A review of Batman Sovereign Knight from Mezco’s One:12 Collective!

Order yours Batman: Sovereign Knight from Mezco!

Mezco has been doing Batman in the One:12 Collective since practically  the beginning of the line. They have done a different type of the Dark Knight to appeal to the different types of Batman fans out there. This is the second entry in Mezco’s Batman Trilogy.  With the Sovereign Knight here, it is all about Batman going toe-to-toe with anyone that he has to and he has some specialized gadgets/looks to do so. Without further ado, here is Batman: The Sovereign Knight:

PACKAGING:

The packaging is in the same design as the other standard One:12 Collective boxes. The cover has the Batman logo that is very, very similar to the Jim Lee Hush design. It maybe isn’t as wide but it looks awesome. The box has the same logo on the spine or side with the white bands of the One:12 Collective. The back has the image from the website with the accessories as well as some various poses of the figure. The black inner box has the line’s logos on the top and bottom. The silhouette of Gomez is on the back with some spot-glossing. There is a window that shows the figure and his accessories. It is simple and works so why change it.

LIKENESS:

To me, the idea behind this suit is that Batman has been doing this for a while and his suit has evolved into this. It is aggressive by design in both the armor and the material section. The Bat-symbol on his chest is sort of like the one on the cover in the basic shape but the lines make it look different. Some ridges give it a 3D look. The ridges are throughout the armor from the cowl down to the boots. The utility belt is a gold with a lot of pouches. On the back, hidden by the cape, there is a holster for the Grappling Gun. The cape is a nice material that folds and doesn’t bunch up at all. On the site, the info has only three heads listed instead of the four that are actually included. Probably just a misstep or they decided to include the Bruce Wayne sculpt later. Anyway, he comes with four very different head sculpts: Bruce Wayne, short ears, long ears, and long ears with damage. The Bruce Wayne sculpt is very similar to the Ascending Knight version but aged a bit. There are some more facial lines and light greying in the hair. It is the natural evolution for the character and it looks like Bruce has more milage since his last release. The short ears have The Dark Knight showing some teeth like he is about to pummel a criminal. I will say that the teeth make me laugh a little because they are a little bucked, plus one of the other heads does aggressive a bit better. The long ears have the classic, stoic look that the bat uses to intimidate criminals or getting info from his allies. Lastly, the battle-damaged sculpt has the long ears and looks mad about the damage to his cowl. The damage was made by one of his foes with claws such as Catwoman, Killer Croc, or maybe even an angry Kryptonian. The outside layer has been pulled up to expose the metallic underlining that protects Bruce from hard hits. His skin looks irritated and slashed. The two long-eared heads are probably favorites with a classic design and showing that the bat is human.

ACCESSORIES:

Here are the included accessories: the four (4) head-sculpts, eleven (11) interchangeable hands, ten (10) small Batarangs, one (1) large Batarang, one (1) Bat Drone, one (1) Sonic Distributor, one (1) Grappling Gun, one (1) Grappling Hook, one (1) Grappling Hook with string attached, a base stand arm for posing, the base stand with the Batman logo from his suit, and a plastic bag for the accessories. Like The Ascending Knight, this Batman comes with a slew of accessories and it covers anyway that you want to pose him. First up are the hands and, like the heads, there I a minor mistake here: there are actually eleven hands includes. They’re your typical gloves with detailing that match up with the rest of his armor. There is one right hand that has a kryptonite knuckle duster and the green is translucent so that it captures the light without having to be lit up. The regular Batarangs are very small and to scale. You get the 10 because they can easily be misplaced. There is the one larger Batarang that has some designs like the armor and texture that, to me anyway, looks like carbon fiber. My favorite accessory has to be the Bat Drone. At first glance, it looks pretty straightforward but there is so much more to it. The design is to look like, well, a bat. The wings bend at the body. The whole thing looks weathered and the coloring matches the other accessories. The only downside is about how to display it but we can circle back to that. The Sonic Distributor is a cool inclusion and fits into the same hand as the Grappling Gun. It is weathered and is a nice gadget to expand on the figure or even ready him for posing with a future villain. The Grappling Gun is a new design when comparing it to the Ascending Knight release. It looks more evolved with a guard that would lessen the likelihood of slipping out of his hands. It has 2 hooks: one to be in the barrel and one with a strong to look like rope. The base and the articulating arm is typical with the Collective. It has the Batman logo that is the same on the cover. The colors are grey and black. They also included the cape hooks that are the same as the one with the Ascending Knight. Five clamps on flexible wire plug into the clip on the arm. The clip to the cape and this is the only thing to pose the drone or possibly the clamp on the waist. As you can see in the photos, you bend it to the wing and that’s it. The base also has a peg that plugs into the foot. The clear bag for parts has a label to keep track of who they belong to.

ARTICULATION:

The flexible material allows for very smooth articulation. It stretches and goes back to its normal state after posing. The knees and elbows have a lot of bend in them. There is also a joint in the sternum so that he can be twisted naturally. His head also swivels naturally. All in all, this is par for the Batman in the One:12 Collective.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

This is a stellar figure and is clearly the logical evolution of the character. The designers did a great job of stepping it up when creating this figure. The accessories have been chosen carefully and expand the armory of gadgets that the Dark Knight uses. Speaking of, the Drone is my favorite but I do wish that there was either some more explanation on how to pose it or include something unmistakable. What would take this to the next level is if they sold an armory to display and hold all of the gadgets that the various Batman releases have. The overall design is excellent and I can highly recommend this to the Batman fans out there.

About the author

MEDIA JOURNALIST | Michael is a fanatic about all both cinema old and new. He collects anything from 1:6 Scale, 1:12 Scale, and vinyl Collectibles plus Slipcovers and Steelbooks. He loves pop culture, writing, reviewing films & collectibles, and journalism. An avid Batman, The Joker and anything comics junkie, he will also chat it up about pretty much anything. Go ahead and ask...