Unboxing The "Astro City: Heroes & Villains" Toyfare Exclusive Confessor

Norrin has been collecting toys (and keeping them safely inside of their original packaging) for a little over 20 years now. And the time has come to break the seals, tear the tape, and see what's actually inside of these boxes. We will be seeing him open flea-market finds (with dog eared cardboard and pushed in plastic) right along with his mint-in-box exclusive editions. Who wants to play with some toys? 

Our ninth unboxing is the Confessor from Astro City: Heroes & Villains, made by Toy Vault. This figure was a Toyfare Exclusive, and could only be had by mailing in to the magazine to get one. This variant features the Confessor wearing his mask. Born in the 19th century, The Confessor was originally Jeremiah Parrish, a Roman Catholic priest who fell victim to temptation during construction of the Grandenetti Cathedral[1] in what was then Romeyn Falls. While tending to the South-Eastern European immigrants who worked on the Cathedral, he was seduced by a mysterious beautiful woman he saw around the workers' shanty town; the woman turned out to be a vampire, who bit him, causing his transformation. Hiding in the lost and forgotten halls and vaults of the Cathedral for decades, he finally came out of hiding to fight crime in Astro City as penance, eventually constructing the identity of a religious-themed costumed hero. The Confessor's first documented (to date) appearance in Astro City occurred during the early 1950s.[2]

Staying inside the church during daytime, the Confessor appears only at night, possessing the regular vampiric aversion to sunlight. He is almost always seen wearing an all-black costume with a large black cape, a high collar, and usually a ninja-esque mask over his face. On his chest there is a large, shining cross, which causes him sufficient pain to prevent his temptation to drink blood and remind him of the mission which drives him onward, his mission to defend justice.

Towards the climax of his career he began mentoring a sidekick, Altar Boy, who discovered his vampiric nature. The Confessor sacrificed his identity and life to expose masquerading alien invaders, but posthumously was nonetheless falsely blamed for a string of unrelated murders in the Shadow Hill[3] district of Astro City. The mantle of The Confessor was then taken up by Altar Boy. Although the original Confessor had traditional vampiric weaknesses, and was thus defeated by traditional methods (i.e. crucifixes, holy water, and a stake), his successor Altar Boy, not being a vampire, is immune to these methods, to his great advantage when fighting enemies who mistakenly view him as a vampire.