Deadpool. The Merc With A Mouth. El hombre que ama Chimichangas. He can be a polarizing character, but to me he’ll always be a favorite. I’ve probably re-read more of his comics than any other single character’s out there and that’s because to me they have staying power. If I have 15 minutes to kill, I’ll often crack open a Deadpool omnibus or grab a TPB and enjoy an ish. And don’t even get me started on Cable & Deadpool. I wept real tears when that run ended. Anywho, it’s a great time to be a Deadpool fan because we’ve got a film coming with a trailer that gives me nothing but confidence in the project. We also got this excellent figure from Sideshow Toys. I pre-ordered this guy back in November of 2014(!) and while it was a loooong wait, I’m excited to finally have him in hand. My schedule is a little tight this week, so I am going to be looking at Deadpool in two parts. Today we’ll check out the packaging and the figure and tomorrow the accessories. It seems only fair, since I found I have a lot to say about this guy.

The figure comes in a shoebox style package that at first glance feels right at home on the shelf beside my myriad of Hot Toys boxes. It’s got some nice art that I’d be tempted to say is a little too artsy-fartsy for Deadpool if it didn’t look so damn great. If you netted the Exclusive from Sideshow, you’ll also see a silver sticker on the front stating the fact.

Lift the box top and you get an illustrated cardboard insert and under that lies the figure packed neatly in foam cut-outs. The foam protects the figure nicely and under it is a tray that contains the bulk of ‘Pool’s accessories. There’s nothing wrong with this internal packaging style, but it feels just a tad lower rent than what I’m used to getting Hot Toys figures. Maybe I’m just a bigger fan of the molded plastic trays over the foam. I dunno. Either way, it’s just something that’s going to sit on my bookshelf, so let’s cast it aside and check out the figure.

Sideshow has become masters of taking iconic character designs from comics or cartoons and making them look real. This was particularly evident in their GI JOE Cobra figures and Deadpool feels a lot like that same kind of treatment. While we now have a real movie Deadpool to compare, this version of Deadpool was conceptualized beforehand and still looks like he would be right at home strutting his stuff on the big screen. Indeed, I might even go so far as to say I like this version a little better than the design we’ve seen in the Deadpool trailer. But s’all good. I don’t want to knock anything in that trailer. One thing is clear, Sideshow spared no expenses pouches in executing this design and the result is a deliciously busy costume that is positively bristling with bits and bobs and just general detail.

All told there’s about 20 beautifully crafted pouches covering our pal ‘Pool, each of which is clipped on and can be removed or readjusted to suit your taste. You also get Deadpool’s trademark belt buckle to help him look stylish and keep his pants up, but more importantly secure his two pistol holsters. The holsters feature retaining flaps with magnet latches, which are so much better than delicate snaps or buttons in this scale. Under the Liefeldesque web of straps and pouches, Deadpool sports a nicely tailored combat suit made of black and crimson fabric. The black bits feature a stitched quilted pattern and the suit is further reinforced with some plastic armor bits on the shoulders, knees, and forearms. If I had one nitpick on the costume it’s that my figure’s fly seems to prefer to stay exposed. But hey, that’s so Deadpool!

Deadpool comes with two portraits, each of which are super easy to swap out, thanks to this rather odd neck post. Instead of just a regular exposed ball joint, there’s this cylinder that fits into the head. The noggin fits on smoothly and you don’t have to apply any force at all to get the head off. A single finger on the shoulder and a gentle tug will do the trick. On the flip-side, don’t try picking up your figure from the head only, as you’ll likely wind up with a catastrophe. The stock head is standard Deadpool, while the other features a goofier expression as if he’s trying to peer through the fourth wall. There are also some subtle differences in the configuration of his hood between the two portraits. The sculpt is pretty damn good on both, and while you’ll never be able to perfectly match sculpted fabric with real fabric, the heads still look great on the figure.

If there’s one thing Sideshow has learned from Hot Toys, it’s that if you’re going to charge a lot for a figure, you’ve got to throw in a lot of hands. ‘Pool comes with no less than five different sets. You get the usual assortment of pedestrian meathooks, including fists, gun holding hands, and sword holding hands, but you also get some pretty cool and rather unique expressive hands to work with, which can be a lot of fun. Changing them out, on the other hand, is a bit of a chore. They’re a tight fit on the pegs and the plastic arm bracers tend to get in the way. Anyway, you can use the hands to relive great Deadpool moments, or make up your own…

“Did you see that? I totally just sucker punched Kitty Pryde right in the gut!”

“Peace! Haha… I’m still going to kill you!”

“Hey Black Widow… Dat ass is fiiiiiiine!”

“Gramps… Dude! Ya only got like six pouches on that outfit. You gotta get more pouches. It’s all about the pouches! I know a guy, I’ll hook you up!”

To be continued, tomorrow… Same ‘Pool Time, Same ‘Pool Channel!