GIANTS, GORILLAS, DENTISTS, AND LOTS AND LOTS OF LONG FLOWING HAIR: MOTUC AT TOY FAIR

This past weekend was a big one for Masters of the Universe Classics as several new figures were revealed for 2010 and there were lots of surprises for this very successful collector line that started only a couple of years ago. Pendragon's Post was there at the event to give you the rundown. Let's take a look at what the middle of 2010 holds for us!




STANDARD FIGURES

We got some glimpses of figures that we already knew about, such as Moss Man, now with de-flocked ears. Moss Man looks better every time we see him and I'm convinced that he's going to be a solid figure when he is released next month. Optikk was revealed last month and he was also present showing off his alternate eye/head. We knew She-Ra was coming out but Toy Fair was our first look at her and the results are somewhat underwhelming. There is a certain lack of crispness to the details in the sculpt, especially in the face and on the tiara. She-Ra will come with an alternate head that recreates her classic masked toy look, a golden Sword of Protection, the previously-seen shield, and a comb/axe, which is a nice homage to the comb accessories released in the POP line. She-Ra is scheduled to be released in June and that gives Matty plenty of time to get her right. Remember, Adora looked a little jacked-up in her first public appearance but she turned out quite nice so there is no need for hysterics.

Scheduled as June's bonus (or "Quarterly" figure) is Keldor, straight out of the 200X series and seemingly sporting Faker's skin tone and a wicked new head sculpt that puts the orginal 200X figure to shame. He will be released with booted feet and the He-Man forearms. His armor will be repainted Skeletor armor with the crossbones painted a metallic color. Keldor also sports a new cape. I cannot wait to get this figure in hand so that I can make my own 200X-style Skeletor. Keldor will also come with a small acid vial and a pair of purple half power swords which is somewhat disappointing. With all the new tooling going into this bonus figure, I understand the decision not to create a pair of new swords for Keldor but these power swords are overused in the line and I'm not sure if it makes sense for Keldor to have two purple halves of the Sword of He anyway.



July's figure will be the much anticipated Count Marzo, who has roots in the classic continuity but is better remembered for his role in the 200X series, and the new figure takes its visual cues from the latter. This is the characters first action figure appearance. Marzo comes with his amulet and a sword. No word yet if he has a bitch-slapping action feature.

Also shown was what will presumably be August's figure of the month, Whiplash. At first glance Whiplash strongly resembles his classic counterpart but he actually has a really amazing amount of detail up close, such as a pebbled skin texture and scales that fade down his shoulders. His goofy vintage head has been given a surprisingly good makeover (although he still looks like Abe Vigoda). Thankfully, he also comes with an alternate "tough guy" head that is straight out of the MYP cartoon as well as a triple-bladed melee weapon and a spear. He looks to lack the ab-crunch of the other male figures but his tail is articulated in at least one place.



BEASTS

The new beast assortment that is making its debut this month with Battlecat will continue with a quarterly entries and at Toy Fair Mattel showed us a couple of surprise entries from obscure corners of MOTU. Tytus is a giant character originally created from the same Preternian spinoff world as He-Ro. His MOTUC action figure will stand 12" tall and features some really nice detail on his face and deco. I'm wondering if Mattel is trying to set the stage for a 12" MOTU series, as Tytus essentially creates a super-muscular 12" buck. Tytus will be released in May and will set you back $40.




The other beast is Gygor, a caped and armored yellow and green gorilla. He is a good deal larger and bulkier than a standard MOTUC figure and, although no price has been officially annouced, I would expect him to sell in the same $30 price point as Battle Cat. As far as I can tell, Gygor was a concept that was created for the original line but never actually produced. He's really pretty out there and this will likely be the first MOTUC figure that I do not buy. I just have to draw the line somewhere and a yellow gorilla is as good a place as any.




TWO PACKS

Also shown were a few special two packs. Slightly redecorated versions of He-Man and Skeletor will be paired with Superman and Lex Luthor respectively as a nod to the 1980's crossover comics (which will also be included). These will by Toys R' Us exclusives and mark MOTUC's first retail appearances. The included He-Man and Skeletor figures fall under the "just different enough to be annoying" catagory. Skeletor looks to have a less detailed face paint, no red dots for eyes and his armor is painted similar to the Keldor armor. he also includes a yellow power sword. He-Man also features a less-detailed, more comicy paint scheme, an axe and the repainted shield we saw at the art show last month.

Finally there is the controversial "Robot Chicken" two-pack featuring Mo-Larr, The Eternian Dentist and Skeletor featuring an ailing, tooth-missing head. I give Matty props for taking a chance to do something this funny and different. That being said, I sure don't want it. This will be a SDCC exclusive.



WEAPONS PAK

Finally we come to the long-awaited MOTUC weapons pak, which features a staggering amount of items. Some are really good and some are...strange. There is a blue set of He-man weapons (for Faker, maybe) and a yellowish armor set for Beast Man, a red Statos jetpack, a silver Tri-Klops sword, a metallic Hordak crossbow, and many other items. Under strange would be a set of purple Cosmic Enorcer armor and weapons (both the Zodac gun and the Zodak staff). It's not even a nice shade of purple, its a sort of pinkish purple that even Samuel L. Jackson would hate. I was really hoping for the classic black for these, like in the original weapons pack. Hopefully Matty will come to their senses because I don't know what anyone will do with purple Zodak armor. The release date and price for the weapons pack has not been officially announced on the mattycollector.com site.

Patrick Garone
Senior Reviewer