Aquaman Lost Kingdom 12" - MERA!

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - 12" Action Figures - Mera - Spin Master 2023

When I first saw blurry leaked images of this 12" Spin Master Mera from the Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom line, I thought she surely must be a custom (there's a big community for customizers of this scale). I thought she couldn't possibly be real because the 12" Mattel Mera from the the first movie (five years ago) is still on the shelves of discount stores like Big Lots and Ollies. Plus the rumors were that Mera's character would be largely cut from the movie (she wasn't). But she is indeed real, although seemingly shortpacked and more scarce than the other characters in the line. I'm surprised at how much I like this figure though. She looks very different from the 2018 version and she just really pops on my shelves. Her bodysuit has a metallic/opalescent quality that I love in person, but was murder to photograph. I ended up having to use flash photography, which I typically avoid. The sculpt and proportions are really well done too. I think this is the best Spin Master 12" female so far. Let's check her out!

Aquaman Lost Kingdom 3.75" - MERA!

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - 3.75" Action Figures - Mera - Spin Master 2023

I was unable to get to the theatres to see Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom back in December. I understand that a release date like December 22nd is considered a prime theatrical slot, but I can never swing it with holiday hoopla. Anyway, it was released streaming today on Max and I was excited to finally dive in. I didn't expect it to be mindblowing, and it wasn't, but I did enjoy it. There were reports in the last year or so that Mera's role was going to be completely edited out, but those were unfounded and she's in a decent number of scenes, although not a significant role. The Spin Master toylines still included her, but McFarlane left her out. Regardless of the public opinion of the actress, Mera herself is a very cool character and I love any toy representation of her. Although considering the social drama and the film itself, I'm surprised they didn't merchandise Atlanna and give us a new Atlantean character for our collections. Let's check out the 3.75" scale Mera from Spin Master!

Aquaman Movie 6" Basic - MERA!

Aquaman Movie 6" Basic Figure - Series 02 - Mera - Mattel 2018

I saw the Aquaman movie this weekend and found it really entertaining. The visuals and costumes were great. I especially loved the different races/species depicted among the seven undersea kingdoms. And who knew the cheesy seahorse steeds could be so badass?! I only had two issues with the film. Firstly, Black Manta seemed shoehorned into the story. He probably should have been the spotlight villain in the next Aquaman movie and let Orm take center stage here. (Although if they're prepping for a Legion of Doom storyline, they probably needed to get him on screen asap). My second complaint was a lot of weak dialogue. There were "serious" points where the movie morphed into a poorly written soap opera. Don't get me wrong, I liked the story, it was just the dialogue that was weak. I felt that Amber Heard as Mera looked phenomenal, but as an actress I felt that she did the best she could with the words she was given and the end result is a commendable, but not terrific performance.

Aquaman Movie 12" True Moves MERA!

Aquaman Movie: True Moves 12" - Basic Series 01 - Mera - Mattel 2018

I'm in the process of revamping my toy room right now and one of the focuses will be to better accommodate my booming 1:6 scale action figure collection. I know there have been 12" action figures for decades, but in the past they almost always have had removable clothing and high price tags and they blurred the lines between dolls and action figures. I have nothing against dolls, but I've limited myself to not collecting them (strict parameters are very important for a compulsive collector like me). But then back in 2016 I first started paying attention to a new trend of lower-cost, fully-sculpted 1:6 action figures. They had been coming out for a while, but female characters weren't included until early 2016 (Wonder Woman and Black Widow). Now this scale seems to be a staple product for most comic-based movie merchandise (I'm eagerly awaiting the inevitable Captain Marvel figures). In a few short years I somehow assembled 25! This newest Mera one is probably the best yet. Let's check her out below!

Aquaman Movie Multiverse - MERA!

Aquaman Movie DC Multiverse - Trench Warrior C-n-C - Mera -  Mattel 2018

I'm pretty excited about all the comic book movies coming out in the next few 6-8 months. Aquaman, Venom, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. None of these are top-tier movie choices for me, but there is something about each one that has me excited. For Aquaman, I'm obsessed with the aquatic monsters like the Brine King and the Trench Warriors, but I can't deny how excited I am to see Mera on the big screen again. I barely remember her from Justice League (I don't remember much from that movie honestly). But the character is so classic and underused that she deserves a more memorable role. I'm shocked that Mattel gave us a brand new figure to be more accurate to her new look, when characters like Wonder Woman were just getting minor repaints. And honestly, the Justice League figure looked great and would have really benefited from a repainted release (she had a lackluster face). But I'm not complaining, just observing. Let's check out the Aquaman movie Mera below!

DC Direct Brightest Day MERA!

Your Favorite Atlantean Queen - Mera - Brightest Day: Series 2 - DC Direct 2011

During all my years as a member on the now-defunct DC Message Boards, Mera was by far the most requested (ie.. begged and pleaded for) figure.  I'm actually still not sure if I've ever read a single story starring her character, but somehow I'm a fan.  This figure actually may be a large part of my fondness for the character.  She looks fantastic - a perfect rendition of the regal Queen of Atlantis and wife of Aquaman.  The Brightest Day storyline became an amazing opportunity for DC Direct to release all the heavily-demanded figures during the twilight of the company.  They finally created figures of Mera, Jade, Hawk, and Dove and released long overdue updates of Deadman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, and Aqualad.  And none of these figures were last-minute hodgepodge attempts to make their soon-to-be-abandoned fanbase happy.  No, these figures were pretty much perfect.  I feel like I'm always lamenting the loss of DC Direct, but I think it's undeniable that we'll never see a company producing quality products at this frequency ever again.  But alas, DC Collectibles is doing okay so far (if you like video games).  Let's check out Mera!