Thursday, April 1, 2021

Masters of the Universe Month 2021: Man-E-Faces from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

      Today is the first review for Masters of the Universe Month 2021 and this year the celebration is focused on the characters, creatures, and vehicles from 1983, the second year of the vintage Masters of the Universe line. Only two heroic warriors were added to the line in 1983 and I'm checking out the first of them today: Man-E-Faces! Man-E-Faces was one of the last figures designed by Mark Taylor and he has become one of the most recognizable MOTU figures thanks to his memorable action feature. Today I'm reviewing the Masters of the Universe Origins Man-E-Faces from 2020. Released in the second series of the Origins line, this version of Man-E-Faces is only slightly redesigned from the vintage toy with brighter colors and added articulation. How crazy that 37 years later Mattel is still cranking out toys based on this property, huh? Let's take a look at the Masters of the Universe Origins Man-E-Faces after the break...



The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, swivel helmet, and rotating faces.

Accessories: Pistol and minicomic.

Non-Scalper Price: $15 dollars





Comparison:

* The Origins Man-E-Faces is on the left while the vintage Man-E-Faces is on the right. The Origins figure definitely looks more like a man in a suit versus the original figure whose odd paint job makes him look like a cyborg with the suit and skin combing together in weird ways. The Origins looks more like the cross sell art and the mini-comic depictions which does seem to be the design choice of Origins.


The Positives:

* Man-E-Faces is another very faithful translation of a vintage toy onto the Origins body type. Like the vintage toy Man-E-Faces has a completely new and unique torso that houses his action feature. The paintwork is quite neat and the colors are very bold. Even Man-E-faces skin is brighter and more orange than the vintage toy (which had some color variations during its run). What exactly is Man-E-Faces supposed to be, anyways? Most of the minicomics and promotional materials (including the Filmation cartoon series) portray Man-E-Faces as an actor who at some point was cursed or controlled by Skeletor. His costume always made me think more of an astronaut or perhaps an underground miner of sorts who was afflicted by some alien entity. 




* Man-E-Faces (real name Perkaedo) has a fantastic headsculpt. I love the helmeted look of this figure and the colors of the paintwork on his face. The base of the helmet does rotate so you can have Man-E-Faces look around rather than just having him stare forward, which is a nice touch. Interestingly, you'll notice that Mattel did change the gear on the front of his helmet. Take a look at the vintage figure and take one guess why! Probably a good choice.


* Like every version of Man-E-Faces I can think of when you turn the purple knob on top of the helmet a cylinder inside rotates, allowing a new face to appear. next up is the monster face, a terrifying green beast! 



* Last up is the robot face for Man-E-Faces. It's cool and while I know it's a robot face now as a kid I sometimes pretended it was the faceplate for his suit's life support, so essentially an oxygen mask and face shield. 

* The MOTU Origins figures are aesthetically similar to the vintage toys but with more modern articulation. While their bulky frames make the articulation a bit clumsy, they do feel like an evolution of the vintage line. Imagine what you would get if you mixed a vintage figure with a Masters of the Universe Classics figure. They're quite fun to play with and pretty durable, feeling more like a toy than a collectible.

* They're also modular. Like the Masters of the WWE universe figures, the arms, hands, and torso can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs!




* I really like Man-E-Faces' laser pistol. It's actually a bit smaller than the vintage toy and the detail is way sharper and crisper. It's a great accessory for the figure and he looks slick holding it. It just meshes really well with his retro spaceman vibe.




*  The Origins series 2 figures all come with the same minicomic: "Double Trouble." It's a cool little comic that features the series 2 characters and it adds a nice little something to the overall package. I like the cover! 

   I'm really, really pleased with how Man-E-Faces turned out! When series 1 of Masters of the Universe Origins hit last year I was a bit iffy on it but the series 2 and 3 figures have been excellent (I haven't gotten my hands on series 4 yet) and there is a lot of play value here. Man-E-Faces is another hit and another Epic figure in this line. For the price you're getting a lot of coolness here and Man-E-Faces looks great like this. He's one of my favorites so far! It's nice to see that even 37-38 years later, the characters from the second series of Masters of the Universe are still beloved by so many!



For more of Man-E-Faces check out my reviews of the green Man-E-Faces from the M.U.S.C.L.E. Masters of the Universe Set #1 and the flesh colored Man-E-Faces

For more Masters of the Universe Origins reviews check out the following:
























No comments:

Post a Comment

What'chu talkin' 'bout?