Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Action Figure Review: Shadow Weaver from Masterverse: Princess of Power by Mattel

 

   Who is ready for a Mastervers review? Today I'm checking out Shadow Weaver from the Princess of Power subset of Masterverse. When Shadow Weaver finally received her first action figure back in Masters of the Universe Classics it was such a big deal, and, while she's received quite a few figures since then, it's still pretty cool to see her in the line and at mainstream retail. She's actually part of series 8, which I reviewed most of earlier in the year, but it just took me longer to get my hands on her. Let's take a look at the Horde's Evil Mistress of Dark Magic after the break... 





The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Balljointed lower "legs," balljointed upper "legs," balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: 4 interchangeable hands, wand, robe, scarf, flame effect, and hover stand.

Non-Scalper Price: $23 dollars

The Positives:


* There's nothing really redesigned about this version of Shadow Weaver: She's a great, classic looking version of the character based on her Filmation appearance but with more detail in her robe. She's really impressive looking with a great dark fuschia colored robe made with a mixture of her sculpted body, a soft vinyl lower robe, and a cloth upper robe. There's even some nice shading on the figure to really add some depth to her and it all comes together perfectly. This might be the best looking figure of Beatrix yet.




* I like the headsculpt, too. It's excellent, very mysterious while still looking to have some facia features to give Shadow Weaver some character. Her eyes are gold here, and the color gives them a really nice shine. 






* Here's a look at her cloth robe. It's nicely cut and feels like it's made of a decent quality fabric that won't fray over time. There are sleeves that fit over Shadow Weaver's arms, so just pop her hands off and slide her arms through.

* From her mid-torso up Shadow Weaver is as well articulated as most other Masterverse figures with wrists, elbows, biceps, and shoulders giving her a great range of motion for various menacing spell-casting poses. From the waist down you'd probably expect her to be a salt and pepper shaker figure, but Matte actually gave her two balljoints in her robed "legs" which allow her to move a bit. It's kind of clever and helps pose her, especially when using the included stand. 



* The "flight" stand pops into a socket under Shadow Weaver's robe and allows her to hover off the ground. There's a hinge joint on the stand, too, so the articulation in her lower body can be used to make her hover more dramatically, as if she's floating in a particular direction. It really adds to her shelf presence. 



* Shadow Weaver comes with a pair of swappable hands that change out easily. You've got some standard gripping hands and a pair of hands in menacing, spellcasting gestures





* Shadow Weaver's wand is pretty accurate to the Filmation cartoon. It has a silver shaft with a few little decorative lines on it and a translucent green orb on the top. 




* Another cool extra is this flaming ball of energy, perhaps intended to be a spell of some sort. It looks like it's designed to fit over one of Shadow Weaver's hands but you can kind of rest it on the head of the staff, too. 
   This is a really nice version of Shadow Weaver, maybe the nicest of the three between Mattel's MOTUC version and Super7's animated version. The articulation is better, the headsculpt is improved, and the cloth robe really adds a nice little extra something to the figure. Shadow Weaver continues to be a popular character and I'm thrilled that she is in the Princess of Power subset of Masterverse. I don't know how far Mattel is going to go with Mastervers but I'm still loving it. Let's get Castaspella next so she can have a magical duel with Shadow Weaver. This is a Great and a 1/2 figure and a must buy from this line. 


For more of the dastardly Shadow Weaver check out my review of the ReAction Shadow Weaver, the Slime Green M.U.S.C.L.E. Shadow Weaver, Super7's neo-vintage Shadow Weaver, Super7's Filmation inspired Shadow Weaver, and the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power She-Ra versus Shadow Weaver set.

For more Masterverse reviews check out the following:
She-Ra
Sun-Man: Rulers of the Sun
Pig-Head






















4 comments:

  1. I don't know why, but Shadow Weaver is my favorite MOTU figure. So cool. I need to find one of these.

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    Replies
    1. She's really well done and quite unique in the line, so she definitely stand out.

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  2. Yeah, Mattel definitely went above and beyond on Shadow Weaver. The leg articulation is a pretty good idea and works really nicely with the stand.

    Leech seems to get skipped pretty often so I hope he gets included, too. Him, Double Trouble, and Entrapta would be very welcome additions.

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  3. Those would both be great. Masterverse seems to be rolling right along so it would be nice to see them focus on completing some factions. Hopefully the release of MOTU: Revolutions will give the line another spark and an opportunity for more cartoon based and classic/ New Eternia figures.

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