Overtkill

Overkill was the big nasty robotic assasin sent to kill Spawn, haunting the alleys - after a vicious brawl, the enormous android that was once a man was destroyed, his remains sent back to the sender. There have been three action figure incarnations of Overkill, each with an extra "t" added to the name to make it Overtkill instead of Overkill - I still have no idea the reason for this, but it's irrelevant - Overtkill was a funky figure when it first hit the stores in the first form, to be reviewed today, even before its massive upgrades into the popular boxed set Overtkill III seen later, 19 series after the original. He shows his age, but he's still a fun toy. Overtkill stands a puny 6" tall, about half the size of his later incarnation, but plenty bulky like his comic counterpart. He looks like a cross between a big robot toy and a wrestling figure - he has a simple colorscheme of greys and blues for armor, which are applied well over the nice sculpt. Comparing this toy to the later, it shows its age - the sculpt is simple, and the paint isn't nearly as detailed as it is later; for example the screws are left unpainted all over, which would be a cardinal sin if this were a newer McToy. However, there are simple but neat details all over that raised Overtkill above the norm - to begin with is his face, which is painted neatly - the metallic wires and sight look great, as does the evil grin-frown expression on his face. There are suitable details on his arms and wrist, including the mini rocket-launcher-esque weapons on his wrists; soft, bendable plastic spikes on one arm; and sculpted/painted chains on the other. The skintone is nice, as is the detailing over his chest and shoulderblades, and overall, the paint and sculpt is very good. Overtkill suffers from little articulation - this is partly because of the bulkiness of the figure as well as the age; he is articulated only at the shoulders and legs, which doesn't leave much movement. He can however throw his big hands around a bit for some play value - although for posability and play value, he looks best just standing on the shelf, hands raised to attack. Overtkill includes one accessory - a nicely detailed, torn off parking meter - which he can swing at Spawn, or hold above his head menacingly. It's a nice accessory, much better than the others in this line. Overtkill comes topped off with a nifty action figure: pressing a button on his back fires his head off at the speed of light, allowing reenaction of his death from the comic, and no doubt taking a few kids' eyes in the process. The feature is great and his severed head is very nicely detailed - you can see the muscle tissue covering the mechanical insides, very pretty. Even years after buying this figure, the action feature still works just as well as the day it was purchased. That's quality. Overall, Overtkill is a nice piece of nostalgia, a nifty figure showing the origins of the popular Spawn line from McFarlane Toys. The later Overtkill III from Series 20 might be fun, but without the head-firing-off action feature, it's not nearly as fun as this guy. Plus, Overtkill is amazingly durable - as a bulky toy, this is one guy who can topple from the desk and not be broken at all. Playable and fun, Overtkill gets my highest nostalgia recommendation. -- 02/18/03

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