count claimed to be displeased with the work, and refused to pay the agreed-upon price; in a fit of anger, he killed the elder Montoya, leaving Inigo seething for revenge. The boy spent the rest of his life training to become the greatest swordsman the world had ever seen, and seeking the six-fingered-man so he can at last put his father's soul to rest. As time passed, he grew depressed due to his inability to find the count, and lapsed into alcoholism until Vizzini recruited him; now he only serves his boss so faithfully because he's afraid of losing his purpose again. That's, like, a whole series of unhealthy coping mechanisms, kids.
Back when NECA had the Princess Bride license, they had plans to release an Inigo Montoya of their own, but that never happened. We feel confident saying this one would probably still be better, since that was almost 15 years ago, but the important thing is we at last get someone for the Dread Pirate Roberts to use all those fencing moves against - no more needing to stand alone.
Inigo gets a fairly good sculpt. These days
McFarlane Toys is digital more than physical, which may account for the slight softness in the face: when you can zoom in as far as you want to check your work, it's easy to over-estimate the depth of the detail. Like, you can barely make out the scars on his cheeks from where Count Rugen slashed him! The overall shape of the face is good, but it needed to be pushed just a little further. The clothes, meanwhile are great, having a subtle texture to make the different types of material on his shirt, vest, pants, and boots look distinct, but not being so vastly over-laden with wrinkles that it looks like he slept in them. While rolling down a hill.
His outfit is more colorful than his piratical enemy, though he's still not a living rainbow or anything. It's all shades of brown,
with the vest and boots being darkest, the pants slightly lighter and ruddier than that, and the shirt being light enough that it's almost gray instead of tan. His skin is no less desaturated/blue than anyone else's in the line, but putting it next to these dark earthtones makes it look healthier by comparison. The eyes are painted well, but it would have been nice to get at least a little paint on his scars. I know they're not Joker-style raw gashes, but even just being a halfway step between the color of his skin and his lips would have helped them be appropriately noticeable.
One area where there's no question McToys' 2022 Inigo Montoya is better than NECA's theoretical 2009 Inigio Montoya would have been
is the articulation. In that he actually has some. It's not that NECA figures didn't move at all back then (the way McToys didn't), but the articulation for any given toy was minimal. Today even Todd knows that movement is key! Iningo has a balljointed head, balljoint/hinge shoulders with a ring to hide the post, swivel biceps, double- hinged elbows (because his sleeves aren't as puffy as Westley's), swivel/hinge/swivel wrists, a balljointed waist, swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, swivel/hinge/swivel ankles, and hinged toes. Watch the fencing scene in the movie, and you'll be able to get him into nearly any pose seen there.
Naturally, he comes with his sword. It's an impressive piece, with an intricate, curving basket to protect the wielder's hand. That feels a little thick for the scale, but it can't have been easy to mold that complex piece, and we wouldn't want it to break from being too thin. The pommel is not removable, so getting the sword into his hand can be difficult. And like we said with Roberts, we absolutely should have gotten alternate hands so he'd have the option to fight lefthanded. It's, like, a whole thing in the movie. How'd they miss it?
Even if you already had NECA's Dread Pirate Roberts and so didn't want McToys' new version, there's never been an Inigo Montoya for him to face before. And hey, maybe you could swap the figures' heads and customize a Dread Pirate Montoya to create your own continuing adventures.
-- 02/16/22
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