DC Direct Page Punchers Shazam review

I'm pretty sure many people will mention how Shazam was previously known as Captain Marvel as well as the fact that he was someone best known for having elements of Superman as well as Tintin in the original comic books that came out. When characters like Mar-Vell and Ms. Marvel got the name "Captain Marvel" in-between Billy Batson's retirement and return, he was stuck with the name "Shazam", which wouldn't be a bad thing if it weren't for the name also being associated with his transformation and how it was a name that originally belonged to the wizard our hero met before the power transfer. And so, even with various retcons and legal changes, we still have the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury on our side. It's time to review the Page Punchers version of Captain Marvel, aka Shazam!

Here we have Shazam in-hand. This figure is a reuse of the Crisis on Infinite Earths Superman body, which I find to be perfect for this character (especially when we get to the comparisons). While this is meant to be based on his Dawn of DC look, it does pass well for a more traditional take on the character design. The use of gold for the belt(?) and the boots do make me think of The Flash, but the gold on the gauntlets and the edges of the cape look great. I also like how the white pops on the lightning bolt as well as the cape, even if the white material looks a bit see through up close. The only issues I have are the weird paint bubbles on the belt as well as the red wrist joints not being flesh tone.

His head sculpt is very unique amongst my collection for mimicking the artstyle aesthetics where the eyes are simpler in detail, mostly being black lines with some white to add life to them. It may not fit in that well with the standard figures, but it's still well made. An alternate head would be nice, but I'm good either way. His skin is painted but at least the lips look natural compared to whatever the Task Force figures were left with. The articulation is the standard affair for the McFarlane line, with a double-ball neck joint, ball joints for front and back motion in addition to having them shift around with the rotator cuffs hiding said joint, hinges for outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, and double-purpose wrists that can rotate at two pegs, with the connection at the forearm allowing the hands to hinge either vertically or horizontally. The torso includes a diaphragm joint and dumbbell waist, hips can move front and back as well as in and out, slight thigh rotation is included, knees bend with double-joints, and the feet can rotate, hinge, and pivot. Finally, the toes can bend for running poses. His wired cloth goods cape has an extra one for the bottom edge, making it even more dynamic for posing than the normal. He also comes with a pendant that could stay on better as well as alternate open hands with the fingers splayed out. 

Of course, what is a Page Puncher without pages to punch? Not that you'd want to do that on this comic, because it is kind of decent. This is from the Dawn of DC line set after the events of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths as well as being a reintroduction of sorts to the characters after they were brought back in-universe (at least that's the feeling I get). 

As for the actual comic itself, it has a weird mix between trying to match the old humor of the comics from the Whiz era, making things feel up to date, mixing things up with the style of humor the Shazam duology had (depending on how successful you find them to be), and a hint of Whedonisms here and there. It's an okay read but nothing too mind blowing.

While the comic came out around 2021/2022, this reprint has ads for the All In, which features the Absolute versions of the Trinity and other heroes. The ones where they are reimagined in a Darkseid world. Shazam remembers when they roasted Batman's logo. 

For a size comparison, here we have Shazam next to Superman. Surprisingly, the Man of Steel is shorter than the original Captain Marvel, though that's because of the increase in scale that Earth-2 Superman has from the McFarlane line, which is why Shazam ends up being half a head taller than the hero he has an occasional rivalry with. Makes me excited to get my hands on other Superman figures with the Earth 2 body, though not the original version because I don't really like how it turned out that much. Speaking of not liking how something turned out, the Platinum chase version features the Captain Thunder version of the character, with a less impressive chest logo as well as no gold on the cape nor gauntlets. Yeah, I'm happy to stick with my Captain Marvel. He could use a few more hands or even an alternate head, but I feel that being a Page Puncher justifies the small accessory count thanks to the comic book he comes with. Certainly better than getting nothing but a price-increase on Silver Age Two-Face!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