Category Archives: Spawn

Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell

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Watch the YouTube video HERE

This flu sickness just keeps on. I went back to work for two days, but now I am sitting here just shivering. And today is the warmest it’s been in weeks. I got Battle Armor Skeletor’s blog review up, and now and getting up this Undead of Vikenfell. You can see the YouTube version of the unboxing here. And I want to do one more post of which figure is greater. It’s kind of philosophical. So many of the toys I review I give high marks to…but does that mean anything? On the other hand, this project is getting long in the tooth, and I want to get to other reviews soon.

Well let’s get into what Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell is actually about, then we can theorize later.

PACKAGING

The box is your typical Mythic Legions box. It has a large window bubble on the front, and a cardboard back, making it collector friendly packaging. (Little tabs let you remove and replace the cardboard.

There is a little blurb on the side about what this character is…essentially a skeleton Viking. A strong warrior in life, the character has found this undeath to be what passes for Valhalla because of the intervention of “Skalla of Necronominus”. (I know I messed that all up). But THEY messed something up also…the word “unsatiable” should be “insatiable”)

The back features the image that goes with this wave that is impossible to pronounce.

These figures on the side…I believe I saw the blue-skinned lady. The others I have never seen as they are a part of the upcoming wave. The thing on the bottom is a skeleton beast. Third from the top in Maxillius, who should be shipping soon. But I have been saying that for three months, so…

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the package…

  • Undead of Vikenfell Figure
  • Two alternate heads (I have my favorite on for this photo)
  • A shield
  • A sophisticated curved sword
  • A Viking axe
  • A cloth-goods cape
  • Alternate “open” hands
  • Shoulder pauldrons
  • Weapon strap

This is a lot of stuff, even for Mythic Legions. This figure feels like a Legion Builder, but has so many more pieces. I am told that it is a “retailer exclusive,” meaning the Four Horsemen Studios made this specifically to draw people to toy stores. Giving the figure so many accessories and deluxe paint apps helps with that.

Yes. I regard this as deluxe paint. When I made my video, I didn’t even realize…this is the same body as the one that came with Father Christmas! The paint here is so pronounced it felt totally different, and we are talking about something I was messing with everyday. (Back in December…)

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell and Figura Obscura Father Christmas. This is a “kitbash” with MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil-Lyn’s alternate heads and other Mythic Legions weapons.
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell and Legion Builder Skeleton. Legion Builder is wearing Masters of the Universe Classic Vikor’s plastic molded cape, and it just “feels right.” He is a chunky figure in scale with those. The new Undead of Vikenfell has a lighter and daintier feel.

This body, which I understand is actually an elf knight’s body, has a smaller frame to it than the other skeleton warriors I have from Mythic Legions. In both cases, the joints feel very loose. I don’t know how I feel about that with the new figure. At least the older one has an excuse.

But all of these Mythic Legions are modular and designed to come apart. So it should turn out OK. I didn’t have any trouble getting them to stand for photography late at night on a Saturday, so that’s good.

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Valeria (Spirit) and Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell. They fight over who has the best wings on their helmet.

The winged helmet is the signature piece of this figure, though it isn’t my favorite head. These wings, which are removable and feel like they need a bird-body, are painted with awesome action. And there is a tassel that attaches to the back of the helmet. That makes him feel a little bit like “The Predator.”

I don’t believe these wings will be a liability (unless I somehow lose one!) BUT I have a Marvel Legends Thor figure that I keep around in my classroom, and the tip ends of the wings on his helmet are cracking off. Yes…that is one of the worst figures I have ever bought. Just the same, it is something I will always be thinking about when I have characters with tall horns or something.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Demistros, Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor, Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell, and Super7 Ultimates! Valeria (Spirit). These guys are arguing about who’s property is who’s property. Undead of Vikenfell’s cape looks great on Vikor.

ACCESSORIES

The cape. It is big…maybe a little bit too big for the Undead of Vikenfell. It goes very nice on Vikor. (this Vikor is a kitbash of Super7 Ultimates! Conan the Barbarian Battle of the Mounds neutral head and MOTUC Vikor). I have put the necklace that came with GI Joe Classified Gnawgahyde on him. You can see the comparison of the capes below.

Below you can see a comparison of Undead of Vikenfell’s cape and Demistros’ cape. Demistros cape is more premium, BUT the trade off is that it is so difficult to get on and off of the character.

