The mainstay of the company, their Spawn line, is still cranking along, and series 23 is hitting shelves as we speak. Called “Mutations,” these figures are based on an alternate reality, a world where Spawn failed to destroy Malebolgia. If you aren't familiar with the Spawn universe, don't lose any sleep over it -- these figures look pretty sweet either way.

There are five figures in the set. I've reviewed the Spawn and Malebolgia here, and today's review covers the other three - Kin, Warrior Lilith and Al Simmons. These should be hitting most McToys retailers, like Toys R Us, Electronics Boutique, Gamestop and Media Play in the next week, and I have some on-line options for you at the end of the review. You can expect to pay $10 to $13.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Spawn Mutations Kin, Lilith and Al Simmons"

There are three unique figures in this assortment - Warrior Lilith, Al Simmons and Kin. Okay, so you think you know who Al is, but you'd be wrong. This version of Al isn't the version that became Spawn, but a “warped image” of him, created by Malebolgia to hunt him down. He's a mercenary soldier, collecting trophies (including arms and other parts) of those in his way.

Not surprisingly, Warrior Lilith is from the same ranks as Domina and Angela. She's a heavenly warrior also out to get poor Spawn. The guy just can't get a break.

Kin is slightly more unique, in that he's a minion infused with the spirit of Spawn's old enemy, Billy Kincaid. As I recall (although it's been awhile), Kincaid was a child killer. Kin is after Spawn's true love, Wanda, to use her as bait. I'm not sure why Kin wear's a pig mask, and I'm less sure what he has a monkey on his back.

Packaging - ****

I love the clamshells, and they've answered my prayers by finally including a little text on each character on the insert. That was really all that was holding this style of McToys packaging back, and let's hope that this continues. I have my doubts though, and suspect they added text here just because you'd have no idea who these characters were without it.

Sculpting - Al, Kin ****; Lilith ***1/2
Both Al and Kin have all the fantastic detail you've come to expect and love in a Mcfarlane toy. Every wrinkle, every wart, every crooked tooth is done with love and attention. I'm especially amazed by the amount of detail in the faces of Kin and Al.

Al is a soldier who's seen better days. His flesh is torn and rotting, and someone has blown a hole through his helmet and head. His backpack is loaded up with a variety of body parts, with some intestines hanging out the back. Unfortunately, his own intestines aren't fairing much better than those of his enemies, as they are falling out over his own belt.

Kin is really two figures, a weird little monkey boy on the back of a larger, dumber, and just as ugly friend. Their brains are attached by way of caps with a tube running between, and this is one of the minor quibbles. The tube is permanently attached, so you won't be able to separate the two figures.

Lilith looks like a cross between Angela and Frasier's ex-wife. Overall, the sculpting on her is very good, particularly on the ornamentation on her body, and her large scabbard for her sword. My only negative here is that her face is very long, very horsey, and seems a bit out of place with the previous warrior angels we've seen. Still, that's a minor nit, and she fulfills the 'hot chick' requirement for this series just fine.

In general, the sculpts here are fantastic, and I'm not really sure that they can be improved upon, at least not in terms of technical merit. Instead, it becomes art, and certain figures and styles are more likely to speak to you than others.

Paint - Al ***1/2; Lilith, Kin ***

The paint ops on all the figures is fine, with no serious problems. Al has the best work, with tons and tons of details both on himself and on the various body parts, pouches, and rotting flesh. Kin is the least exciting in the paint application department, but there are no serious problems, just a lack of color and not quite as much detail. Lilith is actually the most eye catching, with greater contrasts in her various colors. Unfortunately, she also is the only one to actually suffer from a mistake - her thong magically disappears from the top of her butt to the bottom. I know that these things are awfully uncomfortable for warriors to wear, but I don't think she'd tolerate that much of a wedgie for long.

Articulation - Al, Kin ***; Lilith **1/2
All three figures have articulation issues, but none as much as Lilith. She's only got neck, shoulders, and one cut calf. In other words, the pose you see is the pose you get. While the 'pulling her sword' look is pretty spiff, she's nothing more than a statue.

Both Kin and Al fair better. Kin has both calves, elbows, shoulders, waist and neck, and his little buddy has cut biceps. You won't be able to do a ton of poses, but the arm articulation works well and allows him to brandish his accessories nicely.

Al has the best articulation, and surprisingly, the hardest time standing on his own. He has calf, hips, waist, neck, ball jointed shoulders, elbows and wrists. He can hold the guns perfectly, but getting him to stand takes a little patience. Of course, it's not much of a problem if you use the included base.

Accessories - Al ****; Kin, Lilith ***1/2
I've been disappointed with a lot of the recent McToys offerings in the accessory department. This series, or at least these three figures in this series, are a pleasant surprise. All have multiple accessories, and all are very well done.

All three of these figures have a spinning base included. It is filled with peg holes, and there are three pegs included. I suppose one is an extra, since they only have two feet. Both feet have peg holes, and you can attach the figure to the base easily. A lever on the side will turn the figure 180 degrees to see the front and back easily. There's also a thick cardboard backdrop that attaches to the base with two thick plastic pegs. A third of these pegs is also included and attaches by itself to another side of the base. If someone has a hint as to why, I'd love to know.

Lilith comes with a whip that fits in her right hand, a large long sword that fits in the scabbard on her back, and can be posed being drawn, and a shorter broad sword with a very intricate hilt that can also fit in her left hand. The handles on both swords come apart to allow them to be placed in the hands easily. The sculpting on both swords is amazing, and I'm very impressed with the time and effort that went into these. Angela, uh, Lilith also comes with a clear plastic thing-a-ma-bobie. Any ideas as to what this is for? And here I gave the packaging four stars...

Kin comes two accessories - an arm turn from some hapless victim, and a crude but effective hatchet. The hatchet handle also comes apart to allow you to place it in his left hand. Kin also comes with this odd metal cage-like pig mask. I have no idea why, but it fits on tightly and attaches to his head by inserting pegs into holes on either side of his face.

Al hit the jackpot on accessories. He has his own helmet with large hole through the back, two automatic weapons, one with a silencer and one with a very realistic looking ammo belt, a knife that fits in a scabbard on his vest, the torso of an opponent, and a second jungle hat, probably the property of the torso. Oh, and there's an extra pouch as well, also probably belonging to the torso since I couldn't find anywhere to place it on Al's body.

Value - ***
At $10 each, these are a three star value. Nothing to get all excited about, but you certainly won't feel taken either. It's nice to see the cool bases and accessories with these three, and that really adds to the value. If you end up paying closer to $13 each, you can take off another half star to a star.

Overall - Al ***1/2; Kin ***; Lilith **1/2
Out of the entire set of five, Al is the overall winner. It's a close race though, because both the Spawn and Malebolgia I reviewed at my other site are damn good, but Al wins out with superior fire power in the accessories department. Kin is a fine figure, with some great sculpting and decent accessories, but he's not quite as cool as the others. Lilith is somewhat of a disappointment, and seems to be here just to fill McToys required quota of one nekkid chick per series. She scores lower overall because she's not much of a mutation, and looks like another Angela. My ranking of the entire series goes Al, Malebolgia, Spawn, Kin and then bringing up the rear with the nice rear, Lilith.

Where to Buy -
I haven't seen these at any bricks and mortar stores yet, but I'm willing to bet Electronics Boutique, Gamestop and Media Play stores will get them in very soon. On-line: