McFarlane Toys Spawn

Stuff I suspected I would not like:

Right off the hop there were things I didn't like about this figure. Some, maybe even most of which, are things I sort've expected I wouldn't like, or knew outright I wouldn't like. The biggest one really is that stupid fucking boot. I hate it. I fucking hate it so much. I genuinely and truly believe it's one of the single worst design elements in the history of comic books. And I especially hate that Todd is so up his own ass about how great it is that he retroactively shoves it into figures it does not belong on. Really wish this figure, which supposedly pays homage to the original, had left this awful design in the flaming dumpster where it belongs.

I don't love the articulation. It's only slightly better than the previous KS figure, and worse than basically all regular-style McF figures at retail right now due to the magnetic chest stuff. It's great that he doesn't have the pre-posed elements that the original KS figure had. He poses okay. But he doesn't pose -great-. Nothing unexpected here, of course. But it would have been nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Don't like that the scabbard is designed to be worn on the back. I'm actually displaying mine with it on the waist, but if you pay attention it does look funny because the belt is just way too big for that. But goddamn I hate back scabbards.

Stuff I thought I'd like and don't:

I very much appreciate the ability to swap out the newer-looking stuff for different and/or more classic stuff. Again, I'm far less excited that Todd once again pushed that stupid giant gauntlet thing with the spike on it rather than something that looks like the actual original figure. But all the options the magnets allow for is terrific.
That being said...the magnetic bullshit isn't as good as I was hoping for, although this could go into the category of 'kind of expected this.' The magnets definitely make this a 'put it in a pose and put it back on the shelf' kind of toy. The gauntlet pieces do not stay on very well, and I suspect the chest mostly stays on because it's pinned in place by the collar chain.

The pauldrons on my figure are also kind of a big issue. They're on a little ball joint that is on a ring around the shoulder-ball. Sort've like some other modern figures that have shoulder pads - like the newer Black Series Stormtroopers. So, theoretically, the arm can move all over and you can still reposition the pauldrons to be on top of the shoulder instead of rotating with it. It's a good idea. This is .. for the most part.. how it should be done.

That being said.... the QC here is wackadoodle. The plastic ring has zero tension, so the pauldrons just slide all over. They flop around like Super7 ninja turtle legs. And the little ball joint is also useless as the pauldrons cannot hold position on them and just sit in the direction of the weight of them. So yeah... it's a good idea. I thought it was a pretty great idea. Implementation on mine is pretty bad. Not sure if that's for everyone, so YMMV. Maybe I just got a bad one.

Really minor complaint is that the logo face design on the round shield is orientated badly. It's a strapped shield so mostly it orients that the 'top' of the shield is parallel to the forearm. So when he's holding the shield in most normal poses - the face design is sideways.
Putting the emblem this way would make sense for a kite shield where it's held differently and the top of the shield is (sort've) perpendicular to the forearm. Again.. minor complaint. But still kind of a silly thing to not notice.

The good:

Everything else, right? If you accept that this is McFarlane and it has its McFarlisms, then it's a good figure. The big strengths you all already knew going in were the overall look and the piece count. The figure looks incredible. The paints are gorgeous. The sculpting is amazing. And the combination of getting all that paint onto that sculpted detail is really just next level. And, of course, the accessories. There's so many cool things. It's like getting a Mezco figure; it can be overwhelming trying to decide how to display the figure because there's legitimately a lot of great options.

And even though I'm an opener and I don't care about packaging, it's worth pointing out that the presentation here is second to none. The outer sleeve looks great, and opening it up the first time and seeing all those accessories in the foam holder is just awesome. At the very least, I'd say it was worth every penny.

Also want to point out that I'm VERY pleased that Todd abandoned the wind-swept cape collar he originally showed off where the collar basically blocked the figure's face unless he was looking off to the right. Excellent call making sure you weren't, once again, forcing customers into certain poses.