Undead of Vikenfell’s cape is asymmetrical, and I don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but when I first used it I noticed one side was stitched together with a single small thread. I looped it around an arm and got the head on (you need to remove the head and place the hole over the peg). But after just a couple of reconfigurations, that little thread broke. I actually don’t even know if that was done on purpose or not. It just made it look bunchy up around his neck, and I don’t count this as a malfunction.

The sword is quite savage. This is a cross between a broadsword, a scimitar, and a saw. Gruesome! The axe is one of the few Mythic Legions battle axes (the only?) that is not modular. This is all one sculpted piece with marvelous wood grain in the handle and designs on the axe head. The shield is gold with silver paint apps, and is honestly one of the prettiest shields I have for an action figure now.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS UNDEAD OF VIKENFELL

Five points- One point for each metric

Sculpt is very good…the bones in the feet and hands feel so human. Each head has nice character, and I especially like the etched skull and wooden axe handle. So here is a point!

The paint is very good. Every inch of this figure has paint apps. Maybe the sword could have some more paint, but honestly it doesn’t need it. I like how savage and rustic it is.

Articulation…don’t all Mythic Legions excel in this area? Having entirely modular parts makes for unlimited possibilities.

Accessories- Almost like, what didn’t we get? This skeleton has everything you would want in an undead Viking. Except for the boat.

Meaningfulness- I didn’t have a skeleton of this type of elf knight build. The shoulder pauldrons are something that will add to future smaller figures…I tried the larger more traditional one on Father Christmas, and they didn’t really work so well. But these are perfect for that. And this is another “generic” skeleton. I do like barbarians fighting skeletons. And Skeletor needs minions.

So of course I rate this at a 5/5. I don’t have a single complaint.

So now I have to decide between MASTERVERSE New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor and Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell…which of them is the top figure. Stay tuned to the SpartanNerd blog for the verdict!

Halloween Figure Haul- SpartanNerd’s first Mythic Legion

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Halloween always has been a good day, except for exactly one time out of 43. (SpartanNerd is 44…). That one time is enough to throw a wet blanket on the whole celebration. Without me getting to specific, Hub City Geeks, some years since this personal tragedy, I don’t do anything. One year I bought a new iPad with my mom. One year I paid some taxes and bought some donuts. This year I got my alignment tuned and then drove to the Toy Federation in Greer, South Carolina.

I am feeling a little burned on the Super7 Conan the Barbarian situation. I have five figures on order, and none of them set to ship until the Summer of 2024. Yep. King Conan and the throne were ordered on Christmas 2022, and won’t arrive until June 2024. This is irksome. And the Battle of the Mounds collection which I ordered earlier this year is set to ship at the same time. But I have a barbarian itch that needs to be scratched. So on October 30 I looked into it, and there are new Mythic Legions out there.

If you didn’t know, Mythic Legions is the Four Horsemen toy sculpture studios own line. I’ve never bought any because they are all a little bit generic to me, besides also they are quite pricey, and finally hard to find. For instance, I really want the Bird warriors that they came out with. They rarely appear on the secondary market, and when they do, you are looking at $200. Used. Opened. Played with. Etc. But they are so awesome!

What I found was on the Toy Federation Facebook page that they got in a ton of new Mythic Legion product. New at retail will definitely be an option on sad Halloween. So off I went.

Here is $40 worth of skeleton warrior. A simple package…or is it? What attracted me here was that big axe! And so shiny. Since I was in the market for barbarians, I could envision Conan taking out this guy, or him sneaking up behind him with that axe held up.

Examining the package, you can see a polybag on the inside. Mystery accessories? The box seems to be a card with DND style graphics. The bottom says Mythic Legions. (Just so you know, there are some sub-lines. Seventh Kingdom (animals), Gothitropolis, Cosmic Legions, and Figura Obscura (real-life)) But Mythic Legions is their main property.

Here is the back. This image looks like something from Elden RIng. (I am about to finish my first play through!). And one more thing, see how the plastic window wraps around. YES THIS IS COLLECTOR FRIENDLY PACKAGING!

You just flip out the bottom plastic tabs, and the cardboard back slides right out!

We got this message..

A good warning. I hate breaking my figures.

So what do we get in the polybag? shoulder pauldrons, a strap with a holder loop for the sword. The sword. The dagger, and another hunk of axe. What?

