HISTORY: “The Merc with a Mouth” has been a Marvel Anti-Hero fan favorite nearly since his inception in New Mutants #98 in 1991. Deadpool is also noted to be one of the prominent characters in the comic book world for breaking the “fourth wall”, by attempting to directly speak to the reader. Deadpool has made appearances with various affiliations such as Heroes for Hire, Thunderbolts, Weapon X, X-Force, X-Men and even S.H.I.E.L.D.
FIRST GLANCE: The disfigured and mentally insane assassin has been featured throughout nearly every facet of pop culture so it was essentially a lock that he would get the Marvel Select treatment. Sculptor Gabriel Marquez was anointed by Diamond Select to man the helm of bringing this figure to form. At first, Deadpool looks to be spot-on as he appears in the comics, the only issue is when it is finally unboxed and he stands with his peers, it’s clear he’s a bit large. Also, there is an unmasked variant if you are fortunate enough to come across that is quite a gem in any collection.
PROS: Deadpool comes with a small armory of various weapons. Fully equipped with two pistols, two chimichanga slicing katanas, two sais and one assault rifle, Deadpool is ready to ruin someone’s day. Detailing on his leather pouches and holsters are great. As much as some would like to complain about the immovable items, like the knives and grenade, they do provide an appropriate aesthetic. Lines and paint on this figure are very basic, but well applied. There are very little shortcomings with the paint scheme and the only way it could be described it simple and clean. The shot-up wall base is great with all of the casings on the ground and bullet holes in the wall.
CONS: The large overall size is what stands out the most. Perhaps if it were scaled down by 10%, it would be a perfect fit. Articulation isn’t the worst but leaves a few much room for improvement such as a torso twist, roller ankles and a better neck joint. Over the long haul, the leg joints do tend to lose a bit of rigidity and posability is eventually compromised. A bicep swivel would also have been a plus. Although, most of these gripes are small ripples on a solid canvas.
Neck joint has minimal vertical movement and doesn’t really hold, but the head moves laterally very well
Standard ball shoulders, no bicep swivel
Single direction elbows
360° wrists
360° waist
Ball leg joints
Double knees
Ankles barely move vertically, likely a design flaw, but rotate a full 360°
Buyer/Collectors Recommendation: So the standard Deadpool has been reissued numerous times, however the variant, only released initially has become difficult to find online at a reasonable price and is rarely spotted in stores. Like the other X-Men variant figures, Deadpool has typically sold for around $75 carded and well over $125 in mint packaging. You can likely get one loose for somewhere around $60, give or take a few dollars. You shouldn’t pay over the suggested retail price for the standard since it is a fan favorite, it is released often. As far as this being the definitive Deadpool, like Wolverine, with fan favorite figures, it can be difficult to make everyone happy and I don’t think this Deadpool does it. Diamond is very happy with this figure, but with today’s technology, we should hope for an improved reinterpretation.
HISTORY: Cable first appeared as Nathan Summers in Uncanny X-Men #201 in 1986. Cable is the son of one of the X-Men’s more notable leaders, Cyclops and the clone of Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor and is also the half-brother of Rachel Summers. Cable was infected with a techno-organic virus by Apocalypse and is eventually cloned, creating one of his most villainous foes, Stryfe. Cable has also been featured in numerous Marvel teams such as the X-Men, X-Force, Askani and the New Mutants.
FIRST GLANCE: The time has finally come for Cable to get his long awaited and requested Marvel Select interpretation. Renowned sculptor Phil Ramirez and Diamond Select Toys collaborated on this much anticipated release. The first thing that pops is the huge 90’s nostalgic monstrosity, once it captures your eye, you can’t miss the rest of the accessories. On the other hand, there is the undeniable fact that it clearly doesn’t look anything like the prototype and promotional pictures. I’ll get more into that in the Cons segment.
PROS: Accessories!!! Yes, there are plenty of them. Cable features two large futuristic handguns, a smaller, more discreet handgun, an enormous weapon of mass destruction, pseudo-shoulder mounted gun and a “Rambo approved” knife. All of this and a nice base featuring remnants of an obliterated Stryfe. The gargantuan vest would make Batman jealous and all the detailing throughout the entire upper torso is superb. All of the intricate details were beautifully sculpted on every type of leather strap, bomb, grenade, miscellaneous explosives, pouches, buckles, arm band and gloves. We can only hope that the leg articulation becomes the new standard as they have hit nearly every point without letting the holsters prohibit movement.
CONS: Regarding the aforementioned statement about the difference between promo pics and the figure in hand, the paint really was a surprise. Although it wasn’t a complete disappointment, it was still unexpected. Particularly in the promotional pictures, the blue paint on the pants and collar looked clean and flawless, as well as the silver on the boots. On the actual figure, it looked more washed and rugged. Also, the weapons looked clean, almost immaculate; the latter appeared more battle damaged. It must also be noted that with such attention to detail on the vest, the paint seemed very sloppy. I was fortunate enough to sort through 12 of these at my local shop and I picked out the one, obviously, I thought was best. Many had brown buckles with silver straps, random red spots, paint wash that didn’t seem to dissolve appropriately creating unsightly blemishes, errant hair coloring and faded paint or maybe the machines just didn’t hit around the right eye scar. Articulation on the figure is like night and day. Upper torso is almost like a block, while the lower body is amazing. Finally, the elephant in the room, the shoulder mounted weapon that doesn’t exactly mount. There is a block on the left shoulder where it would seem that’s where it mounts, according to promotional pictures, but it doesn’t even fit snug or stay in place.
Ball neck joint with maybe a millimeter of vertical movement and maybe five millimeters laterally
Standard ball shoulders that are limited by the large battle vest over the shoulders, no bicep swivel
Single direction elbows
360° wrists
360° waist
Legs move laterally and forwards very well and have a decent range rearwards
Thigh swivel
Double knees
Roller ankles
Buyer/Collectors Recommendation: Cable is obviously not a core Marvel character. Probably the lowest of the A-list or highest B-list, but he isn’t complete without his partner in crime, Deadpool, so look to complete the tandem. As a new release, as of 11 March 2015, you shouldn’t expect to pay over the suggested retail price stateside or internationally, as it is not a Disney exclusive. After collecting every Marvel Select figure to date, it is reasonable to believe that this is the definitive Cable figure for the line. Don’t expect any reinterpretations any time soon.
Demand is not calculated into the composite score due to it being a new figure. Demand is only calculated into the composite score based on previous sales, secondary market prices and whether the figure can or can not be reissued.