Now that I've checked out Despara and Dragstor it's time to look at the third new Masterverse figure for the beginning of 2026: Keldor. The Masters of the Universe: New Eternia Keldor, to be exact. I'm going to take a guess that I probably own more Skeletor toys and action figures than any other character (probably even more than He-Man, Batgirl, and Batman) and I've largely been passing up many of the newer releases that don't really offer up anything terribly new. This new version of Keldor, though? Well, I'm a sucker for Keldor, especially when he has a burned face. Finally tying Keldor to Skeletor was one of the most significant story additions by the MYP animated series for the 200x era and it's one that has largely been retained (or at least referenced) by every new MOTU project since. This Masterverse figure definitely retains the general look of Keldor (a blue skinned Gar with fabulous hair) but dresses him up in an outfit that's quite different from the traditional Skeletor outfit. He really reminds me of some of the early MOTU concept art sketches for various wizard inspired villains, which is definitely part of the New Eternia/ New Etheria blending of old and new that makes it so appealing. Ready to check out Keldor? Then get your vial of acid ready (or maybe just a big, round shield) and join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 7 1/8ths inches
Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, balljointed dropdown hips, swivel waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck peg, and a ball jointed head.
Accessories: 2 swappable portraits, armor, 2 pauldrons, cape, hood, sword, and 2 wrist bracers.
Non-Scalper Price: $24- $27 dollars
The Positives:
* Keldor has an interesting design that calls to mine some of the earliest designs for the vintage MOTU line from artists like Mark Taylor, the standard Keldor/ Skeletor look, and elements of Prince Adam. There's gold and green here, colors not usually associated with Keldor/ Skeletor, but maybe that's to contrast him with King Randor's red. You know, red and green sit opposite on the color wheel, so they "clash." The white shirt reminds me of Adam's white shirt on the vintage toy, though. Underneath his armor Keldor is fairly basic with black pants and the white shirt but his armor is quite ornate. The gold and green really is a nice design that's quite unique among Keldor and Skeletor variants while that Roman like waist guard definitely is a connection to the classic Skeletor look.
* Keldor looks like Keldor. There's nothing too wild or unique about this but it's a solid Keldor portrait. Keldor's even got a bit of grey in his hair. I know the feeling Keldor; I know the feeling.
* Since Keldor is Hordak's apprentice here, giving him more of a wizard vibe The green hood fits easily over his head and hair, slightly hiding his appearance. I've seen a few folks call this "Assassin's Creed Keldor" and I can definitely see it, though it's not like hoods are exclusive to those games or anything. I had a hood on today because it was cold and I didn't stab anyone while I was eating my lunch!
* The second portrait for Keldor shows him well on his way to becoming Skeletor after having bee burned with acid. He's pretty creepy looking and the design kind of reminds me of Frank Langella's Skeletor from the 1987 movie. While there's a toyish quality to the sculpt, it's pretty grotesque with patches of rotted green skin, visible skull showing in multiple spots, a missing nose and lips, and even some open wounds. One of his eyes has been damaged, too, and now it's a milky white. This is definitely what sold me on this guy.
* The green cape is a soft goods piece and it's not bad. I like the color and the smooth, silky texture. It is removable if you're rather not use it, though.
* The pauldrons on Keldor's armor are removable and attach via two pegs. The cape has two holes that fit around the pegs, keeping it in place. It's a simple but neat feature that allows you to change up Keldor's look if you want. Maybe no cape for pre acid burned Keldor and the cape and hood for burned Keldor?
* If you want, you can also remove Skeletor's gold bracers. These definitely feel like more they're part of Prince Keldor than Hordak's disciple Keldor, so you could pop them off and have him go without or use parts from another figure.
* Keldor is a pretty standard Masterverse figure with solid articulation. It's a bit behind these days, sure, but it's not terrible or anything. Honestly, I'd love to see Mattel roll out improved articulation and other advancements while keeping Chronicles in the same scale as Masterverse. Yes, the MOTU Chronicles figures overall look quite nice but making them out of scale with Masterverse, which has created a pretty robust selection, just seems like a poor choice. Anyways, Keldor is durable, has plenty of functional joints, and is definitely made to withstand play .
* Keldor's sword is pretty nice and while it's not a one for one recreation, it is reminiscent of one half of the 200x era dual swords. It has a ram design for the hilt with the quillons serving as the ram's horns.
* There's a cool spot on the left side of Keldor's belt for storing his sword, too. It makes it pretty easy for him to draw and he just looks cool carrying it around.
The Negatives:
* It's really just a little QC error but my Keldor's sword has a random splotch of silver paint on it. It doesn't look like the paint is flaking off or anything; it legitimately just looks like an errant splotch of paint.
Take Note:
* On the promotional images of the figure there is a swappable belt shown, allowing you to swap from a more typical gold belt to a more ornate belt with the holder for the sword. That appears to have been scrapped as some point and is not included with the figure. Well, the black belt is just present on the figure with nothing to swap. I wonder why Mattel made this chance? It had to be fairly late in production as most retailers are still using this photo.
Do I have a bunch of Skeletors already? Sure. Do I have a bunch of Keldors? Not as many, so this one won me over, especially with his unique design. while I really would have liked to have seen a few more unique details like some magic effects or some sort of arcane artifacts from his time as Hordak's apprentice, I'm pretty happy with the overall figure. He's really cool and stands out from the previous Keldor figures with a more interesting outfit. He's quite a bit more fun than I thought he would be and really is a Great and a 1/2 figure.
Looking for more of Keldor, AKA Skeletor? Then check out
Snake Mountain for all of my Skeletor reviews!
For more Masterverse reviews check out the following:
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