The other day I reviewed the Blade of the Demon King from Spy Monkey Creations, purveyors of fine custom weapons to the action figure community since 2009. While their efforts have focused on accessories best suited to Masters of the Universe Classics, with today’s set they make their move into Mattel’s other mega-popular line, DC Universe Classics. (more…)
Last year I reviewed two of Spy Monkey Creations’ custom weapons, the Master Blade of the Empyrean and the Witching Blade of Ruination. Both were designed for use with Masters of the Universe Classics and other fantasy-themed lines. Now SMC is back with another weapon, the Blade of the Demon King! (more…)
Almost as long as there have been action figures, there have been variations of action figure characters. But it was Star Wars–with its Tatooine Luke, Dagobah Luke, Luke in X-Wing Outfit, Bespin Luke, Jedi Luke etc.–that proved kids and collectors were willing to buy the same character over and over again. Unfortunately, while the various Lukes made perfect sense, toy companies decided to create completely ridiculous variations of main characters in hopes that kids would still bite. This tendency would reach its nadir in the mid-1990s with the rise of Arctic Batman and so forth, but it still happens today.
But sometimes there’s an exception that proves the rule. Even I can’t deny Battle Armor He-Man had one of the coolest gimmicks ever seen.
It was functional, the designs looked great, and the result was a He-Man figure many kids preferred over the standard version. Mattel even imported the feature into their other famous boys’ brand, Hot Wheels.
When the time came to introduce Battle Armor He-Man (BAHM) into their adult collector-oriented Masters of the Universe Classics line, Mattel had to find a way to replicate the action feature without having to go through an expensive retool process. Their solution was to make three removable breastplates. Some fans were pleased, others not so much.
So the question, then, is this: Is Battle Armor He-Man still cool without his iconic action feature? (more…)
While I can’t say I’m a diehard SpongeBob SquarePants fan, there was a period of a couple years where I watched the show constantly. It’s right up there with Ren & Stimpy, The Fairly OddParents and, of course, Invader Zim as one of my favorite Nickelodeon cartoons. When Palisades put out its excellent Ren & Stimpy, Fairly OddParents and Invader Zim toys, SpongeBob was the obvious absence. Sadly, Palisades went out of business before they could score the license, and it would be nearly five years before JAKKS would pick it up and finally give us the SpongeBob figures we’d been waiting for (well, I’d been waiting for, anyway).
These aren’t quite as nice as Palisades’ stuff from back in the day, but at $3.99 a pop for the individual figures, what you get is pretty good. There are seven individual figures available, plus three playsets that each come with a unique figure: The Krusty Krab, SpongeBob’s Bedroom, and the Frying Dutchman. So far, I’ve only seen the individual figures at Target and the playsets at Toys ‘R’ Us. I’ll be reviewing the Krusty Krab playset later, and I’m still looking for Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob w/ Gary, and Patrick. (more…)
When Mattel began developing a toyline counterpart to Masters of the Universe geared toward girls, they didn’t stray too far from the formula that was working so well for He-Man and his pals. Eternia became Etheria, Skeletor became Hordak, the Sorceress became Lighthope, Battle Cat became Swift Wind, Orko became Cowl, He-Man became She-Ra, Princess of Power (POP), and Prince Adam became Adora.
Unlike Prince Adam, Adora never got her own figure back in the 1980s. I’m not sure it was ever even in development (though I’m sure a better MOTU/POP historian than I would know, and could perhaps let us know in the comments below). Therefore POP fans have spent nearly a quarter of a century pining for an Adora figure. Mattel has proven their committment to fan desires with MOTUC several times already (He-Ro being the most obvious example), so it comes as no surprise that Adora is the line’s first foray into Etheria.
One interesting aspect of Adora’s story (which is really only implied in the bio below) is that she was actually on the bad guys’ team for most of her life, serving Hordak as his Force Captain. This plot twist is a bit weakened by the subplot that Hordak had Shadow Weaver cast a spell on Adora so she wouldn’t ever question the Horde’s methods, but it’s still more than we ever got about Prince Adam’s life before He-Man. (more…)
In Ghostbusters, the addition of Winston to the team, halfway through the movie, always struck me as a bit odd–even as a kid. Apparently the character was written into the script to show just how busy and overwhelmed the Ghostbusters had become, but that could be–and was–capably handled by a montage set to some catchy theme music. The role was originally written for Eddie Murphy, but it was later decided that, with three comedians in the main roles already, the ‘Busters needed a “straight man,” and so the role was rewritten and Ernie Hudson was brought in.
