Medieval Spawn appeared in 13 official and licensed packaged versions. Medieval Spawn 1 alone has 8; Medieval Spawn 2 has 3 and Medieval Spawn 3 has 2.
MEDIEVAL SPAWN 1
Together with Spawn 1, Medieval Spawn 1 is one of the two Spawns that appeared in Series 1 that launched Spawndom. Image from the sculptors known as eightball studio.
Despite his short career, there are eight versions of Medieval Spawn 1 - look out for figures that are highlighted in yellow...they are the real stuff. And there would be more if not for the legal entanglements that McFarlane Toys experienced. Below are official figures produced chronologically:
December 1994 Series 1 Original: Medieval Spawn
The original Medieval Spawn 1 appeared together with Spawn 1 in Series 1 of December 1994. Card image is courtesy of Jin 119kg's Collection.
And he is nicknamed 'Blue Armour' for the colour of its armour suited uniform.
January 1995 Series 1 Repaint: Medieval Spawn
Medieval Spawn 1 Repaint appeared in January 1995 as part of the Series 1 Repaint and instead of blue, he is now suited in black armour. Besides the uniform, the mask is now silver rather than white (see above mask lineup: original is extreme left and repaint is second from left).
In 1995 (July?), Pressman Toys was licensed to release a boardgame titled 'Spawn the Game', learn more about it in 'Spawn: the Game' under the index list.
July 1997 Pressman Toys Licensed Exclusive: Medieval Spawn the Game
Inside the boardgame is a silver-washed miniature figure of Medieval Spawn 1.
August 1995 Series 3 Playset Original: Spawn Battle Horse
He is released as a playset during August 1995 as part of Series 3 titled 'Spawn Battle Horse'. It is also the first time that the Spawn Figures Universe has a horse.
October 1995 Retail Exclusive: Medieval Spawn
The pewter-washed version was released in October 1995, a Retailer Exclusive to Puzzle Zoo and Venture in the US. This metallic-washed figure was the first and only Medieval Spawn to have a numbered series.
The Popularity of Pewter and Silver-washed Figures
Silver-based colour Spawn seems to do pretty well in the resale market - the Pewter Medieval Spawn 1 certainly selling better than the gold-washed version that appeared later; the FAO Schwarz 'Spawn vs Violator' silver-washed figures fetch 3x the value of its cousin from KB Toys and the silver-based Nitro Riders are better received than the gold-based Series 16. In 2002, Spawn the Bloodaxe was pewter-washed and was so well received that the usual re-release in MTCC never materialised. This was followed up by the extremely popular pewter-washed figure of the Image 10th Anniversary edition. Let's hope that McFarlane Toys release more such exclusives.
November 1995 Retail Exclusive: Medieval Spawn vs Malebolgia
A replica of the Repaint Medieval Spawn 1 was presented in November 1995 (End Cap in Spawn #58 simply said Fall 1995) as a Store Exclusive, a Collectors' Gift Set distributed in the US by K-Mart and is titled 'Medieval Spawn vs Malebolgia'. To be fair, 'Medieval Spawn vs Violator' is more suitable but there is already a 'Commando Spawn vs Violator' collectors' gift set released by another retailer. For display collector, you can either choose to ignore this figure or display it together with the ugly Malebolgia to identify this as a separate version.
April 1997 Retail Exclusive: Medieval Spawn
The final in the lineup is the gold-washed Medieval Spawn 1. His date of release is either the Summer of 1996 (see End Cap December 1996) or April 1997 (according to official correspondence), depending on whom you believed. In the US, he is released under KB Toys.
There were four Spawn figures when this exclusive edition was released - Spawn 1, Medieval Spawn 1, Commando Spawn 1 and Pilot Spawn but Commando Spawn 1 was never turned into a gold-washed figure...or did he?
September 1997 Supersize Series 2: Medieval Spawn
The second supersize series that was launched between September and December 1997 (End Cap August 1997 mentioned that collectors should be able to see the release of the supersized Medieval Spawn in September 1997) features Medieval Spawn and Violator. This 13" Medieval Spawn is of course modelled after Medieval Spawn 1. The 13" advertised is misleading. There is no way this figure PLUS the base stands 13", more like 11.5" or around 29cm for those who prefer the metric system.
UNLICENSED STUFFS
I have no idea when this 5" knockoff appeared but judging from its card it is definitely after February 1997, the release of Series 7.
He was re-released as a multipack without his cape. Image courtesy of Joe Madeira's Blog.
The knockoff actually has a repaint! And in the follow-up Series 8 card to boot. Image courtesy of Joe Madeira, website see above.
And this interesting Mighty Ninja with a mask of Medieval Spawn. Image from Joe Madeira.
With the launch of the movie, gashapon figures of Spawn appeared, among them this medieval spawn...
and yes, it's 3D.
The only unmasked Medieval Spawn 1, inspired by the battle between him and Violator found in Spawn #15.
THE STORY OF SPAWN IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE
The nameless Medieval Spawn makes his first appearance in Spawn #9 in April 1993 in an issue guest-written by Neil Gaiman. He was yet a very young Spawn and his appearance was pretty short-lived as he was disposed off by Angela early in the story. His story is afterall secondary to that of Angela and meant to introduce the Heavenly Warrior in a dramatic manner. On a separate yet relevant subject: why is it that costumed heroines are always so scantily clad and have such huge boobs?
