Mezco Spider-Man, Mezco Spider-Man, does whatever a Mezco spider can! In 1962, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko breathe life into an entity that would quickly grow to represent their audience more succinctly than any other medium had done before or since. We knew we weren’t mutants, we knew we weren’t rich or born another planet. But man, we had that nerd thing down, just like Peter Parker. Many heroes come and go, but Spider-Man constantly finds himself vying for the number one spot in my heart next to Wally West’s Flash. That being said, I have become a picky Spider-Man collector. In essence, I became The Kid Who Collects Spider-man. Except I’m not dying. Well, we’re all dying, Timmy. From the moment we breach our way into this world until our very last breath. We’re all dying.
Existential toy collector is existential.
Seriously though, that story is what made me a lifelong comic fan. I love big cosmic stories as much as the next guy, but this short, buried in the back tale set in a claustrophobic hospice room showed me how a comic story could have heart. I am pretty sure I talked about this already here, so feel free to take a look if you’re bored.
Today, we are going to take a look at the brand new Mezco Spider-Man and decide if he is worth it, or just another contender in a long spider-line of contenders. Let’s get started.
What’s in the Mezco Spider-Man box?
No collector’s tin or flap on the front of the package. The Mezco Spider-man ships in what now appears to be the new standard box, sans window flap. Like many collectors, I prefer the flap. However, I do not display my figures in the box so that is not a game changer for me. Often times I may voice a concern (see? I don’t complain, I “voice concerns”) that a higher end figure like Mezco does not come with enough accessories to justify the price. Black Adam sprints immediately to mind, but only because he is the most recent. Consequently, I always look at a new Mezco with a raised eyebrow.
You’ll be happy to know, this Mezco Spider-Man is not lacking in any accessories. We get the figure, an alternate head (some liken it to Ditko, others to Kirby. I see both), four (4!!) sets of hands, a stand and connecting arm for display purposes, a magnetic clip to stick him to things and almost any type of spider web you can imagine the web-slinger, well, slinging.
The figure checks off all of the needs I have in a Spider-man figure when it comes to hands. As I mentioned in the Amazing Yamaguchi Spider-Man review, if your Spider-Man figure doesn’t at LEAST have fist hands, thwip hands, and wall crawlin’ hands, what are you even doing? We get those and a set of web holding hands. I may have even have mentioned my need for certain Spider-Man accessories in this review as well. Or maybe this one. I can’t remember. Here are the pack-ins!
What doesn’t work with Mezco Spider-Man?
Only a few complaints here and the first is one I mention a lot when it comes to Mezco figures: Ankle/foot articulation. Spider-man crawls a lot. The Mezco Spider-Man lacks the ability to move his feet up or down. That isn’t hyperbole. They barely move in either direction. There is no ankle pivot to speak of and all of this is done in such a fashion that its almost as if they were in a meeting and said, “Guys, let’s break the mold here… what if OUR Mezco Spider-Man lacks the ability to plant his feet on a wall when climbing?”
“Brilliant!”
Next issue: He’s too tall. In my head, Pete is around 5’10. He is NOT as tall or taller than Captain America.
The next area of concern is one that doesn’t bother me, but it does bother a lot of people. His feet.
I can understand their distress; in the comics, his feet are usually a flat red. Like I said, it doesn’t annoy me, but it may annoy you.
His webs are flexible (of course the long one is, but so are the rest) to a degree, but my concern is I may be slowly weakening them by moving them. Lastly, I think the holes you put the wrist pegs through should be slightly larger. This would allow them to slide over the ball joint more. As is, they are kind of a chore to work.
What works with the Mezco Spider-Man?
Everything else. Just like the fist situation, I feel like Spider-Man should always come with some kind of way to stick to things. My preferred method is magnets on feet and hands like the Mafex Amazing Spider-Man 2 AND their Homecoming Spider-Man. Barring that, the magnetic plastic clip we get with the Mezco Spider-man, which is the same method we got with the Revoltech Spider-Man.
The wrists have a great range of motion. I know that seems random, but you can really use that in posing. This buck (I don’t own the Miles Morales Spider-man so I can’t speak to that) is unique among other Mezcos. He’s built long and spindly. Not a child’s body or a teenage body, but an adult male proportioned exactly like I think Peter Parker should be built. The only thing I may have changed would be to give him butterfly shoulders. Even without that, the Mezco Spider-Man articulation scheme is as perfect as it can be (minus the feet thing) while not sacrificing aesthetics.
Should you get the Mezco Spider-man?
Yes. No hesitation. If I could afford it, I’d buy two and one for each of my toy collecting buddies. This is the best looking Spider-man figure I’ve ever owned. The promo pictures made him look odd to me. However, when I opened the box and held him, I literally carried him around with me all weekend, posing him around, sticking him to the fridge and then coming back 20 minutes later to repose him on the fridge.
In short, if you like the character, the Mezco One:12 line or just 1:12 figures in general, I am convinced we will not see a better LOOKING Spider-man for several years. He doesn’t have the hyper-flexibility of the Revoltech or even the Figuarts/Mafex versions but his articulation scheme looks way better to me in execution than the most recent Marvel Legends versions. Believe me, that isn’t knocking my Legends’ Spider-Man figures. I love them as well but this Mezco Spider-Man sets the bar well above what any mass produced figure will be able to do any time in the near future. If you still want to grab him (and you should), start here:
As always, let’s wrap up with some pictures.
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