Wave 1 - Etrigan, The Demon
Etrigan, The Demon, first hit comic book pages in the early 1970s as the brain-child of comic writer-artist extraordinaire Jack Kirby. While the devilish little beast with a stocky, muscular body and demonic features seems hell-bent on destruction, he is actually a hero and most often puts his talents to use for the forces of good.
Etrigan finds his origins in the fairy tale times of Camelot. He was first summoned by the powerful wizard Merlin to help fight against the evil witch Morgan le Fay. As a result of this battle, Etrigan was bound to the immortal soul of a human named Jason Blood. As such, Etrigan and Blood essentially share one body, with only one or the other being able to exert control at any given time. Blood is an intelligent, suave, level-headed individual. In contrast, Etrigan is a violent beast. Originally, Etrigan only emerged from Blood under the most dire of circumstances, but Blood later found a poem that when recited would allow the demon Etrigan to come forth.
Among demons, Etrigan is revered as particularly powerful. He is mystically enhanced with tremendous strength and a degree of invulnerability. He is immortal, and can breathe hellfire. He is also proficient with magic, which allows him to host a wide range of other powers such as telepathy, precognition, or super-speed. He speaks exclusively in rhyme and is in possession of certain arcane knowledge and insight into religious matters and the occult.
Etrigan, for me, is the shining star of this Wave. He is just sheer action figure perfection. By far the biggest figure in this Wave, Etrigan features an impressive sculpt with deep muscular grooves and excellent paint shading on his torso. But it’s the detail in his face sculpt and the texturing on this legs that really makes this figure a work of art. His tattered cape/cloak is really well done, too. You can tell the 4 Horsemen put a lot of love into this guy because his every detail is just exquisite. And, of course, the articulation is all there, making him superposeable and super-playable! I can’t image why anyone wouldn’t be buying all the figures in this Wave, but if for some reason you only want to get one or two, make sure this guy is among them.
