Review of Shazam Captain Marvel action figure
One:12 Collective

Introduction

Mezco's latest release in their One:12 Collective is Captain Marvel aka Shazam, perhaps the most litigated character in comic book history. He and his Marvel family, published by Fawcett, were more popular than Superman in the 40's. DC eventually sued over copyright infringement, claiming he was just a copy of Supes. Fawcett ceased publication of the Marvel family related characters in the 50's due in large part to the legal pressure from DC. In the 70's, DC acquired some of the rights to publish from Fawcett, and by the 90's had taken over all rights to the Captain Marvel characters, integrating them into their DC Universe.

However, that wasn't all the drama. Marvel had their own 'Captain Marvel', created in the 60's while the Fawcett version was out of print. As you can imagine, they weren't all that happy with a character with the same name residing over at DC, so for many years DC used the title Shazam for the books, although that was NOT the character's name. Instead, this is what Billy Batson would proclaim to become Captain Marvel. This lead to even more confusion.

For the last few years, DC has actually been referring to him as Shazam, obviously in an attempt to make things clearer moving forward. With a DC movie for Shazam coming out and a MCU movie for their Captain Marvel scheduled, I'd say it was a smart move.

There's no legal drama around this figure however, and you can pick it up for about $75, depending on the retailer. This is one I expect to sell out very quickly if it hasn't already, thanks to plenty of nostalgic demand.

Mezco has also announced a Black Adam Previews exclusive, which is up for pre-order at most online retailers.

Packaging - ***
This is the usual box, made from very sturdy card stock. The outer sleeve is quite basic, but matches with the retro design of the character.  Inside the box are the usual stacked plastic trays that hold the figure and accessories, and it's all completely collector friendly.

Sculpting - ***1/2
There are three portraits with this figure, a common theme with One:12 figures.  Most of the time, the three are pretty even in quality, at least to my eye, but this time I have a clear preference.

He comes wearing the stoic, stern expression, not overly emotional or dynamic. You can use this one for a lot of poses of course, and the detailing is good. I like the work on the slicked back hair, and the cleft chin is subtle but apparent.  My only real issue is the same big issue I have with all three portraits - those huge eyebrows. In person it's not quite as noticeable of course - remember, this figure is only 6 1/2" tall - but it still bugged me.

The second portrait is a screaming, dynamic expression, perfect for when he is transforming or battling. Again, it's not bad but the big eyebrows and something about the lips around the open mouth seems slightly off. Scale is great though, and again, there's plenty of detail work.

Finally, there's my favorite, perhaps because it just reminds me of the character the most.  It's the smiling, friendly, slightly childish look that I associate most with the character. You'll see a photo of that expression in the next section. Of the three head sculpts, I think this is the one that will get the most use, and will remind you of the Captain Marvel of your youth.

Paint - ***
The paint quality on the One:12 figures has been exceptional, and of course, when you set the bar high, you have to reach it every time.  They're very close here, but I have one or two minor issues that hold him back from a higher score.

Over all three heads, the paint work on the eyebrows only makes them all the more bulky.  In fact, I can't be sure whether the paint or the sculpt is really what's making them so caterpillar-like.

All three also have a bit of the rosy rouge applied to their cheeks. It's subtle, but it's there, and while I get that they are trying to capture the old golden age coloring in the face, it's not working for me.

The quality is excellent overall, although I did have a slight mark on the white teeth and left cheek of the smiling portrait. They're tiny though, and only those of us who are truly anal about these things are likely to notice.

The best feature of the paint work, which has been consistently true with all One:12 figures, is the eyes. All of them are very neat, very straight, and very clean.  The open mouth sculpt has the full white eyes, and these are blemish free.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body isn't new, but it remains highly poseable, able to take fluid, smooth, natural stances without too much effort.

The ball jointed neck works well, and the heads swap easily. The neck is also jointed at the torso, but it was very tough to turn this time. That might be important, since if you're like me, your Captain Marvel will have his neck turned slightly to one side out of the package. You want that Adam's Apple lined up right, and turning the neck was important to getting the perfect look.

The large shoulders are well hidden by the costume, at least when the cape is in place. The right shoulder is always hidden by the large flap on the front of the chest, but the left shoulder can be a bit obvious without the cape. These have a great range of movement in the body suit, and he can even take decent flying poses with the included stand. The pin elbows and rotating hinge wrists round out the arm articulation. The hands swap easily as well, with no fear of breakage.

