Toy Review: Masters of the Universe Classics Tri-Klops

The latest figure in Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line is Skeletor's three-eyed minion, Tri-Klops. Tri-Klops went on sale on the 17th of this month and sold out after a few days, a bit longer than it had taken for the previous few figures but rumor has it that Mattel had increased their production again as of this month. Tri-Klops has always been one of the visually interesting characters in the line and that's no different in his new incarnation.




Like many characters in MOTUC, Tri-Klops is given a kooky "real" name, in this case it is Trydor Esooniux Scope. No wonder he turned to evil. Like many of these little bio details, this name is inspired by some obscure bit of Masters of the Universe lore, here the name assigned to the character in the original series bible, T. E. Scope. His bio seems to be a nod to both his mini-comics appearances and his origin story from the Icons of Evil series that accompanied the 2002 show. Strangely, the bio neglects his role as the chief inventor and technician for Skeletor from the 2002 series despite packing him with the Doomseeker accessory. I enjoyed his depiction in that series because he was the most competent and loyal Evil Warrior and sort of the antithesis of Man-At-Arms.

This is one of the Masters of the Universe Classic figures that really does take some influence from the 2002 line. While the body is a directly inspired from the classic figure, the head is a good mix of details of both versions. Especially under the visor which looks as though he is wearing some kind of tight-fitting cap that wraps around his head and under his jaw as opposed to the knob-like pate on the original figure. But he also has the high-cheek bones and facial expression of the original figure. What's very awesome about this figure is that there is sculpting directly beneath the visor where you can see Tri-Klop's eye implants, not unlike how they appeared when they were briefly visible in the 2002 series. The visor itself is a bit of a mixed bag, and while its not as tall and Playschool looking as the original visor, it seems a bit on the big side. The eyes are quite big, with the red and green being my favorite, with the green looking very jewel-like from a distance. The blue eye is my least favorite, as the paint scheme and color are uninspired. On my copy, the paint around all three eyes are a bit sloppy up close.

Tri-Klops comes with removable armor which recreates his 1980's look. There is an off-center sword holder in back and three sculpted daggers that on my figure were painted metallic green as opposed to the silver in the photos on mattycollector. The orange paint on the armor is a little thick and sloppy on mine. Tri-Klops also comes with his trademark green sword complete with hand guard (even Stratos can hold it!) Like many of the other swords in this line it is two toned, with a forest green hilt and a metallic green blade. The final accessory to come with the Evil Spy of Skeletor is the above mentioned Doomseeker, although it is strangely painted to match Tri-Klops and not in the 2002 chrome.

Thanks to what was always a strong and interesting design, and great sculpting Tri-Klops is one of the better figures in the Masters of the Universe Classics line. You wont see him around for a while from Mattel, but he's definitely worth checking out on the secondary market for purchase or trade if you missed him. If you are a true fan of Masters of the Universe, you are going to want to have this iconic villain.

Patrick G
Staff Reviewer