In most years, I can count on no fingers the number of times I have to resort to Google to research the backstory on a Marvel character Hasbro releases. 2022 isn’t going to be one of those years! Hasbro is kicking off the year with a truly DEEP cut—the Doctor Strange Marvel Legends D’Spayre figure is now beginning to ship! But just who is this dude, and is his first 6” action figure ever worth your 20+ bucks? Here’s my review…

You know a character is obscure when you have to look up who they are online, only to discover you’ve actually read multiple comic books with them in it. Such is the case with D’Spayre, the subject of today’s Marvel Legends 2022 figures review.

One of the Fear Lords, the demon D’Spayre was created by the Dweller-in-Darkness (you might know the D-in-D as the “Mega Soul-Sucker” from the Shang-Chi movie) using the fear created when Atlantis sank (no, seriously).

D’Spayre is a ghostlike, generally-intangible entity that feeds on negative emotions like fear and despair. He’s only made a handful of significant appearances over the course of his existence, which is why he’s a bit of a head-scratcher to a good 90%+ of Marvel Legends collectors out there. But for those who do want him, what does this extra-dimensional demon have to offer as a six inch figure…?

Well, D’Spayre isn’t going to shatter anyone’s expectations, but he turns out to be a perfectly solid 6” Marvel Legends 2021 figure.

While D’Spayre feels a little bit generic overall, the figure does have a couple pieces to make it feel dressed up at least.

The highlight of this figure is unquestionably the head sculpt, in my opinion. The “melting skull mouth” portrait with piercing red eyes has a campy horror feel to it, and it definitely feels suitably comic book-y. It reminds me a bit of the Phantasm mask from the 90s Batman cartoon, which is a vibe I think many will appreciate.

D’Spayre’s plastic cape is also very nice, with lots of sculpted details including texturing and tattered holes. The cape is pure black on the inside and pure white on the outside, adding to the primarily monochrome appearance of D’Spayre. The peg-less cape is held on firmly via attaching D’Spayre’s head over it, and thankfully the rubbery cape is light enough that it doesn’t cause him to topple over.

D’Spayre doesn’t get the new pin-free technology, but since his limbs and pins are black, you don’t really notice them anyway. The black plastic always worries me since it used to be prone to ripping or tearing, but the limbs and joints all feel sturdy here to me (albeit more rubbery than parts made of a different color plastic).

The full articulation scheme on the D’Spayre Marvel Legends figure includes:

• Ball-Hinge Neck and Shoulders
• Butterfly Swivel Shoulders
• Upper Torso Ab Crunch
• Double-Hinge Elbows and Knees
• Swivel Waist, Biceps, Thighs and Boots
• Ball-Jointed Hips
• Swivel-Hinge Wrists
• Hinged Feet with Ankle Rockers

 

The ranges of motion are all large, and there’s plenty of flexibility to get a character like this into logical poses. I don’t think anyone has any D’Spayre poses in mind that can’t be achieved.

 

The cape really needed to be well-executed, since the only other accessories of his own this demon gets is a pair of open hands. D’Spayre doesn’t feel to me like a character that should be in a lot of fist fights, so the splayed alternate hands are very appreciated by me.

It’s a little ironic that a Doctor Strange Marvel Legends figure virtually no one who isn’t a hardcore fan has ever heard of will come with a Build-A-Figure piece of perhaps the most unknown BAF ever: Rintrah. Time will tell if the Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness movie will popularize this character, but if it does, collectors will need to buy D’Spayre if they want to complete the Rintrah Build-A-Figure.

Overall: This is in no way  a character that was in my top 500 list of Marvel characters I’d want to buy a toy of, but now that I have him in-hand, he is rather striking visually. For $20+ I would have appreciated some energy blasts or really accessories of any kind, but I’m glad we get a neat cape and some extra hands at least.

GRADE: B