Friday, November 26, 2021

Action Figure Review: Mer-Man #91 from POP! Retro Toys: Masters of the Universe by Funko

 
   Now that Funko has placed the Masters of the Universe license under the POP! Retro Toys banner they've been going back and redoing some previously released characters in the style of the vintage toys rather than their Filmation looks. Today I'm checking out the Funko Shop exclusive Mer-Man #91 which is a variant of the standard release Mer-Man #88 that I reviewed back in early October. This guy is mostly a blue-green repaint of the previous Mer-Man with a new weapon. It's not a terrible variant as Mer-Man being depicted as blue has a long history in MOTU art and advertising, plus he has the spear from the 200x line to further spice things up. The last time I checked he was on sale for Black Friday as well, so you ca now pick him up for about $9 bucks instead of the usual exclusive price. Let's dive in and check out Mer-Man after the break...


The Facts:

Height: 4 inches

Articulation: Swivel head

Accessories: None

Non-Scalper Price: $15 dollars









Comparison:

* The Funko Shop exclusive Mer-Man #91 is on the left while the standard Mer-Man #88 is on the right. The only differences are the skin colors and the right arm/ hand which holds the weapon. The exclusive Mer-Man gets the trident included with the 200x version of the character while the classic version gets the classic "corncob" sword.






The Positives:

* Mer-Man's standing in a bit of a battle ready pose that kind of looks like the look of the vintage toys. You know, they were sculpted in a semi-crouched battle pose, too. He's got a swivel head and he's holding his spear out at the ready. This fishy fiend is ready to cause some havoc for the Heroic Warriors and he looks good posed sideways, though with his swivel head he can look any way.

 

 

* Mer-Man looks excellent. I'm not as big of a fan of the blue Mer-Man as I am of the green Mer-Man but I do like the look of the figure and the overall colors. He's got fins sculpted on his arms and he has very long, fishy fingers, too. The armor looks great with lots of sculpted detail on the plate.

 

* The headsculpt is really different from the previous Filmation inspired release and while I've never been the biggest fan of the vintage Mer-Man head I think it looks awesome here. I think I like the solid black eyes. They're way more fish-like and inhuman! Those teeth are vicious looking as well, like on some crazy fish like a piranha.

 

* I still get a kick out of the fact that Funko sculpts the clasps for the back of the armor just like the vintage toys had. Since they're sculpted they're less fragile than the vintage toy armor, too!

 

 * The trident is really cool and definitely helps to make this guy feel more unique from the previous release. It's a cool looking weapon that's very regal for the king of the sea of Rakash.







  
   Mer-Man is pretty cool but not as good as the standard release. He also doesn't seem to be that popular, oddly enough, as he's still available on Funko Shop and is on sale for Black Friday. I like him, and I'd give him a Good and a 1/2 rating, though the standard is still the better choice. Which color Mer-Man do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below. There are still a couple more MOTU POP! vinyls in this mini review series and next up is Zodac...





   If you're a fan of Mer-Man, the guy who made talking to fish cool, then check out my reviews of the Masters of the Universe Origins Mer-Man, the M.U.S.C.L.E. standard Mer-Man and green Mer-Man figures, the Micro Collection Mer-Man, the Panosh Place Mer-Man Collectible Eraser, the MOTU Colorforms Deluxe Play Set, the Monogram Mer-Man bag clip, the Geeki Tikis Mer-Man, the Loyal Subjects' Mer-Man, Super7's neo-vintage Mer-Man, the Mondo Exclusive Mer-Man, the Vinyl Soda Mer-Man, the Mega Construx Battle Cat vs Roton set, the POP! Mer-Man #88, the MOTU Origins Lords of Power set Mer-Man, and the ReAction Mer-Man (Invisible) and Mer-Man (Carry Case Color).


For more POP! Retro Toys reviews check out the following:
Trap Jaw #90 from Masters of the Universe

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