1990s Spawn Action Figures: Malebolgia, Vandalizer, Vertebreaker, and Violator by McFarlane Toys

From McFarlane Toys’ 1990s line of Spawn action figures here are four of Hell’s most infamous demons: Malebolgia, a demon lord from the Eighth Circle of Hell; and his demonic children Vandalizer, Vertebreaker, and Violator who make up part of the collective known as the Phlebiac Brothers and are in charge of training Malebolgia’s army of Hellspawn.

Malebolgia is from the 1995 Spawn Series 2 line.

Violator II is from the 1995 Spawn Series 3 line.

Vertebreaker is from the 1995 Spawn Series 3 line.

Vandalizer is from the 1996 Spawn Series 5 line.

When a pipe broke in my garage these items happened to be in a cardboard box on the floor. Though the water never reached more than a couple of centimeters high the water was soaked up by the cardboard box and by the backboards of the packages containing these figures as well. The figures themselves did not get wet. I decided just to remove the backboards and place them into Ziploc bags. (Though, the figure of Malebolgia proved to be a little too big to be sealed completely in a Ziploc bag.) The only time I have removed the items from their bags since then was to take these pictures.  None of the parts are missing and as you can tell from the pictures the items are in excellent condition.

Todd McFarlane’s Spawn is arguably the most successful series to spawn from an Image title. Since the publication of the first issue in 1992 McFarlane’s Spawn has been made into a video game, an animated HBO series, a live action movie, and a successful toy line. 

If you are interested in these four figures, you can find them for sale as a package on… Will be posting soon.

1996 Spawn Series 4 figure: Cy-Gor the cybernetic gorilla by Todd McFarlane Toys

In an attempt to create the ultimate supersoldier the entity simply known as “The Agency”, sanctioned an unholy project which would combine man, beast, and machine into one. The plan of Dr. Fredrick Whilhelm’s was to fuse the mind of Sergeant Stephen Smith with that of a silver back gorilla which he had enhanced with cybernetics. However, Dr. Whilhelm, who was apparently running the entire operation single-handedly, suffered a debilitating stroke leaving his work incomplete and as a result the mind of the monstrosity known as Cy-Gor would be more beast than originally planned. The then uncontrollable Cy-Gor eventually broke free from the layer of Dr. Whilhelm in order to extract his revenge on all those that had a part in his creation including his onetime mentor Al Simmons.

Here is a 1996 Spawn Series 4 action figure of the part beast/part man/part machine known as Cy-Gor by McFarlane Toys.
 

When a pipe broke in my garage this item happened to be in a cardboard box on the floor. Though the water never got more than a couple of centimeters high the cardboard box soaked up the water and so did the backboard of this item’s package. I decided to just remove the backboard and place the figure in a Ziploc bag. The only time I have removed the item from the bag since then was to take these pictures.  None of the parts are missing and as you can tell from the pictures the item is in excellent condition.

If you are interested in this figure of the cybernetic gorilla, Cy-Gor, you can find it for sale on... will be posting soon.

Marvel’s X-men 1992 ToyBiz figure: Magento with Super Spark Action!

Best friend of Charles Xavier and often worse enemy, Magneto the Master of Magnetism is one of the most iconic and compelling villains of not only the X-men but in all of comics. In almost any list polling who’s the top supervillain to have ever graced the pages of comic book you will find Magneto there in the forefront. In IGN’s 2009 list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time Magento was featured as number 1, beating out the likes of Lex Luther, the Joker, and Dr. Doom.  The development of this character’s background as a holocaust survivor and the readers’ ability to relate to why he is the man he is today speaks volumes as to why he is so popular today, especially when you consider he is a grown man wearing a red and purple outfit with what looks to be a bucket on his head.

For those of you who are a fan of old buckethead here is a Marvel’s X-men 1992 figure of Magento with Super Spark Action by ToyBiz!

The backboard has some minor wear from storage and is warped. The packaging has never been opened, however, there appears to be either some corrosion or a bad paint job on the upper portion of his cape. At the center of his chest where the sparks are supposed to appear the plastic appears white, possibly due to corrosion as well.

