Friday, September 22, 2023

Action Figure Review: Batman & Spawn from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 


   Batman and Spawn first met in comics back in 1994 but they've never appeared together as an action figure set... until now! As soon as McFarlane Toys got the DC Comics license and started releasing updated Spawn action figures everyone was expecting this set; I'm just surprised it took this long! This set includes two of the biggest characters in comics who also have two of the greatest, most expressive capes in comics. What else is there to say about these guys? Not much! Let's check out the Batman & Spawn 2-pack after the break...






The Facts: Batman

Height: 7 5/8ths 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/ ballsockets, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/ hinge wrists, and a ball jointed head. 

Accessories: 4 Swappable hands, batarang, collector card, and display stand. 








The Facts: Spawn

Height: 7 1/4ths inches

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

Accessories: Sword, collector card, display stand, background stand, and backdrop.

Non-Scalper Price: $40 dollars


Comparison:


* On the left is the Spawn from this set while the Spawn from the 2022 Spawn Deluxe Set is on the right. The two figures are largely the same sculpt but the new Spawn has a different full cape and sharper, slightly darker colors. 

The Positives:


* Let's start with Batman! This version of Batman definitely has somewhat of a mid-late 1990s style with the classic oval Batsymbol and the capsule utility belt. Kind of like Batman during the Troika storyline. He's a larger Batman build, kind of like the Three Jokers Batman, and it looks like they might share a torso. Or this might reuse parts from the Year 2 Batman (which I don't own). His cape has those distinctive spikes on the shoulders as well. The color is very cool with a dark bluish-gray body, black gloves, boots, and trunks, and a belt that I'd call goldenrod in color. It's a very severe, very serious looking Batman that goes nicely with Spawn. 










* Batman has some serious spikes on his gauntlets. They're very long, slightly curved, and not at all bent. Interestingly, they kind of jut out from the side rather than from the bottom, so it's a different look.




* Here's a closeup of Batman's torso so you can see that this is a fully sculpted logo. That's just such a neat feature and I'm still thrilled with the sculpted logos on these figures.





* Here's a look at Batman's cape from the back. It's a bit rubbery and drapes nicely. It's very dramatic with lots of nice folds and such on the cape. 


* Overall this guy has excellent, pretty much like the rest of the DC Multiverse figures from McFarlane Toys. He's solid, sturdy, and with a nice range of motion in most joints. The cape inhibits movement a bit, particularly around the shoulders, but I'll get to that in a few. 











* This is a darn huge Batarang! It's cool, though, and seems like it could be as useful as a melee weapon as a thrown weapon. 

* Batman also has some swappable fists, but I forgot to take a picture of them. 









* Like most other Multiverse releases you get a collectible card and display stand included here, both of which are always appreciated. The collectible card features some art of Batman while the simple black display stand keeps your figure secure on the shelf. 


* Now let's move on to Spawn. As I mentioned above, this isn't a new figure but the cape really makes this appear like a fully new figure as it just covers and surrounds nearly the entire body. It's Spawn's classic outfit, so you now what to expect: A black suit with the white chest design, silver belt chains, and lots of red spiky accessories. This is more of a superhero take on Spawn, so while there's some subtle muscle definition on the figure there's still a smoothness to the figure. This version of the necroplasm suit doesn't look as organic as some others. The paintwork is clean and neat and the figure just looks impressive.



* I like this headsculpt. It's also reused, but it's still very classic and works perfectly here. The details on the face are raised with some texture to hint at Al Simmons' features underneath but most everything on the back is smooth. The green eyes look great, maybe a bit brighter here than on the deluxe release.






* Spawn's sporting some lethal looking arm wear. While his left arm is more subtle (and I use subtle loosely here), his right arm is sporting a massive spiked gauntlet perfect for backhanding the bad guys.  These things are seriously sharp and much pointier than you'd find on something from most other toylines.






