Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror: Tauraton from Masters of the Universe Origins: The Powers of Grayskull by Mattel

 

So today's review might not fit this year's theme perfectly but I've really been wanting to review Tauraton and I usually have at least one Masters of the Universe toy on the countdown. If you don't keep up to the minute with Masters of the Universe, you might be wondering who this guy is. Fret not; he's actually a new character that's part of the Power of Grayskull subset being sold exclusively through Mattel Creations. Tauraton was created by Axel Gimenez and Roy Juarez for the packaging of the Mattel Creations exclusive He-Ro and then was developed into a figure this year. He's a mighty minotaur inspired by Greek myth and Ray Harryhausen's "The Minoton" from "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger." It's a cool design for a MOTU villain, especially one from the Preternian era (many years before the time of He-Man/ Prince Adam). For so many of us, our first experiences with the horror genre and horror toys were through toylines with creepy characters, so it's fun to check out one that feels like it could have existed during my childhood. I know I owned the old The Real Ghostbusters: Monsters long before I ever saw any of the classic Universal Studios horror films and I'm sure many others had similar experiences. Ready to check out a classic monster reimagined for MOTU? Then join me after the break...

Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror: Bride of Frankenstein Glow-In-The-Dark Character Spoon from Universal Monsters by Sonic/ C3

   It wasn't until the first week of October that I realized that Sonic is running a Universal Monsters October promotion in their Wacky Pack kids meals. A quick trip to sonic and one milkshake later, I was the proud owner of the full set of all seven toys from the series. Five of the the prizes are more traditional toys while two are spoons. I've previously reviewed items from Sonic's He-Man and She-Ra promotions from a few years back and those included some spoons and straw caddies as well, which I guess is fitting for a place that sells various ice cream shakes, sundaes, and other sweet beverages. The Bride of Frankenstein is represented here as a glow in the dark spoon. It's not the most exciting prize on its own but, at the same time, it's pretty thrilling to pull in to a Sonic drive-in and get a glow in the dark spoon based on a film that's 91 years old. Burger King and Jack in the Box are famous for having Universal Monsters themed kids meals in the past (I've reviewed of them on this site) but now Sonic is stepping in. Ready to dig in with the Bride of Frankenstein? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Moss Man & Ram Man from Masters of the Universe Origins: Masters of the Universe (2026) by Mattel

 

   While Masters of the Universe has been out of theaters for sometime now and wasn't a hit, it's apparently been quite successful on Amazon Prime and the physical media versions (Blu-Ray, DVD, and 4K Blu-Ray) just came out last week and seem to be strong sellers. I really liked the movie and I'm still holding out hope that the numbers for streaming and toy sales are strong enough that Amazon wants to visit Eternia again. There was a fairly strong toy presence at retail but one issue that I think is worth talking about was the number of different scales and styles of figures available. These days it seems like most toylines for major media try to release a smaller number of characters in multiple scales and styles (so hitting multiple price points) rather than having one standard line with a wide selection of characters. The mainline figures seemed to have a decent number of releases and went fairly deep (with more figures apparently coming, though likely as Amazon exclusives) while Chronicles and the Movie-based Origins lines were a bit more limited. I like Origins for some things but I'm not sure they made a ton of sense for the new movie. Still, when I found out there was a Moss Man for the movie Origins line (who, to the best of my knowledge, is the only movie Moss Man yet released) I had to jump in. You all know that Moss Man is my dude and while I was maybe a 7/10 on his portrayal in the film with such limited screen time, I was absolutely devastated that he died so quickly. What? Why? Still, a Moss Man is a Moss Man and he can join my flock of Moss Men in my collection. I'm also a pretty big Ram Man fan as well, so I wasn't upset about getting him as the other figure in this two-pack which I believe is exclusive to Target. Ready to check out two of Eternia's most powerful warriors? Then join me after the break...

Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror: Starscream Armor Scare Glow from Masters of the Universe x Transformers by Mattel

   Today I'm checking out a figure that might not exactly fit this year's theme but I'm still going to go with it. When you have your own action figure blog, you can do stuff like this, too. Besides, I've reviewed Scare Glow action figures during 31 Days of Toy Terror a few times in the past, so let's just call it tradition at this point. Yes, today I'm checking out the Masters of the Universe x Transformers crossover version of Starscream Armor Scare Glow. If you've kept up with my reviews over the years you've probably realized that out of all of the big 1980s properties, I've never reviewed much when it comes to Transformers. I reviewed two of the Transformers BotBots a few years back and that's it. I'm just not that big of a Transformers fan. When it came to Mattel putting out a MOTU/ Transformers crossover, I was wondering if we'd get MOTU vehicles that transformed but, no, we got a couple characters wearing Transformer armor. He-Man is dressed like Optimus Prime, Man-At-Arms is dressed like Bumblebee, Skeletor is dressed like Megatron, and Scare Glow is dressed like Starscream. I skipped the others but I was interested in Scare Glow. Surprisingly, the first time I found this guy he was on clearance. That's wild, right? He was originally $30 dollars at Target and is now $33, and Mattel Creations had him for $30 at one point, too, but I only paid $8 to $12 bucks. That sealed the deal for me and now you can reap the benefits. Let's check out the spooky skeleton, Scare Glow, dressed up like a Transformer for trick 'r treating. Knock on the door and ask join me after the break...

Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror: The Ambassador of R'lyeh from Operation: Monster Force by Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction

 

   2026 has been an awesome year for Big Bad Workshop and Fresh Monkey Fiction's Operation: Monster Force and its companion line, The Order of the Crimson Moon, and while I'm going to be reviewing a bunch of these guys during the last quarter of 2026, I wanted to give this Cthulhu inspired figure a spot on Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror. Who is the Ambassador R'lyeh? He's a Cthulhu-like representative of the sunken city of R'lyeh, the mythical resting place of the great Cthulhu himself. The ambassador is now part of the Forgotten King's army, bringing the eldritch menace of the elder gods into the world of Operation: Monster Force. This guy is a stellar release from Season 3, part 1 of this series and was my most anticipated figure from this set. I actually preordered the full set of six figures so I received the bonus head pack, but I'll look at that separately at some point. For now, let's basque in the cosmic horror of the Ambassador of R'lyeh...

Action Figure Review: Destro & Iron Grenadier Despoiler from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

   As you can tell, I'm, clearly behind on my G.I. Joe: Classified Series reviews. I'm working to catch up, though, as it's been my favorite active toyline since the line debuted in 2020, so now I'm checking out a release from way back in June: Destro with his Iron Grenadier Despoiler. I absolutely remember getting the vintage version of this figure back in 1988 and being quite thrilled with the opportunity to have a Destro in my collection as I was too young to be into the line when the original Destro was released. This is a pricy release although Hasbro definitely has enhanced the size of the Despoiler. It was a tiny little vehicle back in 1988 but it definitely feels more impressive now. As I was looking at pictures of vintage Despoilers and the packaging they came in I was surprised to learn that some of the boxes had the Battle Force 2000 logo on them. I don't think I ever realized that the Iron Grenadiers were originally created as an adversary for Battle Force 2000. Of course, over the years the Iron Grenadiers have grown in popularity and have become a fan favorite while Battle Force 2000 is one of the least popular sub teams ever. Let's take a look at Destro and his Iron Grenadier Despoiler after the break...

Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror: Jack O. Lantern from PIX! Garbage Pail Kids by Thrilljoy

   I am always down for a character with a Jack o' Lantern for a head so I made sure to preorder the PIX! Garbage Pail Kids Jack O. Lantern for this year's "Trick or Treat Through 31 Days of Toy Terror" since he fits the theme perfectly. Thrilljoy is a newer company (founded in 2024 by former Funko CEO Mariotti) and PIX! seems to be their signature line. Like Funko, they're releasing vinyl figures of multiple different pop culture characters at fairly reasonable prices. Thrilljoy's PIX! figures are a bit less stylized, a bit more expensive, and I believe they all have a set edition run. Each figure has at least one chase variant, too, and the figure comes in a blind box. Well, they actually come in a nice display box but there's a cardboard sleeve that you tear open to reveal whether you received the standard edition or the chase variant. Jack O. Lantern is based on a Garbage Pail Kids character who appeared in the collectible cards back in 1986 and is essentially a pumpkin headed guy carving his own face. That's pretty wild! The variant of Jack O. Lantern has a pumpkin pie head with a piece carved out, which is also funny, though I do prefer the regular version of this guy. Ready to check a pumpkin who carves himself? Then let's take a closer look after the break...