DC Icons Deathstroke the Terminator figure review

Deathstroke the Terminator is one of my favorite DC characters. The Judas Contract is right up there for me in terms of best all-time in continuity storylines. Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s co-creation has gone on to become one of the iconic characters in the DC Universe making it appropriate he’s a part of the DC Collectibles Icons line.

Deathstroke, aka Slade Wilson to his pals or Wintergreen, been one of those characters who fares well no matter the medium from action figures (DC Classics) to TV (Arrow, Teen Titans Go! Young Justice) and video games (Batman: Arkham Origins). And he’s going to be making his big screen debut facing off against Ben Affleck’s Batman in the next Batman movie.

DCC has some great timing with its Wave 5 Icons release with Wonder Woman’s live-action movie coming out in June and Deathstroke starring in the Warner Bros. Animation adaptation of The Judas Contract. This is one my most highly anticipated figures in the line — along with the now cancelled Blue Beetle & Booster Gold and Deadshot (grrr) — so let’s see if he meets expectations.

Packaging:  DCC has a clean and classy presentation with its lines. The Icons packaging has some nice signature elements, like the character color accents and logo atop the package and the Icons logo. There’s a nice layout of the figure and the accessories.

Icons could use a bio to give some background on the character, but at least the side panel explains the costume source story. There probably should be a little more synergy in that regard like say a picture of the cover or information on the trade the story is located. Not like collectors aren’t largely getting these from comic book shops anyway.

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Likeness:  Perez didn’t need a dozen or so takes to get this look right. Deathstroke has one of the signature looks in all of mainstream comics. It’s such a classic outfit and the Icons Deathstroke looks amazing. The dedicated sculpting really shines here with all the various components of his outfit from the chain mail mid-section and legs, to the detailed collar and wristbands and ammo belt.

I love the expression even with the mask as it shows Deathstroke’s intensity no-nonsense approach in getting a job done. This is tremendous work all around and looks like Slade just stepped out of the cover of Teen Titans #44.

Scale:  Starting with Wave 4, the Icons line started sizing up and the DC Rebirth set figures are practically Marvel Legends scale. Deathstroke is more on the Wave 4 scale, which is fine since he shouldn’t be a shrimp even next to superheroes. Your Batman and Green Arrow are likely to feel a bit inadequate however.

Paint:  A lot of people were disappointed with the Icons Lex Luthor for having such a dull and drab paint job. That’s not the case with Deathstroke. In part, that’s due to the vibrant color scheme, but also DCC’s paint choices. The metallic paints really pop on the chainmail while the top portion of the outfit has a flat, leatherlike appearance. It’s a nice contrast and spotlights the unique makeup of the costume beautifully.

My shop, Third Eye Comics in Annapolis, had about four Deathstrokes and the paint was fairly decent on all of them. The biggest area that typically had minuscule paint flaws was the orange trunks and ammo belt. Mine had some light overspray on several areas. None were too obnoxious, but at the price point I’d like to see less slop.

Articulation:  Deathstroke has the same solid articulation as the rest of the line. I really don’t miss the thigh articulation here thanks to the ability to raise and lower the hip points. The shoulder articulation feels somewhat restricted. I’m curious if that’s the case with all the figures or if mine are especially tight. He’s got enough range to aim his weapons, but I was expecting more movement here.

Deathstroke has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• hip
• knee (double-jointed)
• boot cuffs
• ankle

Accessories:  Deathstroke is a living weapon, but he doesn’t like to go into battle unprepared. He’s loaded with a near Punisher-level arsenal.

Slade gets two sets of hands — one set of fists and the other open hands to hold his accessories. He also gets a sword and scabbard, his bo staff, a pistol and rifle. All of the weapons fit snugly in Slade’s hands, which hasn’t always been the case with other Icons figures. The only drawback is the pistol doesn’t fit as snug in the holster.

The truly unexpected surprise was an unmasked Slade Wilson head. The head was a great addition and it has a really nice calculating expression. Slade is a character who’s unmasked enough that this was a smart addition. Including this in one figure instead of a variant gives this version an advantage over the DC Classics figure, which was one of that line’s standouts.

And best of all, Deathstroke can store all of his weapons so you don’t have to worry about losing anything.

Worth it?  Icons Wave 5 ran me $28 at my local comic book shop. That’s not cheap for a line that’s smaller than the traditional 6-inch line even with dedicated sculpting. Find the figure for $3 to $4 cheaper and it’s a more reasonable price.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Despite the paint and shoulder movement, this is an exceptional figure. This is the kind of figure that had DCC released sooner the Icons line wouldn’t be in such trouble now.

Where to get it?  Check your local comic book shop first. That’s where I grabbed him and Wonder Woman, but if you strike out there you can always order from Entertainment Earth or you can always grab him on Amazon.com.