Like James Dean, Medieval Spawn just wouldn't fade away and his story is fascinating enough for him to be retold again. Or maybe this is just a Tarantino movie and his story goes backward! In September 1993, he appeared in Spawn #14 and Spawn #15 in a short-story arc told by Clown. The Clown recount his epic battle with him in a decidedly skewed manner to an audience of 3 boys. Anyway, it might not be the same Medieval Spawn since the Medieval Age lasted 10 centuries and we know that the Spawn in #9 is a very new and naive Spawn.
The burnt Medieval Spawn - it would be unlikely. not impossible but just unlikely that an umasked Medieval Spawn will be made into a collectible anytime soon.
Readers of Angela #1 (a delightful mini-series of only three issues written by Neil Gaiman and first published in December 1994) would have noticed him in Angela’s trophy room. It is a confirmed kill. Darn, Gaiman is really determined to have him dead!
No way Jose, this character is not going down without a fight. Here, another story of Medieval Spawn is told in 'Dark Ages', a 12-page comic that accompanied the purchase of a Medieval Spawn 1’s collectible figure in December 1994.
and he have a happier ending, no way is he ending up as a trophy.
And did I said his story just wouldn't die? He reappeared in May 1996 in a very entertaining three-issue crossover mini-series between Medieval Spawn and Witchblade written by Garth Ennis.
This got to be a separate Medieval Spawn. His uniform is different (smaller red ribcage) and although there is, as usual no name to this guy, we do know that he makes a pact with the underworld because he cannot forget his one-night stand with Katarina the Witchblade-to-be in Sardinia.
SIR JOHN OF YORK
The anonymity was finally removed and in August 1996 through 'Spawn Bible' he was knighted Sir John of York. This image incidentally inspired the creation of Medieval Spawn 3.
His final appearance is in a dream created by a little girl in the three-issue mini-series 'Altered Image' published in 1998 and penned by Jim Valentino.
The concept of a Medieval Spawn is very appealing, so much so that a monthly series 'Spawn the Dark Ages' was launched in March 1999. I am sure there are plenty of readers who love the dark and not very colourful drawings of this series but unfortunately there are not enough of you guys to sustain it commercially and it expired in July 2001. As for me, I wished it follows that of 'Medieval Spawn and Witchblade', less dark, more colour and neater drawings.
MEDIEVAL SPAWN 2
Medieval Spawn 2 in 2000 is quite a departure from the tame looking Medieval Spawn 1 four years back. Introduced under Series 17 and titled as the "Classic" series in August 2000, display collectors are advised to keep the mask on or lose the affection of your spouse!
There are 3 official versions. The original series itself provided two figures:
August 2000 Series 17 Original: Medieval Spawn II
To appease the sensitivities of some of its collectors - a bloodless version (also known as clean) was released under the tag "Mass Market" and immediately was coined “Censored Spawn” by collectors :) Unlike Medieval Spawn 1, Medieval Spawn 2 has a mask that can be removed but I would strongly advise that ultra sensitive collector who experienced vertigo when confronted with a rotting face kept the mask on. On my part, for the sake of family harmony, I always ensured that the mask stayed on. The display image is mine but the card image is courtesy of Jin 119kg's Collection.
August 2000 Series 17 Variant: Medieval Spawn II
This is the Specialty Market edition where the figure is essentially the same except that it is liberally dosed with red paint.
January 2001 Series 17 Repaint: Medieval Spawn II
A repaint was introduced in January 2001, albeit with only 1 version.
This is one of the better repaint in Spawndom and a very popular figure among collectors too. The left leg has been slightly straightened so he can no stand without the base, the left arm has a new piece of armour and paint scheme is that of gold and iron-coloured highlights.
My display figures are duly covered up with their mask but this is the sculpting without the mask.
Plus a closeup of the intricate work done on the leg. Images of the sculpts are from sculptorscorner.com.
MEDIEVAL SPAWN 3
This is apparently going to be the last of the Medieval Spawn franchise. In other word, end of the line, no more Medieval Spawn 4 until Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane sought out their differences...but that is another story and not going to be brought up here. For both card and display collectors, there are two versions that were released as part of Series 20: Classic II in October 2001.
The figure is based on Sir John of York found in Spawn Bible in 1996.
Both are incredibly similar...alright, they ARE similar! Without that axe, you would never be able to tell them apart! One version has an axe dab in red paint while the other version has no red paints.
Suffice to say, the interpretation from art to sculpt is the best yet. And as a reincarnation of the original Medieval Spawn 1, this is more true to its from as compared to Medieval Spawn 2. This image and the next two that followed are from sculptorscorner.com.
As usual no details were spared even for the back of the figure.
Unlike Medieval Spawn 2, Medieval Spawn 3 has a mask that cannot be removed thus ensuring that his ugly rotting face would never be exposed...and frankly, it is really an ugly looking face, cf Medieval Spawn 2.
October 2001 Series 20 Original: Medieval Spawn III
Image courtesy of Jin 119kg's Collection.
The original version has a bloodless axe or clean axe. This sanitised version is sold as a mass-market figure to stores with sensitive consumers.
October 2001 Series 20 Variant: Medieval Spawn III
The 2nd figure sold as a Specialty version carries a bloody axe, otherwise it is an exact duplicate of the original.
