[TAO: It's time for another antiquated review by DrNightmare, and this time he takes us into the world of McFarlane Toys circa 2002 with a review of Raven Spawn. Is this nightmarish figure enough for the doctor himself? Read on to find out!]
Name: Raven Spawn
Line: Spawn Series 21, Alternate Realities
Manufacturer: McFarlane Toys
Released: 2002
Scale: 6.00 in. (figure is ~6.2 in. tall)
Accessories: Bladed-Staff
The main complaint I hear (or rather, HEARD, since this is an older toy) is that he's too small. And though I agree that compared to other Spawn figures, Raven here looks smaller, he by no means looks out of place. He does NOT stand 6.5 inches, like the official numbers claim, he stands about 6.2 inches with the hood making-up the rest of the height. He would be taller, but the head is looking down a bit, making him look shorter. It doesn't bother me much because I collect 6-inch figures, but it's worth noting if you buy this online and are expecting a giant. This guy is beefy though, he looks like solid muscle, his ass being the strongest, capable of crushing many skulls in one sitting.
Like most McFarlane figures, the sculpting is phenomenal, the hooded-cloak even looks like real leather and resembles a bird's wings from the back. The staff accessory is just as meticulously detailed as the figure itself. I can't see anyone giving these classic McF figures anything less than a 9 because no matter how intricate the design, the end-product always looks clean and refined. Every spike you see on the body is sharp, even the edges! The spider-like claws actually look like claws because the tips haven't been rounded-off, like many other companies do. There is no softness on this figure's design, as it should be. This is all a jags and stabs and zig-zags, like shattered glass. The multi-layered body-armor all has a distressed look, like skin stretched too far, and doesn't look bulky at all. Sometimes I wonder why McFarlane likes to add skulls indiscriminately to his designs, they get annoying. This figure would look much less tacky without the skulls on his body, the staff looks good though. The head, or should I say skull, is creepy as hell, and is a great reason to cover this figure up at night. I think the head is too small compared to the body, but the hood helps hide it. The chains dangling from the waist are real metal while the sickles are plastic. Neither are removable but the chain moves freely around the waist.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
One of my own main complaints with McF figures is that no matter how awesomely-sculpted they are, someone always has to go ahead and ruin that with a half-hearted paint-job. I'm not saying this figure was painted by a lazy monkey, the dry-brushing is acceptable and helps bring-out the detail, but it's just not the level of quality I was expecting. In the promo pics, the coppers and greys and browns are clearly defined, every color has a purpose. But the actual figure is just a drab mess. The chest-plates are barely defined and the spikes have almost no copper on them, the blades on the staff have ZERO. The cloak is all one solid color, so it's kinda dull, with only a very faint metallic-purple dry-brushing in some areas. At least the eyes are painted so they POP! right out at you, their neon-green aura is eerie against the drabness of the rest of the figure.
Also, there is this mysterious milky film over the armor on the arms and legs. What is that!? It looks like a wash of gray, and I tried scrubbing it off but it won't go away, this was definitely added at the factory, but why? It makes the armor look chalky and hides details, it's a nuisance. The chains are painted a dirty titanium white so they don't look too sparkly against the dusty body. Also of note is that there is a variant of this figure, with more reds and blacks in the color-scheme to make all the details pop! more.
Paint Score: 7 / 10
The curse of the Spawn line of figures is the lack of articulation in them as the years went by. Luckily, Raven Spawn managed to make the deadline for poseability, but the articulation he got isn't as impressive as his older brothers. All main body-parts do move, but they are almost all swivels, only the knees are hinged, but they're very limited by the sculpt. You can't even bend them without making the figure fall over, so they're pretty much useless. There's really only one stance this guy can have, without falling, it's kinda like he's saying "Well, here I am, now what?". You have to rely on the arms to add more character but they're just as limited as the legs. The cape is flexible but it still hinders some movement, the head is very hard to turn. The arms only go up and down, and the swivel-elbows don't help much at all. The torso is on a ball-joint, which is very loose for some reason, but at least it adds more flexibility. It doesn't tilt forward though, only back and to the sides. Bummer.
The cape isn't meant to be removable, but you can easily pull it off, leaving the hood on the figure. The figure is still fully-sculpted underneath, so you can display it that way too. Or, you can just split the cape at the shoulders a little (there's a glued seam there) so the arms can move up a little more.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10
Handling this figure is like rolling a pin-cushion in your hands with the points sticking out, so if that's your thang, you'll love this! The articulation is enough to have some fun with it, but angled-swivels always complicate things; It can get frustrating trying to get the limbs to go in the direction you want them to. The loose chest becomes problematic because the heavy cape and arms make the upper-body sag to the sides. If you just want this for display, then it's a formidable, statuesque piece of art.
Do not, under any circumstances, give this toy to a little kid, especially if they are your own ill-behaved spawn! Those spikes are NOT flexible, only the fingers are so the staff can be placed in his hands. After a few seconds of playing with it they will either drop it and lose a toe, or throw it at grandma and lose their butts because of the spanking you will give them. This toy should really only be given to teenagers and adults who have no known issues of depression. It should only be given to them under the supervision of a professional and should never be played with while consuming alcoholic beverages. Pregnant women should not use this toy, for obvious reasons. The staff is cool though, you can use it as a back-scratcher or a tooth-pick.
Fun Score: 7 / 10
You can still find this figure for very cheap prices online, even as low as a dollar! (what would we do without the internet to get old toys nowadays?). Even at retail (around $10 - $13) this figure is an ultra-awesome buy. The clam-shell packaging is very attractive, like all old McFarlane packages used to be, and looks great on a wall along with all your other Spawn figures. The neat thing about this toy is that it doesn't look exclusively like a Spawn item because the Spawn-logo isn't pronounced at all. It just looks like another killer piece to add to your collection of ghouls. The overly-drab colors kinda make it blend into the background though.
This section needs filler, so here we go! I had this up on a high shelf, one day it fell and one of the spikes embedded itself in my foot, before snapping off inside. So I got some tweezers to yank it out, then glued it back onto the figure. This toy is now on a table, surrounded by large soft plush dolls.
Value Score: 8 / 10
Summary
9 - Lol, what's up with the skulls? I'd like to see one Spawn fig without a freaking skull on it. Otherwise, awesome.
7 - Doesn't look like the promo pics, too drab with missiing copper accents and a mysterious whitish overspray.
7 - Very well hidden and gives enough movement to get nice poses, but not many.
7 - You're really buying a display piece instead of a toy, it's just too awkward to play with.
8 - Gorgeous piece of plastic at a great price, makes a great gift for anyone, you know, except priests and stuff.
Overall Score: 77 / 100 - This is a Good Toy
You'll most likely throw this up on your shelf and forget about it until it falls and lands on your foot. Good times.
-DrNightmare
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