Tag Archives: mattel

Nov 6 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series) Spikor and Clawful by Mattel

The good guys have been taking a shellacking in the recent waves of The Origins Cartoon Series. Instead of one hero and one villain, this is the second time in a row we got Oops All Bad Guys! I’m not sure what’s going on, as there are certainly plenty of those blasted Do-Gooders that still need figures, but I’m not complaining, because it’s always fun to get more of Skeletor’s goofy minions. And with the core team of Snake Mountain done, Mattel is reaching out to some of the later additions. I was honestly surprised to see that Clawful appeared as early as the first season, while Spikor didn’t turn up until the second. Although to be fair, I didn’t remember a whole lot of episodes with either fo these fellas at all.

How many times can I say it? This is some gorgeous packaging. The Filmation style artwork on the cards compliments the colorful figures in the bubbles, making for such an amazing presentation. It brings a tear to my eye to rip into it, but we gotta do what we gotta do. I’ll go on record now as saying that I really dig all the Filmation figures I’ve got so far, but this pair is the first real case of me not liking what the cartoon did to the original figure designs. It doesn’t mean that these aren’t excellent versions of their cartoon counterparts, but I think these designs lost a lot in translation from vintage to cartoon. Let’s start with Spikor!

Poor Spikor lost a lot of spikes and gained a really garish deco. He looks like he has at least 60% less spikiness and my guess is it’s because the animator didn’t want to draw all that shit. He’s supposed to be the Untouchable Master of Evil, but I can see plenty of places I can touch him without getting stuck. Otherwise, you get the usual smoothing of details, like the studs removed from his belt and wrist cuffs, and the the studs running down the middle of the vintage figures chest are now replaced by a smooth strip that descends from a collar around his neck. And then there’s the colors! The muted two-tone purple of the vintage figure is now replaced with dark purple, bright blue, and iridescent mauve! I don’t know, it just comes off looking like a kit-bashed figure with mismatched limbs to me.

I don’t have a huge problem with the head, as it fits the Filmation aesthetic pretty well. A lot of these guys were made to look a little more human and relatable. Vintage Spikor had much more of a monster face with a bizarre nose and folds of skin. At least Toony Spikor still has the yellow eyes and fangs. But once again, he lost a lot of spikes off his noggin.

Cartoon Spikor also has the option of switching out one of his hands for his trident weapon. I’m not sure how that works, putting a real hand back on after you rip it off, but I guess that wouldn’t be the strangest thing going on on Eternia. I always just assumed Vintage Spikor lost the hand in battle and got the weapon as a replacement. Either way, it gives you options, but I’m always going to opt for the trident hand.

As for our episode-specific accessory, Spikor comes with two of the game pieces from the episode The Games. And in a show with no shortage of bat-shit crazy scripts, this one was pretty out there. Aliens come to Eternia and decide they want to watch the most Evil and the most Heroic beings compete with each other. Adam doesn’t change into He-Man on time, so the Aliens pick Fisto to champion good. Really? Fisto? Meanwhile, Skeletor throws Spikor into a cabinet, called the Evilgizer (Yes, you read that correct), that is designed to exponentially increase the amount of Evil in someone, so it makes Spikor Uber-Evil. As near as I can tell, all that does is get him picked to be the champion of Evil. Anyway, the game requires the contestants to find these game pieces and push a button to get points. It’s a pretty piss-poor episode, if I’m being honest, and these accessories aren’t very interesting. Let’s move on to Clawful…

Spikor got some unfortunate changes for the Filmation cartoon, but his buddy Clawful got absolutely massacred. They turned him from a pretty cool looking Crab-Man to a goofy lizard-looking dude. Like, I don’t understand how you get a crab vibe off this design at all. Did the people at Filmation even comprehend his crabbiness? The crabby shell armor on his chest has been replaced with an actual armor vest, which seems like a downgrade to me. They even shrunk his awesome big claw and gave him two little crappy ones, plus his body is just all smooth and generic now. At least he still has his monster feet. The colors are all different too, but I really don’t mind this deco at all.

This head is just baffling to me. Again, it’s a cartoon lizard not a crab. I think the head sculpt is great for what it is and it sure sells the Filmation aesthetic. His yellow eyes are rather similar to Spikor. I really dig the slightly open mouth and the exposed fangs. It’s a fine portrait, but it doesn’t pay any respects to the original vintage design, and that’s a shame.

But it’s the fact that they neutered his big claw that really bugs me the most here. It was his freaking play gimmick and his most defining characteristic. No sir, I don’t like it!

Clawful also got robbed of any regular accessories, which is ridiculous. The Vintage-Style figure came with the big claw and a weapon, while Filmation Clawful only comes with his episode specific accessory, The Horn of Evil. Now, I’m mixed on this one. This creepy looking accessory is awesome and so much better than Spikor’s, but it comes from the episode, Dree Elle’s Return, which features a bunch of Orko’s people and I just can’t stomach these guys. Dree Elle is just Orko in a blonde wig and don’t get me started on Yukkers. I don’t think I’ve ever made it through this entire episode.

I’ve got to emphasize that I don’t hate these figures at all. They’re great representations of their Filmation counterparts and Mattel did a fine job with the designs they had to work with. I just think that this is the first time we’re seeing characters designs that got major downgrades for the cartoon. Still, I’m happy to have them for my Filmation display. And I do believe this is the last of the All-Villain Waves for a bit, so when I next visit with this line, we’ll get some Eternian Heroes again!

Jul 26 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series): Stratos and Mer-Man by Mattel

Mattel’s been busy pumping out the Cartoon versions of their MOTU Origins line, and I’m getting closer to being all caught up. After today I’ll be only one wave of figures behind, and the Cartoon Series first vehicle, The Collector has arrived as well! And today we’re taking to the skies and the seas of Eternia with a look at Stratos and Mer-Man!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep on saying it: I love this packaging so much! The cards are so colorful, the cartoon logo and the figures against the castle backdrop looks so good! There’s a rainbow colored “Cartoon” collection logo on the bubbles, reminiscent of the Filmation logo, and every figure comes bundled with a mini comic behind the tray. It kills me to tear into these, but my figures are in there, and I want them out! Let’s start with Mer-Man!

