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SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED!
That's what jolly cracker Toddy the Mick promised with the Spawn: Reborn line: repaints that were substantially changed from their previous releases. And given that McFarlane Toys is the company that invented the R3 concept - "Resculpted, Repainted, Revisited" - you'd expect some truly substantial changes, yes? Surprise! yo already reviewed half the line and they were nothing but repaints. The other half is a chunk better.
We start with Curse of the Spawn II, from Series 13. He's really Daniel Llanso, the Spawn of four centuries in the future. Rather than a superhero costume, he wears armor made of bones, since he lives in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but the defining feature of the action figure is the swarm of bats that hover above his head. On this new version, the bone armor is black instead of white, and his burnt skin is tan instead of grey.
The Reborn version of the Curse of the Spawn II trades his bony wings for a tattered softgoods cape, thus making him more Spawn-like. His articulation is kind of not-good, with swivels at the neck, shoulders, left elbow and wrist, and a V-crotch. Lame! Instead of the large bone axe the original had, this one is armed with a bloody metal weapon of some kind.
Series 21's Wings of Redemption Spawn was a fan-favorite, thanks to his big feathery angel wings. This one SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGES that so he instead has bit leather demon wings. Kind of undercuts the "redemption" part of the name, doesn't it?
Beyond that, all his colors are darker now. Instead of a grey with highlights, he's nearly black, and his armor is blood red rather than brick. The articulation on the original figure was right terrible, and it's none the better now. Because of the weight of hiss wings, he won't stand for very long without tipping over.
Look! It's a figure I've already reviewed! The death knight Raven Spawn comes from Series 21, and is BEAST! I wanted to use him to be me in our Figuretoons, but Poe already claimed the "dark black hooded demon guy", so I couldn't.
His SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE is that instead of black and gold, he's now red and black. Yes, just a straightforward repaint, without even a new accessory like Curse of the Spawn got. Series 21 is still on the store shelves, so it's really just a matter of whether you like this colorscheme better.
McFarlane Toys' Spawn: Reborn line is really a mixed bag. Some of the figures look neat, but it's still just an excuse to reuse sculpts without giving us anything new. If these had been as SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED as promised, they might be nice, but overall it's a disappointment.
-- 07/09/03
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