Here we have Doomslayer in-hand, and being the first Elite Edition figure, he is given a much higher level of paintwork than normal McFarlane figures. All of the silver/gunmetal has a wash applied alongside the rest of the green and brown areas of his costume to give it a worn and torn look from all the battles it's been through. None of the armor's details have been left out, and this has a very comparable feeling to.the old, hand painted days of McFarlane Toys...albeit much pricier. The show stopper has to be the faux fur 'cape' on his back, which is a material I normally dread on toys because most early examples from ToyBiz tend to skew closer to the Barbie doll levels of combing fake hair or having it get undone so easily. Here, it feels nice and comparable to a good rug, and it kind of adds an almost regal look to the character. Even the chain in the left hip looks great, especially being possible die cast in addition to having some sweet chrome.
His head sculpt is immaculate! The helmet already looks awesome as does a lot of Doom's aesthetics, but the patina-style weathering elevates the figure to a whole new level unlike the average $20 figure. If this was a non-Elite, it would have been left at the silver paint and maybe having the yellow and red intact. Even the back section is nicely painted, something I thought would be left out since McFarlane has been guilty of leaving any details out from the back like some other toy companies have. This shows more of the shoulder cannon that is removable but doesn't seem articulated. A bigger issue I have would be that the fur cape, being glued or sewn onto this sheet, means one side looks uglier than the other. Granted, Doomslayer's beefy body will hide the inner side of the cape, but it would have been nicer to see a material that is just as sturdy yet looks a little more aesthetically pleasing? The articulation is another issue I have with the toy: ball joint for the neck works fine, and while the arms rotate without issue, moving them in and out causes them to pop out due to the lack of space between the joints and the shoulder pads. Was adding hinges not in the budget? It's annoying having this happen on a discounted Zod where the shoulder pads came off and required super glue, and I don't want to risk that on an expensive figure! There is rotation above the single jointed elbows, wrists can rotate but hinge inwards and outwards due to the lack of the traditional wrist joints found on the DC Multiverse line. Diaphragm articulation is standard, though the legs have somewhat limited movement. The knees could bend 90 degrees but the ankles are very stiff likely due to the paint drying up around the joints. It seems articulation was secondary to the figure, making this feel more like a statue with some movement so owners wouldn't just have him standing straight all the time.
His accessories might make up for the lack of range in his articulation, such as the massive pulverizer. I love that it's cast and painted in different shades of gunmetal than the armor, but the best part has to be the skulls representing his ammo. Painted nicely and sculpted separately from the rest of the weapon, it makes me wish they were removable so we could better appreciate them. The grip on the hands is a bit tricky, being the opposite issue of most McFarlane figures with gummy accessories.
He also has a shotgun that's thankfully weathered so that it won't look like it's got that cheaper toy feel, but the genuine surprise has to be the flail and shield. The former already looks great with that metal chain, but the latter looks exquisite with the scuffing and the intricate yellow trim between the green and gunmetal. Even the Mark of the Doom Slayer is nice and crisp without standing out from looking pristine or transparent like with most paint apps from other toy companies. Yet, in spite of the hardcore badassery from this figure, I don't think it's worth a perfect score. The figure LOOKS great, and the paintwork on the armor as well as the accessories are impeccable, though the cape could be handled a bit better, and the same especially goes for the articulation. Of course, I know he has Elite Points, a collector's card, and a display base, but they're mostly samey like the McFarlane Digital stuff. The biggest concern will be the price. The Elite Edition line seems to start around $60, and while a lot of love went into the paint job and overall sculpt, it's clear the bias is more towards the displayability than poseability. Overall, if you really want him, do what I did and find a seller who put him for around $40 because some guy was moving out and I got lucky for that deal. Dom't get me wrong, it looks badass and could easily be a recommend at a lower price, but much like the Maximum series from Marvel Legends, this subline probably won't last long.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now let's hope we won't run into any issues with that Zantanna figure...
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