The Adventures of SPAWN is one of the most recent series in a long line of Todd McFarlane’s SPAWN action figures. This new line aims to recreate the magic of the old Saturday morning cartoons kids used to hold so dear- toons like Super Friends and Wonder Twins. Of course, Todd Mcfarlane’s bloody and brooding tale of the half-demonic SPAWN is a far cry from those jovial cheesefests, so these action figures, which apply the stylistic tendencies of such shows to the SPAWN characters, are actually cute little PVC lumps of irony.
One of the most interesting in the Adventures of SPAWN line is Tiffany the Amazon. Over time, SPAWN has introduced a few female characters, but Tiffany was the only woman to make it into the Adventures of SPAWN collection, and as a result, she really stands out from the rest.
Her description from the back of the box reads, “A longtime and legendary warrior on the side of good, Tiffany has recently chosen to offer her allegiance to Mammon…and the time draws near when her sword will announce her newfound intentions”.
Sounds like a pretty interesting character. So does her action figure live up to her back story?
Well, yes and no. As a statue, Tiffany is fantastic. As an action figure, not so much. It’s worth noting that this figure is manufactured by McFarlane Toys- the company helmed by the creator of SPAWN himself. Over the years, McFarlane Toys has become notorious for producing lavishly intricate figures that sacrifice the action for detail, and the Adventures of SPAWN Tiffany holds suit with an almost complete lack of articulation. Altogether, she has four points of movement- both shoulders, neck, and her right elbow feature swivel joints. Not a lot, and Tiffany is outfitted with armored plates on her shoulders which almost completely restrict the movement of her arms. In fact, when trying to alter her pose a fraction of an inch, one of the plates snapped off and had to be stuck back on with glue. It makes me wonder why they even bothered to put joints at her shoulders if they were just going to render them useless with the armor anyway.
So like I said, the Adventures of SPAWN Tiffany doesn’t exactly put the action in action figure. But she is simply gorgeous to look at. The detail is incredible, with intricate armor and rows of bullets draping her voluptuous frame- almost every piece being separately sculpted and attached to the main figure. She even sports a pair of earrings that feature a tiny SPAWN logo. Her pose is a sassy little contrapposto- not exactly revolutionary, particularly for a figure who’s position can’t be changed, but it’s serviceable.
As far as the Adventures of SPAWN Tiffany’s paint goes, aside from an odd rough patch on her stomach, it is typical McFarlane Toys perfection. The armor is painted in different shades of a highly metallic gold and silver, giving Tiffany’s look a lot of depth. Her face paint is amazingly clean, with hardly any blobbing or bleeding edges to be found. Even the miniscule brass rings on her S&M; style collar are cleanly painted- this is quality stuff.
So for the big question with this particular SPAWN line, does the Adventures of SPAWN Tiffany look like a Saturday morning cartoon character? Well, the other figures in this line, including SPAWN himself, seem to be modeled on a Bruce Timm, Batman the Animated Series style, what with their blocky bodies and angular, sparsely detailed faces. Tiffany, on the other hand, with her large eyes, tiny nose, and pointed, pigtailed hair looks much more like a Japanese animated character than do her counterparts. While SPAWN and his ilk feature the trademark Saturday cartoon lack of detail that made the characters affordable to animate, Tiffany’s design is way too intricate for that style. She’s adorable, but slightly incongruous with the rest of the line.
While SPAWN and his male friends got some interesting accessories, like alternate heads, hands, etc., the Tiffany figure’s only accessories include, as the box states, “bladed weapons”. This basically amounts to a big “razor-sharp” sword, and two huge metallic wings stuck to her back. And when McFarlane Toys says razor-sharp, they mean it. I can’t imagine little kids clamoring to buy SPAWN figures, but in case your little boy or girl sees Tiffany in the toy isle, and simply can’t resist the curvy, deadly amazon, please do not buy her. Your kids will put out an eye faster than with a Red Ryder BB gun. She is POINTY.
The Adventures of SPAWN Tiffany the Amazon originally ran for about $13, but can currently be found circulating the clearance bins for about $5-6. While $13 is a little steep for a figure with no articulation and few accessories, $6 is a pretty solid price. If you don’t mind action figures that are more statue than action, then you will get a lot out of Tiffany. She’s gorgeous to look at, and would be a great buy for SPAWN fans, female figure collectors, or fans of anime style characters- as long as they aren’t little kids.
