V For Vendetta

V for Vendetta

My next entry is for a V for Vendetta action figure that I acquired when I bought a toy lot sale.V for Vendetta was a graphic novel written by Allan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd. The story is set in a dystopian future in Britain where an anarchist masked crusader seeks to destroy a totalitarian government. Wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, the title character calls himself V. He made it his personal vendetta to destroy the totalitarian government (The fascist Norsefire party) and bring the power back to the people. I have little background about the graphic novel because I've never managed to read it, but I am a big fan of the movie. I enjoyed the movie because it felt like a political thriller. V is played by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith of the Matrix trilogy movies) and is paired by Natalie Portman who plays the role of Evey. The story begins when V saves Evey from a group of secret policemen (the Fingermen) who intended to kill her. V takes along Evey with him and shows her his act of bombing the Old Bailey. This alarmed the government and issues a false statement to calm down the fears of the public that the government is no longer in control of the state. V intercepts a national broadcast not long after and delivers a speech urging the people to start a revolution against the oppressive regime. He also makes an invitation to the public to meet him at the Houses of Parliament in exactly a year (November 5th) to witness his destruction of it. 

Hugo Weaving as V

When Evey learned that V was killing government officials, she escaped from V and seeked out her boss, who was a closet lesbian. Evey would learn from her boss that because of the oppressive totalitarian regime, those who were considered as "undesirables" were abducted and sent to a detention camp never to be seen again. When her boss left her, Evey was captured by a secret police and sent to a detention camp where she was tortured and forced to reveal the identity of V. She found solace in notes that were written by a fellow prisoner which was passed on to her. Despite being threatened to face death if she won't cooperate, she continued to refuse to give V's identity and when the day of her execution came, it was revealed that she was in V's lair and that V was pretending to be the secret police after all so that he could liberate Evey from her fears. Despite her anger towards V, she promises to meet V on the stated date of his destruction of the House of parliament. Evey eventually trusted V because she now feels liberated and free in spirit.  

The Guy Fawkes mask

With the rising notoriety of V, Scotland Yard's chief of police, Inspector Finch was tasked to investigate on V's bombing and revolutionary activities. In the course of his investigation, he would come to learn the story behind the ascendancy of the Norsefire under High Chancellor Adam Sutler and his security chief Peter Creedy. The totalitarian party known as Norsefire was secretly responsible for the collapse of the United States of America when bio-weapons was unleashed upon it. Britain on the other hand suffered great loses when a civil war erupted in the U.S. and was dragged into it. Norsefire came into the picture as the savior of Britain by restoring order and cleansing Britain of a Bio-terrorist attack (which they were actually responsible for). In their totalitarian rule, they would purge those who they deem unfit to their standards of purity. V was one of the victims. These "undesirables" were subjected to torture and experiments. Many suffered and died, but V gained heightened abilities and was able to escape when the detention facility was destroyed. V's motivation was not only to bring down the Norsefire, but also take revenge on those who tortured him.    

Freedom! Forever!

As November 5th drew to a close, V began to heighten his destabilization efforts against the Norsefire. The public slowly began to lose trust in their government because of this. V then began to distribute a Guy Fawkes mask for the public to use on the day that he would destroy the Houses of Parliament. When the day came, thousands of crowd gathered near the parliament wearing the Guy Fawkes mask waiting to witness the end of the Norsefire's regime. V meets up with Evey at an abandoned London Underground and entrusts to her a train loaded with explosives. He instructs her to do the right thing if she is faced with the decision to either light the train up and destroy the parliament or not. V then proceeds to meet up with Creedy who betrayed Sutler to V in exchange for his surrender. Creedy kills Sutler but V refuses to surrender and a fight ensues. V manages to kill Creedy and his praetorian guards but not before suffering a mortal wound. V returns to Evey's arms confessing his love for her and died not long after.  Evey places V's body on the train and sends it away on it's final trip to the parliamentary, destroying the final bastion of Norsefire's regime as thousands of Londoners march towards the parliament and witness the end of Norsefire's regime. Finally setting them free from oppressive rule forever.




This V for Vendetta action figure was manufactured by NECA, the same toy company that produced the Crow action figures that I reviewed in my last entry. I got him cheap as he doesn't come with any accessories (the 6 daggers) except for his removable hat. Nevertheless, I got him because he was part of a toy lot (apart from the fact that I love the movie so much) that I acquired. He features better articulation than the previous NECA action figure offerings like The Crow. It features articulation on the Neck (Ball-Jointed), Shoulder (Ball-Jointed), Wrists (Ball Jointed), Waist (Ball-Jointed), Hip (Ball-Jointed), and Shin (Swivel). But despite these improvements, the playability of this figure is still low because you are basically stuck on basic poses only due to the absence of the elbow and knee joints. The photos that I posted above are the only best poses that I can come up with the still limited articulation it sports. As usual though, the sculpt and detail of this figure is good as always. NECA nailed the Guy Fawkes mask very well. The hair is made of a rubbery plastic substance as to not hinder the neck articulation it sports. The same goes for the figure's cape. I used substitute knives in this photo shoot because I don't have the 6 daggers that came along with this figure. It's a great figure to have if you are a fan of V.