* Spawn never wears matching boots. Never! Not even if there is a fire! He likes his unique style, which he's sporting here. I imagine he gives his enemies a choice: Do they want to do things the way and just get kicked in the face with the left boot or do they want to do things the hard way and have him play Dr. Spawn: Back Alley Proctologist with the right boot? 




* The mantle of Spawn's cape is complete with a really high collar that's blowing in the breeze. It looks excellent. Very moody, very brooding. 





* The cape looks excellent and, like Batman's is made from a semi-flexible rubbery material that drapes nicely. It's fairly heavy and looks like it's a bit weathered and worn. The color is awesome on it.



* The articulation is similar to the articulation on most other recent Spawn figures or the Spawn figures from the Mortal Kombat line. Smooth joints, a nice articulation scheme, and great plastic quality. The cape hinders things a bit, but I'll get to that in a moment as well. 




* Check out this incredibly cool sword! It's the Sword of the Spirit from Spawn #250! It's a wild looking blade that has an incredible sculpt and paintjob. Spawn looks really cool wielding this!




* Like the DC Multiverse releases, Spawn also comes with a collectible card and display stand included here. The display base even has the Spawn logo on it rather than a DC logo. 




* Another item is included in the set: A plastic backdrop piece covered that can hold the included cardboard backdrop. The plastic base is sculpted to look like piles of sculpts scattered over rocky ground. The backdrop is two-sided with the first side being a skull covered background. 




* The second side is an image of Batman and Spawn. Interestingly, the Batman in this set looks nothing like the Batman shown here.









* You know that whenever I wait to talk about a headsculpt until the end I'm kind of mixed about it. Well, I'm kind of mixed about Batman. It's a very extreme headsculpt with Bruce's mouth open. I like the long ears, the small, white eyes, and from some angles the mouth looks good. From some other angles, though....

The Negatives:

* From some angles, though, it looks like Bats is constipated. I think the mouth and teeth just don't look right. This one really depends on how you pose him to get things looking right.




* The mantle of batman's cape is really cool but it does really hinder the shoulder movement. I don't recall having this issue with any other Batman figures from McFarlane, so it's got to just be the exaggerated mantle here.




* Ol' Spawny-guy has the same problem: The mantle of his cape just covers his shoulders enough that you can't get a ton of movement out of them. 


    Their shoulders might be restricted a bit but, dang, are these two cool figures or what? I'm amazed that you can get a highly articulated Batman and a highly articulated Spawn for $40 bucks. This is a really nice set and offers up one of the best basic Spawns you can find with a Batman that delivers a different look to DC Multiverse collectors. Honestly, I'm giving it an Epic as it's just such a cool package offered so affordably. I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll see Spawn's Universe mix with the DC Multiverse line...






I've reviewed a lot of Batman figures and a lot of Spawn figures. For more Batman figures check out The Dark Knight Gallery, a collection of all my Batman reviews. For more Spawn reviews check out Spawn Alley.

For more DC Multiverse reviews check out the following:
Harley Quinn (The Suicide Squad)
Impulse (Flash War)
The Joker (Infinite Frontier)
Kalibak (The Darkseid War)
Man-Bat (DC Rebirth)
Mister Freeze (Victor Fries)
Nekron (Blackest Night)
Nightwing (Titans)
Project Superman (Flashpoint)
Raven (Titans)
The Riddler (Arkham City)
Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
The Signal Duke Thomas
Superman (Black Adam) Black & White Accent Edition
Superman (Superman: Lois and Clark)
Superman Vs. Doomsday
Two-Face (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
Two-Face as Batman (Batman: Reborn)


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2 comments:

  1. RedmistSeptember 29, 2023 at 1:29 PM

    I agree on a few points, especially how long the set took for release and Batsy's constipation look lol 😆 But I don't own an articulated Spawn yet, and this 1 might scratch that itch! Keep up the great work 👍

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17October 6, 2023 at 11:11 AM

      Yeah, this Spawn is a really good one. Definitely one of my favorites. Thanks for the kind words!

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