This axe is very modular! Outstanding! It turns out, that the figure is ALSO. I had no idea. Every part of the figure can be swapped with other parts from other figures in the Mythic Legions line. WOW! As for the axe, you can go with executioner style, barbarian style, or just style…the spike at the bottom is even swappable.

Here he is, completely decked out. He stands just fine. I had no problem getting him out of the blister. I decided to toss the blister…the collector friendly box will do just fine without it. The weapon fits nicely in his hands.

This is a big sword.

Time to get Vikor.

Vikor is my favorite subject to photograph. And this is great…the image to shine a little light on my Halloween.

So how does the Mythic Legion stuff work with other property.

First off, the head swap.

Vikor is a Masters of the Universe Classics figure, and his head joint is a little smaller than Mythic Legion skeleton army builder. It just sits loosely. But it does look very cool.

Masterverse Movie He-Man didn’t come with a battle axe. This axe fills that purpose terrifically. It didn’t stretch the hands either.

How hard is it to separate the pieces of the Mythic Legion Skeleton? Well, I had to apply some force. The neck joint is a separate piece, which was why I was first surprised at how each figure is meant to be completely swappable with other. Getting the torso off takes a good bit of pressure. I haven’t felt that I was about to break a piece. And after playing with it for awhile, the joints have become pleasant rather than stiff.

I also got some other figures…Raven Spawn and Anti-Spawn (Redeemer).

As I began to leave Toy Federation, I just glanced around for something else. And in the glass case they had several tall off-card figures, and one caught my eye.

The Anti-Spawn, also known a Redeemer is the subject of Spawn issue 16. I just read this a few days earlier, and that’s why I was drawn to it. $10. BOOM.

(Let’s be clear…Redeemer is the title, like Hellspawn is the title. Anti-Spawn is the name of this Redeemer. Spawn is the name of Al Simmons, the Hellspawn. Not confusing at all!)

I mean this is a used figure. The left wing is a little bit loose. He came with a stand, but he doesn’t really need it. (It is a just a round disc with the word Spawn on it and a foot peg.)

The man behind the counter incorrectly labeled Raven Spawn as Curse. Curse is a cyborg cult leader. Raven Spawn is someone forgettable from the comics. But…I didn’t even know it was a Spawn figure. I just thought it looked awesome! (Also $10!)

All the chains and the scythe. And the spikes. He doesn’t scream “bird” at all. The only color here, green necrogenic eyes.

These two figures are articulated like Marvel Legends figures.

Yep…He ripped the wing off…

These are both highly posable and well detailed. But taller than the other figures I have. The Marvel Legends I have…comic book Thor is terrible. Thanos is great. Deadpool (I can’t find him) is one of the top figures I have ever had. These are just like Deadpool, with less accessories.

Even after that paragraph…look how creepy Raven Spawn is in the shadow. Anti-Spawn looks exactly like he was ripped out of Spawn #16.

I believe These two were sold at Target or GameStop originally. I saw some Spawn figures there before, but felt they were too pricey or I wanted something different.

So what does the SpartanNerd rate all of this?

Mythic Legions Skeleton Army builder. 5/5. I mean the packaging graphically is a little weak, but it more than makes up for that shortfall with the collector friendly features. The figure is great, and I can totally be hooked on Mythic Legions. I am planning on what I will get next from that line!

The two extras I picked up. Anti-Spawn gets 4/5 on account of the weak wing. Raven Spawn is perfect. 5/5.

Do you have these figures, Hub City Geeks? What would you rate this Mythic Legion? Let me know in the comments!

SpartanNerd Review…”1602: Witch Hunter Angela Part One”

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Regular readers know that I already reviewed “The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows.”  This book is along the same lines.  A result of the current spin on “Marvel Secret Wars,” “1602…Angela” takes place in an alternate storyline.

Before I write any more, let me explain why I was drawn to picking this title up at “The Tangled Web” on June 13…

Me and Angela go back aways.  I used to read Spawn comics quite a bit.  I don’t own many of those anymore.  But I remember enjoying the story immensely…I couldn’t put it down.  And even recently I read back over “Spawn: The Dark Ages.”  Angela and angels of her ilk were a key component to all of these stories.

