The Snake Men have finally arrived in Masters of the Universe Origins! Skeletor'ss crew has been very well represented and the Evil Horde has had over half of their vintage crew in the line, so now it's the Snake Men's turn! Series 11 introduces the first two Snake Men to Origins, Kobra Khan (who was first an Evil Warrior then a Snake Man) and Rattlor, and it's Rattlor who I'm checking out today. Rattlor (AKA the General, AKA Slltyo of the Rattlor House) was one of the first Snake Men and was King Hiss's second in command in the MYP animated series. He definitely seems like a pretty serious fellow and I'm happy to say that Mattel did a great job translating the vintage toy into the Origins line. Ready for a quick strike from Rattlor? Then join me after the break...
Height: 5 5/8ths inches (without neck extended)
Articulation:
Swivel/ hinge ankles, calve swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed
hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows,
swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.
Accessories: Staff, neck extension, and minicomic.
Non-Scalper Price: $17-$19 dollars
* The MOTU Origins Rattlor is on the left while the vintage is on the right. They really do look pretty similar with the biggest differences being the articulation schemes and the colors. Like most other MOTU Origins figures, Rattlor is brighter than the vintage toy. He also doesn't have a true action feature. Rather than his head and neck springing out of his body, the neck is a separate piece that connects the torso and the head.
* Rattlor had a unique body in the vintage line and Mattel has made him completely unique here, too. Besides just being covered in scales, Rattlor has a rather uniquely shaped body, particularly the torso. I imagine the vintage figure was designed that way to hold the mechanics for Rattlor's spring out neck action feature but here it just makes him look odd and snakier. The belt looks fantastic and the colors are vibrant and really pop.
* Rattlor's head is pretty faithful to the vintage head with some yellow, bulgy snake eyes and some nasty looking fangs. If you have Ophidiophobia, you might get the creeps just looking at this guy.
* The scaly arms are really well detailed and the painted scales just look fantastic. Rattlor is a great looking figure who is just a lot of fun. Seeing how well he turned out gets me excited for the other Snake Men like Tung Lashor and Snake Face with some interesting color patterns.
* Like the vintage toy, Rattlor has a rubbery tail and a built in rattle. Just shake Rattlor and you can hear the little plastic beads inside of him rattle menacingly at his enemies, giving off a threatening warning!
* Instead of a pop out neck, the MOTU Origins Rattlor has an additional neck piece that you can place between the torso and the head. It works quite well and while it isn't as fun as the vintage action feature, it work well and adds a bit more articulation to the figure. I'm kind of surprised that Rattlor wasn't a deluxe release with a working action feature, a second portrait, and his armor from the 200x line, but this is still a very solid figure.
* Even though he has a completely new body, Rattlor's general construction is the the same as the rest of the MOTU Origins figures, meaning he has the style of the vintage toys but with more modern articulation. While their bulky frames make the articulation a bit clumsy, the figures do feel like an evolution of the vintage line. Imagine what you would get if you mixed a vintage MOTU figure with a MOTUC figure. They're quite fun to play with.
* They're also modular. and can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs!
* My only complaint about Rattlor is that, like the vintage toy, his tail really interferes with getting him in a solid standing pose unless you position him just right. It's a little frustrating and is a part of the figure I would have liked to have seen updated.
Rattlor is excellent, probably one of the top 10 Origins figures of the year. I'm really excited to see how the Snake Men turn out, especially since they all have such unique bodies, and Rattlor definitely shows Mattel is down for being faithful to the original toys. That's kind of Origins' schtick, too, vintage faithfulness is expected. I like the extra neck piece, the inclusion of the rattling feature, and the bright, bold colors on this guy. He's a champ and worthy of a Great and a 1/2 rating. Series 11 has been excellent all around and Rattlor might just be the top figure.
This is the first Rattlor figure I've reviewed. For more Masters of the Universe Origins reviews check out the following:
Really? Yeah, if you don't like the Snake Men than that makes sense, but I always thought Rattlor was one of the best. He strikes, he rattles, he has a staff! He's got a lot going on.
ReplyDeleteWell, the more I play with him, the more I dig him. I just wonder why they made the extra neck part in yellow, though. Brick red (like the head and shoulders) would have been a more logical choice, but hey.. However, the earlier, more simple looking ones like Rattlor, Kobra Khan and Tung Lashor are the best of the Snake Men batch, to me. Just ordered Snake Teela (and Snake Armor He-Man, as he was heavily discounted on amazon.fr), she just looks awesome.. I guess I'm back in Origins mode, full on ! Next up on my shopping list are Roton, Hypno, Minicomic Roboto, Kobra Khan, Young Randor, Snake Face, King Hiss (yep, I changed my mind on this one), Snake Trooper, and earlier ones I skipped back then, like Clamp Champ and Buzz Off..
ReplyDeleteMy guess is the yellow is simply to be true to the vintage toy, though there was a more rare variant with a red neck. A neck in both colors would have been pretty neat, allowing you to have two options. Or just a really long, colorful neck.
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