Action Figure Review: Skeletor from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

    It took me a long time but I finally stumbled upon the Masters of the Universe Origins figures themselves! I've now found all of the first series and, to get things started with the single carded figures, let's check out the Evil Lord of Destruction himself: Skeletor! It's interesting to finally have these in hands, although it's a bit anticlimactic since we've kind of been getting these figures for over a year now. Mattel first released Origins last year as an SDCC 2019 2-pack of He-Man and Prince Adam. Like the vintage line and Masters of the Universe Classics, Origins relies heavily on body reuse for most characters, though Mattel took things a step further and "pre-used" the Origins bodies for the Masters of the WWE Universe line. I guess what I'm saying is that these don' feel as "new" as a new toyline usually feels, although I am very excited to finally have Skeletor and other real MOTU characters in this style. Skeletor is one of the premiere villains of the 1980s and one of my favorite characters overall and it's always nice to see a new toy of him. Originally Origins seemed to be heavily inspired by the earliest MOTU minicomics but now things seem a bit all over the place as Orko is very Filmation inspired, Man-At-Arms has his mustache, and upcoming figures like Clamp Champ, Kronis, and Keldor obviously take cues from the 200x line and MOTUC. Still, Skeletor feels very vintage and very true to his roots. Don't be a royal boob! Check him out after the break... 

Action Figure Review: The Rock from Masters of the WWE Universe by Mattel

    The Rock, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, has made his way into WWEternia! The third series of Mattel's Masters of the WWE Universe line has been pretty solid all around, featuring the Scareglow inspired Undertaker, the Beast Man inspired Braun Strowman, and the Man-E-Faces inspired trio of The New Day. While the Rock is less of a straight up homage to any one particular Masters of the Universe character, he still fits into the line quite well. Plus, it's the Rock. Even if you don't like wrestling odds are that you still love the Rock. He's made it into G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe, so now he just needs to get in on Star Wars to complete his domination of the trifecta of the big 1980s toylines! Let's see if we can smell what the Rock is cooking after the break...

Action Figure Review: Undertaker from Masters of the WWE Universe by Mattel

 

To really make this review of the Undertaker as authentic as possible I should write the longest intro ever! But I'm not going to do that, as I'm ready to jump right in and talk about this toy. The Undertaker is part of the third series of Mattel's Masters of the WWE Universe line and, like most other figures in the line, you're getting a WWE Superstar meshed with the gimmick of a Masters of the Universe figure. For the usually supernaturally inspired Undertaker Mattel gave him the gimmick and weapon of Scareglow, the evil ghost of Skeletor! It's an excellent combination as this really looks like something the Undertaker would have worn during the Ministry of Darkness period. Let's jump in and check out this Dead Man Walking after the break...

Toy Review: He-Man from POP! Tees: Masters of the Universe by Funko

 

   This is going to be a super quick review but I did want to make sure that I checked out the new Masters of the Universe POP! Tees sets from Funko. There is a He-Man set and a Skeletor set and I'm checking out He-Man first. These are Walmart exclusives (like nearly everything MOTU these days, it seems) and they're usually found in the electronics sections with the other Funko POP! items, typically in the larger Walmart stores that have the collectibles section with figures from NECA, Bandai, and McFarlane. At the Walmart where I found mine the POP! Tees were actually locked up in an electronics cabinet and at another one I saw them with the "spider wrap" anti-theft devices on them. Inside each box is a T-shirt and an exclusive glow-in-the-dark POP! vinyl. The POP! vinyl is a repaint of the recently released He-Man #991 so it's not a new sculpt or anything, but it is packaged in standard POP! packaging. It's still labeled as He-Man #991 but it has an "Only at Walmart" sticker and a "Glows in the Dark" sticker on the plastic window. These have been a bit difficult to find and after I saw them twice, I never saw them again. Hopefully more will trickle out over the next few months for those still searching for them. Let's take a look at the He-Man POP! Tees set after the break...

Barbecue's Bonfire 9/11/2020

 

What's up everybody? It's Friday, so it's time for another quick installment of Barbecue's Bonfire! gather around! 

Guess what I found this week? A full case of the second series of the Masters of the Universe Eternia Minis! Each figure in this set comes in a little Snake Mountain! How awesome, right? Man, is Mattel cranking out MOTU stuff right now or what? With as much product as we're seeing hitting shelves someone really must have thought that the movie was happening this year, right? 

 

I'm still working on this year's installment of 31 Days of Toy Terror which will have a focus on horror toys prior to the year 2000. What were some of your favorite horror themed toys going growing up? I've tried to hit some of the most popular ones but also throw in some oddball favorites, too. It's been fun picking up some toys here and there that I haven't seen or owned for decades. Let's just say that my desk has some holographic horror figures from Tonka, some chattering aliens from Trendmasters, and a fleshless fury from Playmates on it right now.

More after the break...

 

Minifigure Review: Jitsu from Masters of the Universe Eternia Minis by Mattel

 

Today we're checking out Jitsu, who is part of the first series of Eternia Minis. He was originally slated to be packed alongside of Mekaneck for the 2015 series of the Matty Collector Masters of the Universe Minis but those were cancelled due to a lack of subscriptions. While these new MOTU Eternia Minis have fewer paint application and, often, fewer weapons, it's still nice to see these sculpts rescued from oblivion and delivered to collectors in a cost-efficient way.  Jitsu doesn't show up in Masters of the Universe product all that often so it's always exciting to get a new toy of him! In fact, I believe this is the first figure of Jitsu that I've reviewed on the site. Jitsu, the Evil Master of Martial Arts. Let's dive in to take a look at him after the break...

Action Figure Review: Prince Adam & Sky Sled from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

   I found another Masters of the Universe Origins item a couple of weeks ago and, I promise, it is way better than Battle Cat! I found Battle Cat very disappointing but this two pack of Prince Adam and the Sky Sled? Man, this is an incredible two-pack. While I'm still not completely wowed by Masters of the Universe Origins, as it doesn't feel like a MOTU line with a unique feel and identity yet, this set definitely has convinced me that there is promise here. I've actually reviewed both vintage toys this set is based on (Prince Adam and the Sky Sled from the Battle Ram) so it's fun to be able to check out Mattel's updated versions of these toys. Walmart seems to be stocking these pretty well (I've seen them multiple times at different locations) so hopefully you can get your hands on one. This is a pretty impressive set with wonderful packaging, so let's hop to it and check it out after the break...