Knighthood lies above eternity; it doesn’t live off fame, but rather deeds.
- Dejan Stojanovic, The Sun Watches the Sun
Hi guys,
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to add the statue of Medieval Spawn from McFarlane Toys to my collection.
When I unboxed the statue and assembled it I felt like I was taking a trip down memory lane.
This hobby started for me many, many moons ago with the Spawn action figures which I saw in my LCS everytime that I dropped by to pick up a new collection of comic books.
I liked these action figures so much that it was not for long before I started to buy and collect them.
In general I am a Marvel guy but I have always liked the Spawn merchandise and I am happy that impressive statues and figures are available nowadays for fans and collectors all over the world.
A special '
Thanks!' goes to
Ramon who enabled me to add this statue to my collection; thanks Ramon, you are the man!
Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions; I would love to hear from you!
For now I hope you will enjoy the pictures taken; have fun!
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My Verdict
A great battle is a terrible thing, the old knight said, but in the midst of blood and carnage, there is sometimes also beauty, beauty that could break your heart.
- George R.R. Martin, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Statue number: 718/1500
Height: The statue stands over 17 inches tall
Manufacturer: Designed by Todd McFarlane and his award winning McFarlane Toys design group
Release date: December 2015
Sculpt:
10 - Perfect
Being a Hellspawn means that you have a lot to live up to. You are not only an officer in Hell’s armed forces with a clear instruction to provide Hell
with more and more souls but you are also expected to lead the dark forces of Hell into battle and make Heaven shake and trumble on its foundations.
The Hellspawn have a tremendous task laid out for them and to top it all they are created by Malebolgia and Mammon, the highest rulers in Hell, themselves.
It should not come as a surprise that these officers of Hell’s army look intimidating, scary, powerful and overwhelming in a dark, frightening way.
As beautiful and devine as Angels are, so dark and daunting look their counterparts from Hell.
The Hellspawn are truely incredibly powerful engines of destruction and they definitely look the part.
With this in mind I have the give Todd McFarlane and his team a huge applause for the awesome sculpt of Medieval Spawn.
I think a perfect score should not be given lightly and should really be earned but when looking at this statue I see only things I like and admire.
The victorious and defiant stance, the incredible level of detail on Spawn’s armor and weapon, the frighteningly real separated head of Spawn’s arch enemy The Violator,
the little second base with the skulls of dead warriors and a sword rammed into a solid piece of rock; it’s all of the highest level.
When you look at Spawn the first thing you will probably notice is his highly detailed armor.
I hope my pictures will have given you an idea but the details on Spawn’s armor are really insane.
Spawn’s armor is Beautiful with a capital B and Impressive with a capital I and based on his armor,
Sir John must have been a wealthy knight who could afford the best and most expensive armor made by only the very best craftsmen.
King Henry himself would not have a better looking armor.
But the goodies do not end there: the flesh wounds on Spawn’s body are a great touch and tell a story of the fierce and bloody battle which took place moments before.
With a bit of imagination you can smell the scent of spilled blood and decay and feel the fury and rage when Spawn unleashed his powers in a battle on life or death
to show The Violater once and for all that it chose the wrong Hellspawn to mess with.
A fierce and terrible battle took place and the sculpture has caught the struggle, bloodlust and frenzy perfectly.
The chopped off right tusk of The Violator is a stroke of genius in this regard.
The alternate head showing Sir John’s horrifying and decaying face is sending out a clear message into this world and the next one:
all shall fall who dare to stand in the way of the Hellspawn!
This is not a statue, this is a moment in time of a warrior on the battlefield captured masterfully in resin.
At the end of the day that’s the most any fan and collector can expect from any sculpting company I’d say.
Two thumbs up!
Paint & Mixed Media:
8.5 - Very impressive
The paintjob is in general phenomenal especially on Spawn and The Violator’s head.
Spawn is no knight in shining armor but that is because his armor has seen too many battles against absurdly powerful opponents.
His armor looks weathered and heavily used and that is truly a great feat.
After all that’s how the armor of a veteran Hellspawn should look like.
At the same time the paintjob has managed to preserve and highlight the delicate details on Spawn’s armor.
But that’s not all: when you take into account the dark and intimidating green glow of the Necroplasm shining through his eyes
and the matte redbrown color of Spawn’s cape, you begin to appreciate the paintjob more and more.
It’s all masterfully done and the paintjob elevates the already great sculpt to an even higher level.