The toon version of Skeletor’s fishy minion shares a lot in common with the vintage-style figure, but everything gets smoothed over and simplified for that slick animated look. But before getting to any of that, just look at the colors! The blue and yellow plastic is a one-two pleasure punch to my peepers, making for such a beautifully striking deco. He’d look right at home standing side-by-side with the 90’s X-Men! The little bit of orange thrown in for the fur diaper and around the eyes just ups the ante. I also really love that these figures make use of so much colored plastic over paint. Unlike the vintage-style figure, toony Mer-Man sports yellow gauntlets and boots, his belt is simplified and his chest armor has some simulated muscles, that look like abs running all the way up to his neck. Finally, you get a little bit of fishy flare in his webbed shoulders. I love it!

The head sculpt is a complete rework from the vintage style, giving him the exaggerated fins on the sides of his head and a very fishy looking mouth. His eyes have puffy orange borders and he’s got those delightful Simpsons-style eyeballs. I used to love watching them pop in the cartoon when something unexpected happened to him. It’s sometimes hard for me to pick a favorite between vintage and cartoon styles, but I’ll always love Mer-Man’s Filmation look over the vintage style. I just think that head worked better for a skunk man than it did a fish man.

Mer-Man comes with two accessories, his trident and the Pearl of Power, both of which were seen in the episode City Beneath the Sea. And boy is that a cracking episode! I’m not just saying that because it starts out with Prince Adam blindfolded and playing what is clearly a sex-fiend game of drunk hide-and-seek with a couple of palace whores. Afterwards, He-Man and Man-At-Arms investigate missing ships only to find out that Mer-Man has seized control of Aquatica, captured their Princess, and hypnotized the people with his Pearl of Power. The pearl looks really nice and Mer-Man’s left hand is sculpted perfectly to hold it.

The Trident is pretty simple, but it matches what he had in the cartoon perfectly. Sure, I prefer the more ornate sword that came with the vintage figure, but I can always loan that out to him if I want to… Moving on to Stratos!

As a character, Stratos is not top of my list of favorites in the cartoon, but I’m going all in on this line, so I was content to pick him up, and with the figure in hand I’m glad I did. The figure is not as flashy and colorful as Mer-Man, but I was surprised at how well the body’s mostly gray deco pops with those splashes of red and blue. The cartoon design switches the vintage deco up with the harness going from red to blue and the wings from blue to red, meanwhile the belt stays red and the fur diaper stays blue. Toony Stratos also nixes the sculpted fur around the gray lower legs and feet and gives him red boots, the tops of which are the same sculpt as Mer-Man’s. Of course, we get a lot of the usual smoothing and simplification to evoke that animated look. Stratos’ sculpted chest hair is gone, the harness lacks all detail. The jetpack looks great and the wings still have the sculpted feather detail, but are streamlined in their shape. The Cartoon Series proportions also look really great on this guy!

The head sculpt is a lot more robust than what we got in the vintage-style figure. The helmet is larger, the goggles are smoothed out, and the beard is fuller and more majestic. I also think he looks a lot more human than simian here. I also like his broad smile.

Stratos comes with only one accessory and of course it’s the Staff of Avion. That makes two tridents in this wave! I don’t know how many times this thing was seen in the cartoon, but it was specifically called out in the episode, The Reign of the Monster. Apparently he only got it out once a year to do a fireworks display, although the episode does have him using it as a weapon to shoot energy blasts. It’s a decent looking accessory cast in gold plastic with angled prongs on the end.

I really dig how Mattel is releasing these figures in waves of two at a time, with one hero and one villain, and this wave is definitely another solid pair for the collection. I’m not the biggest Stratos fan around, but his figure looks good, and I find that I’m warming up to him as a character more and more. Mer-Man, on the other hand, is a key addition to Skeletor’s core minions and I just can’t get enough of the great colors! I picked these up for $17.99 a piece, which ain’t bad considering it’s hard to get figures in this scale for under $20 these days. Next up will be Evil-Lyn and Webstor!

Jul 5 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series): Prince Adam and Cringer by Mattel

Mattel has been cruising with the new releases of the MOTU Origins Cartoon Series. I’ve had four more carded figures hit my door over the last couple weeks, but I decided to bump this lovely boxed set up to the front of the line because… well, it’s Adam and Cringer and how could I not? We did get a Prince Adam in the regular Origins line and he came bundled with a Sky Sled instead of Cringer, because I don’t think Cringer ever made it to the vintage line. But now that the Mattel is exploring the Filmation cartoon we can finally get Prince Adam’s cowardly cat companion.

The figures come in a window box, which shows off the goods quite nicely. You also get an extended backflap with some absolutely bitchin vintage-style art of Adam and Cringer lazing about on an idyllic Eternian afternoon while three evil bastards spy on him from the foliage. The explosive exposition bubble announces the set is based on the 80’s Adventures and you get the Cartoon Collection sticker on the window, which mimics the rainbow lettering of the Filmation cartoon logo. Flip the box around and you get one of the most iconic pieces of MOTU art of all time, as Adam holds aloft his magic sword and says the words. Meanwhile the jaws of Castle Greyskull dominate the backdrop and Cringer cowers, knowing full well what comes next.

On a side note, I can still remember asking my friend who had nearly all the MOTU toys why he didn’t have a Prince Adam figure and his reply was “because that’s just something they made up for the stupid cartoon.” Yup, he had been playing with the toys for years before the cartoon came out and he was having none of it. It just didn’t fit into the canon he had spent years building in his head, and he had no interest in owning Prince Adam in his collection. Meanwhile, I had my first handful of Transformers before ever seeing the cartoon, but once I saw it, I adopted the cartoon as law pretty damn quick. Funny how that works. Anyway… Let’s get this duo out of the box and start off with Prince Adam.

