McFarlane Gold Label Series Mandarin Spawn (Blue) - Pictorial Review

Mandarin Spawn in general is something I never planned on getting, due to the fact that the aesthetic don't really coincide with other Spawns released.

But a friend shared his purchase of Mandarin Spawn Deluxe version which seems quite cool. Scouting around, I found someone selling all 3 variants for roughly the price of Mandarin Spawn Deluxe. So why not?

I'll start with my least favorite out of the 3, Gold Label Mandarin Spawn (Blue) version.

Like I said, the design is unconventional as far as general Spawn design is concern. But he's not new, first appearing in 2007 in Spawn #165

Talking about Spawn #165, I notice the new Mandarin Spawn releases are slimmer than how the character first appeared, with Spawn logo on the forehead (as opposed to the face like the ones on his forearm). The heads sculpt is also different where it doesn't look like a helmet. The sharp teeth and the tusks gives a really fierce aesthetic to the design, resembling Chinese's demon mask

He comes with 2 handheld weapons, the Dao* (Saber, on his left hand) and the Qiang* (Spear, on his right hand). As expected, the handle will bend due to the material, same as most McFarlane's weapon

*Sorry if got the name of the weapons wrong

His detailing is nicely done, with vibrant and rich colors head to toe. I'd say the amount of paints used are a lot more than most release.

Articulation wise, his head is a bit limited due to the shape, and also on his left shoulder due to the spikes. Other than that, he's what you'd expect from a McFarlane release.

One thing that made him better is his stability, due to the size of his feet. The ankle joints are also tight but I experience some looseness at the knees on all 3 variants

The 2 handheld weapons really work with this figure. You can get a lot of decent poses using them and there's almost no issue for him holding them

While it's a good mold, I can understand non-Spawn hardcore skipping this (and the variants) due how unfamiliar the design is.

Even myself, I don't see me buying him if not because of the price. He's not bad, but not Spawn enough for the commoner