D'Spayre is one of the Fear Lords, introduced in 1978, and is the second of the two comic book characters included in the wider Doctor Strange wave ahead of the MCU release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
D'Spayre arrives in the standard Marvel Legends packaging, and like Sleepwalker carries the Marvel logo at the front of the window, with a purple hue comic book illustration used on the two side panels and on the rear of the box. The purple theme also continues into the backing card with a purple mist-like backdrop. Alongside the imposing rear artwork is some background text for D'Spayre just above the checklist for the waves build-a-figure, Rintrah from the Multiverse of Madness.
"The embodiment of the ultimate evil, D'Spayre uses the fear of others to strengthen himself."
D'Spayre arrives with his cloak detached in the packaging and you will need to pop off his head to sit it into place to finalise the overall figure look. D'Spayre is created on a generic Marvel Legends buck and is cast almost entirely in black plastic. The hands are the only alternative painted part with white used on the forearm with a wispy transition to black just before the elbow. The hands themselves are cast in white. There are some variances in coloured base plastic on the figure - most notably the black of the upper thighs a shade different to the lower legs.
The head sculpt is most impressive with a melting skull finish onto a bald, black, head. The eyes are picked out with a touch of red adding some menace to the overall monochrome look. The cloak is ragged and tattered and with a high collar that frames the head. It is two-tone so white on one side and black on the other - and again the white element is a different shade from the white tone on the skull and the hands.
D'Spayre arrives with a pair of clenched fists, and these can be swapped out for what feels like a much more appropriate set of reaching clawed hands. These are the only accessories and that perhaps feels like a missed opportunity for some translucent smoke effects or even a second head with the melted skull mouth open.
Articulation weighs in with 23 points overall including double joint knees and elbows, a torso joint, alongside waist, bicep, thigh and bootcut swivels as well as butterfly joints at the shoulders. The cloak does restrict some movement but remains light enough so never to overbalance D'Spayre in any poses.
I particularly like the combination of the torso joints to have D'Spayre hunched over and approaching his victim with the clawed hands outstretched. It is worth noting the waist is quite loose although that has little impact on any of the posing options.
Like Sleepwalker, Hasbro's Marvel Legends team have gone deep into the Comic Universe for D'Spayre and realised him in figure form by way of body re-use enhanced with the dedicated head sculpt and added parts like the hands and cloak.
Like Shriek, from the last Spider-Man wave, D'Spayre employs the monochrome paint job to good effect although I would have liked some better plastic colour matching at the hips and a brighter white on the cape. He is a menacing figure when posed on display and a great addition to a comic book collection - particularly focused on the more mystic aspects of the Marvel Universe.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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