Spawn - Image 10th Anniversary (McFarlane Toys)

Image 10th Anniversary Spawn

To all you articulation junkies, here's a Spawn action figure that's going to suit your cup of tea. He's no Hasbro figure (obviously, since when did they make Spawn), but from the guys that brought us statue-like action figures that barely has any articulation in it- McFarlane! This time, they totally made one hell of a step into offering us not only a Spawn with McFarlane-style sculpting but also with a wide range of movement made possible through his 25-point articulation, and that doesn't even includes the articulation over his cape! This Spawn is special; so special that McFarlane released this super-articulated figure to honour Image's 10 years of comic book awesomeness, which is kinda nice for them and a little bothersome. I mean, why do it only for this "special occasion" when these guys could have done this a long time ago? There is no question McFarlane Toys can do it.









I will begin this toy review with articulation since I'm obviously excited with it. So Spawn's demonic cape is articulated which are simply swivel-type of joints that allows you to cover or uncover his entire body like curtains around a window. He got a ball-hinged neck that lets his head look up, down and to the sides. Surprisingly, Spawn got this scapular/shoulder blade joints like the ones on the X-Force Wolverine, which allows him to move his shoulders forward or back. Like those Marvel Legends or Marvel Select figures, he got bicep swivel-joints, single-jointed elbows, mid-arm swivel and hinges on the wrists. His torso is complete with all three major "torsal" joints namely; diaphragm swivel, ab crunch and waist swivel. He got a T-joint that lets his entire legs raise up and forward or to the sides. His legs have mid-thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, lower calf swivel, hinged ankles, ankle swivel and ankle pivot... and toe joints!

Now the ankle pivot on this one is a little tricky. You have to rotate the ankle swivel around until the joint marks are aligned at the front before you can pivot it to the sides. So I think that's very damn cool.

The paint application on this 10th Anniversary Spawn is consistent with any McFarlane Spawn figures you've seen. Starting with his big red cape, you can see some black paint shading done between its folds as well as its surface to make it look worn and battle damaged. Spawn's body is mostly covered in black with a few gray shadings to define his muscles, and the spikes around his arms and ankles are painted with a silvery metallic type of gray; making it more realistic. The colour designs comprising of red and white over his arms and torso are painted perfectly without any runs or bleeds.

If you've been collecting Spawn figures and figures with highly complex details, this one won't disappoint you even with the added amount of hinges. As you can see on these photos, the hinges are barely noticeable and blending well with the sculpt of this figure. And of course, one shouldn't ignore McFarlane's trademark design on the cape which has been, as well, consistent all throughout like the one on The Art of Spawn - Spawn on my last year's review. In addition, attached under his belt buckle is a 14-inch long metal chain that is almost twice longer than Kratos' chained weapons.

And with all these great detail, comes a base stand that is also greatly detailed. Obviously, this is the dome of a cathedral where there is a cross and where there are pegs (in pairs) in two different areas that give you that option of having Spawn either stand in front of the cross or have him perch on top of it. I prefer having him perch on this 12.5-inch base stand, and it is surprisingly very stable. Even with some weight on the figure, you wouldn't think this could fall or collapse.

I couldn't stop myself from comparing this Spawn to a Marvel figure and I want to see which toyline this figure is more likely compatible with. Marvel Legends or Marvel Select? As you can see here, Spawn's overall girth has to be a little wider to be able mix well with the Selects. I think he leans more towards Marvel Legends even with this height of 7 inches. Such iconic figure with great amount of detail and poseability is pretty hard to come by. And if there is one Spawn figure I would recommend to any collector, it is this one right here.