I didn't own Medieval Spawn as a kid, but I always wanted him.
I bought one last year, finally, but I was really waiting for a new version to show up in the modern Spawn line. It seemed inevitable since Medieval Spawn has made a reappearance in the comics and is now part of the Spawn super team, the Scorched. In the current comics Marc Rosen, journalist and ally of Al Simmons, becomes Medieval Spawn when he puts on the helmet that once belonged to the warrior. I think he somehow channels the spirit of Sir John of York when he does as he definitely talks like a knight rather than like a modern dude. I picked up Medieval Spawn during a GameStop Pro-week sale last week. I paid $24.99 for him before a discount (the same price as on McFarlane Toy Shop) but I've been to two other GameStop stores that had him for $29.99. Amazon has him for $29.99, too, so shop around, I guess. Anyways, ready to check out Medieval Spawn? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 7 3/4ths inches
Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinged hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ ball sockets, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.
Accessories: Sword, hammer, and display stand.
Non-Scalper Price: $25-$30 dollars
The Positives:
* Medieval Spawn is cool with a capital C. He is a seriously nice figure who is pretty hefty, too. He takes most everything cool about the vintage Medieval Spawn, and amplifies it. He's sporting a traditional Spawn paintjob of red, black, and white and is adorned with armor in different metallic shades like bronze, silver, and even a metallic maroon. We'll talk about the armor in a bit as most of it is made of separate pieces (though they're not removable), but let's start by talking about the base body. The sculpt is excellent with some fantastic detail on the armor he's wearing. There looks to be a chaotic mixture of plate armor and chain mail, so odds are no one is even making a dent on this guy. He's really well protected and looks very, very metal.
* Medieval Spawn is wearing a helmet and his Spawn-like face is sculpted to look like the visor/ faceplate on a suit of armor, but with the traditional Spawn features. You know: points, green eyes; that kind of stuff. There's a nice wash on the helmet to bring out the various rivets and detailing on the faceplate.
* Spawn's arms are covered with armor. He's sporting some very lethal looking vambraces on his forearms that are covered with spikes. While the spikes aren't actually sharp here (they're a bit rubbery) they look sharp. You don't want Medieval Spawn to backhand you while he's wearing this gear. You'd likely get poked in all the wrong places. He's also sporting a wicket pauldron on his right shoulder that is adorned with spikes.
* On his left shoulder is another pauldron that's sporting a giant skull. He's metal, baby!
* This armored belt/ waist piece is absolutely wicked. This might just be the coolest part of this figure. The bronze armored element looks fantastic while the chains and skull belt buckle remind everyone that you had better stay out of his way or Sir John of York is going to go medieval on you.
* Hey Medieval Spawn? Couldn't you find some matching leg armor and boots? Of course not! Spawn never wears matching footwear. Ever. Not even for picture day. Medieval Spawn doesn't, either, so he's rocking one heavily armored boot with spikes all over it and another only slightly less heavily armored boot with spikes all over it. Throw in some skull kneepads to show everyone he's the boss and Medieval Spawn is ready to walk all over anyone who thinks otherwise.
* Medieval Spawn has a sculpted cape, but it's a nice looking sculpted cape with detail for the "fabric."
* He's big and wearing some bulky armor, but Medieval Spawn still moves pretty well. He's a durable figure and while the packaging assures us that this is not a toy and it's meant for people 14 and older, I bet a lot of kids would have a ball with this guy. He's not sharp like some of the Spawn figures (some of them will poke you something fierce) and you can get some decent poses out of him. He's not a ninja or anything, but for a guy in armor and big, mismatched boots, he moves well and is fun to fiddle around with.
* Medieval Spawn has a hammer, so he can hammer in the morning and hammer in the evening all over this land. He uses his hammer to hammer out danger, hammer out a warning, and hammer out love between the other members of the Scorched. He also uses it to smite his enemies. This is a pretty decent sized war hammer and it looks fantastic. The plastic color is excellent for a metal accessory like this. It's a little flexible, so not brittle at all, but also not bendy or anything.
* Check out the Spawn symbol on the face of the hammer! Imagine Medieval Spawn just roaming around and stamping the Spawn logo into stuff. Or onto the faces of his enemies.
* He also has a 5 3/4ths inch sword that is just made for battle. It's sharp looking and even has some runes stamped into the blade.
* Medieval Spawn also comes with a simple disc stand with the "Spawn" logo on it if you want him to stand around guarding the kingdom. Who doesn't love a display stand?
The Negatives:
* OK, so I do have a few negatives here. First, despite how awesome the sculpt is on this figure, I do have to complain about the light grey plastic used on the belt, boots, and vambraces. It really needed to be more metallic looking or given a drybrush. It brings down an otherwise amazing looking figure.
* The paint on Spawn's outfit under his armor is non-existent as well. I'm OK with most of it just being black, but places like his helmet could have used a paint hit or too to bring them to life. The same goes for those skulls keeping his cape in place.
While I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of additional paint applications, I can't really say that it really takes away much from my enjoyment of this figure. The sculpt and design of Medieval Spawn is just excellent and makes for one of the most fun action figures out there. Yes, the paint is on the weaker side, but the amount of uniquely sculpted figure you get here for the price is really impressive. He still looks really nice on display, though folks wanting to do some customization work will probably have a field day with him. This is a Great and a 1/2 figure and an impressive return for Medieval Spawn.
This is a figure of Sir John of York, the Medieval Spawn, though this particular version is when he takes over the body of Marc Rosen. I've also reviewed the vintage
Medieval Spawn figure.
If you're looking for more Spawns overall, check out Spawn Alley for all of my Spawn reviews.
For more review from this series of Spawn figures check out the following:
the hammer looks so badass, cool that it comes with a sword too!
ReplyDeleteFor sure. His weaponry is really nicely done. He just needs a shield with blades around the edge like the vintage toy.
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