Monday, November 21, 2022

Action Figure Review: Catra from Materverse: Princess of Power by Mattel

 

   I feel like having a new Catra figure in the Masterverse: Princess of Power subset is a fairly big deal. Yeah, it's always great to have She-Ra, and Hordak always gets made, but Catra? That's kind of a big deal. Catra was a star in the vintage Princess of Power line and she also had figures in Mattel's and Super7's "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" lines, but the only other time Catra was released in a Masters of the Universe line was in MOTU Classics back in 2011. It's about time, right? Here's hoping we continue to get more of the Princess of Power cast! Catra definitely received a huge boost in popularity through the Netflix She-Ra series (where she was an actual cat person) and, while I do hope we see her and some other characters from that show in Masterverse at some point, it's very welcome to have the original Catra back in action. Let's take a look at Catra, the next figure in this Masterverse mini-marathon, after the break...


The Facts:

Height: 6 7/8ths 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: Cape, mask, 4 interchangeable hands, wand, and shield.

Non-Scalper Price: $22-24 dollars







The Positives:




* Catra looks pretty good. The Masterverse line has more of an animated/ anime style to it, so she definitely differs a bit from the look of the MOTUC Catra. Her outfit isn't quite as detailed but the colors are really vibrant and pop quite nicely. She reuses a lot of parts from She-Ra, particularly the arms and legs, but the torso and dress are unique to her. 








* Catra comes wearing her Magicat mask, the red mask with green lenses that allows her to transform into a purple panther, teleport, and shoot freeze rays. While the mask is removable, it actually sits inside of two grooves on the sides of Catra's head. Her face is sculpt is quite good, probably a bit better than the MOTUC version. Catra's supposed to be a "jealous beauty," so she's still quite lovely here even though she has a bit of a mean girl look to her. Her makeup and facial features are well painted and everything looks fantastic. 


* The Magicat mask slides down on her face to cover Catra's eyes. No, she doesn't really turn into a purple panther, but the sliding effect is kind of cool and she looks pretty slick wearing the mask. It complements the masked She-Ra portrait nicely, giving both of them kind of a "powered up" look. 





* Here's a look both at Catra's fabulous hair and her cape. The cape is a soft goods piece attached to a plastic collar which can be removed (just pop Catra's head off). It's not the most luxurious item but it looks good with a bold purple color and it hands nicely. 





* Catra's bracers have a cool little design on them but what I really like are her scratching hands. Remember how the MOTUC Catra that weird, rubbery scratching hand? Well, this one is a normal hand. Just posed for shredding. She's got painted nails, too. Giddyup. 





*  Catra shares most of a body with She-Ra, so her articulation is pretty similar. Masterverse is definitely one of the best lines in terms of the quality of the figure builds and articulation scheme that Mattel has put out and Catra is a great figure from it. She moves nicely and has plenty of useful joints with a great range of motion. She's really quite fun to mess around with and pose, particularly because of those scratching hands. 





* Catra comes with four swappable hands: A pair of gripping hands for using her wand and shield and the aforementioned scratching hands.









* Catra comes with a wand or a scepter which looks cool, but seems a bit odd for Catra. Is this from anything we've seen? Catra has used swords and the MOTUC version also came with a whip, but I don't remember her using a magic wand. Her magic seems to come from her mask. It looks a bit like Shadow Weaver's wand, but the Masterverse Shadow Weaver will come with her own wand, so that's not it. Maybe it's just a cool new piece for this version of Catra?








* Catra also comes a shield reminiscent of the vintage figure's accessory. It has a big cat face right on the front, a clear gem, and easy to use straps to keep it in place. 






The Negatives:
 
* I do think the way the Magicat mask slides down on Catra's face is pretty cool, but it's a bit odd that the MOTUC figure made the mask work as a separate piece that was just held on Catra's face while this version has slits on the sides of her head. If you want an unmasked Catra, well, you're out of luck. 





* Catra has a few little odd marks on her legs. Nothing crazy but definitely weird little QC errors. 

   Catra's a pretty nice rendition of the Filmation version of the character and a fun toy. I like her quite a bit and it's exciting to see an action figure of her, especially considering it's been a long time since we last received a traditional Catra figure. I like her headsculpt but I do find the use of the slits in the side of her head to hold her mask on a bit frustrating. I definitely wish she had a whip or sword or something, too. Maybe even a more aggressive looking clawed weapon, as a wand just doesn't suit Catra as well as something with some claws. She's a Good and a 1/2 figure and, since she's also a key member of the Princess of Power crew/ Evil Horde, it's nice to have her in the Masterverse collection.


Are you a Catra person? Then check out my review of Catra from Super7's Battle for Etheria 2-Pack,  Mattel's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Catra, and the M.U.S.C.L.E. Slime Catra minifigure. 


8 comments:

  1. I hope we get the versions from the netflix show in the line

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    Replies
    1. I do too. The show isn't my favorite MOTU media or anything but I do like most of the character designs.

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  2. Overall, she is quite nice. I've never had any problems with the MOTUC classic mask, but, yeah, the headsculpt wasn't the best. I still would like the option to display her maskless, though.

    The scepter/ wand is a bit mysterious. I mean, it really could be just a newly designed accessory but it seems like an odd choice for Catra.

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  3. MekaneckfrenchiefrogMarch 7, 2023 at 4:57 AM

    Ordered last night on amazon.fr, received this morning (with free shipping) - just amazing. Now that's interesting : I don't know if I got a copy with a better paint job on the face, but mine looks friendlier and prettier than yours. Yours has this tense expression which is missing from mine. The mouth on mine looks kind of different too (fuller lips or something..). Interesting, subtle little variations from one figure to the next that give the line a subtle "handmade" touch. Cool little figure, I only wish they would have made the diamond in the shield in clear blue or clear green (same green as the gem at the end of the wand), it would have looked more striking.

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    1. That is interesting. Huh. Maybe a running change or just some slight differences in the production piece?

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    2. MekaneckfrenchiefrogMarch 7, 2023 at 9:05 AM

      Looking at your pics of Catra again, I realise this might come from the angular eyebrows on your copy. Mine has different shaped eyebrows, and it totally changes the expression on her face. So yeah, minor differences in the paint job which kind of make a huge difference.

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  4. MekaneckfrenchiefrogMarch 7, 2023 at 9:18 AM

    On a similar note, my Origins Jitsu has an eye which looks straight, and the other eye looks to the side.. which makes him look pretty weird. I know it sounds unlikely, because these figures were manufactured, so we expect them all to look exactly the same.. so could it be that the painted details on the faces are actually hand-painted ?

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    Replies
    1. I definitely don't think Mattel is using as face printing method on these like Hasbro is doing, but they've got to be using something like a paint mask or something.

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