003 Sunshine (C) — Front by BurningAstronaut
Review > Tri-Klops (Masters of the Universe Classics)
In the 1980s cartoon, Tri-Klops was just another one of Skeletor’s thugs. He was given no background story on the show, although the cartoon series bible claimed he was a scientist by the name of Dr. T. E. Scope on board the future queen Marlena’s spaceship who was later corrupted by Skeletor. TK also received little in the way of character development; Tri-Klops’s only claim to fame was the various abilities of his three eyes, which could shoot laser rays, see through walls and so forth.
On the 2002 series, Tri-Klops was changed into Skeletor’s #1 inventor, creating useful devices such as his iconic Doomseekers (little bird-like robots that secretly observed the good guys). While in the original cartoon, Skeletor had invented both technological and magical devices, in the 2002 series Tri-Klops took on the technology side of things, leaving Skeletor free to investigate the workings of the mystical realm.
While the 2002 portrayal was great, I’ve always been partial to the early mini-comics, produced by DC Comics, as well as the DC mini-series. In his first appearance in any media, “The Terror of Tri-Klops,” TK is just a random swordsman summoned by Skeletor to fight He-Man. When we first see him, he’s just randomly slaying blue demon-looking fellows who may or may not have deserved such treatment. When Skeletor teleports him to Eternia, he’s about ready to give Skullhead a beat-down until Skeletor hires him to fight He-Man. Tri-Klops proceeds to systematically take down Battle-Cat, Ram-Man and Teela before giving He-Man a solid thrashing. Ultimately He-Man triumphs, of course; and interestingly, Tri-Klops seems to accept his defeat gracefully, and there’s no reason to think he’ll go back to working for Skeletor.
While I think Tri-Klops works best in the MOTUniverse as Skeletor’s gadget guy, I’ve always liked the notion that he’s a near-match for He-Man as as a fighter, and may be more morally complicated than he appears. His bio for MOTU Classics is a blend of all his origins, and even includes a take on the old “T. E. Scope” name. (more…)
The real “Danger at Castle Grayskull” is stupidity
This is a page from the mini-comic “Danger at Castle Grayskull,” which came with the original Talon Fighter toy. It was the second of a two-story comic, and it came with a record so you could follow along and listen to the story. I’m pretty damned sure I had this as a kid–I know I had the Talon Fighter, and the whole thing with Trap-Jaw locking them up and getting rusted rings a bell.
It also shows just how stupid Eternian residents can be. It seems their incompetence isn’t limited to being fooled by blue guys. (more…)
Pic of the Day
Contest > You need a He-Ro!
I’ve got an extra He-Ro figure, minty fresh in his white mailer box and waiting for some loving collector to take him into his home.
So here’s the deal. I thought about saying you just had to post a comment below to enter the contest, but that’s boring. So instead, what I’d like you to do is imagine “Poe Ghostal” was a MOTU character, and then write a mini-bio for him in the style of the MOTU Classics packaging.
The bio should be between 50-75 words. It can be as serious, funny, or mocking as you want. I’ve posted a few sample bios below, so you can get a feel for the style. Feel free to make up a goofy “real name” too.
The contest will start now and end at 12pm on September 1st. I’ll pick a winner based solely on my own judgment. The winning entry will be Photoshopped into an actual MOTUC-style bio, and some runners-up will be posted as well.
I’ll open this up to international Poesters too, with one condition: I’ll pay for shipping up to $20, but you’ll have to pay the difference for anything over that. Sorry to be a jerk, but int’l shipping can get crazy.
As usual, the Power Pals and friends and family are excluded from the contest (“friends” in this case means people I’ve hung out with in person–online acquaintances are free to participate). But if they’d like to write a bio just for fun, feel free!
Click “Read the rest” to see the sample bios! (more…)
Show and Tell > Yard Yoda by MisterBigBo
by MisterBigBo
In light of Poe’s recent and good article in Toyfare on Star Wars licensed products, today I’m sharing my strangest Star Wars item, my Yard Yoda. When I bought my first home in 2004 I faced what would be generously described as a fixer-upper. Dr. Mrs. Bigbo’s contractor uncle was going to help us repair a home that had been nearly wrecked by an insane woman. She let trees grow into windows and into the house, had apparently a deep and abiding love of field mice and let them run wild inside, and painted a maniacally-cheerful and third-grade quality blue sky, clouds, and happy-face sun theme on a bedroom ceiling.
She didn’t have kids.
But my uncle-in-law’s tragic death in a motorcycle accident almost immediately thereafter left us very much by ourselves in reconstructing the home. In cleaning up the yard (we’ve loaded three dumpsters to date with crap left over from that nutbag; she drove home to Mississippi after the closing with the back of her Chevy Blazer filled with sawdust and a dozen chickens, ducks, and a goose), I came across this old Yoda hand puppet buried under years of mulch. He must have belonged to a kid of the original owner of the house. However he got there, he’s been a good-luck charm ever since. After all, we have managed to fix up the house. (more…)
Pic of the Day
Real Ghostbusters: The Collect Call of Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft’s birthday was last week (August 20). I’ve been a fan of HPL’s eldritch fiction since I was a teenager, and share with him an affinity for all things weird, cosmic and New England.
In honor of HPL’s b-day, I present to you with the Real Ghostbusters episode “The Collect Call of Cthulhu.” It was written by Michael Reaves, who went on to write many of the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles and numerous other T.V. shows and novels. The episode is crammed full of Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos references–the kind that would probably be old hat nowadays, but back then I imagine it would have been quite a thrill for Lovecraft fans (I was a bit too young for HPL at the time, but a few years later I would have gotten the in-jokes). I should add that the depiction of Cthulhu himself is quite true to Lovecraft’s description.
And to keep things toy-related–I would have loved a Cthulhu RGB figure. The closest we got back then was Tendril.
Paul’s Peg > Toy Hunt: Two Ladies and a Hawk
What? Toy Hunt on Poe Ghostal’s blog? How is that possible!? Well, after the bastards killed my blog I took all my awesome with me, so here’s the first Toy Hunt on Poe Ghostal. If you’re not familar with Toy Hunt, it’s basically me talking about what toys I bought. Why should you care? I don’t know, you just should. So let’s kick this off:
After moving to a new city I hadn’t stopped at any Wal-Marts yet. Actually that’s a lie, I stopped at one when I was looking for apartments and was really unimpressed. Today though, I stopped at a new one that I found and I scored big (at least for me). Most Wal-Marts around me tend to suck. Hell, I stopped going to one because they don’t even carry G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra or any DC figures. So imagine my surprise when I realized that this one had the potential to be a magic Wal-Mart.
Review > Ghostbusters Minimates, Part II
A few weeks back I reviewed the Ghostbusters Minimates Toys ‘R Us exclusive two-packs. Today I’ll be taking a look at the two multi-packs released so far: the series 1 set and the set of ghosts from Ghostbusters: The Video Game. I’m also throwing in the SDCC-exclusive blank Minimate with the twenty-fifth anniversary logo.
You should be able to find the Series 1 set at most comic shops, specialty retailers and online at places like Amazon. The videogame set was available at SDCC and can be found (along with the Series 1 set) on Diamond Select Toys’s website. The blank logo Minimate was an SDCC-exclusive; your only option for that one is eBay now. (more…)