The Deacon was never truly explained in the Prometheus movie once it hatched towards the end of the film. It bears a lot of similarities to the Alien Xenomorphs, so most likely was a lower evolution of this original Alien.
The Deacon was produced and released by NECA in 2013 as part of their short lived Prometheus line. Arriving in a slimmer than usual clamshell, the packaging is designed to be dark and foreboding with very little artwork on the front, and the sides too are blank whereas usually they would contain images of the figure
Flipping the card round and the rear contains a short paragraph about the Prometheus movie and a large image of The Deacon figure. Underneath this is a line up for the rest of the range. Within this line up two figures, Holloway and Fifield, never made it to store shelves and the whole Prometheus line had to be wrapped up prematurely due to extremely low sales.
Out of the box, and the Deacon is a relatively small figure standing at just over 7" high but on a very slim frame. The sculpt is a good representation of the movie prop, and you would argue that the issue in the look of the Deacon was more down to the film rather than this figure. That being said each body part is sculpted with twisted muscle and sinew and the head is smooth and broken only by the gaping maw with its row of human-esque teeth and the huge gruesome tounge.
The figure is cast in a dark blue plastic, and the paint job is then a simple black wash followed by splodges and streaks of black which are meant to represent the goo that accompanies the birth of the Deacon. The whole figure is a high gloss finish to project a slimy texture and sheen to the skin. Sadly the black goo paint doesn't really work. I don't profess to know how it could have been done better, but the way it is the skull in particular looks really poor.
Articulation is always hit and miss with NECA, particularly of this year and even within this range. The David 8 figure was a masterpiece with tonnes of articulation, whilst the Engineer was a huge disappointment. The Deacon probably sits about half way. The head is on an articulated ball joint so can be spun a full 360 degrees and looks up and down. The lower jaw is articulated so it can be opened a few degrees to expose the tongue.
Rather than a ball joint, the arms are attached with a hinge so only open to the side and can't be moved to sit any further forward or backward to the torso. The elbow is likewise a basic hinge and the wrist, although looking to be on a ball, can only really be rotated.
There is a waist joint so the top torso can be swiveled from side to side. The hips feel like a ball joint and can be moved a in most directions, just not a great deal. The knee joint is both a hinge and swivel and the ankles swivel also. Sadly the figure is almost impossible to stand on its own, even with this leg articulation, as the feet are sculpted to be standing on its tip toes. Thank fully NECA have included a rectangular clear base which has two peg holes for the feet and a support behind each peg to fill in the gap under the tip-toing position. The stand does a job, but anyone who doesn't like the use of stands in a display is going to have to think creatively to have this one standing up straight
The Deacon is packed with a few accessories. The first is an Engineers fossil head complete with the Pressure suit helmet which can be displayed in place over the head or separate. This is really well sculpted and is painted really well too - better than the figure they put out. It doesn't do anything, but designed as a diorama decoration piece only. Also included are two proto-worms, the long lost relative of the facehuggers. These are molded onto what feels like a flexible metal strip so they can be bent to shape. Sadly they lack any real detail at this scale, and the pose-ability isn't good enough to have them rearing up ready to attack. They are also sculpted with two holes in each snake which are there to prevent the rubber splitting when you bend them. I suspect collectors will have them laying limp to the side of the Deacon or throwing them in that bits box.
The Deacon is a difficult figure to rate as many of its down sides are from the design in the movie more than the job NECA has done. That being said the arm articulation is a short cut and the paint job is too basic and heavy handed. The inability to stand on its own is a shame and the snake accessories are a good idea executed badly.
For me I will give the Deacon a 2 out of 5 score.
Prometheus is a niche market, and I am glad I own the majority of the figures produced - and if you are interested, now is a great time to pick them up at rock bottom prices. I predict a possible re-surge in interest if and when the new movie hits the cinema.