The Origin Edition of SphenoratTM was one of my most anticipated prototypes of the year after the KR|Origin series got announced last January.
This 18th action figure prototype in the line has a ghostly counterpart (plus a variant) in the regular series and I think he is another character that truly benefits from having his backstory explored a bit further. Because until we read the final comic issue, we probably don't have a clear idea about his spectral origin.
Details
Name: Sphenorat
Subtitle: dark-magical sorcerer
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 520 years before Masq-Lor's time (now renamed Foundation)
Affiliation: Reptonoid
Rank: deputy marshal.
Background
First appearance: KR|Origin #2 - Battle for Tahron: Part I – The journey begins
Brief bio: once a valuable preceptor of dark magic in an ancient monastery, where troubled reptilian youngsters were recruited to learn the ways of the black arts, Sphenorat broke faith with his compeers and pledged his devotion to Bi-Harr when he embarked on assembling his army to challenge the mammalian people. Serving as a wizard-priest to his master for many years, he created deadly snake-charming spells, with the aim of helping the Reptonoids defeat the Therioms and rise to power on Tahron. When his fellow sorcerer Loghar began mastering technomancy instead of old magic, the fierce competition between the two warlocks led to Sphenorat's death, but his powers were great enough to raise to a bursting spectral form that would spread fear for a long time to come.
Articulation
Standard, except that the elbows and the knees are ball hinged, and the lower body, between the waist and the knees, is one big skirt piece (i.e., there are no hips and thighs).
Description
Head: his face is supposed to resemble a tuatara, but it is flattened in order to acquire a more humanoid look. It has blue-green skin, a pair of small pointy ears with bronze earrings, three yellow eyes with vertical slit-shaped red pupils (the third eye is on the forehead) and a slightly open mouth that displays a number of sharp white teeth. He wears a bronze crowned helmet, i.e., a helmet with a crown riveted on. On the front, this headdress is decorated with a figure representing a stylised standing Egyptian cobra and bearing a number of red gemstones (one resembling the Reptonoid eye symbol on the front of its hood and three forming an array of crescent-shaped markings over its head), while on the back it tapers to a comb of tips similar to a spiny crest. At first, I thought the snake head ornament mounted on his helmet was a button for an action feature, but no. Maybe the guys at PoliganToys originally intended it to be so?
Body: wrinkled blue-green skin, claw hands and feet with black nails. He has a short, thick spiny-plated tail emerging from under his skirt (and actually attached to it)
Wearables: a long dark-brown robe made of a coarse, rough fabric, which is open on the chest and tied at the waist with a red sash. Its sleeves are embroidered with snake-shaped red embellishments and are short enough to expose the forearms equipped with two spiked metallic red bracelets (reused from Origin Loghar), while the hem, also with snake-themed red adornments, falls approximately to the ankles revealing a pair of metallic red thong sandals with shin guards (reused from Origin Lor-Drek). Over his robe, he wears a separate armour that includes a chest plate, a pair of shoulder pads, a long, narrow piece hanging down on the front and a cape. The shoulder/chest armour is mostly metallic red with a few bronze details, including the triple-crescent symbol seen on the headdress, the Reptonoid eye emblem (with a red gemstone at the centre) and several fang-shaped decorations. The attached burgundy cape has a high standing collar (which is split into two parts and looks like a pair of dragon wings), a jagged bottom (whose points resemble small snake heads) and two strips (also resembling snakes) seemingly wafting forward.
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| Sphenorat's stylised shoulder/chest armour. |
Action feature
In the comics, Sphenorat is portrayed as a skilled snake charmer, who magically tames a throng of evil snakes. So, the figure comes with a brown basket that has a removable lid. The inside of the basket shows a beautifully sculpted tangle of multicoloured snakes with a hollow at the centre, into which an additional emerging purple&yellow mamba can be plugged. I can't spoil it now, but keep this snake in mind, because it'll come back in some other reviews.
Weapons and accessories
Aside from his mamba and basket of snakes, Sphenorat comes with a new all-bronze mystical sceptre - a staff equipped with a cupped handle and tipped with an ogival redented ornament. The bud-like decoration on the top recalls the towers of Rokang Tar and features some great detail work (with some difficulties, you can make out a reptile skull in its pattern). The end of the long shaft (which looks like a bottle-shaped tube with a few holes, echoing the appearance of a pungi, i.e., a wind instrument typically played by snake charmers) is connected to Sphenorat's wrist via a real metal chain and a removable cuff, while the top part of the ogival ornament can be detached to reveal a small reddish snake inside. The staff can "shoot" (I guess similarly to a crossbow) the snake thanks to a spring-loaded mechanism.
In addition, Sphenorat comes with an alternative head for his dark-magic teacher days, which differs from the standard head in that it shows a dark-brown covering similar to both a hood and a turban, and two long locks of grey hair emerging from the sides.
Comic
Together with the action figure we get the third comic issue Battle for Tahron: Part II – Bi-Harr’s retribution. After winning a brief battle against a couple of reptilian soldiers thanks to the power of their magic helmets, the Therioms head off to Rokang Tar, where they aim at stealing Bi-Harr’s dangerous mental faculties utilising their newly built prodigious weapons. At the Reptonoid home base, the Therioms are attacked by their foes, who, however, prove to be no match for the heroes' determination. The good guys accomplish their mission, but a Reptonoid warrior causes a cave-in by shooting magic blasts in an attempt to prevent his enemies from escaping. The heroes become trapped inside a collapsed structure and the Reptonoids decide to take advantage of the situation - led by a weakened Bi-Harr, they attack the remaining Therioms, who are completing the multiversal walls not far from Theriom City, and endeavour to take control of the construction site. In the meantime at Rokang Tar, a skirmish between Loghar and Sphenorat turns into a violent clash, and the heroes use the ensuing chaos to break through a weak point in the structure and flee. Khon-Uhr and his warriors arrive at the multiversal walls site, determined to defeat their enemies once and for all. As the battle rages, the king reaches a central pillar and thrusts the assembled Key into a slot on its face, succeeding in locking Bi-Harr's mental abilities behind the walls and saving Tahron from downfall. He's challenged by Bi-Harr once again and a fight ensues; it looks bad for the heroic king, but by calling on the power of his helmet, he remains victorious and delivers an inspiring speech to his people. Unexpectedly, Bi-Harr retrieves his fork and kills Khon-Uhr, shocking everyone there. After managing to steal two halberds from the Theriom's hands, the Reptonoid leader flies away vowing revenge.
Overall, well, Sphenorat is nearly perfect. There aren’t really any flaws and his accessories kick so much ass. Yes, he has a problematic time holding the staff due to its weight, but he's a very decent figure with nice shelf presence in a Reptonoid display.
About the comic, as the concluding episode with no more exposition (good thing that's over!), it has quite a lot of plot development and wraps the three issues up with plenty of action. As for the series on the whole, I'd say that it's rather well-done, but, on the other hand, not horribly exciting.
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