Prince Adam appears to be an entirely different sculpt from the first Origins release, but some aspects are still extremely close. As we’ve seen, the Cartoon Series uses new bodies, which are slightly taller and less crouched. The vest is very similar to the vintage style vest, but it lacks the sculpted line around the edges and has softer cinching around the belt. The sleeve cuffs are smoothed over and the belt is also simplified to convey that toon look, but you do still get some nice detail in the furry fringe around the tops of his boots. The color changes are most notable on the vest, which goes from a reddish pink to now being a pale mauve. The tights are a little darker, while the boots and furry diaper are a little darker, but both changes are subtle.

The stock head sculpt is lifted directly from the Cartoon Series He-Man. It was a great portrait than and it still is. I think it fits the Prince Adam persona so much better than the Origins He-Man head did on the vintage-style Adam. The facial features here are well defined, while still keeping the animated style. The paint on the eyes and eyebrows is perfect, and the hair is certainly on point. The expression doesn’t fit Adam’s usual buffoonery, but it certainly works for that moment when the shit hits the fan and Adam is ready to change into He-Man.

The alternate head is a lot more Adam’s style with the eyes closed and a big smile, as if caught in mid chortle or perhaps getting a sloppy kiss from Cringer. It’s admittedly designed for a very specific look, but I could see myself maybe going with this head in the display from time to time. It’s just fun!

If you go back to my review of the Cartoon Series He-Man, I really lamented the lack of a hinged sword hand that would let him hold the sword properly for the transformation sequence. That is to say one that is hinged to bend forward and back, rather than the standard side to side. I also called on Mattel to do the right thing and give us that hand with Prince Adam. And low and behold, they did! We get the same Power Sword we got with He-Man and it looks fantastic held straight up in the air, calling on the Power of Greyskull to grant him the might of He-Man. And yes, that hand can be swapped with He-Man’s to do the same. I still think it should have been included with He-Man too, but I’m just glad we finally got it. OK, let’s move over to Cringer.

We did get Cringer in the Classics Series, but he was mostly static with just some articulation in the neck. He also wasn’t based on the animation, so I was really excited to get this kitty and he does not disappoint. For starters he is a fully articulated figure with each leg having multiple rotating hinges to get him into all sorts of scaredy-cat stances. You also get a ball joint in the body, a double ball jointed neck, and the tail is attached to the body with a rotating hinge. Plus, I love the way it curls into a friendly hook at the tip. He’s completely smooth to give him that toony look, so no sculpted fur, but he does have some adorable toe beans sculpted into the bottoms of his paws. The bulk of the body is green with his familiar orange striping. This cat looks great, and he is super fun to play with!

Like Prince Adam, Cringer comes with two heads, and in this case they are basically scared and more scared. Both faces are just brimming with personality and they capture the character perfectly. The second head even has an articulated jaw. I will say that based on the initial pre-production images, I was not impressed with what I saw, but I’m happy to say that the final toy turned out great.

I can’t say enough positive things about this set! Mattel nailed the Filmation look on both figures beautifully, and I am so very glad to see us finally get that perfect hinge on the sword arm so he can make that most iconic of poses with the Power Sword. And at $29.99, this set actually feels like a total steal, especially considering how much articulation they put into Cringer. I am absolutely digging this Cartoon Series line and I’m willing to bet Adam and Cringer will be hanging out on my desk for a little while, because they are so much fun to grab and play with.

Jun 19 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins: Moss Man by Mattel

It was a busy week for MOTU Origins around here. Not only did I get a few of the new Cartoon Series figures in, but I also cleaned up on some old business with the main Origins line. Moss Man was a Wal-Mart Exclusive, which meant I never had a chance of seeing him at the stores here. A lot of people must have been in the same boat because he was going for crazy money on Ebay and the like. And then inexplicably he started turning up on Clearance and even at places like Ollies. And that’s a beautiful illustration of horrible distribution and why these exclusives are a terrible idea. In the end, people started scalping the figures they found on Clearance and in the end that meant I was able to get him for the original price, even with shipping. So let’s check him out!

Moss Man is a Deluxe, but instead of coming in one of those oversized cards and bubbles, he comes boxed and this makes for some very nice presentation. The window shows off the figure and all the extras inside while you still get an elongated back flap with some of that gorgeous retro-inspired artwork. But then turn the box over and and let your peepers be assaulted by even more vintage art goodness. The box also touts him as a Collectors Edition with pine scent, making me wonder if a sealed card would have been the better way to go in order to lock in all that pine freshness! Everything here is collector friendly, and while I love the box, I haven’t decided whether to keep it or not.

Moss Man comes with armor, and we’ll get to that in a bit, but let’s first check him out as God intended, with just his belt and furry diaper. Besides, I don’t want any of that armor to get in the way of the beauty that is this flock job, and I mean that in every conceivable way. For starters, the coverage here is superb. From the front, you can barely see any of the jointing, and even from the back it’s mostly just evident in the knee and ankle joints. Sure, the more extreme you work the hinges, the more of that plastic will peek through, but it really is an amazing piece of work, especially for a retail figure. I also really dig the way the musculature in the chest and back still shows through the flocking. And finally, the coloring of the flocking itself is wonderfully dynamic. The closer you get, the more you can make out the mixes of green with a little brown. It’s also strangely soothing to stroke his mossy fur with my finger. As for that pine sent, it’s evident but not overwhelming. The question will be how long will it last?

The yellow armor pieces are repaints of Beast Man’s armor, just like Moss Man was a flocked Beast Man. I’m far from an expert on vintage MOTU, but as I understand it the yellow Beast Man armor was included in a weapons pack and tended to gravitate toward Moss Man figures in many collectors. Enough that it became associated with him. The chest and collar piece tabs together in the back and the bicep armor just slides on with friction keeping them on. It’s all cast in the same yellow plastic and there’s some black paint apps on the chest piece making it look like it’s been burned. I do think these look really good on the figure, but I’m not sure whether I will display him with the armor or not.

