Friday, October 29, 2021

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



    Mattel really focused on reusing molds in the vintage MOTU line (they continue to do so still) and one of the best examples of taking existing molds to make a new character is Faker. Just like the vintage toy, Faker is a simple repaint of He-Man with Skeletor's armor and a robotic sticker on his chest. Well, we now get a tampograph rather than a traditional sticker, but it's largely the same concept. Faker is a popular guy, though, and there's something about the color scheme that's really appealing. He's a repaint, yeah, but he's a new character for Masters of the Universe Origins as well. Faker is part of the fifth series of Origins figures and is the second to last figure we need to recreate the vintage 1983 lineup in the series (c'mon, Mekaneck! We need you soon!) Let's check out Faker after the break...




The Facts:

Height: 5 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a double balljointed head.

Accessories: Armor Power Sword, and minicomic.

Non-Scalper Price: $15 dollars

Comparison:


* On the left is the Origins Faker while my childhood vintage Faker is on the right. The Origins figures tend to have brighter colors than the vintage toys and that's what you get here, too. 

The Positives:



* Does Faker look like Faker? Yes, indeed! He's sporting the standard body in the line with Skeletor's cool armor molded in orange. Why orange? Why not? He's bulky, bold, and a nice update of the vintage toy. 


* Faker uses the updated vintage styled He-Man head and not the Origins head from the series 1 He-Man with longer hair and the extreme facial expression. This is perfectly suitable for Faker and everything is neat and clean. I really would have liked Mattel to use the windswept head from the Battlefield Warriors set as it would have probably looked awesome here but I'm still happy with what we got.



* When you remove the armor you can see the control panel hidden underneath. This isn't a sticker like the vintage toy but a printed detail like on the MOTU Classics figure. It looks quite sharp with lots of little colored doodads and such.

* The MOTU Origins figures are built like the vintage toys but with more modern articulation. While their bulky frames make the articulation a bit clumsy, they do feel like an evolution of the vintage line. Imagine what you would get if you mixed a vintage figure with a MOTUC figure. They're quite fun to play with and they feel very sturdy.

* They're also modular and can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs! 


* Faker comes with the Alfredo Alcala inspired Power Sword from the early minicomics but molded in orange. The handle has been redone so it's easier to hold than the handles of the swords from earlier in the line. Faker looks really happy wielding this bad boy, don't you think?






* The fifth series figures all come with the mini comic "Sucker Punch". Each character comes with the same comic but the art is really nice and it's actually an 8 page comic with a story. Not as cool as the vintage minicomics but still a nice extra.


The Negatives:


* My only negative here is that the Skeletor harness just doesn't seem to fit properly. It seems a little small. You can close the snap but it'll pull loose shortly afterwards on its own. 

   What more is there to say about Faker? He's faithful to the vintage toy with some minor improvements like the extra joints, the printed control panel, and the super cool minicomic inspired sword. Mattel did well here and he's a Great figure. It would have been nice to have gotten a little something extra like He-Man's axe or shield molded in orange, too, but what's here is just fine. Faker is really fun and ready to take his place in the now very respectable Masters of the Universe Origins collection.




   

Are you a fan of the man/ machine known as Faker? Then check out my other Faker reviews:  The Masterverse: Revelation FakerMondo exclusive Faker, the M.U.S.C.L.E. Faker from the Series 3 Pack C, the Ultimates He-Man (which came with a Filmation Faker head), the Eternia Minis Faker, the Faker figural bag clip, the Mega Construx FakerFaker from the Battle for Eternia Collection and Faker from Battle Bones, the Masters of the WWE Universe Faker John Cena, the ReAction Faker and Leo Faker, the Super7 Faker mask, the Vinyl SODA Faker, and the VYNL Faker.


For more Masters of the Universe Origins reviews check out the following:














3 comments:

  1. I don't remember him for the old days. In a way, Faker is like a Terminator.

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    Replies
    1. Really? Faker was a very early release in the line and one of the most popular villains. He is a lot like the Terminator and there have even been more recent toys that have utilized the T-800 half flesh/ half robotic endoskeleton design for Faker.

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    2. I think overall Faker is just an example of everybody cheapening out! :)
      For Mattel he was a simple repaint. For Filmation he probably just seemed like a gimmick that would get old.

      I'm really interested to see the Faking Filmation documentary which should have some great footage of what a Filmation Faker should have looked like.

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