Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Action Figure Review: Teela from Masterverse/ Masters of the Universe: Revelation by Mattel

 

   Today I'm checking out the last figure of series 2 from Masterverse/ Masters of the Universe: Revelation and this time it's Teela in her "Modern" outfit (that's how the character sheet refers to this particular costume). Do I even dare talk about Teela and Masters of the Universe: Revelation? Yes, I do. I liked it. It was fun, unique, different while still being familiar, and it had lots of great Easter eggs and nods to the wealth of MOTU lore from the past 40 years. Would I have changed some things if I had been telling the story? Of course, but overall I'm satisfied with what we got. Poor Teela, however, has really drawn a lot of criticism due to her outfits, her character arc, and the fact that the show focuses heavily on her. Hey, if I had written the show it would have been all about the adventures of Moss Man and Cringer as they cruise around in the Land Shark, so be happy with what you got. I'm going to give my review of the figure after the break but I'm also going to talk a heck of a lot about Teela in Revelation, too....



   Anyways, in my mind Teela has always been a main character in MOTU and I think it was interesting to see more events from her perspective. Teela's never been a peripheral character and she's never been a "civilian" character. She's as hardcore an as deadly as anyone else and a core part of the Heroic warriors/ Masters of the Universe/ whatever you want to call them. Teela's also always been a bit opinionated in most media and quick to act, whether for good or ill. She's also the person closest to Adam, other than his parents, who doesn't know his secret. For being someone with so much responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of Eternos, Teela sure has had a lot of secrets kept from her. The identity of her mother, her true nature and destiny, and the real identity of her best friend (and perhaps love interest). That's a lot of significant stuff that Teela was left in the dark about and while I don't necessarily love how everything went down in the show I do see where Teela comes from in being so angry. How many times did she risk her life or the lives of others to protect or save Adam, now knowing that he was fully capable of saving himself? Why wasn't Teela told? In some mediums it makes sense for the hero to keep their identity secret to protect loved ones but it doesn't make as much sense in MOTU. Skeletor and the Evil Warriors are already targeting Randor, Marlena, and the other Heroic Warriors every chance they get. Does He-Man's secret being hidden really protect them or just lead to some awkwardness and inefficiency. I can imagine Teela seeing it that way. Plus, it has to hurt to know that Adam shared his secret with Orko rather than her. Ouch. Anyways, I think Teela is as deserving as a starring role in the show as any other A-list character, I think part 2 fully gave He-Man his chance to shine and I think Teela was rather justified in how she felt. Now, about her outfit and new look? I'll cover that in the rest of the review.



The Facts: 

Height: 6 5/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, balljointed hips, swivel waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: 4 interchangeable hands, staff (compact), staff (sword), and staff (spear)

Non-Scalper Price: $20-$22 dollars

The Positives:


* While Teela wears her classic outfit in flashback scenes her main look throughout the series is different, intended to be more armored and reflect her new role as a travelling mercenary. Overall it really is a simple look with similar colors to her classic outfit but a design that seems more like something you'd see on a rogue or fighter in a fantasy game like Dungeons and Dragons. I like how the color scheme is similar but it still offers up a noticeable different look for Teela. The straps on her outfit look fantastic and her armor is simple but seems quite effective. 


* I honestly think that the most criticism about this version of Teela is aimed at her hair. I will admit that it is weird to see a more modern hairstyle on a MOTU character. I don't know that I dislike it but it wouldn't have been my first choice for her. Still, Mattel did a pretty nice job with the headsculpt and capturing the hairdo and Teela is instantly recognizable here.



* Overall I really like the articulation on the figures in this series. It's probably one of the best lines in terms of the quality of the figure builds and articulation scheme that Mattel has put out. Teela moves nicely and has plenty of useful joints with a great range of motion. 







* Teela comes with four hands that you can swap out with a little effort. She has a right fist, a left gesture, and a pair of standard grips. You may need to use a little heat but they do give the figure some nice display options to utilize her arsenal. 




* Teela uses a very cool technologically advanced staff that can be compacted into a small, almost lightsaber sized, handle. It's a neatly detailed little piece.




* The staff has multiple functions and Mattel included two of them in the package as weapons. First up is a more standard sword. The staff converts into a blade.