You get two heads to choose from, and this is kind of a no-brainer for me. The stock head is very similar to a flocked Beast Man head, without being a straight repurpose, and this is the one that will always be on my figure. The flocking encompasses the whole head, minus the face and just like the body, it looks great. I’ve gone on record in the past by saying the vintage Beast Man head sculpt is one of the ugliest and most unintentionally funny action figure noggins I can remember, and that still holds true here, but I think the unified green color scheme helps it along. The big difference between Beast Man and this Moss Man is the mouth bearing his copious fangs. The eyes are painted in with large black pupils, and I’m really impressed at how sharp the line around the face between plastic and flock turned out.

Now, that’s not to say the alternate head isn’t really good. In fact, it’s quite awesome. It’s full of character and basically looks like a green gorilla with mutton chops. That ain’t a bad thing! The mouth is open a lot wider, showing off those awesome teeth, and the bald head and slight forehead ridge gives me some slight Klingon vibes. I love what we got here, but it just isn’t Moss Man to me. Had the figure been more widely available, I might have picked up a second to leave unarmored and wearing this had as just some mossy minion.

Moss Man comes with two weapons, and an extra left gripping hand so he can dual wield. The first weapon, a brown flanged mace, is a nod to the vintage figure’s accessory. It has a diamond-shaped ring at the pommel and a knuckle guard loop around the grip.

Additionally, you get the spiked ball flail that we’ve seen a few times before in this line, and it’s always nice to see this weapon turn up, especially as an extra piece. I did find that the gripping hands on my figure are a little loose on these accessories and squeezing them shut a bit more helps keep them in his hands.

As much as I adore this line, I have a rule with MOTU Origins, that I’m not playing Mattel’s game and hunting down exclusives at stores or online at Mattel Creations, and I’m not feeding scalpers and paying premiums. I already jumped through a lot of hoops to get a nearly complete set of MOTU Classics and I’m not doing it all over again. Case in point, I didn’t even bother going after Night Stalker yesterday. I have Stridor and I’m content with that. Now, I guess you could argue that in this case I did feed a scalper by paying regular retail for a figure he probably got for $6 at an Ollies, but I was willing to make an exception since it was still a little less than original retail. And I’m glad I did, because this figure is absolutely amazing. And don’t worry, I still have more than a few figures in this line to check out here, but next time we’ll switch over to the Cartoon Series for a bit!

Mar 27 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series) Teela and Trap-Jaw by Mattel

If you aren’t up on your MOTU Origins news, the regular line has gone exclusive to Mattel Creations and that’s where that line and I parted ways. Hovering over pre-order buttons and hoping to get lucky is a young man’s game. I’ve done my time in the trenches of Matty Collector and I’m more than willing to give it up to collectors with more time and patience than myself. But, for the rest of the retailers, Mattel has re-launched Origins with figures based on the Filmation cartoon. So we get to do it all again! How far am I willing to go? I honestly don’t know, but I’m definitely in for all the main characters that were regulars on the cartoon. These figures are shipping in assortments of only two characters per wave with one hero and one villain. So far we’ve had He-Man and Beast Man, Skeletor and Man-At-Arms, and now Teela and Trap-Jaw. Let’s go…

Oh sweet lord, do I love these cards! They’re so colorful and pretty and the figures look simply amazing on them. Each figure includes a mini-comic and an episode-specific accessory from the cartoon, as well as their regular weapon. I hate to mangle such beauty, but I have to rip into these so we can take a look at the figures. Let’s start with Trap-Jaw.

Easily one of my favorites of Skeletor’s minions, Trap-Jaw’s gimmick of exchangeable arm attachments is just such a great play gimmick. Sure he was a blundering idiot like most of the villains of Snake Mountain, but he looked good doing it and he kind of talked like a pirate. This cartoon version is a total rework of the Origins vintage style figure and it looks glorious! The torso and left arm are standard reuse colored in bright blue plastic, but you get the black cap covering where his right arm would be and acting as a connecting piece for the artificial arm. His thigh armor is much larger than the vintage style with lime green segmented pads and his lower legs have red armor with some black cut outs. The lime green belt is smoothed over and omits the skull and crossbones from the vintage style and has a slot to store his spare arm attachment. This is a glorious transformation to the cartoon style and such a colorful figure!

The head sculpt is also fantastic, making the vintage style head look like a lumpy mess by comparison. The cartoon likeness is spot on and you get an articulated jaw. The creepy soulless eyes from the previous release have also been reworked to the more normal Filmation style. The zipline ring at the top of the helmet is a bit more pronounced than I remember it being in the cartoon, but I’m guessing Mattel had to enlarge it to keep that play gimmick viable and that’s cool!

On the downside, you only get two attachments for the artificial arm: The hook and the laser gun. The arm attachments are straight recolors of the ones from the vintage style figure, so it kind of sucks that Mattel couldn’t include the claw as well. I guess, you can still use the vintage-style attachment, if you don’t mind the colors not matching. Each can be attached to the end of the articulated arm, or you can plug the laser directly into the shoulder like he did on the cartoon.

The cartoon-based accessory is a piece of Eternium Rock from the episode Double Edged Sword, where Trap-Jaw chomped down a piece of Eternium to get super strong and take on He-Man. But it just kinda wore off and he got his ass beaten for his troubles. Oh, Trap-Jaw, when will you learn? It’s not the most exciting accessory in the world, but it does go well with the character. Let’s move on to Teela!

Teela gets one of the biggest transformations from vintage-style to cartoon, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. Don’t get me wrong, this is a pitch-perfect homage to the Filmation look, but it results from smoothing out and omitting a lot of the excellent sculpted detail on the vintage-style figure. Teela’s golden armor covers her chest and shoulders and features the familiar ram’s horn motif, a high collar, and a bit that hangs down toward her nether regions. This whole piece is cast in gold plastic and looks really nice. Her white one-piece can be seen under it, and she has sculpted bicep rings, each painted gold, and white bracers on her forearms. Her red boots have some sculpted crisscross patterns and have sculpted white furry fringe at the top edges.

As for the portrait, well holy hell, Mattel did a fantastic job on this one! I think this is hands down the best Filmation style Teela head we’ve seen so far. The hair and tiara are both great, but it’s the facial features that absolutely nail this look. The eyes and eyebrows are just beautifully done, as is the perfectly sculpted nose and and lips. She is gorgeous!

