Thursday, May 25, 2023

Action Figure Review: Hypno from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 


   It's been quite a bit since I last reviewed a new Masters of the Universe figure, hasn't it? There's been a lot of new and cool stuff released lately and while I'd love to review it all, to do so would be too overwhelming. Currently I'm focusing my reviewing efforts on figures of new characters or characters who haven't appeared in toy form that often. Today I'm checking out Hypno, one of the Sun-Man and the Rulers of the Sun crew. Hypno isn't just new to Masters of the Universe Origins but he's actually new to Sun-Man. Well, at least in figure form. In the 1980s he only existed as a prototype, so Mattel making him is probably a pretty big deal to the hardcore Sun-Man fans out there. Hypno is a Psychic Hypnotist with lots of powerful gear to supplement his mesmerizing voice. He's one of the good guys and adds some magical power to the Heroic Warriors. Ready to check Hypno out? Then join me after the break...






The Facts:

Height: 5 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a double balljointed head.

Accessories: Armor, wand, helmet, falcon, and minicomic. 

Non-Scalper Price: $18-$20 dollars







Comparison:

* The Sun-Man figures not only share the He-Man base body with most other Origins figures but they share boots and bracers a lot of the time, too. In fact, Hypno (left) shares a headsculpt with Bolt-Man. I'm not sure if this was really planned for the vintage line or not (I think Hypno looks different from Bolt-Man in the prototype image).

The Positives:


* Like most of the Sun-Man characters (and most of the early MOTU characters), Hypno uses the standard base body, sharing his trunks, bracers, and boots. Hypno's gear has an orange and yellow color scheme to it and his removable armor looks more like a wrapped garment of some sort. I'm not sure if it's supposed to mimic anything, but to me it looks like one long cloth strip wrapped around his torso to make a vest like garment. 

* Hypno does use the headsculpt from Bolt-Man, but being molded with a different skin tone and having some subtle paint applications changed, like the shapes of his eyebrows, definitely makes for a still somewhat unique looking portrait. It might take more than a passing glance, especially when his helmet is on, to notice that this is reused. It's not a bad headsculpt at all either way, and definitely seems fitting for the character. 

* Hypno is built 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 (or Sun-Man) 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! 




* Hypno's helmet of hypnosis feels to me like it has an Egyptian vibe about it. It's a sleek helmet with some wing-like designs on the side. When you pop it on his head he really does look pretty different from Bolt-Man, so it's a pretty key part of his look. 



* Hypno also comes with a really cool silver Falcon companion that nicely fits on his arm. It's different from the falcons from MOTUC and DC Universe Classics, so maybe someday we'll see this Falcon repainted in the colors of Zoar and Screech for Origins? The vintage prototype image of Hypno also had this falcon, so Mattel definitely did their homework here.



* The craziest accessory that Hypno comes with is this massive lollipop! How many other MOTU figures have come with food? The MOTUC Wun-Dar came with a loaf of bread and the Filmation inspired MOTUC Randor came with a goblet...wait, you mean this isn't food? No, actually it's the Wand of Mesmerization. Turn the back and it spins like a Hypnosis Wheel. It's definitely very silly but also kind of unique, too. It's a gimmicky accessory that feels like it belongs in a MOTU inspired line, so I'm all for it.



* Hypno comes with the minicomic from this series, "Assassin's Aim!" It's a story of Hypno and Roboto trying to stop the Snake Men from assassinating Skeletor, who currently thinks he's their new ally and leader. It's not a full sized minicomic (it's only six pages) but it's we drawn and pretty fun. Plus, the eyes on hypnotized Skeletor and Mer-Man look absolutely bonkers.









The Negatives:



* My only negative with Hypno, besides the fact that he looks a bit goofy, is that his helmet just doesn't want to stay on very well. It's far too loose and just can't get a good grip on his hair. 
   Hypno might be a bit silly, but so many of the MOTU characters and the "plays together with" lines are too. It's just part of the fun of the line and I'm not going to dock the figure at all for staying faithful to the vintage Olmec Toys prototype. I don't think I've ever been clamoring for Sun-Man in MOTU but it has turned out to be a really good fit and it's making another interesting faction to compete. He's really a pretty Great figure with some fun, if bizarre accessories. The falcon is really cool and the Wand of Mesmerization is just utterly out there, but I dig it. 




This is the first figure of Hypno I've reviewed. For more Masters of the Universe Origins reviews check out the following:


6 comments:

  1. To me it always looked like the promo image of Hypno had half of his face painted white, or a lighter color. Might just be the lighting though.

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    1. I took a look at all of the prototype images I could find and I see what you mean, though I do believe it's the lighting in the picture. Perhaps the reflection on Hypno's face from the chrome Falcon.

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  2. Yeah, I can't think of any other shared human headsculpts. There's Mer-Man/ Stinkor and Beast Man/ Moss Man, but that's it. It is weird but looking at some more picture, I believe it's completely accurate to the vintage prototype. Olmec was a much smaller company, obviously, so it makes sense that they would have had to do some mold sharing to keep things affordable.

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  3. Yeah, I do see your point as Olmec was created to make figures of people of color that weren't just white headsculpts painted to be a different race or ethnicity. If for some reason Hypno came to Masterverse, I'd definitely expect a new portrait. For the Origins Hypno, though, I kind of feel like the idea is to be somewhat faithful to the vintage toys and prototypes, flaws and all. Especially for Rulers of the Sun as those figures are so rare and many of them were never even produced. I'd be curious as to how some serious collectors of Sun-Man feel about the release of this never made figure?

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  4. MekaneckfrenchiefrogJune 15, 2023 at 10:43 AM

    Gee, I *nearly* bought this one, not realising it's only a repaint of Bolt Man (probably because of the helmet..). Had I known this, I wouldn't have bought Bolt Man, because I like Hypno slightly better (I like the colors better, and I'm a sucker for Egyptian-themed figures..). In fact I think I start overdosing on that whole repaint/re-used parts thing, and that's probably why I haven't bought a single Origins figure since I got Bolt Man and Rattlor back in february. I still want the Roton vehicle and Tung Lashor though, so who knows ?

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    1. Roton is a very cool toy and Tung Lashor is one of the nicest figures out there in this line. Lots of unique parts on him, too. He feels pretty unique.

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