The leather-like redbrown elements on Spawn’s armor provide a variety in color and add a touch of color to Spawn’s steel colored armor
just like Spawn’s bluegrey and black painted shield. The armor, the weapons, Spawn himself; the paintjob does not miss a beat on any of these.
Absolutely worthwhile to mention here is the cool paintjob on The Violator’s head.
The red eyes with black stripes, the huge teeth and the grey skin color look great and terrifying.
Add to that that his tusks have a real bonelike color and structure and you can imagine how ugly and scary The Violator looked like when he was alive.
With so much praise you might wonder if there are any shortcomings?
In my humble opinion there is one thing which could have been bettered and that’s the rather bland greyish color of the rocky base.
In itself it would not be too bad but unfortunately the grey color of The Violator’s head blends in a bit too much with the rocks on the base to my liking.
A more brown muddy base or simply giving the rocks a darker grey color would have worked better here.
That being said it’s no dealbreaker since the paintjob overall still manages to fill you with awe everytime you look at the statue.
Design:
9.0 - Excellent
This statue is a real showstopper and it somehow manages to draw your attention almost automatically to it.
More than that, once you start looking you almost cannot stop looking anymore.
There is so much to see and discover when you look at the statue that you simply do not know where to start or where to end:
the gruesome head of The Violator, the incredibly delicate and intricate details on Spawn’s armor, the victorious pose reminiscent of the atrocious battle
which took place moments before; these are all solid indications of a really convincing and wonderful design.
This is what a Hellspawn in his full glory should look like and this is what Hellspawn are all about
: they fight, obliterate, destroy and kill.
Spawn looks fearsome, deadly and dangerous and the design managed to capture the essence of what defines and drives an officer from Hell’s dark army.
Something very cool are the different design options which you have with this statue: there are two heads (a head with a helmet and a head without helmet)
and two different weapons included (a sword and an axe) which means that you have four display options.
I like this variety and think it's a big bonus especially since the two heads as well as the two weapons are equally beautiful and impressive.
I personally like to display Spawn with his helmet on carrying his big battle ax but I realize your mileage may differ and the statue still looks
great with any of the other three display options.
The addition of a second small base is quite unique and even though I will not display the statue with its COA, I still like the extra small base since
it adds to the illusion of the battle which took place before due to the addition of the skulls and the sword rammed into a piece of rock.
The only thing I would have liked to see differently is the somewhat bland and common rocky base.
I love the fact that Spawn is standing with one foot on top of The Violator’s head since it shows his great powers and might but it would have been great
if the rest of the base was a bit more special, a bit more on the same high level as the rest of the statue.
Perhaps a different base would have worked better (muddy, dirty base or a lava-pit base for example) would have worked better
and would have made the statue even more special than it already is IMHO.
Last but not least some final words about the name plate which is part of the base (it cannot be removed)
In general I am not a big fan of nameplates (for the simple reason that I already know which character I am looking at
and do not need to be reminded) but with this statue it does not bother me much.
In fact it even adds some extra flavour to the base and I like the fact that some of The Violator’s teeth are hovering over the nameplate.
It looks cool and it works well and that can be said about the entire design. Tood McFarlane and his team did a great job
and they designed one
Hell of a statue ...
)
Production & Build Quality:
8.5 - Very Impressive
I have no doubt whatsoever that this statue will stand the test of time without any problem if treated with a little bit of TLC.
The statue feels solid and sturdy and when I assembled it I felt the quality of the materials used through the ruggedness and rigidity of the various pieces.
Spawn’s cape for example is a solid piece of resin with a good weight to it and when you attach it to Spawn’s armor it slides into place with a reassuring feel.
(Note: when you assemble the statue please make sure you attach the head first on Spawn’s body and attach the cape afterwards.
If you attach the cape first, you will find that it’s impossible to attach the head properly on Spawn’s body.
When you disassemble the statue, for example because you would like to change heads, it’s the other way around:
first take off Spawn’s cape after which you can safely and easily remove the head).
The statue was made with care and that’s also apparent when you look at small details like the chain on Spawn’s chest which connects to both ends of his cape.
On both sides the chain has a small stylized skull and both skulls are magnetic. That makes it very easy to attach the skulls to the ends of his cape.
You have to do that with a bit of care though: since the skulls are magnetic the steel chain gets easily pulled to one or both of them.
This can make it a little fiddly to make the chain hang straight on Spawn’s armor (I noticed that on my pics the chain is a bit in a knot on one side because of this…)
Two things I would like to mention as final thoughts.