Teela comes with her sword and shield, both of which are solid accessories. I like this no-nonsense sword design with the needle-like point to the blade. It’s cast all in a silver-gray palstic. The round shield is cast in a reddish-brown plastic to match her boots and it is super-shiny! There’s a simple grab bar on the inside for her to hold it.

Her cartoon-based accessory is a sparring droid, which I think turned up in a few different episodes. It’s cast in gray plastic and has some basic articulation where the arms connect to the body. As much as I dig the idea behind this accessory, it’s kind of useless wtihout some kind of stand. I wish Mattel had at least given it a peg hole in the bottom so I could make use of some of the stands I have around here.

Damn, this Cartoon Series is really hitting hard, and this duo is another strong addition. I think this is the best cartoon version of a Teela figure we’ve seen yet, and Trap-Jaw is no slouch either. The Classics toon versions of these characters were great, but it’s cool to get them in these more affordable option that lean in more toward being toys rather than collectibles. If I had one nitpick it would be that I wish Teela were a little taller, but it’s just a personal preference. The prices on the Cartoon Series seem to be $19.99 each across the board. Sure, it’s higher than when Origins started, but I still think that makes them a pretty decent value on the pegs these days. This catches me up on the Origins Cartoon releases, but we’ve already seen a bunch of new figures teased, including Evil-Lyn, Prince Adam and Cringer… bring them on!

Mar 1 2024

Masters of the Universe (Masterverse) ’87 Movie Evil-Lyn by Mattel

Mattel’s MOTU Masterverse is probably one of the best lines of figures I don’t collect. Well, I sort of don’t collect. I was limiting myself to the Princess of Power and Evil Horde figures, but they didn’t make a lot of those. I’ve also been collecting the figures based on the ’87 live action movie, and they seem to be even more limited. Still, I checked out the movie He-Man and Skeletor here a little while ago, and now I’m happy to add Evil-Lyn to the collection.

The package has changed a lot since those previous two figures. Instead of the bland Masterverse box we got this amazing character art and background mural based on the film. Additionally, the windows shows off the top half of the figure and there’s a compartment running up the left side of the box that houses the accessory and extra set of hands. It’s all collector friendly, and while I really want to keep this box, I probably won’t because it’s just a one-off anomaly. I went over my feelings about the movie when I reviewed He-Man, so I won’t go through it all again. I will say that when considering the highs and lows of the film, Meg Foster as Evil-Lyn was certainly one of the highs. Meg Foster was a strikingly beautiful woman and putting her into an Evil-Lyn costume certainly made teenage me want to hold aloft my magic sword. Her costume was great, her performance was great, and it’s awesome to finally have a figure of her in this role.

Here she is out of the box and there’s some stuff to love here and some stuff that’s not so great. As a figure based loosely off the series, I think it looks pretty good and it hits all the major beats of the movie costume design. The chest plate and grieves are cast in a cool pearlescent plastic, but it feels like they needed a lot more paint to make them work, as they just look kind of bland and unfinished. I like the printed scrollwork on the bodysuit, but the pink is really off putting. I think they based it on the lighting inside Grayskull, but the original costume was closer to flesh tone and the change bugs me. The half-skirt is cast in plastic, while the cape is actual cloth. I like the silver paint on the tops of the boots, and I wish we got some more of that. I don’t hate what we got here, but I wish some different choices were made.

Overall, I think the head sculpt is pretty good. It’s not a superb likeness, but it’s not a terrible one either. Let’s face it, no paint in the world can really capture the ethereal beauty of Meg Foster’s eyes. They are hauntingly gorgeous, and that’s something this figure was never going to be able to reproduce. She could have used more pronounced eye-shadow to match the makeup used on screen. I’d definitely rate the portrait better than the rest of the figure, so that’s something.

Where Evil-Lyn really falls down is in her poseability. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, bicep swivels, and hinged pegs for the wrists, which is all fine. But the elbows are rotating hinges that can barely do 90-degree bends, so that’s disappointing. The legs have everything they need to be great, including double-hinged knees and thigh swivels, but the plastic skirt inhibits them severely, so it’s mostly all wasted. She has no articulation in the chest, just a tight joint in the waist that I can barely get a swivel out of. When it comes to playing and posing, there’s just no fun to be had here. And I think that’s reflected in how few pictures I wound up taking for this review.

Evil-Lyn comes with one accessory and that’s a translucent version of the Cosmic Key that came with Skeletor. I guess it’s supposed to be a hologram? Or maybe the key when it’s active and glowy. I don’t know, but it’s not a great accessory. She also comes with a pair of accessory holding hands, which if it’s supposed to be a hologram, why would she be holding it? Yeah, there’s just nothing exciting here.

In the end, I’m really torn over this figure. The costume deco doesn’t seem really screen accurate and she’s a frustrating figure to try to play around with because of the limitations to the articulation. On the other hand, she sure looks great standing alongside Skeletor, so I’m not sorry I bought her. I just really wanted to like her a lot more than I do.

Feb 23 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series) Skeletor and Man-At-Arms by Mattel

In case you missed it, the vintage-based MOTU Origins line has now become a Mattel Creations online exclusive, and I’ve decided not to follow it there, because I’ve already got pretty much everything I want out of it. And if I wanted any reassurances that I made the right decision, Rokkon sold out in stupid fast when he went up a few days ago, and I’m done subjecting myself to those kind of shenanigans just to buy toys. Besides, most of the figures in this extended stage of the line I have as Classics releases, anyway. Of course, Mattel has re-launching the Origins line at retail as the Cartoon Series with new versions based on the Filmation cartoon, and god help me, I’m here for that! Last month I checked out He-Man and Beast Man and now I’m back to check out Skeletor and Man-At-Arms.

Oh God, these new card designs are gorgeous! The colors are so vibrant and you get the cartoon style Castle Grayskull in the background, along with the Cartoon stickers on the front of the bubble that mimics the Filmation logo. It’s a shame they couldn’t put Filmation on there, but again I’m guessing it’s some kind of copyright thing. The figures look so amazing in these packages, but I’ve got to tear them open. Eventually I’ll probably pick up an extra He-Man and Skeletor just to keep carded and hang on the wall next to the vintage-style versions. Let’s start with Skeletor!

