Two editions - Mandarin Spawn 1 contains eight versions while the second Mandarin has two versions:
- Aug 1999 Series 14 Original
- Nov 1999 Series 14 Repaint
- Aug 2000 MFS and MTCC Exclusive
- Oct 2000 Supersize Edition 3
- Jun 2004 Reborn Series 2
- Apr 2006 Trading Series 1 Original
- Apr 2006 Trading Series 1 Repaint
- Apr 2006 Trading Series 1 Exclusive
- Oct 2005 Series 28
- Oct 2006 Supersize Edition 6
MANDARIN SPAWN 1
This incredibly and minutely detailed figure is arguably one of the most popular Spawn figure ever (it is my favourite) and it turns a group of four guys who called themselves the Four Horsemen into one of the most recognisable sculpting team in the industry.
August 1999 Series 14 Original: Mandarin Spawn the Scarlet Edge
The inspiration on the cover of Spawn #165 is none other than this fellow - Mandarin Spawn the Scarlet Edge of Series 14 (August 1999). The story on the backcard of this figure has this summary: “this master of bladed weapons from an ancient feudal society, the Scarlet Edge was brutally slain during the war against The Army of the Dead. Enraged by his own death, he has been commissioned to earth to seek his revenge. Now masked in mystery, this warrior has taken the name: Mandarin Spawn”. The story of 1999 and 2007 just does not gel!
Ironically, Mandarin Spawn when he was first launched was meant to be a sidekick to the main figure in Series 14 - Spawn the Black Heart. The Black Hearted Spawn however paled in comparison to his awesome sidekick.
There are collectors who quibble over its origins; that he is more Thai and Japanese then Chinese. Because of the word "Mandarin", he is presumed to be Chinese although "mandarin" can also referred to both the language and that of an imperial official, a term common in both ancient China and Vietnam. And to spice up his indistinct nationality, he spots a pair of Japanese samurai swords with Noh (Japanese) masks all over the body. And on the card (you got to release the figure from his imprisonment first) you can see etch on the card: “The Roman Empire”. In fact the only thing Chinese is the ferocious tiger on his body or is that a fu-dog? The fu-dog is the second greatest mystical creature in Chinese mythology, after the dragon of course.
He wears a Khon (Thai) mask that led some online sellers to dub this spawn as “Thai Goddess”! He is a "HE", “master of bladed weapons” not "mistress of bladed weapons"! But I do agree that you would find many lovely goddesses in Thailand...
As mentioned earlier, there are noh masks all over his body but the interesting thing about the back is that our Mandarin has a pouch on his back.
And in his passage towards Spawnhood, he acquired bird-like feet, either that or Malebolgia confuses him for a velociraptor and noh masks are never far away.
He is a pretty tall figure, touching 9”. And standing with a straightened blade would render him exactly a foot in height. And remember, this is a regular-size figure, meaning he is supposed to be 1/12th of actual height.
The Mandarin Spawn carries one of the most beautiful shield in spawndom.
The gown or loincloth has sanskrit-like calligraphy...oh, I think on closer inspection, is that a burning forest embedded in a raging fire motif?
Ah, the Mandarin, the Mandarin - the khon-like mask, awesome. The mask-body suit that envelopes the lean body, fantastic. The high mandarin collar, exquisite.
Awards
The Red Mandarin won the in-house staff choice of 'Best Paint Application' figure for 1999 and in the January Wizard's edition, he was placed in the Top 10 for Best Toys of the Year.
Mandarin Spawn: The Scarlet Edge with display case
This is a special Spawn item made by the Four Horsemen for limited circulation. The images are courtesy of the owner, Anthony Baimun and for more info on the Four Horsemen, check out their studio.
My own prototypes of my favourite Mandarins.
November 1999 Series 14 Repaint: Mandarin Spawn
The repainted Mandarin Spawn emerged without fanfare in November 1999.
