Saturday, June 22, 2013

Despite Terrible Balance, The Prometheus Deacon Figure Is Pretty Incredible!


The Good: Great sculpt, Exceptional poseability, Includes stand! Great coloring, Neat accessories
The Bad: Poor balance for figure and worms!
The Basics: The Deacon from the Prometheus Series 2 set is an essential piece for fans of the film!


Sometimes, I only realize the impact of a movie by how I respond in the long term to the merchandising surrounding that film. With so many collectibles on the market, it is impossible to collect them all and so it is truly only the works I really love that I buy collectibles from. I suppose that means that I really loved Prometheus, as I geeked out recently to learn that the second series of two figures was released in the market. Moreover, as soon as I got my hands on the Deacon and David 8 figures (thank you blueberry survey for giving me some discretionary income to blow on toys!), I was excited to see that there are more Prometheus figures from NECA slated for this year (though, oddly, the two advertized on the back of the Series 2 packages may already be canceled in favor to two cheap recolorings). As much as I was impressed by Michael Fassbender as David from the film, I had to open the Deacon figure first and I was generally impressed with it!

The Prometheus Deacon action figure is available exclusively from the NECA line and is one of two figures from their second wave (there are at least two more on NECA’s docket for this year, though my hope is that number will rise fast and Shaw, Fifield and Holloway will be released alongside the holographic versions of the first two figures NECA released). The Deacon figure is a worthy release alongside the three prior Prometheus figure releases.

Basics

Based on the character that was seen in the final seconds of Prometheus, Deacon is the alien chestburster creature that popped out of the final Engineer left on LV-223. The thin, somewhat frail looking proto-alien may have only had about thirty seconds of screentime, but it made an impression and now can be part of one’s permanent collection in action figure form.

Standing seven and one-quarter inches tall, the Deacon is an exceptionally thin xenomorph creature that bears a strong resemblance to the original creature in Alien, save that it has a sharper cone for the back of its head. The color scheme for the figure is very simple. Most of the figure is a dark gray/blue-green color that is mottled with black on the head and along key bone structures, like the ribs, spine and legs. This gives the creature the appearance of camouflage that it looks very cool in that regard. The coloring is broken up in the mouth area where the Deacon features white teeth and pink gums/tongue/secondary jaw. This seems a little more colorful than the creature seen briefly in the film, but it is probably true to the actual coloring of the Deacon alien.

The sculpt is great for the half puppet, half CG-effect creature. NECA made the toy with pretty extraordinary detailing for the sculpt, especially the hands and feet. The feet are so detailed that they include toenails molded into the toes. Similarly, the hands look like they have a bone structure to them and and head. The sculpt is accurate and the coloring is pretty decent. The entire figure is made of hard plastic.

Accessories

The Deacon comes loaded with accessories, putting the first wave of Prometheus figures to shame! Deacon comes with a stand, two worms and an Engineer head inside its pressure suit helmet! The stand is a very simple clear plastic rectangle measuring 3 3/4" wide by 2 1/4” deep. Atop the stand are two pegs with angled risers. This allows one to connect Deacon to the stand with the feet angled in an action pose, as it is molded to be. This figure stands (on the stand) as if it is shifting its weight to the balls of its feet. I’ve discovered that the stand can also support both the deacon and one of the worms in a raised position, which makes for a very dynamic-looking display piece!

The worms are the first complex lifeform found on LV-223 by Fifield and his companion. The two worms look like brown-gray flatworms and they each measure 3 3/4" long. One of the worms is the “travelling” worm with the ball head and the other is the open head that allows the creature to act like a facehugger. These two accessories have wire in them, which allows one to minimally pose them. Unfortunately, they also have two open holes on their underside for taking advantage of the flexible nature of the worms. Though they cannot be posed in terribly sophisticated poses, the worms can interact with both the base and the Deacon to create dynamic poses that interact with the figure.

Finally, there is the decapitated Engineer head accessory. The helmet that contained the severed Engineer head comes with the Deacon figure (I’m not entirely sure why) and it looks amazing. Accurately colored for both the head and the helmet, the 1 7/8” by 1 1/8” wide by 1 1/4” tall accessory looks just like the Engineer helmet and fits the scale of the Deacon perfectly. That the helmet can be removed to reveal the tormented Engineer beneath is super cool.

Poseability

Deacon only truly stands when it is on its stand. It has a very limited range of poses it can make when it is stood up on a shelf without using the foot pegs, but it looks amazing and has great poseability when on its stand.

Fortunately, because of all of its joints, Deacon can be posed in incredible ways when on its stand. With fourteen points of articulation, Deacon has good poseability and the sculpt allows one to make good use out of all of the joints. The Deacon has ball and socket joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket, shoulders, wrists and elbows. The bust and head are on ball joints, with limited range of motion there. There is an additional joint at the mouth.

Playability

All of the articulation makes Deacon a decent toy for play, but one suspects those who would recognize Deacon enough to enjoy the figure would not be the type to actually play with it and the Prometheus toy line is intended for the adult collector. The superlative play function for this figure is in its mouth. Deacon features a hinged lower jaw and the jaw not only opens, it allows one to pull the jaw down and forward. From there, one may raise the tongue to reveal the inner mouth and one can replicate the scream Deacon emitted to conclude Prometheus!

Collectibility

NECA Toys made a good figure with Deacon, but given how NECA has a tendency to pick the losers (past history has shown that NECA’s figures quickly sell to the fanbase, then end up severely discounted at the few retailers that carry them) and there is no reason to believe that the Prometheus figures will be any exception. Given the limited appeal of the Prometheus figures, it is hard to believe that they will be a good investment figure. Given that Series 1 figures are still easily available at the Toys R Us stores around me, unless the Series 2 figures were comparatively underproduced, it is likely this figure will not readily appreciate in value.

Overview

Fans of the Alien franchise, Prometheus and the Deacon creature itself are likely to want this figure. After all, with the humanoid and Engineer figures, it is nice to have something to menace them both and Deacon fits that bill nicely. Regardless of whether it is likely to appreciate in value any time soon, the Deacon figure is a must-have for Prometheus and Alien alien fans!

This version of the Deacon alien appears solely in Prometheus, reviewed here!

For other Prometheus-related reviews, please visit my reviews of:
The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus
NECA Series 1 Engineer (Pressure Suit) figure
NECA Series 1 Engineer (Chair Suit) figure

8.5/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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