It’s amazing that so simple a figure can put such a big smile on my face, but this Filmation Skeletor does indeed have me grinning ear to ear. We’ve seen animated versions of this bonehead a few times, both from Mattel and Super7, and they were all good, but I think there’s something about the simpler style and price point of this Origins version that makes it work so well as an animated style figure. The colors are beautiful with that one-two punch of pale blue and purple mixed with the black undies and yellow face making this a striking figure to behold. These cartoon versions feature new body bucks, which stand a bit taller than the vintage-style Origins figures, but are still modular in design and Skeletor borrows just about everything from the He-Man buck except the boots and the new armor pieces. I also like that we are getting two accessory holding hands, rather than the left slap-hand.

The head sculpt is a near perfect homerun to me. My only nitpick here is that I think the teeth are sculpted a little too soft, or perhaps the face could have used a wash to bring out detail like the line art. On the other hand, I’m not sure if that would have made the portrait look too complex and stray away from the simpler animated look. Still, in the end, I’m very happy with what we got here. The hood and face are both part of the head, which allows the whole thing to articulate together.

Skeletor comes with four accessories, the first of which is his iconic Havoc Staff. This piece features a purple staff and a white head, which looks great. The sculpting on the ram head is really nice. I did find that Skeletor’s grip is a little loose for all his accessories, but squeezing it closed seemed to do the trick.

Next up, you get his version of the Power Sword, which is kind of a weird inclusion for a figure based on the Filmation cartoon, but I’m still happy to get it. It’s the same accessory we’ve seen before and since a few of my vintage-style Origins Skeletors came with the half-sword, I’ll be giving this to one of them.

And finally, you get two of the Masks from the episode Masks of Power. These are the golden masks that baddies for hire, Aran and Oona, put on and get transformed into the evil sorcerers, Demos and Tyrella. Both masks are cast in gold plastic and are fully realized heads with sockets so they can be placed on any of the Origins figures. It’s a really cool idea and it kind of makes me hope we get an Aran and Oona two-pack somewhere down the line. With the modular nature of the line, that would be an easy release. OK, let’s move on to Man-At-Arms…

Duncan got a pretty big facelift for the cartoon, and despite my love of the vintage line, that figure always seemed kind of weird to me, because I was so used to seeing Filmation Man-At-Arms. This figure features the same body as Skeletor, including the boots, with an all green body suit, orange grieves, brown boots, a blue belt and brown diaper. On the other hand, he gets brand new chest armor, as well as armor pieces for his shoulders and forearms, all cast in orange to match the grieves. Like Skeletor, the colors on this figure are wonderfully vibrant and really evoke the colorful nature of the cartoon. I also dig the full armor on both arms more than the vintage style figure.

The vintage Man-At-Arms was an ugly cuss. Past figures slapping a mustache on him helped a little, but here we get the full on cartoon Duncan portrait and he looks great. The simpler sculpt makes it feel more like the cartoon than the Classics version and I love that the head and helmet are separately sculpted. You also get a nice pearlescent finish to his helmet and bright orange panels on the sides. This portrait is really well done.

Duncan comes with his giant mace, which I really don’t remember him ever carrying in the cartoon, but I could be wrong about that. It’s a lot more bulbous than the mace included with the vintage-style Origins figure, so it’s nice we got a newly sculpted accessory unlike Beast Man’s crappy whip. And while this may not be a weapon I associate with the Filmation cartoon, I’ll still likely display it with him, so he has something to bash Skeletor’s goons with.

And he also comes with the Stasis Ray, which is awesome. I love all the Eternian tech depicted in the cartoon and this thing was one of my favorites. The sculpt is detailed enough to make it look good, but doesn’t go overboard and torpedo the animated style. For whatever reason, this device really stuck with me and it’s cool to finally have an accessory of it.

Four figures in and I am absolutely loving this line! Skeletor looks as iconic as all hell and they did Duncan proud as well. I’m also chuffed to be getting all of these episode-specific accessories with these figures and I hope that’s something that continues throughout the line. At $20 a pop, the price on these has crept up a bit since the line was first introduced, but with additional accessories and lots of brand new sculpting, I still think they’re a pretty good value. How deep will I go on these? Only time will tell, but I’m definitely in for all the main characters at least. I believe Trap-Jaw and Teela are up next and due to arrive next month, so I’m definitely looking forward to them!

Jan 29 2024

Masters of the Universe Origins (Cartoon Series): He-Man and Beast Man by Mattel

Here we go again! As the vintage-style MOTU Origins line winds itself down the Filmation off-shoot is just starting with more cartoon accurate versions of the characters. The last time we saw this phenomenon was when Matty Collector’s MOTU Classics gave way to the Club Grayskull’s cartoon style figures and eventually handed the whole shebang off to Super7. I really wanted to collect that line, but coming off of dropping untold amounts of monies on the superb and expansive Classics line, I just couldn’t bring myself to start all over again. Well, it doesn’t seem quite so daunting a task this time, as the figures are smaller and aren’t terribly expensive. Also, I’m not going to be aggressive about hunting down the remaining releases from the vintage-style Origins line, especially if they’re going to be Mattel Creations exclusives. So, I decided to dip in with the initial releases and see how deep I’m willing to go. The first two figures are He-Man and Beast Man, so let’s see what we got!

