Gomez, the secret agent and roach mascot of Mezco Toyz, is the latest figure to reappear in the One:12 Collective line as “Gomez: The Roach with the Golden Head.” Gomez — as a 6.5-inch figure and as a character — is sleek, stylish, and thick-headed. Especially because this figure’s head is gold-plated.
Gomez is a 1:12-scale figure that features the roach-headed special agent in his coolest get-up to date. With stylish threads, ludicrously fun accessories, and enough interchangeable hands for a rock-paper-scissors tournament, it’s a figure that’s worth its weight in gold — 18 karat gold, that is. It’s incredibly detailed, with picture-perfect accessories for repeat action-movie roleplaying — and after a few exciting minutes with the figure, you will never want to pick it up again.
When you first hold Agent Gomez, it’s immediately clear — and personally deflating to realize — just how heavy 18 karats of gold packed into a 1-inch head can be. Gomez has some serious, top-heavy weight to him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t balance on his own two feet — or on his included display base. It does mean, however, that every delicate move you make with Gomez feels like it could be his last, a fitting line for both Gomez the action figure and Gomez the action star. Luckily, the figure comes with an interchangeable, plastic head that is much lighter — and much less anxiety-inducing.
This special agent comes packaged in a special, functional lunchbox tin. The snack carrier’s design features Gomez as the illustrated subject of his own James Bond-style action movie poster as fast cars, helicopters, and boomboxes explode behind a portrait-ready, gun-toting Gomez. It’s a callback to the legacy of lunch-focused movie memorabilia that had every 9-year-old in 1983 with an A-Team lunchbox and a Super Friends thermos. But personally, I’d save it for show-and-tell.
Let’s talk about style for a second. The wardrobe on this 6.5-inch tall assassin is impeccable. Gomez is wearing a fitted, two-piece suit; a gold tie; and gold Chucks, all of which feel like quality material between your fingers. But “realistic” can be restrictive; as anyone who’s ever worn a suit jacket could tell you: The range of motion can be highly limiting. Unnecessary movement could irritate the clothing and possibly lead to a tear, like the tiny one this overeager writer experienced. (Or, like a normal person, you could read the very clear print on the included instructions that tell you not to over-articulate the man in the suit before trying to see his best Rocky pose.) Nevertheless, it feels a bit pointless to create a figure with more than 30 points of articulation only to dress him up in a stiff suit.
The real fun of Gomez comes with his many detailed accessories, including 14 interchangeable hands fit for holding various objects and weapons, a duffle bag with an adjustable strap and working zipper, a sword and adjustable sheath, a peashooter gun, a handgun with two removable magazines, two cocktail grenades, two FX gun blasts, a fully constructible sniper rifle (perfect for recreating every rooftop assassin movie scene ever), a boombox that converts into a weapons carrying case, a wristwatch, a sticker sheet and micro poster, a (rather pointless) scarf lined with posing wires, a display base and post, and a hoverboard. Yes, a hoverboard.
While the scarf looks more like a snap bracelet that’s gone limp than a scarf, the hoverboard has magnets that attach to the bottom of Gomez’s shoes. That giddying sound of magnets clicking from a hoverboard more than make up for any lacey pieces of wires.
Like many collectible accessories, these pieces are so tiny that it can be difficult to pick them up, let alone keep track of them. The weapons are a blast to build and place into the right fist; although, it can take a few frustrating moments to get any accessory to stay in Gomez’s hand. (Especially when the hand itself might not be securely attached, as was the case for me more than once.)
Gomez is stylish, slick, and for a murderous roach with the arsenal of a small militia hiding in his boombox, quite the charmer. The figure is sure to turn heads, but with so many pieces and the fragility of his golden head, Gomez is probably best enjoyed — with his boombox in one hand and his hoverboard on his feet — high up on a shelf. As the info sheet says: “This is not a toy.”
Photos: Mezco Toyz
