JuNe Adventures: Tuskador / Insyzor from He-Man by Mattel

   Today is the last day of JuNe Adventures and I really hope that you've enjoyed the chance to go back and look at a random mixture of action figures from Mattel's New Adventures of He-Man brand extension. The vintage He-Man line certainly has its own charm which is often overlooked because the figures are so aesthetically different from the vintage Masters of the Universe line. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I still wonder if the line would have done better if Mattel had attempted to adhere more the aesthetics of the vintage MOTU line, treating the Galactic Guardians and the Evil Space Mutants more as new factions rather than as "replacements" for the original crew. Stylized figures like Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were all the rage in the late 80s/ early 90s and were closer in design to the vintage MOTU line than to the fairly standard proportions that Mattel used here. Today I'm looking at Tuskador (known as Insyzor in Europe). Tuskador was released in 1991 as part of the third series of the He-Man line and he is a character that absolutely screams MOTU. Let's take a look at Tuskador as out last figure for JuNe Adventures!

Action Figure Review: Sy-Klone #995 from POP! Television: Masters of the Universe by Funko

    This slow and steady marathon of checking out all of the newest Masters of the Universe POP! vinyls continues with a look at Sy-Klone, the Heroic Fist-Flinging Tornado! Sy-Klone is an interesting character and as a kid I somehow ended up with two of him. I have no idea how! I feel like I either found him somewhere or one of my cousins gave him to me, and I never turn down free toys! While Sy-Klone had limited appearances on the Filmation series he was developed a bit more in other media sources such as in the Golden Books and the UK Comic series and the 200x Mike Young Productions cartoon series. In the Golden Books he was a circus performer transformed into a cyborg by Skeletor, the UK comic series he was an athlete named Dash-Shel who was transformed into a Cyborg by his father after an attack by the Horde (kind of like DC's Cyborg), and in the 200x series he is the mystical guardian of the Legacy Stones on the island of Anwat Gar. Oh, and in the MOTUC canon Sy-Klone is actually a Gar (like Keldor) who wears ancient Gar armor. And now he's a POP! vinyl! Let's check this guy out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Shadow Stormtrooper from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

 

   GameStop has another Star Wars: The Black Series Gaming Greats exclusive figure and this time it's a Shadow Stormtrooper from The Force Unleashed! The Shadow Stormtroopers (sometimes called Blackhole Stormtroopers) have a long history dating back to the 1970s Marvel Star Wars comics and they've most recently appeared in the new canon in Star Wars Battlefront, but this one is clearly based on their appearance in The Force Unleashed due to the grayish color of the armor and the glowing blue details (I think those ones are technically referred to as Shadow Troopers, not Shadow Stormtroopers, but that's what who this guy is). Hasbro actually released the Imperial Shadow Squadron as a Target exclusive back in 2014 but those are simply fully black Stormtroopers, so this guy is still quite different than the previously released figures. When it comes down to it, the Shadow Stormtrooper is a simple repaint of the 2014 Stormtrooper figure from series 3 of the Black Series but it does have a very color scheme that really does make it stand out from the rest of your 6 inch Stormtrooper garrison. Let's check out this guy after the break...

Action Figure Review: Sorceress #993 from POP! Television by Funko

    It's been about a week since I last reviewed one of the new Masters of the Universe POP! vinyls so let's check out another one. How about the Sorceress? The Sorceress, also known as Teela Na, is the defender of Castle Grayskull, a being of immense power, and the mother of Teela. Inexplicably, Teela does not yet have a Funko POP! vinyl yet. Her mother, does, though! The Sorceress was certainly featured in the early MOTU minicomics and such, though in a few different forms, but Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon is really what catapulted her up to the ranks of a MOTU A-lister. She's now a pretty popular character fro most MOTU toylines and it's nice to see her finally in the POP! brand. Let's check out Sorceress after the break...

JuNe Adventures: Flogg / Brakk from He-Man by Mattel

    JuNe Adventures is coming to a close soon but I'm hoping to at least get one more review out before the end of the month. I hope you've enjoyed this opportunity to look at a variety of toys from one of the most unique (although often maligned) eras of Masters of the Universe. Today I'm going to check out Flogg, the leader of the Evil Space Mutants! Known as Brakk in his European release, Flogg was released as part of the original 1989 series of figures. A prominent fixture in the toyline (he got a rare variant in the fourth series, Hook 'Em Flogg), the minicomics, and the Jetlag Productions cartoon, Flogg was definitely the #2 villain behind Skeletor in the New Adventures era. Something else special about this figure is that this is actually my childhood Flogg. I ended up selling off most of my New Adventures figures as a kid but for some reason Flogg hung around. Let's check out this Flogg figure after the break and see if he can still whip it good!

Action Figure Review: Luke Skywalker (Bespin) from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Collection by Hasbro

   Today I'm taking a quick look at Luke Skywalker in his Bespin gear from Hasbro's The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Collection. Hasbro has released two sets of figures so far on the vintage inspired Kenner cards (there's a third set coming, too) and Luke here is part of the first set. This version of Luke Skywalker was originally released in early 2014 in the 3rd series of Black Series figures and he was always one of my biggest disappointments in the line. This is probably my favorite version of Luke Skywalker from one of my favorite scenes from my favorite Star Wars film and rather than delivering a knockout Hasbro just kind of skated by with a bare bones figure with a terrible headsculpt. Fortunately, Luke has been given a second chance with a new headsculpt and the new face printing technology and it really improves the figure. I haven't bought all of the figures with updated headsculpts but I have picked up a few and I've definitely been impressed by the difference the updated or new headsculpts make. This is going to be a shorter review since I'm really just nothing the differences between this release and the 2014 Phase One release. Let's see the improvements after the break...

JuNe Adventures: Intergalactic Skeletor from Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel

    August 2014 was a busy month for Masters of the Universe Classics and, for some reason, I didn't end up reviewing all of the figures that were released at that time! I review the standard monthly figure, Flutterina, a few months after she was released but never got around to Madame Razz from Club Etheria and the SDCC exclusive Filmation Hordak. Skeletor was the quarterly variant figure for the month and was a figure I remember being very excited about. Unfortunately, he came at a time when there were lots of minor quality control issues working their way into the line. Nothing major like breakage, certainly, but weapons with no paintwork, reversed shoulders and forearms, and the crudely named "fat armor" that left many figures looking overly puffy all plagued Skeletor. It's a shame, too, because this really is an excellent Skeletor variant. I know that the New Adventures of He-Man isn't everyone's favorite era of MOTU (it's not mine, either) but Skeletor was awesome. No, I didn't care for the Jetlag cartoon version of Skeletor with googly eyes and a bizarre voice, but I love the toy design. Taking a cue from the vintage Laser Light Skeletor at the end of the vintage line the New Adventures Skeletor depicts a new era in the life of a villain willing to do whatever it takes to attain power. After magic and sorcery don't get him what he wants it seems logical that Skeletor would be willing to become cybernetic to continue his evil schemes! Let's take a look at this figure and see if he was a worthy adversary to the excellent MOTUC Galactic Protector He-Man and She-Ra....