In Spawn, the angels were depicted as a group of business women you definitely didn’t want to be your boss.  They worked in a tall skyscraper, and dressed in pants suits or similar…on the high end of the “professional dress” spectrum.  Then, if they suspected a Spawn or other demonic force nearby, the clothes would come off…and wings were revealed, and very very skimpy battle ribbons would be what adorned the woman.  Oh yes.  Generally a huge weapon as well.  These angels were the toughest fight for Spawn.  But Angela was different.  She and Spawn “hit it off.”  A very forbidden relationship came to a head until right at the 100th issue, Angela killed Malebolgia, (basically the devil…but not Satan.)  However, she would be killed as well.  Then Spawn would go downhill and I would stop reading, as McFarlane “jumped the shark,” wanting to take the book into a more “horror” direction.

Similarly, (but not as relevant), Immaculata was the Dark Ages Spawn’s enemy.  As a story told around the same time period as “1602”, there are things that pulled me to purchasing because I read and enjoyed this so much.  Immaculata wasn’t a “business woman,” but a nun.  She was suppressing her angel-ness.  But when Spawn came around, those animal angel instincts awoke…and similar to described above, this terrific warrior appeared in place of the nun.

The angel stories I am recalling here were AWESOME.  Later I would learn there were ownership disputes about Angela between Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman.  And I heard nothing more about it for a long time.

In the middle of my reading of “DC New 52,” Marvel come out with “Age of Ultron.”  I didn’t read it.  Ultron rang a bell, as I read “Secret Wars” from the 1980’s.  The final issue had a black bag so you couldn’t see the cover.  It was hiding “Angela”!  Marvel had secured the rights to the character.

The only knowledge about this, besides what I just told you, is that I have seen some Angela titles on the shelves.  I skipped them not, not immersed in Marvel’s ecosystem.  But it is clear that she is “Asgard’s Assassin,” implying to me that she works for Odin, or similar.  (Explaining how she is an angel in a universe not really having a consistent God.  Spawn’s universe eventually, very slowly explained how God’s angels worked.)

All that to say why I was drawn to this story.  I expected the barbary of “Spawn: the Dark Ages” and the awesomeness of Angela, the thing who killed Spawn’s devil.

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The cover art was OK.  Angela here appears Elizabethan but also science fiction.  There were some prettier alternate covers, but since I am not immersed in the Secret Wars, or Marvel’s version of Angela, I skipped those. The cover does show a remnant of McFarlane’s version, in there are those ribbons floating around her.  We see these throughout the comic.  She doesn’t use them for any purpose…they do serve in the place of a halo, I believe.  Though they might have some kind of weaponized use.

The art in this book is inconsistent.  Some of it “old school” Marvel.  Some of it more modern.  Why?I liked it, though.  And here is one of my favorite pieces from the book.  The color scheme reminds me of “Jem and the Rockers.”  Basically, Sarah and Angela are a team of angels hunting “witchbreed.”

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I’ll not show you a picture, but just let me say that one of the witchbreed has claws like Wolverine!  Maybe it is that she is hunting mutants…

Angela describes Sarah and themselves as “Angels of Doom.”  Throughout the book, where God’s name would probably be mentioned, instead we hear “Doom.”  This echoes the larger Secret Wars story, where we are told that Victor Von Doom is “god and master.”

Because this book just came out, I am blurring the words here.  But this is one of my favorite pieces of art from the book, right near the end.

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Basically, Sarah has been cursed.  And so the lead-in to a larger story.

SpartanNerd’s rating of “1602: Witch Hunter Angela.”  Well, did this story meet my expectations?

This is a dark story, with two brutal killings and Sarah being cursed.  It kept me reading…I read it three times to be sure I got it all.  There is a lot here.  I still have some questions.

I’m confused.  Who is Kit Marlow?  Was that Shakespeare of Marlow?  Why is there someone with glasses…glasses weren’t invented for two hundred years….Is there more implied in this story than the reader can just see?  Sarah’s flashback led us to believe that she was training to be a warrior, and not a lady…though her words said otherwise.

The art was good, but varied in style.  There is more than one artist on this book…they need to work to smooth it out.  I enjoyed the “Jem” color scheme.  And the more modern “muted” look as well.  But the two styles are jarring when going from one place to another.

I think I will read part two, which will come out on July 29, evidently…according to the last page.  The book is going to feature the Guardians of the Galaxy in the next issue, it seems.

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I think I will read it.

The SpartanNerd rates “1602: Witch Hunter Angela” at 3/5.  While I have plenty of complaints and questions, I have read it over three times.  And am curious about what will happen next.  Angela (and Sarah) gets a point for coolness anyway.

Do you agree or disagree?  Let me know in the comments, oh Hub City Geeks!