Monday, June 1, 2020

June 2020 is JuNe Adventures at Action Figure Barbecue





Hey everyone!

Moss May was a lot of fun to celebrate and featured many reviews of Moss Man toys, one of my favorite Masters of the Universe Characters. For June 2020 we're going to celebrate The New Adventures of He-Man. If Masters of the Universe has a red-headed stepchild (and his name isn't Ging-Or or something) than it's probably The New Adventures of He-Man era. As sales dropped and the movie flopped, the vintage Masters of the Universe line died off around 1987 and 1988 and the planned Powers of Grayskull expansion was prematurely cancelled. But He-Man himself would rise again! More after the break...



   In 1989 Mattel brought back He-Man in a new line with slimmer proportions and a more sci-fi/ Flash Gordon aesthetic. Simple called "He-Man" Mattel's new line, while never amazingly popular, would last into 1992 with a steady series of releases and new characters. There was also a cartoon from Jetlag Productions, The New Adventures of He-Man, which would last for only one season of 65 episodes in the Fall of 1990. This version of He-Man seemed to be far more popular in Europe than in the United States but it still failed to take root. After the last series of "He-Man" figures in 1992 it seemed like He-Man and his New Adventures were gone.
  

   You can't keep a good (He) man down, however, and He-Man returned in 2002 with an expansive new toyline from Mattel and an excellent cartoon from Mike Young Productions. While the new incarnation wasn't as successful as Mattel has hoped, it did lead to a renewed interest in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, leading to the current period as there has not been a year since 2002 when new Masters of the Universe merchandise wasn't offered to consumers. In 2008 Mattel launched the MattyCollector experiment and with it the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline. Drawing from all eras of the brand, the New Adventures of He-Man era. This was the first time in over a decade that the New Adventures of He-Man was even acknowledged by Mattel and it brought some new fans to the property. Last year, DC Comics' He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse comic also brought the New Adventures of He-Man into their universe, giving fans more sci-fi fun with He-Man.




   This month for JuNe Adventures I'm going to be paying special attention to reviewing toys from both the vintage He-Man line and the New Adventures figures appearing in Masters of the Universe Classics. While I'm not a big fan of the cartoon, I really do like the concept and the vintage toyline, and the New Adventures characters were some of my favorite releases in Masters of the Universe Classics. I've got some fun reviews lined up but if there is something special you want to see, let me know. I'll try to meet any requests I can! For a list of the New Adventures figures I've already reviewed, check out the following:

He-Man by Mattel (1989)
Artilla/ Weaponstronic
Butthead
Doomcopter/ Skullcopter
He-Man
Power Sword
Quakke
Sagitar/ Tharkus
Staghorn

Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel (2008)
Crita
Darius
Galactic Protector He-Man
Galactic Protector She-Ra
Hydron
Karatti
Mara of Primus

Masters of the Universe Classics by Super7 (2017)
Quakke

2 comments:

  1. Looking forward to JuNe. Why is N capitalized? Secret easter egg or did I miss it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since I'm doing a focus on toys from the New Adventures of He-Man, I thought June kinda sounds like New? JuNe? It's pretty lame, but Moss May wasn't much better. Haha

      Delete

What'chu talkin' 'bout?