Black Adam 12" - CYCLONE!

Black Adam (Movie) - 12" Action Figure Series - Cyclone - Spin Master 2022

I've said this a thousand times on this blog, but I think modern 12" action figures are amazing. When I hold them in my hand it gives me this childlike sense of wonder that's oddly more palpable than other toys (even figures from arguably more nostalgic properties). A friend once theorized that it's because these are scaled in a way that replicate our once tiny hands playing with our seemingly oversized ThunderCats and He-Man figures at the time. That tactile sense of holding on to a larger figure makes a ton of sense. Lately I've been overwhelmed with new 12" figures: Wakanda Forever, Halo, Power Rangers, and Black Adam all have new figures hitting the shelves right now giving me seven new female figures. Plus my fingers are crossed for sneaky late releases of another Shuri and Isis after the movies are released. Of the Cyclones I've bought to far, this is my favorite.  The colors are bright, the articulation is decent, and the overall playability is just all-around better. Let's check out Cyclone below!

Black Adam - CYCLONE!

DC Multiverse - Black Adam (Movie) - Cyclone - McFarlane Toys 2022

The majority of female DC characters released by McFarlane Toys are truly great and I have no complaints. However, I honestly can't say the same for their movie-based releases. So far there have been several cinematic figures for Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman, and unfortunately none of them are especially good likenesses. This Cyclone is played by an actor who is largely unfamiliar to me (Quintessa Swindell), but even from the brief glimpses I've seen, this figure does not do them justice. The facial expression is very glum and appears significantly older than the youthful 25 they are. Additionally, the other toys and images I've seen incorporate a ton of bright purple in the costume design. In this figure most of those bright colors have been swapped out for black. I'm leaning heavily towards the likelihood that this figure was created from earlier concepts. It's not a bad figure overall, but it just pales in comparison to the quality of recent comic releases. Let's check out Cyclone below!

Black Adam 3.75" - CYCLONE!

Black Adam (Movie) - 3.75" Action Figure Series - Cyclone - Spin Master 2022

I'm pretty excited to see Black Adam in theatres next week. I don't know much about the title character at all, but seeing Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Atom Smasher on the big screen will be amazing. The big mystery character for me, however, is Cyclone. I honestly only knew this character from her Kingdom Come DC Direct action figure and her self-explanatory powerset, but until a few weeks ago I had never read a story with her. That first comic I picked up was a movie tie-in titled Black Adam: Justice Society Files - Cyclone #1 and featured an introduction to the DCEU version of the character, which from everything I've read is pretty different from her comic version. For starters, the DCEU version seems to have nanobot-driven powers as a result of a lab accident, whereas the comic version seemingly inherited genetic powers from her grandmother, Ma Hunkle. Who knows how this new character will be portrayed. By next week we should have a lot of answers. Let's check out Cyclone below!

DC Universe Classics - MARY MARVEL!

DC Universe Classics - Wave 12 - Mary Marvel (Red Costume) - Mattel 2010

Mattel's DC Universe Classics (and its immediate predecessor DC Super-Heroes) was a game-changing line for DC fans. We finally had a product with the same far-reaching potential as Marvel Legends. And over its four-year run we saw dedication to obscure factions like the Metal Men, Doom Patrol, and New Gods. Not to mention an amazing homage to the vintage Super Powers toyline. The series brought me so much joy. However, it was not without its flaws. Specifically, the female buck was very oddly proportioned. The arms were always awkwardly short and thin. The faces always seemed to get flattened in the production process. The feet often seemed over-sized. And the shoulder, hip, and abdominal joints always looked too exposed. Despite having every single female DCUC figure in my collection, I have keep few on display. I count 37 female figures, but I only keep 8 of them out. But looking at them now with fresh eyes I definitely think several more will be gracing my shelves.. including this Mary Marvel.

DC Direct - MARY MARVEL!

Shazam! - Series 01 - Mary Marvel (Standard Version) - DC Direct 2007

One of my favorite things about the 2019 Shazam! movie is that it rejuvenated my interest in Mary Marvel. I wasn't very familiar with this character before she became a regular character in the early 2000s in the pages of Infinite Crisis and 52. She somehow escaped my notice for most of my life. Of course, during this reintroduction period she was going through some major character arcs, changing outfits and allegiances every time I tuned in. But I also became retroactively aware of her amazing history as one of the first female costumed heroes (introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 from 1942) and was really inrigued. But even still, I never went crazy trying to collect all her figures until I realized that she would be in the new Shazam! film (and we would even be getting a toy of her!) So, I've been going back and collecting a bunch of her merchandise and reading reprints of her classic stories - and needless to say she's become a favorite of mine. This DC Direct figure is my favorite so far. She's a classic beauty.

Shazam! Movie - MARY MARVEL!

Shazam! (Movie) - Power Slingers Basic Series 01 - Mary Marvel - Mattel 2019

I saw Shazam! this weekend and I really liked it. I'm going to discuss the movie so consider this your spoiler alert. Although if you have read his New52 comics or walked down a toy aisle in the last month, you won't be learning anything new. At the end of the movie, just like in the comics, Billy chooses to split up his powers among his family. Suddenly there is a rainbow-hued Marvel Family fighting off the Seven Deadly Sins. Some of the heroes have very clear powers; Darla: Speed, Freddy: Flight,  Eugene: Lightning, and Pedro: Strength. But Mary's aren't obviously announced (possibly because she has them all, or possibly because she has one of the non-physical powers like Wisdom). But either way, her presence in the final scene was lackluster. She didn't get any good battle moments like the rest. Mostly she was seen locked in static struggle with different Sins in the background. I was disappointed in that small aspect, but pleased with the rest of the movie. Here's hoping for a sequel (with more Mary)!

Shazam! Movie - DARLA DUDLEY!

Shazam! (Movie) - Power Slingers Basic Series 01 - Darla Dudley - Mattel 2019

I'm super excited for the Shazam! movie now. The character of Captain Marvel himself has never really spoken to me, and even Mary Marvel just never sparked an interest in me. But in the early 2000s, the Flashpoint storyline rewrote the history of Shazam. Suddenly there was a group of six friends (and family) of Billy Batson that each gained a single unique power from the wizard. Those six friends could then combine to form the ultimate hero, Captain Thunder (aka Shazam). Darla's power was the Speed of Mercury. The trailers for the movie seem to show the traditional billy-centric origin, but this basic assortment of figures contain Darla, Freddy, Pedro, Mary, Eugene and Billy and make me think the newer origin story is a big plotline of the movie. I know it's a pipedream, but I would also love for more Darla (and Mary) product in different scales. The 12" and Multiverse lines for this movie were pretty short on character assortment (only Billy and Dr. Sivana included). Let's check out Darla below!