Ultimately I think Winston was a great addition to the team, but his appearance so late in the movie, after the audience has come to love the close friendship between Egon, Peter and Ray, leaves him seeming a bit like an outsider. Fortunately, he gets some of the best lines in the second half of the film.
For those keeping track, I previously reviewed the Egon SDCC exclusive and the regular Ray Stanz release. (more…)
The original Masters of the Universe toy line went through a mere six waves from 1982-1987 (OK, seven if you count the two “Laser Light” figures that were never released in the U.S.). The last wave offered a much more diverse assortment of characters than the previous waves, from Scareglow to King Hiss to Snake Face to, well, Gwildor. And it also finally gaves MOTU fans a figure of one of the prominent characters in the cartoon series: Prince Adam’s dad, King Randor.
Of course, King Randor goes as far back as the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Bible, written by Michael Halperin in 1982 before the cartoon was even created. He’s appeared since then in every incarnation of the He-Man story, including the New Adventures (where, in the first episode, he and his wife Marlena finally found out the truth about their son Adam).
Since those early days, Randor’s history has been greatly expanded. We now know that Skeletor was once in fact Keldor, Randor’s half-brother, and that Skeletor’s facial deformity is a result of a battle with Randor. (Keldor may even be the true ruler of Eternia by birth, but the Elders rather understandably interceded with the right of succession). (more…)
The second Masters of the Universe Classics bonus figure, the Goddess, is a product of the line’s two imperatives: to offer a lot of character variety, and to re-use molds as often as possible.
In the early days of MOTU, the origins of Teela and the character who would eventually become the Sorceress were very murky and intertwined. They were always intended to be different characters, as concept art by Mark Taylor shows; but somewhere between the early concepts and the production of the first mini-comics it became unclear who was who. Rather than producing two separate figures, Teela and the Goddess/Sorceress, Mattel produced one figure with aspects and accessories from both characters: the staff and snake armor of the Goddess, and the shield and hair-bun-wearing head of Teela.
Those first mini-comics confused the matter even further. I’m planning to go into this topic in much more detail later, but in her first mini-comics appearance in “He-Man and the Power Sword,” the character was called “the Sorceress”–and she was green. It isn’t until “The Tale of Teela” that she’s referred to as “The Goddess.” Over the years, fans began to view the Goddess as a different character–apart from Teela and the Sorceress–and now Mattel has canonized that idea in MOTUC.
Oh, and then there’s the whole “Her real name is Sharella” thing. That comes from a one-sentence mention in the description of He-Ro from the “Powers of Grayskull” licensing kit, where she’s described as a “tribal chieftess” who helps train He-Ro. But wait…there’s more. The “Sharella” name on the package is actually a sticker, and if you peel it off, you’ll find the name “K’yrulla”! That name seems to be original and doesn’t have any historical significance for MOTU, but it’s amusing that even now, the Goddess’s identity is something of an open question. (more…)
I believe videogames are an art medium, one that’s already comparable–in terms of commercial success–to film, the dominant art medium of the twentieth century, (compare the sales of Halo 3 to the box office receipts of The Dark Knight). But while videogames have been around for over a third of a century, there are very few examples of games that one would, without hesitation or qualification, refer to as a work of art.
But there are games that approach that ideal, and Bioshock is one of them. Dark, atmospheric, well-written and acted, with gorgeous graphics and some not-entirely-risible attempts at social commentary, Bioshock was easily one of my favorite videogame-playing experiences of the last few years.
While shopping at Target the other day, I came across this little Playmobil set as part of what seemed to be a general stocking-stuffer section. There were a few other toys too, ranging from Transformers figurines to the usual Hot Wheels cars and so forth. Since I remember back when pretty much any toy you found in such a section was cheap crap, I was pleasantly surprised by the selection. This set cost $3. (more…)