He sports similar attributes to the lovely Red Spawn except that he is now blue, making him "the teal edge"?
August 2000 MFS and MTCC Exclusive: Mandarin Spawn
The hugely popular Black Mandarin that first appeared in August 2000.
The Black Mandarin first appeared as an Event Exclusive’s figure during the Aug 2000 McFarlane Figures Show in Japan organised by Epoch, the official distributor (cf Spawn.com news archive of September 12th, 2000). A second production was subsequently released as a Club Exclusive but the official website incorrectly dated this second release as January 1999 for if it is true, it precedes the original Red Spawn!
The Japanese version is the less common version and thus more valuable; it can be distinguished by the black round decal and product sticker on the card.
Aside from the obvious black repaint, the figure receives lots of gold highlights, even the sword handles are gold in colour.
The Black Mandarin is one of the most highly sought after figure among Spawn collectors - prized both for its beauty and rarity.
The gown of this third version differed from both the first and second version in that it has an oriental dragon motif.
October 2000 Supersize Series 3: Mandarin Spawn
Spawn Super Size Edition went into a hiatus after the introduction of Spawn and Medieval Spawn in 1995 and 1996 respectively. Four long years later, the third super size edition hits the shelves with the Mandarin Spawn 12” figure in October 2000 (card image from blackaris.org). In the US, he is available only as a Toys R Us Exclusive.
Now, this part is really weird. Both the earlier super-size editions, namely Spawn and Medieval Spawn were titled as 13” editions when they are actually about 11" and yet this giant Mandarin Spawn who easily towered above 14” (exact measurement is 14.4” and 19.5” if his blade is allow to stand) is classified as 12”?
He is bluer then the Repaint Blue and his huge stature allows greater details. The huge mystical creature-suit (tiger? fu-dog?) fronting him predictably grabs all the attention and deservedly so but there are also other more intricate details - more colours at his ear-rings, bolts on his armours etc. Despite his size, he can be pretty unstable when adorned with the shield.
This giant comes with a mask (image on the right). What is he hiding anyway? That the Army of the Dead would not realise that he is Mandarin Spawn in disguise?
That horny spike that is an extension of his right shoulder is itself an impressive 14cm (5.5").
And his long blade comes to 29.5cm (19.5”)
Like his smaller siblings, the shield is lovely but he got the coveted engravings “weida yulin, panzhangshi zi dunpai” or “The Shield of the Spirit Warrior”. Note: this is an attempt at translation, not transliteration.
Noh-like masks are found all over his body, the left arm alone is adorned with 3 masks and look at his hand, a jewel-encrusted skeletal steel hand.
More Noh-like mask on the armour protecting his left shin and the one on his shield is really lovely.
Look at the effort in creating the dragon motif on his right shin.
I am not the only one gushing with superlatives over this Mandarin Spawn, even Barbie is a big fan.
A lovely custom repaint that I saw in taobao.com, an auction site. What stood out in this custom repaint is the incredibly well painted dragon motif on the gown.
June 2004 Reborn Series 2: Mandarin Spawn
With such a distinguished history, the new Mandarin Spawn that is due in June 2004's Reborn Series 2 was a most eagerly anticipated event.
This is the Green Mandarin and generally regarded as uninspiring. There are a lot of minor touch-up.
dominated by cream and green.
The gathering of the 4 regular-sized Mandarin Spawn 1
The Miniatures
In April 2006, three miniature figures of Mandarin Spawn 1 was released under Trading Series 1 featuring three types of 3" miniature Mandarin Spawn 1 - Original, Repaint and Exclusive.
April 2006 Trading Series 1 Original: Mandarin Spawn
The original, as shown in picture is a replica of the original red Mandarin Spawn and not a new Spawn with carrot-top hairdo.
April 2006 Trading Series 1 Repaint: Mandarin Spawn
And the second miniature is a replica of the Blue repainted Mandarin Spawn.
