Old School MOTU: Rio Blast from Masters of the Universe by NECA

    Masters of the Universe Day 2020 is coming up next week (Tuesday, April 28th 2020) and in anticipation I'm having fun showing off some MOTU figures from lines I haven't covered before. Today I'm checking out Rio Blast, a static action figure, or "staction," from the fifth series of NECA's Masters of the Universe line. Yes, NECA. Vaults of Grayskull has a great write up on the history of the line but the basic facts of the matter is that NECA continued the 200x Masters of the Universe line after Mattel ended it, albeit with a twist: The figures could not have articulation. Yeah, this was Mattel's weird licensing stipulation with NECA, but they did allow the figures to be made. Most folks call these mini statues or stactions as there really isn't an official name for the line other than simply Masters of the Universe. Combining NECA's facilities and the incredible designs of the Four Horsemen, this line really brought out some of the greatest redesigns ever seen in MOTU. Rio Blast is a cybernetic cowboy from later in the MOTU line (I remember getting him as a kid and he's still one of my favorite vintage MOTU figures) who really gets an awesome redesign in this line. Let's check out Rio Blast after the break...

Old School MOTU: Spikor from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Super7

    While I haven't reviewed all of them on here, I recently completed my collection of Super7's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe/ Club Grayskull releases by acquiring Spikor! Super7 released some nice figures in the line and I'm sure in time I'll get around to reviewing them all, but I sure wish they had focused on getting out more main characters like Cringer, Leech, Catra, and Ram Man in the Filmation style. Spikor here only appeared in three episodes of the show and yet he gets a figure instead of those guys. It is what it is though, right? Spikor turned out to be a really cool figure. He was released as one of the 2018 Power-Con exclusives along with Chopper/ Jitsu and the 2-pack of of Uncle Montork and Dree Elle. Ready for a look at another animated version of one of Skeletor's fearsome Evil Warriors? Then join me after the break as we check out Spikor!

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

    Ready for the Heroic Big Dog of WWEternia? Ok, stop booing, stop booing! We get it already! Yes, Roman Reigns has entered the Masters of the WWE Universe line and here he's paying homage to Fisto. Roman Reigns is one of those wrestlers that WWE has really tried to push and while I like him just fine, sometimes he's a bit dull. He seems like a really cool person, though, plus he was part of The Shield. Giving him a Fisto motif here is a great idea since he's famous for using the Superman punch all the time and, when you think of someone who punches from Masters of the Universe, who do you think of other than Fisto? Well, He-Man did famously punch stuff a lot in the Filmation cartoon, but Fisto was the better choice for Reigns. Let's take a look at Roman Reigns after the break and see if this Undisputed Guardian of the Yard has what it takes to make it in WWEternia!

Old School MOTU: Artilla/ Weaponstronic from He-Man by Mattel

    You know what? I haven't reviewed any items from the 1989 He-Man (AKA New Adventures) toyline. Let's change that! I actually had quite a few of the toys as a kid and I have a small collection of the figures now, so I was excited to add a figure to my collection that I never owned: Artilla! Released in the third series of figures as one of the heroic Galactic Guardians, Artilla (called Weaponstronic in the European releases) is billed as a Walking Weapons System. Artilla did appear in the Jetlag Productions "New Adventures of He-Man" series, but I don't remember him (I've only seen a handful of the earlier episodes). He's a really unusual looking figure with a rather cool action feature that makes me think more of a M.A.S.K. vehicle than a He-Man figure. Let's check him out after the break...

Help! Where have all my pictures gone? (Updated: Apparently it's a Blogger issue right now)

Hey fellow bloggers! Late last night I was checking something on the site and realized most of my April and a few of my March reviews have all of their pictures missing, replaced with the grey minus sign box. What's going on? Anyone have any suggestions? Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi! You're my only hope!

Update: Apparently this is a Blogger issue and they are aware of it. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon! 

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

    Ready to check out the third figure in series 2 of Mattel's Masters of the WWE Universe? Then let's get ready to do some high flying with Rey Mysterio! Rey Mysterio is inspired by Stratos in MOTWWEU and he actually uses parts from the Masters of the Universe Classics Stratos figure, something that a lot of figures in the line are also doing. In the story of WWEternia, Rey Mysterio is the Heroic High Flyer from the mountains of the 619 district who defends the Booyaka Tribe. With the powers of flight and super speed, Rey Mysterio helps battle the evil Skull King's forces alongside the other Heroic Superstars. He's one of the most "Masters of the Universe" looking figures released in the line and almost feels like a Stratos variant. Let's check out Rey Mysterio after the break and see if he's got the moves to succeed!

Old School MOTU: Zodak from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls by The Loyal Subjects

   I recently stumbled upon a Zodak figure from The Loyal Subjects' Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls line and I decided to pick him up.  I wasn't a huge fan of Zodac as a kid but when Zodak came out in the 200x line and in Masters of the Universe Classics, it caused me to go back and reevaluate the original Zodac. While it might certainly be borrowing from Green Lantern, I really like the MOTUC take on the Cosmic Enforcers as a peace-keeping faction removed from the day to day goings on of the galaxy that only intervenes when absolutely necessary. Former brand manager Scott Neitlich has been posting some pretty in depth videos about MOTUC lately, and one of the recent ones was about the making of Zodak in that line. While Zodak was originally just the 200x line's take on the vintage Zodac with a darker skin color to add some more racial diversity to the line, during the MOTUC era he became his own unique character. Why the name change? In the video Neitlich seems to not know a definitive reason (the 200x era was before his time at Mattel) but I wonder if Mattel went with a spelling at the time to avoid another trademarked name? A few of the 200x characters were renamed (Battle Fist/ Fisto, The General/ Rattlor, and King Hssss/ King Hiss all come to mind), so maybe Zodak was done to use a similar but legally different name for trademark purposes? Anyways, let's check out Zodak, who is the student of the original Zodac, after the break...