2020 is fast-approaching, and for Mezco ONE:12 Collective figure collectors, one of the first figures arriving in the new year will be the ONE:12 Collective Moon Knight figure that went up for sale back in the spring! But while fans have already had a good half year-plus wait for the classic all-white Moon Knight figure, Mezco Toyz gave a sneak peek this year with the convention exclusive modern Moon Knight variant figure! And while this is not the costume that most are familiar with, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a total win for Mezco…

2019 has managed to raise the bar on just how many Marvel toys can come out in a year, and consequently I haven’t had the opportunity to do as comprehensive of a sweep of reviews of the plethora of statues and figures that I’ve received as I’d like to.

But I would be remiss if I let the end of the year slip past without jotting down my opinions on what is, to me, easily the very best action figure ever made of a character I’ve had a thing for since I was a kid: Marc Spector, Moon Knight!

I was stunned to see the classic white (and silver) Moon Knight action figure quietly revealed in the New York Toy Fair 2019 catalog Mezco gave out at the event, and even more delighted when they announced a modern iteration as one of this year’s convention exclusives because it meant I’d have at least some version to review this year! Does the figure meet the high bar I set in my mind?

I’d be lying if I didn’t raise my hand in guilt that I’m a little biased here just by virtue of the fact that a high-end Moon Knight action figure makes me kinda giddy, as evident by the dopey smile that the simple monochrome box put on my face when I received this.

Inside the usual art box, I found the action figure safely nestled in various plastic trays as usual. The figure and weapons are all contained in the upper tray while the lower tray contains the figure stand and various poles for posing.

We’ve come to expect ample accessories and add-ons with our expensive Mezco Marvel ONE:12 Collective figures, and Mezco Toyz certainly does not disappoint here in that regard. In fact, we pretty much get a treasure trove here including a full arsenal.

We get eight interchangeable hands, an alternate unmasked head, a pulled-down hood, a removable pulled-up hood, a bo staff, nunchucks, a crescent blade, a grappling hook baton and a stand/base with several posing poles.

The nunchucks and grappling hook are real highlights, because the two handheld segments of each are connected by real metal chains! The interlinked metal chains feel fantastic and look incredible in Spector’s hands—weapons of this level of quality blow anything Hasbro is able to do at a much lower price-point completely out of the water.

And thanks to the four pairs of hands included, there are ideal gripping hands available to tightly grasp every one of the accessories. I get frustrated sometimes with toys with too many swap-out parts, but the hands here work like a charm and are a real joy to pop in and out and manipulate.

Unless they’re going to be flying, I rarely have any use for display bases and figure stands for my six inch action figures. I took a photo of the stand here for posterity’s sake, but I won’t be using it regularly—nor will I be using the included poles for posing the cape, which just are not my style.

For those who love that kinda stuff, it’s present and accounted for—I’m just not the target demographic for posing fiddly capes and such myself. Just having the lovely, textured fabric cape draped naturally on MK is good enough for me!

The unmasked Marc Spector head is… fine, I guess… but not really anything I feel any enthusiasm over. The masked look for Moon Knight is so slick and recognizable that I just cannot imagine more than a handful of collectors ever bothering to utilize the unmasked Marc Spector portrait. Mezco Toyz has gone above and beyond for those who will, but I wonder if the unmasked head isn’t a mite unnecessary here.

Likewise, I much prefer my MK with the hood up and looking iconic, but it’s nice to have a “pulled-back hood” for those who would like the option.

The obvious difference between the classic and modern takes on this character is that the modern version has a predominantly black costume with a good amount of white in the upper body, whereas the classic interpretation is entirely white (and sometimes silver).

I don’t deny being on #TeamClassicMoonKnight at all, but the modern costume looks better on this figure than it ever has before. The black fabric costume looks very natural when joints are bent and posed, hiding potential wrinkles or creases well because of the inherently dark material. I still prefer and will be buying the white Moon Knight, but this one still looks really good.

And it doesn’t just look good—it feels good. All of the joints move as smooth as silk and hold their positions ideally. While the nature of the material slightly restricts some articulation, there’s ample poses that can be achieved and the ONE:12 Collective Moon Knight figure looks phenomenal in them.

Overall: I expected to see a vast and noticeable superior quality to this $80 Mezco Moon Knight 6” figure compared to my $20 Hasbro Marvel Legends version , and I absolutely did find the quality here to be exactly that. The paint applications are perfection, the articulation is tight and smooth, the costume looks flawless, and the weapons are wonderfully decorated and fit tightly like a charm in the various interchangeable hands.

The fabric costume inhibits the range of motion somewhat (which is unavoidable), but otherwise I’ve really got bupkis got complaints. Some collectors won’t want to spend $80 on this particular modern. version of Marc Spector—or perhaps don’t want to spend that sum on any six inch figure—but for what it is, this Moon Knight ONE:12 Collective figure is top-class quality and a victory overall.

I can definitely recommend locking in the classic white costume version if you love this character and have the cash to do so—this is the best that I’ve felt about one of Mezco’s Marvel action figures I’ve received in quite a while, and it’s already pre-sold out via EE, Amazon and several other major retailers. This is gonna be a hit for Mezco Toyz, and it deserves to be.

GRADE: A