There’s been a lot of Masters Origins stuff piling up here, folks, not the least of which is Skeletor’s homestead, Snake Mountain. I really wanted to jump ahead to that, but I have to do some logistics on how I’m going to photograph it. Also, it seems only right to try to knock out some more figure reviews beforehand. And with that in mind, today figure is one I’ve been waiting to open for quite a few weeks, so I’m excited!

Oh yes. After trying and failing to defeat He-Man with everything from giant mechanical claws to chomping shark cars, the only thing left is to just strap a baby dragon to your back and hope it hocks a flaming loogie right in He-Man’s face. As always, the packaging here is just superb with the enlarged card and extra bubbles for the Deluxe figure and accessories. You also get the additional Snake Men artwork taking over the top of the card. If only all this were collector friendly, but alas, I’ve got some ripping and tearing to do!

There’s a little bit of assembly required here, but nothing too bad. The dragon is sculpted as part of Skeletor’s back plate, which attaches via plastic straps that tab into the slots on the shoulders and under his arms. I was a little worried this wasn’t going to be all that secure, but the dragon actually holds in place remarkably well with no issues at all. Next, you attach the wrist cuff and thread the chain through the slot in his chest piece bring it around the back and attach it to the jumbo green padlock, which hooks into the dragon. The chain is actually metal, which is awesome, although I really don’t know what good it’ll do. If that dragon wants to take off it’s probably just going to drag Skeletor behind it.

As with most Origins figures, this release takes all the beats from the original vintage figure with the main difference being the added articulation in the elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles. The coloring is bright and vibrant, especially on the dragon itself, which has a cool gradient from red to pinkish-purple going on. The pale blue of Skeletor’s skin plays off the mauve and red armor and purple boots nicely, plus you get that neon green to make things really pop. MOTU has always been a delightfully colorful toyline and this figure represents that well!

We’ve had tons of variant Skeletor heads in the Origins line and each one has had its own charms. I do really like this one a lot. It has something of an animated look to it and he’s smiling as if he is jus so damn proud of his new reptilian backpack. The coloring is very nice and the lines for the teeth are sharp. This head is a winner!

The dragon also just oozes vintage charm. It’s head is super goofy and I think it has almost a Chinese Dragon design vibe going on. The teeth are painted white, the eyes are painted black with gold irises and he’s got sculpted scales all over his little body. What’s also great is that Mattel kept the original play gimmick in tact, so you can pop off his head, fill his body with water, and press down on the head to shoot disgusting dragon spit and those damn do-gooders.

Skeletor also comes with his sword, which is a nice bonus, as Mattel probably could have gotten away without it. There’s no Ram Staff, but hell we already have a ton of those! This sword is fantastic, as it isn’t the shitty half-sword we’ve had several times, but the one that’s fully sculpted on both sides. I can never have too many of these!

With something like a half-dozen Skeletor variants in the Origins line, you’d think I would have had enough. but I’ve been excited for each and every one. And this Dragon Blaster version is pretty much peak Skeletor pulling out all the stops. It’s a love letter to the original toy and I’m so happy to have it in my collection. But… these last bunches of Origins figures that I’m opening are also a little bittersweet. The news is that Origins will be leaving retail (and online retailers) and going to Mattel Creations Exclusives in 2024 and I’ve decided not to follow. I’ve had terrible experiences with the few figures I’ve tried to get from Mattel Creations and I’m not going through all that shit. I don’t need flashbacks to Matty Collector and Masters Classics. I’m too old and I’ve got too many other toys to spend money on. I was hoping Origins would still be sold through big online toy retailers, but that’s not the case so I’ll be calling it a day. But that’s fine… my Origins collection is big enough as it is and I’ve got plenty more figures and toys to open and spotlight here.