* Next up is a staff with a spear like end. Teela is known for using both staffs and swords so it's nice to get both in this set. Pick the one you like best or go crazy and have her dual wield them. Your choice.



* When the staff is not in use Teela can store it in the beltloop on the back of her belt. It fits quite securely and looks pretty cool there. She also has a neat pouch on the side that's probably loaded with goodies.

   How'd Teela turn out? I think she's pretty Great. There's a classic styled Teela coming out in Masterverse later on but this one brings something really unique to the table. A different outfit, different personality, and some rather different weapons. If you didn't like the character arc that's fine but as a figure there's not too much to complain about here. I always find it fascinating to see different takes on the MOTU cast and this one definitely is a unique take on Teela. I think she's quite fun, nicely articulated, and well accessorized. What more could you ask for?





I've reviewed so many toys of Teela that she has her own review archive. Check out Teela: Warrior Goddess for all of my Teela reviews.

For more Masterverse reviews check out the following:





14 comments:

  1. Love this version of Teela. Though I wish she came with her snake head dress. Always thought that was the coolest part of her costume.

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    1. Origins just did a new version of the Green/ Eternian Goddess, so I wouldn't be surprised if she showed up at some point in Masterverse, too.

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  2. I really like Revelation. Not a big MOTU guy growing up but I like this for a lot of the reasons you stated. The grandson is just catching on we picked up these figures. We both really like them as well. Great post.

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    1. Thanks Bulldog! I'm glad your grandson and you are getting into MOTU together. I've loved it since I was quite young and I'm so thrilled that my daughter has really gotten into it. I watched the Power of Grayskull documentary with her last weekend and she really liked it. She's even getting into the lore and history of the creation of the line, too. There's just something about it that's really fun and intriguing.

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  3. I love that angry look with the hair down and I'm really looking forward to that too. Angry Teela: All right!

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  4. They confiscated it. Because they are 1980s cool detectives who ride around to a 1970s soundtrack.

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  5. Here’s the pitch: “Dude, where’s my Land Shark?!”

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  6. Sold. Get a script, let's film a pilot, and then we've got something going on.

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  7. Hello. Barbecue! Been a while since I visited; sorry about that. It's typhoon season in my part of the world again so I've been busy with a whole bunch of things. Anyway, there was a break in the bad weather yesterday (Sunday) afternoon so I went to the neighborhood mall for some provisions and to see if there were any new Matchbox cars. I was surprised to find two of these Modern Teelas on sale (PHP 1000.00 or USD 17.61 each) so I bought both as a gift for my goddaughter. I hope she likes them and I hope that you're all right since I heard there's bad weather in your part of the world too.

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    1. Hello! Glad you're OK! We had a hurricane hit the Southeastern US, but I'm quite far inland and we didn't even get any bad weather from it, so all is well with me. I hope she likes the Teela figure!

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  8. She did indeed like them. I gave her both but she asked me to keep the other one safe for her. Her reaction after opening the box was priceless: "Oh. wow! Now I have a Milla Jovovich figure!" Which is kind of expected for someone who reacted this way when I gave her a Gamerverse Captain America for Christmas: "Oh, wow! Now I have Midnighter!"

    I'm glad to know that you're all right, Barbecue. By the way, have you noticed that Hot Wheels re-released some of their Batmobiles on the general market?

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    1. I had not noticed any of the re-released Hot Wheels Batmobiles. I hadn't bought any for awhile, so I probably just haven't been paying attention.

      That's funny that she thought Teela was Milla Jovovich. Man, she would have made an excellent Teela if a MOTU movie had come out in the late 1990s through the 2010s. Cast her as Evil-Lyn, Marlena, the Sorceress, or anyone else, still, though. She's awesome and there is a severe lack of Milla Jovovich action figures. The only Hot Toy I own is the Alice figure from the Resident Evil movies. How did NECA not just jump on that license and pump out figures from those movies?

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    2. NECA missed an opportunity by not putting out at least one toyline for the movies. Aside from Alice and her different looks for the films, I would have loved to pick up One (the character played by Colin Salmon) and Rain (Michelle Rodriguez).

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    3. That really seems like a line that would have given NECA some real mileage and the chance to make plenty of zombies and weird monsters. It's a shame that the opportunity was missed. Alice had so many costumes that were pretty cool.

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