Action Figure Review: Aquaman from DC Page Punchers by McFarlane Toys/ DC Direct

 

   Earlier this week I ran in a Walmart and stumbled upon this lone Aquaman figure from the newest series of DC Page Punchers. I'm not sure where the rest of the case went (did they already sell out?) but I've been wanting an Aquaman for my DC Multiverse Justice League display and this one definitely has been on my radar. I'm really liking the "McFarlane-esque" takes on DC characters found in the Page Punchers series as they're usually kind of their own thing rather than being inspired by a particular, previously existing source. While the previous 7-inch Page Punchers releases have packaged the same comic with all of the figures in the series, this series at least gives each character a unique comic cover. That's kind of a cool middle ground between giving everyone the same cover and making each comic release part of a series. If you just pick up one figure from the series you can still enjoy the story, but if you get them all you've at least got some variant covers. Let's take a look at Aquaman after the break and see if this figure sinks or swims...

The Facts:

Height: 7 1/2th inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel hinged ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ balljointed shoulder pegs and covers, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/ hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.

 

Accessories: Trident, full sized comic book, collector card, and display stand.

 

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars

The Positives:

* There have been a few Aquaman figures released by McFarlane in the DC Multiverse line but this one definitely looks the most hardcore. He's wearing the classic orange scaled shirt but he's also sporting a massive shoulder pad like the Aquaman of the mid-late 1990s. This really does feel like a fun, McFarlane styled take on the character as there's a lot of sculpted detail and multiple different textures. The shirt seems very organic with large, rough scales while the pants have two different patterns on them, giving off the impression of something manufactured with a scale-like texture. All of his additional parts like the bracers, shoulder pad, and belt are extra pieces added onto the figure (though glued into place). 

* The headsculpt borrows inspiration from Aquaman's 1990s look, Jason Momoa's Aquaman, and maybe a bit from the New 52 design. It's just an all around solid comic Aquaman with more modern sensibilities. I like the long hair and beard, particularly the very regal longer beard seen here, and the classic blonde hair (the Mark of Kordax!) and blue eyes gives Orin/ Arthur Curry a very familiar look. The paint on the portrait is excellent with solid detail in his hair and excellent, clean work on the face.

* Aquaman's shoulder pad is really cool. Again, it might be a bit overdesigned, but it looks pretty impressive. It's molded in a rubbery plastic which helps to ensure that Arthur's shoulder movement isn't heavily impeded, but there's still some very impressive ocean inspired detail on it. 

* He's also sporting some sharp, fish fin-like blades on his wrists. Both bracers are different and they remind me of the Kenner Total Justice figure of Aquaman. I never had any of those, oddly enough, but looking back on them they definitely seemed cool enough. I think it was just too darn hard to find most characters as I remember seeing Darkseid and Despero everywhere but rarely could I find anyone else. 

* Here's a shot of Aquaman's ultra cool underwater pants. Besides the two unique textures on the pants there is also his very cool stylized "A" logo belt buckle and some swirling, ocean themed panels on his thighs. They're all molded in a very attractive bronze plastic with a dark swirl to give off the impression of some sort of metal. 

* Aquaman's sporting some killer boots, too. These are just really impressive, especially those fins on the back. 

* The Page Punchers figures are pretty much built the same as the DC Multiverse figures, so there's really no noticeable articulation difference. Aquaman is quite posable, and I only have one complaint (it's about his head, but I'll get to that in  a moment). The figure is solid, very sturdy, and most joints have a rather impressive range of motion. He's sporting the  swivel/hinge styled shoulders with a balljointed peg at the base with a piece that covers the gap when the arm is moved, allowing for more motion. It's kind of like a "butterfly" joint, but I actually like them better. What do you call these, anyway? A lot of the McFarlane figures have them.

* Aquaman's trident is very impressive. It's a bit shinier than the details on his pants and boots, more of a gold color, and it's pretty large. He doesn't have two gripping hands, but he can still hold it in almost any pose with his right hand. The detail is really sharp here, too. I don't know if this is supposed to be the Trident of Neptune or the Trident of Poseidon, but it's a killer accessory. 

*  This series features Aquaman, his allies, and his enemies, so each figure comes with an Aquaman comic by Sean Ryan, Jose Luis, Jonas Trindade, and Rex Lokus. This is a full sized comic book, not just a minicomic, and this time around each figure has a unique cover. Aquaman's cover is by Pop Mhan.

* The Page Punches also come with collectible card sporting an image of the included comic cover. Since everyone gets a unique cover in this series, that means the card is unqiue, too. The best thing is that there's a bio on the back. Not just a bio on the package; an actual bio on this card that you can keep. I love this as it's not something we often see these days

*  I'm also still loving that McFarlane Toys includes a display stand with each of their releases these days. It's just a simple disc stand with the DC logo on it but it works well and keeps the figure standing upright in most poses.

The Negatives:

* Aquaman has some fantastic sculpted detail but while there's some paint work on the figure, he definitely could have used a bit more, especially on stuff like the large pauldron on his shoulder. Something to break up the more "toy-like" grey color. 

* Aquaman has pretty solid articulation overall but his head motion is quite restricted. It's a barbell joint, which usually gets a good range of motion, but the combination of his longer hair and a shorter neck really keep him from being able to take swimming poses. 

   This is a really, really cool Aquaman figure. I sort of get the impression that many DC Multiverse collectors are waiting for something much more classic, but this Page Punchers version kind of takes my favorite elements of so many different Aquaman looks and blends them together. The design elements and sculpt are just excellent here and really make for an impressive figure. The comic isn't bad, either, and it's a fun read. This is a Great and a 1/2 version of Aquaman that's still instantly recognizable but who also is sporting that signature McFarlane style. 

   If you are looking for more Aquaman action figures I've also checked out the BvS Multiverse Aquaman, the Justice League Aquaman, the Toys R Us exclusive shirtless Aquaman, the Super Friends Aquaman, the Funko DC Primal Age Aquaman, the DC Nano Metalfigs Aquaman from the Pack B 5-pack, the Flashpoint Aquaman DC46, the 20-pack Aquaman DC46, and the Justice League Aquaman DC57.

For more DC Page Punchers from McFarlane Toys and DC Direct check out the following:
Black Adam
The Flash
John Constantine