The X-men Series 2 card that comes in the package features his daughter and current member of X-factor, Polaris.

Magneto is an Omega-level mutant whose power over electromagnetic fields allows him to fly, create force-fields, send out magnetic pulses, and shape all forms of metal to his will. He is also the father of the superhero mutants known as Polaris, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver.

If you are interested in this figure of the Master of Magnetism, you can find if for sale on... Will be posting soon.

Marvel’s X-men 1992 ToyBiz figure: Gideon with Sword Slashing Thrust!

Does anyone still remember the Externals? In the early 1990s Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza had an idea of creating a special and unique subspecies of mutants which along with their individual mutant powers all shared in common an accelerated healing factor and a greatly retarded aging process. This group of mutants where known as the Externals and their powers of immortality were awakened upon them dying for the first time. Hmm, sounds a little familiar.

Several new characters where created as belonging to this group and a few older established characters were made into Externals as well. Several of the newly created characters formed a special organization known as the High Lords and supposedly were to be major players in the Marvel Universe; destined to have an important role in Apocalypse’s future rise to power. Unfortunately, however, they didn’t exactly live up to the definition of “immortal”. In the late 1990s Marvel put an end to Liefeld’s concept by killing off all of the known and confirmed Externals, except for one, which seemed only fitting. After all, we all knew “there can be only one!”

Well, if you did happen to remember the Externals then you probably remember Gideon, one of Liefeld’s original Highlanders, I mean, High Lords. Here is a 1992 Marvel’s X-men figure of Gideon with Sword Slashing Thrust by ToyBiz. 

The backboard has some wear and has been warped due to the cardboard soaking up some water at its base. The X-men Series 2 card that comes in the package no longer lays flat and features Wolverine. The figure of Gideon, however, is still in excellent condition and has never been removed from the package.  

Gideon’s mutant powers allowed him to temporary mimic the powers of any superhuman by scanning their DNA. Being a member of the Externals, he was also endowed with an accelerated healing factor and superhuman longevity due to a greatly slowed aging process. Unfortunately for Gideon he was killed by the Hellfire Club’s Black Queen, Selene, who was the last surviving member of the Externals until she was recently killed in the Necrosha storyline. 

If you are interested in this figure of a not so "immortal" External, you can find it for sale on... Will be posting soon.

Marvel's X-men 1994 ToyBiz figure: Senyaka with Whip Snapping Action!

Suvik Senyaka, a former member of Magneto’s Acolytes has made a habit of being killed off. First Magento killed him with his own coils. Then he died in a battle with Cable and Lee Forrester. Then he was presumably killed by Sentinels in Genosha. Then he had his head chopped off by Wolverine during the Necrosha arch and that was the last to be heard of Senyaka, though he will most likely make another return in the future.

The backboard has some wear and is warped from storage. However, the figure is in excellent condition as the package has never been opened.

The 1994 Fleer Ultra X-men trading card that comes in the package features Nightcrawler.

A Sri Lankan version of Omega Red, Senyaka can generate psionic whips, which augment his strength, endurance, reflexes, and recuperative powers by draining the life-force of his victims.

If you are interest in this figure of Sri Lanka's only super villain, you can find it for sale on... Will be posting soon.

Marvel's X-men 1992 ToyBiz figure: Forearm with Four Arm Punching Action!

Named for the fact he has four arms, Forearm was one of the core members of the Mutant Liberation Front. In Wolverine vol. 2 issue 167 he apparently had his neck snapped by Serpent Society’s Anaconda during a Bloodsport match. However, he would eventually reappear live and well again as part of the Mutant Liberation Front. During the M-Day arch he was listed as one of the depowered mutants. I wonder if his other 2 arms just fell off.

The backboard has some wear and is warped from storage. However, the figure is in excellent condition as the package has never been opened.

The X-men: Series I trading card that comes in the package features Wolfsbane.

Along with an extra set of arms Forearm’s mutant powers give him increased strength, stamina, and durability.

