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Marvel Knights Legends
by yo go re

And now, it's time for a can't-miss figure!

Motivated by a personal vendetta against Daredevil, Bullseye becomes an expert assassin, demonstrating an exceptional ability to use nearly any object as a lethal weapon.

The two halves of that sentence are both accurate, but they're in the wrong order - yes, Bullseye hates the crap out of Daredevil, but he was a master assassin way before the two ever met. In fact, that's how they met: Bullseye pulled a Beetle, attacking the hero to increase his own fame; DD's survival ruined Bullseye's reputation, kickstarting the feud. It's not like young Burl S. Eyerman had his lunch money stolen by Matt Murdock and dedicated his life to improving his murder skills in a quest for revenge or anything. Although every bit of information we have about Bullseye's past has been revealed by the man himself, and he's got just as much of a multiple-choice history as the Joker does, most versions involve him being a baseball pitcher, so either that's something that really happened, or something he wishes did.

Considering that "the Bullseye body" became shorthand for the over-use of one sculpt, it's an unexpected surprise that this Bullseye's body is not Hasbro's go-to mold: rather, he gets the body with the pec joints, which we're in danger of having to come up with a name for if it shows up a few more times. The torso is slightly thicker on this body, with less exaggerated muscle definition - it's still inhumanly strong, but looks like a different kind of physique, rather than a clone of everyone else; and since Bullseye will most likely be facing off against Daredevil, they don't look like twin brothers now. And since this mold began as a Spider-Man character, the feet have pointed toes and no sculpted soles on the lower edge.

The costume details are mostly just painted on - the white targets on his gloves, boots and shoulders, because that's the way things work. The one on his forehead is sculpted, of course, because the head is all his own. Rather than a thin-jawed frown, like ToyBiz gave him, this one gets a big, sinister smile. He loves his job.

The figure also includes a second head. After the Daredevil movie came out, Bullseye was redesigned to look more like Colin Farrell, shaved head and all. This change took place in the first issue of the Kevin-Smith-penned Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target, a story that saw Al-Qaeda hiring the assassin to kill Captain America: they asked him why he wasn't wearing his costume, and he responded he was keeping a low profile; but to make them happy, he drew a bullseye on his forehead. Issue #2 of the comic never came out, but the next time Bullseye appeared in the comics, he'd upgraded that to a tattoo. In the midst of kicking his ass and embarrassing him again, Daredevil grabbed something sharp and "Aldo Raine"d the symbol into his skin. So now comic Bullseye has a scar just like the movie Bullseye, though he still sometimes wears the mask over it.

The alternate head gives us the unmasked Bullseye. He's bald and the targeting circles are sculpted in, not just painted. He looks like a full-on unhinged sociopath, with his eyes bugged out and his mouth open in a massive yell. He has a sculpted uvula! Since his mouth is open, it's easy to tell that he's missing a tooth - and if you look at the first head, it's gone there, too.

Bullseye's accessories include a knife and pistol that we've seen before, plus a new belt to hold them - it's white, befitting its place on his costume, and has three pouches on the front in addition to the sheath on the back and the holster (with leg strap) hanging against the left thigh. You could remove it, if you want, but why would you want?

The figure has alternate hands, but someone wasn't paying attention, because his right hand has the triger finger extended, and his left hand is shaped to hold the knife, when both weapons draw the opposite way. In order to use either piece, he'd have to draw it, then transfer it to the other hand, which seems like a waste of time in the middle of a fight. The alternate hands are both lefties: one pointing, "funger gun" style, and the other throwing three knives. The knives are connected to the hand via translucent lines, and that's where the extra joints in the shoulders come in - with those hinges, you can get his arms into better "throwing" poses.

Bullseye also comes with the right arm of Man-Thing, this series' Build-A-Figure.

The previous Bullseye figure came out in 2005, in the first Marvel Legends series to ever have a Build-A-Figure. And while that one went on to be the foundation of a whole series of repaints, this new edition is at least not the most-common body available. And while this one may not have as detailed a sculpt as its forebear, it definitely has the edge when it comes to accessories. And madman heads.

-- 04/16/18

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