First the bottom of the main base is not flat. There is an indentation underneath the base which makes it easy to grab the base and get a good grip.
Secondly, the sword on the second, small base feels just a bit flimsy. It’s not like the sword will fall of the base if you move the base (the sword is attached to the base rather securely)
but if you decide to move the additional, small base around I would advise against moving the base around by pulling or pushing the sword.
All-in all this is a very solid piece which is put together very well and which will most likely outlive you if treated with a bit of respect, common sense and care.
Good stuff!
Overall rating:
9.0 - Excellent
With statues getting better and more impressive almost every year, it would perhaps be understandable to say that today's excellent statues are tomorrow's
obsolete or mediocre representations of the character.
That being said I think it's also fair to say that some statues look so cool, are so impressive and and have such a great presence, that they will keep their attraction.
Even if other statues of the same character are released afterwards which are designed by the newest and hottest talents using the latest technological possibilities.
In my humble opinion this statue of Medieval Spawn is such a statue.
That does not mean that there will be no bigger and better statues of Spawn released in the future; I have no doubt that will happen sooner or later.
It does mean however that in my perception this statue will keep its attraction and presence no matter what happens in times to come.
The statue scores high marks on all criteria and with a bit of fantasy it really is as if Medieval Spawn has come to life.
That's why I can wholeheartedly give this statue a big Two Thumbs Up-recommendation; it truly is a job well done by Todd and his team!
Background Information
The Hellspawn are controlled by Malebolgia, the ruler of the eighth realm of hell, and are mainly used as an officer corps for hell's army.
They were created by Malebolgia and Mammon. Hellspawn are infused with dark energy matter, called Necroplasm, when they are created.
This power is infinite while in Hell and finite when outside.
Most Hellspawn were once human, and made a bargain with Malebolgia to return to Earth for either love or vengeance;
he would agree to return them to Earth if they promise to become an officer in Satan's Hellspawn army.
This deal usually backfires on the Hellspawn, as then Malebolgia would return them to Earth several years (or decades) into the future.
The Hellspawn are bonded with a symbiotic armor that protects the Host. Their time on Earth is also limited.
Each time a Hellspawn uses his powers it brings him closer to a second death, returning him to hell.
The nature of Hellspawn as generals in hell's army is threefold.
Either the Spawn will be a successful murderer and will use his energy to kill innocent and evil alike, thereby providing hell with more souls,
or he will try to do good by killing bad people. However, this will only supply hell with the souls of the worst kind of murderers.
Alternatively, they will refuse to kill and be destroyed by heaven, in which case hell does not lose anything and will just make another Hellspawn.
No harm shall come to this town... not while I live!
- Medieval Spawn
Medieval Spawn a.k.a. Sir John of York
As the name suggests, this is a Hellspawn from the medieval era of 16th century England. He was a knight named Sir John of York, who fought during a civil war in England. He was released from service to Henry II after he and three others mistakenly killed the Archbishop of Canterbury (they mistook some angry words by the King as an order).
He was killed on a battlefield in Ireland by the King's bodyguards as he approached King Henry for forgiveness. For his past deeds of killing (and enjoying it), John was sent to Hell, where he, like others made a deal with Malebolgia. He was returned to Earth, several years in the future and clad in medieval looking symbiotic armor. Upon realizing what had happened (which was helped along with him finding his own grave), John traveled throughout England, doing good deeds in the hope he would be redeemed.
While still a new Hellspawn, Medieval Spawn was stalked by an agent of Heaven, Angela. He was lured into an isolated cave and was murdered by the experienced Hellspawn slayer who after she used her Dimensional Lance against him.
Powers
Necroplasm - The Power of a Hellspawn
The source of Spawn’s power comes from necroplasm. It is the necroplasm which gives him his strength and durability. His strength is capable of lifting an entire building and throwing it with ease. Necroplasm was originally dubbed by humans as Psychoplasm, but later in translation has become the green goo we're all more familiar with. Each Hellspawn is given 9:9:9:9 units of necroplasm and when that is gone they go straight back to Hell.
Due to the necroplasm, Medieval Spawn has the following powers:
◾ Energy Projection
◾ Necroplasm Magic
◾ Necromancy
◾ Metamorphosis
◾ Superhuman Agility
◾ Superhuman Stamina
◾ Superhuman Strength
Based on his experience and training as a knight, Medieval Spawn has the following abilities:
◾ Hand-to-Hand Combat
◾ Swordmanship
