Deadpool

I don't know how to emoji, or else I'd do the "[Skull Face] [Happy Poop] L" thing. Combined with impressive agility and stamina, Deadpool's powers of self-healing make him nearly unstoppable in a fight. Hey, a Deadpool figure! Haven't seen that before! Other than a very determined Ryan Reynolds, no one expected the success of the Deadpool movie - you can tell, because not a single company made any figures for it. Even Minimates only managed to do a mini tie-in line of comic repaints, and even those came out months after the fact! The movie may not have been very "costumey," but we could at least have had Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Angel Dust, if not the rather boring Ajax. But at least Hasbro has seen fit to include Deadpool in this new series of X-Men Legends. Depending on how you want to count it, this is either Hasbro's third, fourth or fifth Deadpool figure. There was the two-pack, where DP was available in either red or blue, then he was released in Marvel Legends Series 3 wearing his gray X-Force uniform, but there was allegedly a red version as well. All those used the same body, while this one gets a new one! Well, not "new," it's the small male body, but it's not the same bad mold they used for the other ones. It's better! And it has new pieces, too (and we're not just talking his belts and pouches, either): the shins and forearms have armor on them; he's got big straps on his feet; and because he's a classy emeffer, he gets a new right hand with his pinky finger extended. The head is also new, and this time it doesn't look too big for the body. It's sculpted with raised seams, little wrinkles, and a head-nipple on the back. The black sections around his eyes are set lower than the red surface of the mask, and his eyes are different sizes because he's throwing a Dreamworks eyebrow under there. You can even see his ears pressing out against the cloth on the sides of the mask. Like the original ToyBiz Marvel Legends Deadpool, this one has an alternate unmasked head. It's more "Freddy Krueger burns" than "lumpy cancer lumps," but he has a big happy smile on his face. The blank yellow eyes are a modern touch - that's how Tony Moore drew him during Marvel NOW!, which is also where the pattern of his costume comes from. Deadpool doesn't come with a piece of this series' Build-A-Figure, Juggernaut, so he takes his portion of the budget in the form of accessories. He has two swords and two scabbards, the same sculpts used for the previous Deadpool. There are two pistols, and they can be holstered on his thigh and waist. A knife fits into his boot. And if that was all he had, he'd still be doing pretty well by current standards. But note that we said "if." He also comes with a shotgun and bazooka that we've already reviewed once, though this time the gun is silver rather than white, and the bazooka has a comical boxing glove that can plug into the end. What is this, Xevoz all of a sudden? There's a rectangular gun that's a new mold - a rail gun, maybe? And finally, a contender for accessory of the year, a taco. Taco! In true Deadpool fourth-wall-breaking fashion, the back of the packaging has been slightly defaced: in addition to the big artsy photo of the toy, there's a drawing of Deadpool dressed as a waiter carrying a single large taco on a silver tray and saying "I'd date me" in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. There are also hearts and an arrow drawn above his picture in the lineup at the bottom. Someone in the art department was having fun that day. No surprise Deadpool is the hardest figure in this series to find. Not only is he more popular right now than he's ever been, but the toy is great and also comes with a bunch of awesome extras. It's still a shame no one has ever made Dave Cortes' Deadpool, but even with the reused body, this figure is better than the ML6 version - and that's saying something! -- 11/21/16

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