Monday, July 11, 2022

McFarlane Gets My Money

 
I don't know exactly what happened at McFarlane Toys, but for some reason they stopped packing in any kind firearms with figures that should have them. Which was kinda of a bummer for collectors of  DC Multiverse and Mortal Kombat figures, and raised the need to have to track down weapons in the correct scale to arm the characters. Three characters that hit me the hardest for being "incomplete" was Commando Spawn, Grifter, and Peacemaker, so when I got an e-mail saying an exclusive weapons pack was coming from the offical McFarlane store website I immediately pre-ordered it. As soon as I got the confirmation the perfectly named Munitions Pack was shipping out I ordered the three figures offline, and amazingly they all showed up at the same time.
Truly blown away by Commando Spawn, it's not just the previous released Spawn with a different head and added straps, he is almost completely new molding. The only reused parts of the cape, gauntlet, and cone boot are on a completely new body which is molded to look like skin tight hi-tech body armor with new spiked strapped left arm and lower leg, scarfed head, and wrapped hands. He comes packed with the same Necroplasm flames that came with Malefik Spawn, which if you read the early Spawn comics goes against the idea of this incarnation cause when Spawn goes "Commando" it's because he conserving he limited Necroplasm power, and falls back on his military training, and weapon expertise.
I'm sure I've mentioned on this blog that I am a huge Jim Lee fan, and by that extension fan of his Image Comics super-hero team WildC.A.T.S, so I was stoked when they revealed a 7-inch highly detailed and highly articulated figure of Grifter as he currently appearing in DC Comics. Please, please, please let this be the beginning getting the rest of the modern versions of the WildC.A.T.S team, please Todd. He comes with a sword and a knife, which isn't outside his skill set cause he is trained in the Coda martial arts and melee combat, but definitely looks much better with the modified 9MM Beretta handguns from the weapons pack.  

I love James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, and really enjoy John Cena as Peacemaker, and his solo show on HBO Max was the most insane, hilarious, and messed up comic-based extravaganza since The Boys to hit streaming. So color me surprised, and extremely disappointed along with the majority of all collectors that his action figure did not come with his signature gun, but instead a sword he maybe used in one quick scene in the film, but thanks to the weapons pack he now has his extended Desert Eagle with silencer which is movie accurate, I just wish the silencer was removable. Now I need to get Bloodsport to stand next to him, and fingers crossed for a Vigilante figure soon.
So with McFarlane's excellent offerings in DC Multiverse, and the resurgence of Spawn thanks to the milestone 300th issue which reignited the character's popularity in pop culture, and demand for new collectibles, Todd has been getting my money far more then any of the other toy companies as of late. In the latest comics not only are old variations of Hellspawns for across the centuries and multiverse coming together in the pages with the current Al Simmons Spawn, but also new Spawn variations are coming out of the woodwork, so now we have an actual team made of the various Hellspawn called The Scorched. As a huge Spawn fan who grew up playing with the original 90's Todd Toys Spawn figures, to once again be going to the store and searching for new modern renditions of characters like Ninja Spawn and She-Spawn is pure weaponized nostalgia hook, line, and sinker for me.
The Redeemer a.k.a. Anti-Spawn is my favorite Spawn villain, as much as I love the new winged version, I really hope one day we get the old purple cape first appearance as a modern figure, maybe in the future as a repaint/running change of Redeemer III a.k.a Reaper from The Scorched team. you can't have Spawn's rouges gallery without The Clown, and this hefty and craftily detailed figure scarringly portrays the menacing demon from McFarlane's artwork. My fingers are crossed and wish list in my head for villains like Chapel, Tremor, and The Curse to be expertly brought to fruition as the line continues.
 
Azrael was my very first DC Multiverse figure, and to date he is still my absolute favorite of them all, and in that picture is two of only three Jean-Paul Valley Azrael figures made, which boggles my mind for a Batman ally. Pretty sure Deathstroke was my second ever from the line, now he is betterly armed with the MP5 from the weapons pack, and sword from Grifter. The properly faced and colored Batman Beyond was on my hunt list for awhile, and was so glad to finally find him at the last convention I went to, just wish he came with a show accurate Batarang.