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Packaging - ***1/2
This clam shell packaging is growing on me. It works well, you can see
the figure and insert easily, and it holds up to shelf wear like nobody's
business.
Sculpting - Mummy ****, Sea
Creature ***1/2, Voodoo Queen ***1/2, Dracula ***, Werewolf **1/2
The sculpting on this line has the usual detail and intricacy that you've
come to expect from McFarlane. It is their strongest suit, and
something that sets their figures above others.
This line is no
different. While some of the designs may not be to your liking, they
are all well sculpted. The least exciting is the Werewolf, and you can
expect him to be the peg warmer. I'm not sure about the soft
'membrane' that covers his face in the packaging, but you'll want to get it
out of the way as soon as you open him up. The face is much better
underneath, but overall he's just not a great figure.
Dracula is better, particularly
the face sculpt. There's tons of detail here, with a style that most
folks will at least find passable.
The Voodoo Queen is very well
done, with tons of detail and a great style. But the two winners are
the Sea Creature and the Mummy. The level of detail in these sculpts
really is amazing, and you won't be disappointed with either one.
The Sea Creature sculpt is one
of the best of the line, and would have been the top scorer except for one
detail that I don't like - the position of the head. Posing him with
the twist in his head, as though he's looking back over his shoulder, really
hurts the number of poses you can put this figure in.
There's a couple interesting
points on the Mummy sculpt. First, the hole in his face actually
passes all the way through to the back of his skull. And second, the
details are so good on this figure, that there is even a small scorpion
trapped under the bandages of his left leg.
Paint - Mummy **1/2, Sea
Creature ****, Voodoo Queen ***1/2, Dracula ***, Werewolf ***
The paint ops on most of these figures is extremely good, with Sea Creature
being the top standout, but the Voodoo Queen a close second. I picked
up the bloody versions, so everyone has some level of blood splashed around.
Well, except for the Sea Creature. I thought that the blood on his
hands and claws actually detracted from the look of the figure, so I went
with the clean version there.
The weakest in this category is
a surprise - the Mummy. While he's the best in most of the other
categories, here he's on the sloppy side. The paint work on the
medallion and other items of his body isn't as clean as you'd expect, and it
detracts from an otherwise perfect figure. The paint work on the gold
head piece is great though, so I'm not sure what went wrong.
Accessories - Mummy ****,
Sea Creature ****, Voodoo Queen ****, Dracula ***, Werewolf Bupkis
All the figures, with the exception of the Werewolf, have great
accessories. Perhaps the 'backpack' on the Werewolf is intended as his
accessory, but compared to the other figures it is lacking.
Dracula comes with a ton of
rats, another bat or two, and since his cape is removable, I'll count that
as well. His cape is also made from a translucent plastic, with a
metal chain across the front. He also has a number of metal chains
hanging off him with bats attached. The sculpts on some of the rats is weak,
but overall they make for great accessories.
The Sea Creature has two
spears, one that is broken but fits nicely into a small hole in his upper
back, obviously the reason he's looking over that shoulder. There is
also a man's head on a hook, most likely the gent that speared him in the
back. It's appropriately gruesome, with one eyeball hanging out. That
had to hurt.
The Voodoo Queen has an
excellent spear as well, and this one has an extra nice touch. There
is a metal pin, rather than plastic, that holds the two pieces
together. It's sure to hold up much better. She also has the
ceremonial mask, sculpted with lots of attention and detail, and it fits
perfectly over her head.
The Mummy has three major
accessories. First, there is the golden dog faced cowl, intricately
sculpted and nicely painted. It fits tightly, but won't fall
off. There is also a bendy cobra, looking ready to strike. And
finally, he has a two ended weapon, which can be connected to make one
lethal tool, or two separate but just as deadly weapons. These can
also be attached to the back of the cowl.
Articulation - Mummy ****,
Sea Creature ***, Voodoo Queen ***1/2, Dracula ***, Werewolf ***
The Werewolf is the least articulated of the set, with shoulders (one ball
jointed), neck, waist, left wrist, and hips. The blades on his backpack also
have some limited range of motion. He stands well on his own, but
compared to the others is a bit lacking.
The Sea Creature is better
articulated than you might first assume. With neck, ball jointed
shoulders and hips, a bendy tail, and mid-waist joint, he can handle a lot
of poses. It's just the sculpt of the head that restricts some of the
things you can do. He stands just fine on his own.
Dracula has fairly decent
articulation as well, with neck, shoulders, cut joint bicep on the right
arm, wrist on the left arm, waist, hips, and cut joints at the calves.
He has rather funky feet though that make standing him a little tricky.
The Voodoo Queen has neck,
shoulders, wrists, a cut joint on the right bicep, chest, hips and cut
joints on the calves. She stands nicely on her own. It's really
surprising just how many hidden joints there are overall.
But the big surprise is the
Mummy. With neck, jaw, ball jointed shoulders, ball jointed hips,
waist, REAL elbow joints, REAL knee joints, REAL wrist joints, REAL ankle
joints (not just cut joints!), cut joints on the thighs, and cut joints on
the upper arms, he's one of the best articulated McFarlane figures
ever. All the joints are well hidden, and have good mobility except
for the hips.
Value - **1/2
At $12 or #13, these are an okay buy, but I'm hoping that this increase
isn't something we'll see for all Spawn lines. These really shouldn't
be more than $10 a pop.
Overall - Mummy ****, Sea Creature ***1/2, Voodoo Queen ***, Dracula
**1/2, Werewolf **
Coming up with overall scores on a couple of these was tough for
me. I had no trouble giving four stars to the Mummy - he is in
contention for best figure of 2002. Likewise, the Sea Creature is an
excellent figure, only hurt slightly by the pre-posing of his head.
Voodoo Queen is well done, but is really here just to be the required
babelicious figure in the series.
Dracula and Werewolf aren't terrible
figures, but stacked up against the rest of the line they certainly don't
deserve higher marks. If you're looking to decide which figures to buy
first in this series, I recommend the following order - Mummy, Sea Creature,
Frankenstein, Voodoo Queen, Dracula and then Werewolf. I may even pick
up the Alien Spawn from the last series to go along with them.
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