If you are interest in the figure of the mutant villain known as Forearm, you can find it for sale on... Will be posting soon.

Marvel's X-men 1991 ToyBiz figure: Apocalypse with Extending Body!

It’s a little surprising to know that one of the greatest X-men villains of all time was almost absent from his initial debut in X-Factor #5. Bob Layton who had written the first five issues of X-Factor original planned to reveal that the mysterious mastermind behind the Alliance of Evil was none other than the fearsome Owl…

Really, the Owl almost single handedly saved the Marvel Universe from the immortal mutant known as En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse. Luckily for X-men fans and Marvel the Simonson’s came along and changed all of that. In further comics this gray and blue skinned mutant, enhanced by Celestial technology, would go to being a major villain of the Marvel Universe threatening to spell doom for the X-men’s past, present, and future.

The backboard has some wear and is warped from storage. However, the figure is in excellent condition as the package has never been opened.

The X-men: Series 2 trading card that comes in the package features Warpath.

Apocalypse is arguably one of the greatest X-men villains of all time! Apocalypse’s powers seemingly allow him to be capable of almost anything including super strength, shape shifting, telepathy, telekinesis, energy projection and absorption, technopathy, and bestowing others with powers while making them serve as one of his Four Horsemen. As one of the first mutants to walk the earth, if not the first, Apocalypse has been worshiped as a god and feared as a harbinger of destruction.

If you are interested in this figure of one of the greatest villains the X-men have ever faced, you can find it for sale on... Will be posting soon.

Marvel's X-men 1994 ToyBiz figure: Silver Samurai with Metal Samurai Armor!

Several Marvel characters have flip-flopped between playing hero and villain including Deadpool, Magneto, Sabertooth, and Venom. Another character who falls in to that group but who is not quite as popular as those that I’ve mention, though I have always thought he had the potential to be, is the Silver Samurai.

Why do I think so highly of this character who couldn’t even get it together long enough to decide whether he wants to play the good guy or the bad guy? Well, there are a number of reasons. First of all he has a cool color scheme. His costume maybe simple but the silver and red makes it look good. Even if you don’t like his original costume it can be easily tweaked a bit to make him look more badass without it falling way out of line with his character. He is a mutant and samurai. Both archetypes equate to cool in the comic book world, so he has double the coolness factor! Oh, and let’s not forget he fights with a samurai sword. Well, I guess wielding a katana goes with him being a samurai and all but who else has a sword that cut through almost every know substance to man? Ok, there may have been over 10,000 Jedi and Sith warriors once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away and then there’s Voltron’s Blazing Sword which signaled the death of every foe the giant robot has ever faced. None the less, to be placed in a category alongside Darth Vader and Voltron just shows how much of a badass he is.

Unfortunately, Marvel hasn’t been very kind to Kenuichio Harada otherwise known as the first Silver Samurai. First he had one of his hands chopped off by Wolverine. Then a group of imitation samurai drove by his home and killed him. And as if that wasn’t enough, Satan then lopped off his head while in hell. Sigh.

Well, for all those who have imagined what the character could have been here’s a Toy Biz 1994 Marvel X-men action figure of the Silver Samurai!

Disclaimer: The armor is not actually made of metal. The backboard has some wear and is slightly warped from storage. The package however has never been opened. The Fleer Ultra Marvel Universe Trading Card that comes in the package features X-Force team members Cannonball, Rictor, Siryn, and Sunspot.

The Silver Samurai’s power is somewhat similar to that of Gambit’s in that he can charge anything touches with energy. However, instead of the object exploding on contact the Silver Samurai can use a charged object like his katana to slice through everything other than the adamantium laced skeleton of his arch nemesis, Wolverine.

Though primarily known as an enemy of Wolverine, the Silver Samurai first appeared in 1974 in the pages of Daredevil #111. The Silver Samurai is expected to be the villain in the upcoming Wolverine 2 movie.

If you are interested in this figure of the Silver Samurai you can find it for sale on... Will be posting soon.