April 2006 Trading Series 1 Exclusive: Mandarin Spawn
The third, the exclusive figure is a beautiful gold-washed figure. Now, wouldn't it be lovely that a collector's edition of gold-washed regular-sized figures be released? The sword incidentally was chewed up by my sheltie shortly after this pic was taken.
The custom silver-washed miniature Mandarin Spawn 1 found in taobao.com that some sellers tried to pass off as authentic.
THE FIGURE THAT INSPIRED THE ART!
It was so popular that instead of the usual "art that inspired the figure" as in series 24, 25, 26 and 27, we have "the figure that inspired the art".
Mandarin Spawn was given a one-shot in issue #165 in February 2007 wth Mandarin Spawn 1 on the cover. The background word is "zhong hua" - an expressive word that is beyond transliteration, it joins the word "China" and "Chinese". The storyline contained inside, of Cheng Lie is very different from that as summarised on the backcard of Mandarin Spawn 1 in 1999.
MANDARIN SPAWN 2
The announcement of a second edition of a figure always raises the expectation of the collectors, more so if it is the iconic Mandarin Spawn. Did this new sculpt tops the old? To date, there are two official versions.
This is the interior art of Spawn issue #165 that was mentioned above on the coverage of Mandarin Spawn 1. The cover is that of Mandarin Spawn 1 but the interior arts, it is that of Mandarin Spawn 2.
Here, Mandarin Spawn is about to take on the soldiers of Governor Zheng. Notice the Manchu's queue hairstyles wored by the soldiers; David Hines the writer has admitted in the Spawn Board that it was an unintentional mistake. Men in the Southern Sung Dynasty where this story is based do not cut their hair, it is very much against the principles of Confucianism.
And before he turned into a Spawn, he was the grotesque and deformed Cheng Lie. Wouldn't it be more appropriate that he was in his previous life perhaps a man of rank, a Mandarin? Mandarin being an Imperial official?
The detailing of this clay sculpture is an obvious indication that this new edition is going to be lovely albeit with non-existing articulation...I am a professed non-articulation collector but for once I wish the knees have joints and that I could straightened him.
A 360 view of the headsculpt. The above two images are from sculptorscorner.com.
The new Mandarin Spawn 2 headsculpt looks fiercer as compared to that of Mandarin Spawn 1 but just does not have the "oomph" factor of Mandarin Spawn 1. The images incidentally are taken from the supersize versions.
When the above pic was put up in the official spawn.com site, it was greeted with a wave of positive enthusiasm. I was sold and waiting eagerly for it.
First on hand was the test-shot prototype.
October 2005 Series 28 Original: Mandarin Spawn 2
And finally in October 2005, Series 28: Regenerated reached our fair shores.
October 2006 Supersize Series 6: Mandarin Spawn
Exactly a year later, Supersize Edition 6 was launched.
Double the size, he looks really impressive and costs less than a RAH too.
I have never bother with articulation but this one time, I really wish that McFarlane Toys has given the collector a choice to see him straightened up as shown by AKA Sky from the Spawn Message Board.
And yes, I have repeated it ad nauseum but the back of the figure is a fantastic indication of the efforts in detailing done by McFarlane Toys.
The Pu-Dao
Mandarin Spawn 2 also carried a weapon that is historically accurate. The Pu Dao aka Horse Chopper is extremely popular during the Sung Dynasty.
Pu-Dao is a member of the long-handle broadsword's family known as Tai-Dao and is related to the infamous Guan-Dao used by Lord Guan Yu in "Three Kingdoms". The blade is especially heavy and is designed for incredible chopping force - it brutally hacks the legs of a horse during battle and is thus also referred to as the horse-chopper. By virtue of its long handle and a ring-shaped counterbalancing end, the Pu-Dao is a nifty weapon sharing similar techniques to that of a staff and Guan-Dao. Images are from zhangtaiji.
