Hey, welcome to our next Dan's ToyBox review. I'm very excited to talk about this figure and am willing to admit that it might be my top figure of 2024... at least for now! The Medicom Mafex Daredevil is one of the best offerings from Mafex this year, however, I do have two major gripes with this figure's accessories which we'll get into shortly.
The son of the boxer Battlin' Jack, Matt Murdock was raised in the modest surroundings of Hell's Kitchen. He held his father in high regard, despite being urged to prioritize studying over playing with his peers. This led to his friends teasing him with the moniker Daredevil, as he devoted his time to learning and clandestine training in his father's gym instead of engaging in typical childhood activities.
During his youth, Matt saved a man from an oncoming truck, causing a spill of hazardous chemicals that left him blind. However, this incident heightened his other senses, granting him a unique radar-like perception through sound. Under the tutelage of a blind martial arts expert named Stick, he refined his abilities in martial arts, parkour, meditation, and marksmanship.
As he matured, Matt pursued a career in law alongside Foggy Nelson, all the while assuming the persona of Daredevil to safeguard Hell's Kitchen residents and uphold justice both on the streets and in court. His primary adversary is Kingpin, while facing off against foes like Electro, the deadly Bullseye, and his complicated love interest Elektra. Over time, he has crossed paths with fellow heroes like Spider-Man and the Punisher. Daredevil carries a versatile cane that conceals various functions, including transforming into Nunchaku, a Bo Staff, grappling hook, and his trusty Billy Clubs. Daredevil first appeared in "Daredevil" #1, April 1964, created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.
I really couldn't wait for this figure to arrive and share my thoughts on it, so... let's go!!!!
ACCESSORIES: 8.5/10
This figure came awfully close to getting a solid 9.5 out of 10 but for two major issues. Anyway, Daredevil comes with:
Three Head Sculpts: Neutral, Teeth Gritted, Yelling
Six pair of hands:
Fists
Gripping
Flat
Relaxed
Grasping
Open/Action
One pair of Billy Clubs
One Grappling Hook Club with Bendy Wire
One pair of Nunchaku with an extended length of Bendy Wire
Three Interchangeable Billy Club holsters...
One with both billy clubs (non-removable) holstered.
One w/ a single billy club (non-removable) holstered.
One empty
One Mafex Flight Stand with multiple clamps
The first issue that brings the score down is the holsters. They plug into Daredevil's leg with a small ball peg. Unfortunately, the peg is NOT sturdy and has broken on both the single club and empty holsters.
I'm hoping that super glue will help, but I'm not trusting it enough to put them back on the figure. Thankfully, needle nose pliers helped remove the broken pegs, but dang... that's super frustrating!
The other issue is that there is significant paint rub on the white billy clubs when you put them in his hands. Or, at least, his left hand on my figure. I was able to remove most of it from the one club that was affected and would suggest very carefully placing and removing them when posing the figure using his clubs. I also noticed that it only seemed to happen on one of the individual billy clubs, while the rest (including the bendy wired clubs) seemed to slip in and out of both hands fairly easily. If the holster pegs weren't so fragile and the paint rub an issue, I'd have happily given Daredevil a 9.5 out of 10. The ONLY accessory that would have put this at the top score would have been an unmasked Matt Murdock head.
APPEARANCE: 10/10
In what is most likely the easiest design ever, Mafex still absolutely crushes this figure. The exposed portion of his face is fairly pale but the paint around his mouth and teeth is applied exceptionally well. I am very pleased with how nice it turned out. The two most impressive features of this figure though, for me, have to be the DD logo and the shading paint. This has to be the cleanest paint application on a logo for just about any character and the lighter red really stands out without any slop or fuzzy edge. The fact that his boots and gloves also stand out against the rest of the costume are testament to the accuracy of his appearance in the comics. The most impressive feat though is the subtle amount of shading used to enhance Daredevil's musculature. I admit that I really like the cel-shading on the Marvel Legends DD and enjoy the cel-shaded Spider-Man from Mafex, a number of years ago. I think that a version of Daredevil with cel-shading would be one of the most amazing figures ever. That being said, I'm so impressed with how well the shading on this figure is used. There is a subtle flow to it, that doesn't give the impression of a single light source point, but rather a more three-dimensional look that makes the sculpting look more natural. I would even go so far as to say that this Daredevil is an even more accurate representation of his comic counterpart than Mafex's Hush Nightwing! If you read that review, you know how much I like that figure, and Daredevil has easily surpassed it. Until the Hush Robin figure comes out and I can review that... Daredevil holds the number one spot as my best-looking figure this year.
ARTICULATION: 9.5/10
As Mafex articulation goes, I've always favored the engineering over Hasbro and SHF. Daredevil is certainly no exception and has joints that are sturdy, without being difficult to manipulate. It's generally a given that the more you do something, the better you become at it and it shows with this figure. The head and neck articulation are excellent with the head sculpts able to look up and down on their own and increased range from the neck. There is side to side turn and head tilt, thanks to the ball peg and neck joints. The butterfly joints in the shoulders have great forward and back range, helping to hit some very Daredevil characteristic poses. The arms can raise to above a T pose and will rotate a full 360 degrees. The bicep swivels work just fine, and the double-jointed elbows bring his hand right up to his face. The hands can swivel on their pegs and the wrists can hinge up and down. The upper torso joint has nice backward range but can get a bit gappy and can also crunch forward surprisingly well. It also offers side tilt and twist motion. The waist increased both crunch and back bend, can turn and also increases the range of side tilt. This allows for some dynamic fighting and traversal poses. The hip joints offer a solid range for splits, and have the hidden thigh swivel, though it is limited. The legs can kick forward just beyond 90 degrees, which is very nice. The knees have a smooth double joint and can bring his heel almost to his back. The ankle joints have fantastic range for hinge and can pivot, though the outer ankle design does limit that movement. The toe articulation works well enough but is a bit loose on my figure. A little patience and practice and you'll have this Daredevil figure in some incredible dynamic poses in no time at all.
When you couple the articulation with the bendy wire weapons, I promise you'll have a lot of fun taking photos and playing around with this figure!
AFFORDABILITY: 8.5/10
Lately, it seems that new Mafex figures drop at Big Bad Toy Store for $105 and up. Thankfully, when I pre-ordered Daredevil, he was listed for $94.99. Unfortunately, at this time, the figure is currently sold out on BBTS. As other reviewers have pointed out though, it seems to re-stock sporadically, so keep your eyes open.
Overall, the Medicom Mafex #223 Daredevil has shot to the top of my favorite figures of 2024. This was one of my most highly anticipated figures and when it was announced, I was absolutely thrilled. Mafex does NOT disappoint on this one, leading me to give the figure:
9.25 out of 10 ToyBoxes
This is really one of the most outstanding figures I've looked at this year. I'm very happy to have it in my collection and definitely recommend grabbing one for your comic book-based figure collection! Thank you and as always, until next time... GEEK OUT!!!