The cardbacks get a complete redesign, and as much as I loved the vintage-style cards, these are even more spectacular. The logo is now reflective of the cartoon’s title as HE-MAN and the Masters of the Universe and you get some very colorful and Filmationy artwork. I’m guessing there was some licensing issues with putting FILMATION on the bubble, so they did a work around with the word CARTOON in the Filmation logo colors. These packaged figures look absolutely amazing and it’s almost a shame to tear into them. I may wind up doing what I did with the vintage-style figures and pick up an extra He-Man and Skeletor to leave carded. Each figure also comes with a comic book behind them, and it’s the same comic for both figures. Let’s start with The Most Powerful Man in the Universe…

He-Man’s redesign does indeed make him look like he ready to jump off the TV screen and spout pithy PSAs at the children of the Earth. And I’ll say straightaway that I did not expect this much difference between the vintage and cartoon versions of this line. You get a whole new body that’s designed to stand taller, eschewing the squat poses of the vintage toys, while at the same time simplifying some of the details found on the original figure in favor of animation accuracy. The boot sculpts look pretty close, minus the yellow fringe, but the belt and wrist bracers are now lacking the studs. The chest harness is also smoothed out, and the red panels on the upper straps are gone. The new figure comes with two grippy hands instead of the open slap left hand, and you get a brand new scabbard for the Power Sword on his back. The articulation points are identical to the regular Origins figures and these are still modular if that sort of thing interests you. And while the size change is quite notable, it isn’t enough to prevent these new figures from using the old Origins vehicles.

I really dig the new Filmation portrait. I thought Super7’s was pretty good, but I think this simpler version nails the animation look just a bit better. The expression is fairly neutral, which is great when you’re only getting the one head. He looks determined but not mean, just like cartoon He-Man should look. I think they could have added just a bit more sculpt to the hair, but it still looks fine the way it is.

Naturally He-Man comes with his Power Sword, but not his Axe or Shield, because he didn’t use those in the cartoon. I love the fact that this is the whole sword and not the ugly vintage-style half-sword. I’m pretty sure this is repacked from one of the exclusive Origins sets and that’s fine because it looks great with this figure.

What’s not great is that Mattel didn’t include a second right hand with a hinge that would allow him to hold aloft his magic sword and say the words. I mean, for crying out loud, how hard could that have been? Instead of being able to hold it pointing straight up it can only go at an angle. It’s not a complete deal-breaker for me, but the fact that it’s such a small thing to make the figure near perfect to me, I can’t help but be frustrated by it.

You do get a second accessory, which is The Sword of Ancients, which appeared in the episode Masks of Power. Now, this is a really nice looking accessory, and I love the idea that we may be getting episode specific accessories with each figure. But, I would have gladly traded this for an extra right hand so he could strike his transformation pose. It would have used less plastic, and would have probably been cheaper. OK, I’m done bitching about that. I promise. Let’s move on to Beast Man…

Put on your shades, everyone, because we’ve got some retina-scalding orange plastic coming at ya! The cartoon version of Beast Man didn’t really have any furry detail on most of his body, so Mattel was able to use regular He-Man parts for a lot of him, and that’s fair play. It’s kind of like how I was never sure if the ThunderCats were supposed to be covered in fur or not. He’s also got the same belt and wrist bracers devoid of studs and very simple boots. The shoulder armor sports less detail and his furry chest harness is all smoothed out as well with a simplified blue emblem in the center. I think the orange plastic used for the body should have been closer to the regular Origins version, but it’s not that bad. The added blue and yellow paint accents really make this figure pop even more. If I stare at him too long I can still see him when I close my eyes.

The vintage Beast Man will never not be funny to me, because I think that figure had one of the dopiest and ugliest heads ever put on an action figure. It actually looks like it’s a bootleg of itself, and don’t try to figure that out, because it doesn’t make sense. The cartoon design took the train wreck of a face they had to work with and made it look good and the sculpt is wonderfully executed on this figure. The colors on the other hand, needed a more fleshy tone for the face and ears. It’s there, but my eyes can barely make it out among all that bright orange.

Like He-Man, Beast Man comes with two accessories, the first of with is this bugle with a string on it. I kid… it’s his whip and I really hate this accessory. It’s just a recolor of the one included with the original Origins figure. I was willing to accept that as an homage to the vintage toy, but the accessory for the Filmation style figure should have been redesigned.

On the other hand, you also get the Hover Ray that Beast Man used to move dragon eggs in The Dragon Invasion, and I love this! I have a weird affection for Filmation-style tech, whether it be from He-Man, Flash Gordon, or even Ghostbusters. I just think it all looks so cool and I hope we get a lot more of it. I actually can’t wait to get The Stasis Ray bundled with Man-At-Arms. This device really isn’t a weapon, but rather an anti-gravity field for lifting stuff, so it’s probably not as exciting as it looks, but I sure do dig it!

I picked these figures up for $20 each and I have to say I’m excited to be starting this line. I have Man-At-Arms and Skeletor in hand and I think Teela and Trap-Jaw will be next. I think He-Man is the better figure in this pair, only because Beast Man could have used a little color tweaking, but I’m still really happy with both. As for the extra sword hand… Mattel can easily fix that by putting one in with a Prince Adam figure, so let’s hope they do the right thing.

Dec 20 2023

Masters of the Universe Origins: Skeleton Warriors by Mattel

I was hoping to get a few more MOTU Origins reviews in before the end of the year, but time has caught me up and I’ll have to settle for just this one! There are some pretty cool figures in my backlogged stack, but the one that I’ve been most excited to check out is this two-pack of evil Skeleton Warriors. Now, these are some pretty sweet army builders, but so far my willpower has prevailed and I limited myself to only one set. But, seeing as how they are still readily available at most online retailers, my strength is tested every time they get served to me in an online Ad.

Origins has given us some truly epic packaging art throughout it’s run and that continues to be the case with this two-pack. The extended back flap has a vintage-style battle scene showing a whole army of these bony bastards taking on a squad of Eternian Palace Guards, and the good guys look like they’re getting pushed back! Where the hell is He-Man??? Better hope Prince Adam isn’t one of the casualties on the ground, or it’s going to be a long wait! The window shows off the two figures and the bevy of weapons included and proudly advertises that these bone brutes even glow in the dark! I love skeletons. I love army builders. I love things that glow in the dark. How could I not love these? It’s like a plastic trifecta of awesome!

