Hitman: Agent 47

The first series of NECA's "Player Select" line certainly had variety: there was one big monster, one sexy dame, and one boring lump. For everybody who's been anxiously awaiting an action figure that looked like a high school principal, here's your answer, fishbulb. To some he is an urban legend, but to anyone who has encountered him and is alive, Agent 47 is the world's deadliest assassin, a hitman with a 100 hit rate and an unfaltering dedication to his work. His name originates from a barcode on the back of his head, 640509-040147, a serial number that marks his place in a series of cloning experiments designed to create an army of assassins. Hitman's deadly reputation has made him the most highly paid assassin at his contract agency, but his notoriety is no good thing. When a hitman's identity is known, it becomes harder to work and stay alive. Agent 47 is an enhanced clone, bred from the genetic samples of five master criminals. He has a 47th chromosome, which endows him strength, speed, stamina and intelligence significantly above the human norm. Unlike in real life, where an extra chromosome gives you Down syndrome. Though that would be a pretty good cover for a professional hitman - after all, who's going to suspect Corky of taking down the president? The Hitman figure joins Hartigan in NECA's "striding forward with windblown jacket and tie" collection. He's an even 7" tall, and only has enough articulation to really pull off his intended pose, sadly. The neck is balljointed, as are the shoulders, but that's about the only good thing to be said. He's got a double case of "NECA Arm," which means he has those swivel elbows that add nothing to the figure. The wrists turn, but only as far as the sleeves will allow. The waist is a peg joint, and so are his ankles, but he still won't stand on his own - you'll definitely need to use the included disc base, and even then Agent 47 will spend most of his time leaning forward precariously. Agent 47's sculpt is good, but unremarkable - it looks like a plain guy in a suit, which was the goal, and that's not a particularly easy thing to accomplish, really. Tankman succeeded on that front. The figure is specifically based on Hitman: Blood Money, the fourth game in the stealth series. It's not like 47 has changed much over the years. Basically, his face is a bit puffier, but this could really be from whatever Hitman game is your favorite. One oddity is that the seams on his sleeves are in different places on each arm. The paint here is good where it counts. His suit is plain black (unless you get the one-per-case white variant), and the lining of his jacket is a dark burgundy. The grey stripes on his shirt are remarkably straight and crisp, and ditto for his tie, which also features a few subtle painted shadows. His belt buckle and the grommets on his shoes are silver, and the colors of his face are nice. But what really counts is the tiny barcode tattoo on the back of his head. Despite being only about 4mm tall, it's completely crisp and legible. Nice! So far Agent 47 is a pretty forgettable figure, but you probably still want to bring him home. Why's that? Simple: the accessories! The guy's a hitman, after all; he's gotta have the tools of his trade! Not even counting the stand, the figure comes with 16 accessories, which has to be some kind of record. The most innocuous is the briefcase, which still has a good sculpt, including tiny latches and hinges. It doesn't open, but it looks like it would. Still, what people are going to care about are the guns. You can arm Agent 47 with his trademark AMT Silverballer .45 pistol, a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun, a heavily customized 12-gauge Mossberg 500 tactical shotgun, a Walther WA 2000 sniper rifle or an M4 assault rifle. The MP5 can be fitted with any of the five silencers, a flashlight or laser sight. The remaining three scopes fit on the sniper rifle. The SP12 shotgun has two rail-mounted lights connected by a coiled cord, but they're not removeable Oliver Brig was in charge of the accessories, and he did good work. The figure's right hand is sculpted with the trigger finger extended, while his left is more relaxed - a little too relaxed to hold the briefcase well. Hitman's Agent 47 is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a visually interesting figure. He's great if you want a plain "civilian" figure to stock your display. The articulation is less than impressive and the paint, while executed very well, is mostly straightforward. But oh, those accessories! If you can find this figure on sale, you can buy him strictly for the weapons cache - otherwise, you'd have to be a pretty huge fan of the games to find this one interesting.

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