When He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was on the air, the series often followed a pattern: a new character would be developed as a toy, then added to the cartoon. It was rare for it to work in the opposite direction, though it occasionally did: Prince Adam, Cringer, Orko, King Randor, and the Sorceress were all characters that were either created by Filmation or were best known through their depiction on the cartoon. It seems unlikely that Mattel would have created a Prince Adam or Randor figure–or perhaps even the Sorceress–without the character’s popularity on the cartoon to sell the toy; and Orko was created by Filmation, so he wouldn’t have existed at all.

There were a few glaring omissions from that list, though. One was Adora, from sister show She-Ra; and the other is Queen Marlena. Wife to King Randor, mother to Prince Adam, former astronaut and queen of all Eternia, Marlena appeared in many episodes of Masters of the Universe, yet she didn’t get an action figure until last summer’s San Diego Comic Con exclusive. (more…)

Clawful has always been my go-to guy for terrible Masters of the Universe names. Along with Two-Bad, nothing reminds you more that this is was a toy line aimed squarely at young children than a name like Clawful.

I never owned Clawful as a kid, or even knew anyone who did. The character could have been pretty cool but for one glaring problem: a ridiculous, cartoonish head. (more…)

Continuing my effort to catch up on the MOTUC reviews…

Mattel was nothing if not thrifty with the original Masters of the Universe line in the 1980s. The mold for Battle Cat was borrowed from a Big Jim playset from the 1970s, and Panthor was obviously a repainted, flocked Battle Cat. Mattel is just as concerned with saving money through mold re-use with Masters of the Universe Classics today as they were in the 1980s (if not more so), so there’s not a whole lot to say about Panthor that I didn’t say about Battle Cat. (more…)

The second version of King Grayskull was released on November 15, 2010, making this easily my most-delayed review of a MOTUC figure. I didn’t even get around to opening him until I started this review. That’s mostly because I prefer the original King Grayskull (my review) and I wasn’t I even wanted to keep this version (but ultimately, being a completist–aside from the DC vs. MOTU sets–I have).

With the upcoming Temple of Darkness Sorceress convention exclusive with the pedestal for the Orb of Sparkle Crest, I decided it was time to open up ol’ D’Vann. (more…)

Masters of the Universe Classics was born in July 2008 with the King Grayskull San Diego Comic Con exclusive. The line proper started in December 2008 with the release of Beast Man and He-Man. The first “beast” was Battle Cat, released in February 2010; and now, three years into the line–three years!–we have the first vehicle, the Wind Raider.

I’ll admit I expected the previously-revealed Battle Ram to be the first vehicle–and also hoped it would be, because it’s my favorite (with the Talon Fighter coming in a close second). The Wind Raider is actually pretty low on my list, but it’s one of the more iconic vehicles and owing to its simpler design, I’m sure it was a lot cheaper to produce for this toe-dipping exercise. (more…)