Deathlok - Marvel Legends By Hervé St.Louis Jul 24, 2005 - 9:09:00 AM

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There have been two Deathloks. The original, created by Rich Buckler appeared in Astonishing Tales issue # 25, in 1974. There Deathlok was Luther Manning, a wounded soldier rebuilt into a cyborg. He lived in a future alternate Marvel universe. The second Deathlok, the one the bio on the action figure talks about, has the same origin minus the time travel and is part of the regular Marvel universe. Expect a Deathlok film in 2006.

Likeness

They more closely mould Deathlok here after Denys Cowan’s mini-series than creator Rick Buckler. For example, the metal stripes on the characters’ tibias are shorter and compact on the action figure. In Buckler’s work, they reach all the way to the ankles. The metal strips across the character’s thighs and arms are also a modern addition. The entire waist and hip area is often more streamlined in Buckler’s work. Here Deathlok has a jockstrap that is often drawn in Cowan’s addition.

Sculpt

Deathlok has a great built and a face resembling the Terminator, which he in turn, inspired years ago. Deathlok is an action adventure character similar to the Punisher in his take no prisoner attitude and the action figure reflects that. His face is angry and screaming. Although not a body builder, he is no limp character. Making him closer in detail to Cowan’s ripping torso designs.

Paint

The paint job is great. There is a shinny coating on all the red areas of Deathlok’s suit giving him a metallic feel. Although the grey metal paint is unequal over Deathlok’s legs and arms, it gives them a used look. Deathlok’s hair has a dirty blond tint, as is usual in comics. The effect in his hair is cool as dark dots painted inside the tiny holes of his curled hair give it a burnt appearance. However, there are some red paint spills all over the character. On my figure, there was no US flag on Deathlok’s right pectoral. Other figures have them. Perhaps it is a Canadian variant.

Scale

Deathlok fits well with all other Marvel Legends action figures. For example, he is taller than Nightcrawler but smaller than Colossus. His big shoulders increase his bulk. Many of Marvel Legends’ action figures look very small next to DC Direct action figures. That’s because Toybiz makes their heads smaller and their limbs are not as wide.

Stability

Deathlok is not stable. His torso is top heavy and his abdominal articulation very loose. That means he can topple any time. His feet are too narrow to support his weight, although he is not very heavy. Since his knees and hips are very strong and stiff, putting him on an action figure stand is the best thing to do. Funnily, I find that the best action figure stand for Deathlok is a Batman Hush stand, but attach both feet to the pegs.

Articulation

Deathlok has 40 articulations. He has a double joint shoulder blade articulation that gives him extended motion. He has ball joint shoulders with double mechanism for front, back and sideway motion. He has biceps curls, double elbow bending joints, forearm curl, bending wrists and palms. In the torso, Deathlok has a ball joint neck articulation, abdominal crunch and twisting waist. In the legs, Deathlok has ball joint hips, thighs curl, double knees’ articulation, curling calves, bending ankles with a side to side twist and bending toes.

Plastic

Deathlok’s plastic is strong but hollow. His glued backpack is in similar but stronger hollow stock. It seems like the chest part of Deathlok can rotate, but it cannot. It is glued on top of the upper abdominal of the figure. His complex shoulder articulation is well hidden on the sculpt. The left shoulder joint holding his ball joint in place is red. Toybiz should have painted it to hide it better within the figure.

Props

Deathlok comes with a machine gun that’s pre-attached on a rubber hose tied on his left pectoral. You cannot remove the backpack without force or breaking the figure. Besides this, there was a reprint of the third issue of the 1991 Deathlok mini-series. Deathlok also comes with the upper torso of the Galactus figure that is assembled using parts from each of the seven action figures in the Marvel Legends Series 9.

Packaging

Deathlok comes with a plastic case attached to a cardboard. Inserted inside are the comic book, the figure and Galactus’s torso. Inside the cover of the card are instructions on how to assemble the Galactus action figure. On the back of the card, there is a brief bio on Deathlok and some statistics on the character’s abilities.

Cost

Depending on where one purchases this figure, its price will change. Whereas large chain stores may offer better discounts, because they purchase large quantities of figures, they may not offer all of the figures of this wave as a complete set allowing collectors to assemble the Galactus action figure. Price can vary from $7.99 to $25. Toybiz itself, suggests a price of $7.99, but only large stores can offer the figure at this price or less.

Availability

With Marvel Legends Series 9, there are about two Deathloks, per case of the twelve figures. This means that Deathlok is not rare and can easily be found. However, Deathlok is attached to one of the key part of the Galactus action figure, so it may not remain on the shelves for long. Also, as a Deathlok movie is upon us, the character could become more popular and its figure rarer as more people look for it. The Deathlok action figure is available for sale at the Comic Book Bin’s store.

Read related articles and reviews such as:

Galactus
Bullseye

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