Review of Black Adam action figure
One:12 Collective

Introduction

It's great to get a classic hero, but there's something even better - getting his arch-enemy to go along with him on the shelf.  When Mezco produced their terrific Captain Marvel aka Shazam in the One:12 Collective line, fans were thrilled with the final result. When they announced the release of his nemesis Black Adam as a Previews Exclusive, they lost it.  Seriously.

Adam is now shipping, and will run you $80 at most retailers. That's the standard pricing for a One:12 exclusive, but remember - you can pick this guy up at just about any online retailer other than Mezco themselves.

Packaging - ****
The regular figures come packed in very sturdy, very attractive boxes. Sometimes the exclusives, particularly the show exclusives, take a step back with thinner card stock. But sometimes, more often than not, the exclusives step it up with a metal box, extremely well made and with high gloss attractive paint work. This is one of those cases.

I took the photo with the plastic sleeve on, so you could see that they go the extra mile to protect the paint job on its way to your home.  All the dots and spots you see are on this plastic, leaving the tin perfect underneath. The lid is even hinged! Inside is a couple plastic trays holding the figure and accessories, all of it completely collector friendly.

Sculpting - ***1/2
If Mr. Spock were a male model, he'd be Black Adam. Or at least, he'd be the Mezco conceptualization of Black Adam. This dude is rockin' the pointy ears and high cheek bones.

The portrait is determined and serious, with a sharp squint in the eyes and a clenched jaw. He's focused, and he's not particularly happy. The detail in the hair and skin is pretty amazing, particularly considering the scale. Remember, Adam stands just 6 1/2" tall, but could be compared favorably to some sixth scale figures on the market.

Unfortunately, there's only the one portrait this time. I suppose they decided that as an exclusive, it wasn't worth getting a second, more emotive sculpt produced, but I'm disappointed.

The hands swap easily, and they work with a variety of poses. They are also in scale, something the makers of larger figures have trouble with.

Paint - ***1/2
It's another super clean, sharp production paint job from Mezco, all in a very small scale.

The hairline has a subtle transition between the colors, and the skin has a slight freckling, designed to add realism to the portrait. The tiny, squinted eyes are bright and clean, with enough gloss to create natural catch lights. The lips are a little darker than I'd like, but they are clean, with a realistic variation in color.

The gold plastic pieces of his costume are consistent in coverage, and the translucent plastic used for the lightning bolt creates some cool effects with simple room lighting. That's about it for paint - there's not a ton of detail here, but the work on the face is excellent.

Articulation - ***1/2
All the usual excellent One:12 articulation is here, and it works quite well.

The ball jointed neck allows you to add a little personality to any pose, although I do wish the lower ball joint (in the torso) was a little less restricted. The joint at the jawline provides most of the tilt and lean.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists allow for great arm poses, with plenty of natural movement. The joints are tight as well, and the hands swap easily but stay in place when posing.

The torso crunch and waist joint work well, giving you the ability to add great forward and backward lean, as well as create twisting poses. The lean is particularly important with the lightning bolt accessory.

The rotating hinge hips, pin knees, and rocker ankles combine to create excellent leg stances, but I did notice that the hips are a little looser this time than I've seen before. It's not a major problem, but something they should keep an eye on with future releases. They have gotten more mobility out of the rocker ankles, making deeper stances more realistic.

Accessories - **
It can't all be puppy dogs and unicorns, especially with an exclusive. While the figure itself is everything you'd expect, they cut costs quite a bit with the extras included.

There's two additional sets of hands to go with the fists he comes wearing. He also has a flat 'flying' pair and a wide grip set. They swap easily, but stay in place when handling the figure.

He also has one large lightning bolt, designed to wrap around his chest. We saw this one before with Shazam of course, and it's re-use here makes sense.

He has his specific base with the Black Adam logo, and you have the option of either the larger 'flying' support (complete with cape extension) or the simple foot peg.

And that's it.  While the items are useful, they are mighty few.  He really, really needs a second portrait to go with the lightning bolt, something more dynamic and appropriate.

Outfit - ***
The underlying outfit is sharp, done in the black and gold scheme, but there's a lot of re-use here.

The sash/belt, boots, and gauntlets are a re-purpose of Shazam's, which makes complete sense. The black costume is a simple leotard, and rather than silk screen the logo, they went with an separate applied bolt (like they did with Shazam). In photos it looks a little thick, but in hand it looks amazing. It's gives the emblem a little more pop and presence, and was a smart way to go.

His cape is a totally new addition, with a real metal chain. There's a large hood, and a wire that runs along the edge of the hood and the first third of the front edge.  It certainly helps with posing, but the wire should have run all the way to the bottom edge for maximum benefit.

I'm not loving the cape. While the quality is great, I just couldn't get it to lay across the shoulders and back in a way I liked.

Fun Factor - ***
While the figure isn't the most exciting release for me, it does have plenty of posing potential, and squaring him off against Captain Marvel will make for a really cool display.

Value - *1/2
Mezco charges more for their exclusives. It's the 'exclusivity' that drives the price, and a much lower production run. With a character like Black Adam, that makes complete sense - he's not going to be a super popular choice, and only diehard fans will spring for him.

Still, you're not getting a whole lot new here, so a low production run loses some of its negative effect on cost. A new accessory or two - especially a second, more dynamic sculpt - would have gone a long way to improving the value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
This is a great looking figure, and an excellent example of a proper use of the exclusive concept. Fans of Captain Marvel will be very happy, and he rounds out a nice pair of classic characters.

Still, for the less enthused fan, he's not a must have. That's part of the 'proper use of the exclusive concept', since exclusives should never be highly desired characters and should be more niche. But that also means this guy is a bit less exciting to the average collector, and the heavy re-use makes it tough to justify the high cost.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - **
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is $80, but also has free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered lots of One:12 figures, including Deathstroke, Suicide Squad Harley, the regular Red Skull, classic Superman, the Morales Spider-Man. I've also covered the summer exclusive Deadpool, the exceptional classic Punisher, the regular release Punisher the Toy Fair exclusive version, Shazam, the classic Daredevil, the Flash and Reverse Flash, the BvS Superman, the comic based Joker, Green Arrow, the Frankenstein Monster Diorama, Frankenstein Monster, the BvS Batman, the Bvs Armored Batman, Captain America, Star Trek Kirk, the Mirror, Mirror and Cage variants of Spock, Sulu, the Toy Fair exclusive Spock, and the regular release Spock as well. Other One:12 Collective figures released so far include Dredd and his Lawmaster, the NYCC exclusive Judge Dredd, the DKR Batman and Mutant two pack, the Batman exclusives, and the initial DKR Batman.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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