Captain Mar … er … “Shazam” from Mezco’s One:12 Collective line is the figure that stood out for me above everything else that my greedy mitts picked up this year. While there were strong offerings coming at us from every direction this past year, Shazam here met that magic combination of fine technical execution and emotional tethering, which was more than enough for him to be tops for me.
Shazam was simply a home run in every facet: accessories, sculpt, swappable parts, and Mezco’s soft goods looked perfect. The character-specific accessories were truly fantastic, and Mezco really went above and beyond with what they chose to include. Mr. Mind, Atomo’s head, the lighting bolt, and his swappable heads make this figure a blast to mess around with.
But when it comes to capturing the essence of a character, this was a grand slam. The cheesy smile and his ability to strike that classic “superhero” pose perfectly captures what makes this character so special: despite appearances, he is simply a small child playing “superhero,” so he will never fail to elicit a huge grin from me when I glance at him on my shelf. When we were small children, Shazam is how we saw ourselves when we stood there on top of the couch with a towel clipped to our shirts to serve as a cape. Mezco managed to produce a figure that will be a constant reminder of why I love this stuff so much in the first place. Well done, chaps.
Shazam’s arch-rival Black Adam is currently shipping as well, and you better believe I cannot wait for mine to arrive. DC’s Marvel Family as a whole will always occupy a special place for me, and I think it’ll be a good long time before anyone tops this Shazam figure. This one gets a spot in the permanent collection.