The torso bends and turns, and the costume does not restrict it or force it back to center.  The hips, knees, and ankles work great with shallow or deep stances, and there's enough side to side rocker movement in the ankles to keep the feet flat on the ground in shallow to mid-depth stances. There appears to be a cut joint at the top of the boots as well, allowing for more rotational movement in the foot posing.

Accessories - ****
Shazam comes with a ton of extra goodies, all of them cool, all of them useful.

There's the three head sculpts we've already discussed in great detail, and they boost this category score way up.  Getting more than one portrait is a HUGE benefit.

Like most high end figures in any scale, he comes with several hands. There's three sets in total - the fists he comes wearing, a set of flat hands (perfect for flying), and a set of grasping hands. These pop on and off easily, but stay put when posing the figure.

A lightening bolt is part of Billy's transformation, and they've included one here that you can attach to his chest. It actually fits a few different ways, but I settled on the look you see in the very first photo of the review.  The translucent blue color looks great, and it goes nicely with the yelling portrait.

What's really cool is you also get two of his arch enemies - or at least parts of them.  Mister Mind is a big worm who can control minds, and the sculpt and paint work are excellent. This is a character you can add to the display quite easily, even with normal poses.

Another arch enemy is Mister Atom.  This radioactive robot was a common foe, but clearly Captain Marvel got the better of him here. He has just his dismembered head, with wires trailing out the neck and a Shazam shaped fist print in his face.

Mezco always includes a little plastic bag with the One:12 logo, perfect for you to carry these goodies after you toss the packaging.

Finally, there's the usual base, done in his colors with the lightening logo. The clear plastic support rod can hold him up in flying or jumping poses, or you can simply use a foot peg to keep him standing on the ground.

Outfit - ***
The outfit is pretty basic, but generally well executed.

The big red body suit is well tailored, but does exhibit the saggy crotch often noted with other One:12 figures. I think it's most noticeable with this guy, although you can adjust the material on the legs upward to make it a little less of an issue. Of course, when you do that the material tends to gather into the hip joints, making them more obvious.  Six to one, half dozen to the other.

Rather than simply painting on the lightening bolt, they used a seperate piece of cloth attached to the chest. This is the same gold/bronze material used for the belt and other trimming, and that exact match is critical to getting a great look with the costume overall.  I will say that my bolt seems *slightly* tilted, but it's a bit tough to tell since the suit moves with the various poses.

The sculpted plastic boots and cuffs look great, but it's really the cape that pulls it all together. This separate piece is made from very clean, very white, very high quality cloth, and has a stiff wire running all along the outer edge. This wire allows you to pose it in very dynamic, flowing ways, a trademark of the character. His short cape was blowing in the wind in every panel.

I'm not completely thrilled with the cape, however. I did have more trouble with the collar than I expected, and I never could quite it get to fold down the way I wanted. I suspect I may have to iron it flat on the left side to get the look I want. Still, the quality is excellent, and the overall look should make true fans very happy.

Fun Factor - ****
This guy is a ton of fun to pose and re-pose, finding new and different ways to combine him with the accessories. Remember, it's not 'playing', it's 'posing'. You keep telling yourself that, and you'll be fine.

Value - ***
The average price of the One:12 figures seems to have settled in around the $75 mark, unless they are super popular (allowing for a much bigger production run and thus lower unit costs) or exclusives with a much lower run that require higher costs. This guy is neither, and falls right in the middle at $75.

I'm good with that, especially considering the number of extras you're getting. While everyone is giving you hands and weapons, you're getting the three head sculpts plus two Misters - how can you beat that?

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I would wash your hands particularly well - and dry them just as well - before handling the white cape. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

Overall - ***1/2
Another hit from the One:12 Collective, and one that's going to be tough to find now.  The line has earned a certain reputation, and fans are pre-ordering early.  I've said it before and I'll say it many more times - this is a true pre-order line. If you see a character you like and don't pre-order it, odds are you'll be paying higher prices on the secondary market when it comes out.

Of course, not every figure will be perfect, and I'll always have nits to pick.  But the overall quality has been very high with this brand, and they've created an excellent niche for themselves that I suspect others will try to copy.  If they end up with a license you love, I'd advise getting in early. The fans of Captain Marvel...er...Shazam who pre-ordered this guy are certainly going to be happy they did.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- perhaps your best bet is to get on the wait list at the Mezco store, where he's $75.

- Entertainment Earth is also sold out, and they were at $75 originally as well.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other One:12 Collective reviews include the classic Daredevil, the Flash and Reverse Flash, as the comic based Joker, the Punisher, 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.

If you're looking for something a bit on the lower end action figure side for Captain Marvel, check out the DCUC version.

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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