Sunday, December 3, 2017

Deadpool Makes For A Surprisingly Awesome Ornament!


The Good: Good sculpt of the character, Decent basic coloring, Good balance.
The Bad: No sound clip, Expensive
The Basics: Hallmark’s 2017 Deadpool ornament is a fitting tribute to the mercenary with a mouth . . . save that he is not outfitted with a sound chip, but is priced as if he was!


Every year, people inevitably complain about how some of the Hallmark ornaments are not Christmas-related. The argument is an old one and as a fan of genre ornaments, it is pretty tired. From the moment Hallmark produced ornaments of The Emperor from the Star Wars Saga (whose basically an allegory for Hitler) or Rhett Butler declaring "I don't give a damn" to a crying Scarlett, it was clear that the pop culture and genre ornaments were not at all intended to appeal to those looking for a traditional Christmas. So, when Hallmark announced the 2017 Deadpool ornament, the only argument I had about the crass bounty hunter being given ornament form was that it did not have a Santa hat upon it or that Hallmark did not go all out with the potentially-offensive subject matter and include a sound clip featuring Ryan Reynolds' dialogue from the film Deadpool.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, Deadpool made it to the big screen with the film Deadpool (reviewed here!), played by Ryan Reynolds. In Deadpool, the disfigured mutant mercenary swears and kills his way through a pretty average action-adventure film. And most fans seemed to like that.

It is Deadpool, mid-jump, reaching for his swords on his back, that is the subject of the 2017 Hallmark Deadpool ornament!

Basics

The Deadpool ornament recreates the mercenary in solid plastic. The ornament, released in 2017, is a pretty decent recreation of the popular character as he appeared in the film Deadpool or in the comic books. Deadpool comes outfitted with his weapons, but is essentially the character on his own without a backdrop or other scenery that would make it a diorama.

The Hallmark Deadpool ornament is made of a durable plastic and is rendered without any noticeable seams on the character. The Deadpool ornament measures out at 4 3/4" tall, 2" wide and 2 1/2” deep. His coloring is fairly monotonal, which makes sense because Deadpool has a hood covering his face. There are no pieces on the Deadpool ornament that features any hint of skin. As a result, the coloring manages to be realistic for the character and the darker red for Deadpool's outfit implies that it is the cinematic rendition of Deadpool.

The Deadpool ornament is sculpted with decent muscle details on the chest and abdomen of the character. Deadpool's various straps and weapons are sculpted accurately and good. This ornament looks exactly like who it is supposed to.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the Deadpool ornament could have a sound chip and/or a light effect. Sadly, this ornament does not. This is just Deadpool, without any bonus features. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but with an original release price of $17.95, the ornament seems a bit expensive for not having a sound or light function.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Deadpool ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. For those creating the ultimate Marvel Universe Christmas Tree, a Deadpool ornament is pretty much essential and this is the only one of the character so far. The ornament has a steel hook loop embedded in the top of the character's back behind his swords. From that point, the Deadpool ornament hangs perfectly balanced!

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, Hallmark has gotten into every major franchise from Disney to Twilight to the Marvel Comics universe. The Deadpool ornament was not at all limited, but given how good the ornament is and how popular Deadpool is, it is hard not to bet that it will sell-out before it is clearanced. Despite the initial expense of the Deadpool ornament, it seems like it would be a fair, at worst, investment piece.

Overview

The Deadpool ornament is all right, despite the lack of a sound clip and its initial price!

For other Marvel Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2017 Thor Thor: Ragnarok ornament
2017 Spider-Man: A New Kind Of Hero Spider-Man: Homecoming ornament
2016 Team Captain America ornament
2015 Potted Groot Guardians Of The Galaxy ornament
2014 War Machine Iron Man 3 ornament
2014 Captain America from Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014 Web-Slinging Wonder The Amazing Spider-Man 2
2013 Iron Patriot Iron Man 3 ornament
2012 Captain America ornament
2012 Iron Man ornament
2012 Thor ornament
2012 The Amazing Spider-Man ornament
2011 Spider-Man ornament
2011 Thor ornament
2010 Defender Of Justice Iron Man 2 ornament

9/10

For other ornament reviews, please check out my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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