Out of the box, you can see that these are basically just repaints of the same figure, and I’m cool with that. Sure, it would have been nice to get a couple of different heads in there with helmet variations, but maybe Mattel was trying to keep the price low for army builders. Each warrior has a chest harness with a winged crest on the front, armored skirts, and ugly monster feet boots. The bodies are cast in a glow in the dark plastic giving them a slightly translucent and ghostly appearance under normal light, which is pretty cool. The paint variation is mainly seen in the shoulders and skirt, where one has silver and the other has purple, but you also get the helmet trim on one painted orange and the other silver. I’ll concede that the purple looks more appropriate for a minion of Skeletor, but I like the silver just fine too. The orange is a bit out of left field, but whatever.

The detail in the skulls is a little soft, but that’s understandable considering the use of the GITD plastic. Still, if you get in close you can see some pretty nice sculpting in there, both on the nose hole and teeth, as well as some cracks and fissures on the bone. There are pupils painted in each of the eye holes, but they are recessed quite a bit, so it can be hard to see them unless they are in direct light.

Despite the unconventional bone-bodies, the articulation here is right in line with the regular Origins figures. I will say I found it a little more difficult to find and work the joints at first. A little bit of uncomfortable force was needed at first, but with a little play they loosened up. Each figure has left and right accessory holding hands, which is nice because they come with a lot of weapons!

In total, you get five weapons and a shield, which ain’t too shabby. I’m pretty sure we’ve seen most of these before. I recognize a few from the Snake Mountain Playset, Scare Glow’s halberd is in there, as well as Pig Head’s spiked flail, and one of Ram Man’s axes. All of the weapons are cast in the same bright neon green plastic, so I think we’re seeing a few of these in green for the first time.

I really dig the sword and shield combo and the axe and shield combo looks pretty cool too. It kind of makes me wish we got two shields in the box, but hey that’s a good reason to buy another set at some point. But… I’m trying really hard to be good and not to do that.

The spear and halberd are a nice combo if you want these guys to stand around and guard doors all day. I think the spiked flail is my least favorite. It’s not bad. I ain’t mad at it. But it doesn’t do a lot for me either.

And yes, these guys do indeed glow in the dark! Just let them soak up some rays and they emit a gorgeious green glow when the lights go out. I’ve been fascinated by GITD toys ever since I was a kid, so this kind of thing is always a big hit with me. I’ve also had my share of toys that claimed to be GITD but in reality the effect was barely noticeable. That’s certainly not the case with these calcified cads, because they glow super bright!

I picked up this set for $30, which feels like an uncommonly good value, especially since the Origins figures have gone up to about $20 each at most places now. $15 per skeleton and a bunch of weapons is a deal that’s hard to beat in today’s brutal glowy toy skeleton market. Trust me… I hunted long and hard and could not find a better deal on a set of plastic boney bastards. Mattel must have produced a ton of these, because I have to imagine that a lot of collectors are getting more than one set, and yet they are still available at regular price at all the usual online retailers. Either way, I can’t recommend this set enough. Even if you aren’t a big Origins collector, I’m willing to bet you need a two-pack of glowing skeleton soldiers in your life. There’s a lot of cross-over potential here with other toy lines or just to have on your desk for fun.


Nov 20 2023

Masters of the Universe Origins: Sssqueeze by Mattel

Last week I got into some MOTU Origins Snake Men with a look at Rattlor and Kobra Khan, and as promised I’m back this week with another one of these slithery villains. Yeah, I’m really set on wrapping up loose ends when it comes to Origins, so hopefully I’ll get it into the regular rotation a little more often as we approach the end of the year. Today’s figure is that loveable, huggable Sssqueeze, and it’ll be a miracle if I can get through this whole review spelling his name with the right number of S’s.

As we saw last time, the packaging has been updated to feature the Snake Men deco encroaching on the top of the card and a Snake Men sticker slapped on the front of the bubble. Sssqueeze himself comes bundled pretty tightly in that snug bubble, and like Rattlor, I’m a little surprised that Mattel didn’t just spread him out onto a larger Deluxe card and charge more for him. I probably shouldn’t give them any ideas, but there is a lot more plastic here than with the regular releases.

Freed of his cramped quarters, this Evil Long-Armed Viper’s arms unfold to ridiculous proportions, so let’s just talk about them first! These scaly grabbers are cast in a soft bendy plastic, which do a pretty good job of holding whatever shape you choose to bend them into. The color of the plastic is also a close match for the sculpt and color of the rest of the figure, despite being made of entirely different material. On the downside, there are no rotating hinges in the shoulders, they just plug straight in so they will rotate 360-degrees, but the rest of the poseability is in the bending. And, in fairness, that’s more than the vintage figure had. The hands do attach with pegged hinges, but I can’t get a lot of movement out of them and the connection is pretty frail so I’m not willing to force it.

As for the rest of the figure, well he’s just plain awesome! The neon lime green coloring on his skin mixes with the orange on his undies and boots with the metallic purple chest armor to make for quite the retina-searing deco. The color ensemble is only brought down a bit by the matte gray on the boots and leg armor, and I’m convinced that those pieces exist to create some kind of neutrality in the color spectrum that prevents anyone looking at the figure for too long from going blind. Oh, and can we talk about those abs! Holy shit this guy is ripped! Kind of surprising since pretty much every day for him is probably arm day at the gym.

I really love the head sculpt, as it’s one of the more grounded looking Snake Men heads. It’s not overly goofy and actually quite dinosaur like. He’s also got teeth for days! If he grabs you, he’s probably going to make you into a snack.

Sssqueeze does come with a weapon and it’s a pretty wild design. It’s basically a purple snake with a gun coming out of its robotic mouth. He can hold it pretty well in either hand and the gun-snake’s body is designed to coil around Sssqueeze’s long arm to further hold it in place. I don’t know, it’s OK. But to be honest, I’ll likely display this figure without it.

Sssqueeze is a great looking figure and in incredibly fun toy to play around with. Mattel knew how to inject some really fun gimmicks into this line and giving a snake person long bendy arms was just the ticket to get kids’ attention. The rubbery plastic they used is great and hopefully it will stand the test of time without tearing. Otherwise, this is a just a fabulous update to the original figure and a great addition to my Snake Men team!

I will be taking a few days off for the Holiday so there will be no regular update for Wednesday or Friday, but I will be back next Monday…

Until then have a Happy Thanksgiving!