Moss Man is my favorite Masters of the Universe character and I was pretty devastated when my preorder for the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Savage Eternia Moss Man was cancelled earlier this year. It seems like the figure was produced in very limited numbers and has dramatically surged in price. As a consolation prize, I did find the Masters of the Universe Origins Moss Man at a local Walmart quite quickly after he began showing up in stores. The Origins version of Moss Man is a Walmart exclusive and a deluxe release that comes packaged in a really nice window box. Oddly enough, though, he's bizarrely expensive. I've always found Mattel to be really fairly and competitively priced with Origins but Moss Man's $40 price point is quite bizarre. The Walmart exclusive flocked version of Panthor was also more expensive back in 2021 ($15 more than the standard Panthor), so maybe flocking has gotten really pricey since the 1980s? I love Moss Man so much, though, that I had to go ahead and snag him. How is he? I like the figure quite a bit but is he deluxe enough to justify a $20-$22 price increase? Let's find out after the break...
Height: 5 3/4ths inches
Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, calf swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a double balljointed head.
Accessories: Collar, 2 shoulder pads, mace, flail, 2 swappable portraits, 2 swappable left hands, and a minicomic.
Non-Scalper Price: $40 dollars
* I'm so excited that Mattel is putting out a book of the packaging art from this line and Masterverse because the work they're doing here is gorgeous. Yeah, it's packaging art, but it really is art and not just something whipped up to make the package stand out. It's beautiful and follows the grand tradition of MOTU art. There's lots of cool stuff on the cover besides just Moss Man; we've also got Gigantisaur, Turbodactyl, the Eternia towers, and some new character with a spear and a tiger-like head.
* On the back is a gorgeous image of Moss Man all geared up and running across some new Snake Men in the jungle.
The Positives:
* As a figure, Moss Man is exactly what we expected: The basic Beast Man body molded in green and flocked. He's nice and bright and the flocking looks really good with hints of brown in it. I love how bright he is! He's a simple figure whom I'm surprised we didn't see much earlier in the line, but he's so darn effective that you can't help but just love how he turned out.
* Mattel didn't simply reuse Beast Man's basic head for Moss Man here, though. Instead, he has a new portrait with some similar features, but the mouths and eyes are clearly different. His beard and hair are all flocked here, too.
* Is Moss Man flocked all over his body? Yup.
Does Moss Man have a refreshing pine scent? Yup.
Is this exactly what I wanted from a Moss Man action figure? Yup.
* Moss Man comes with an alternate portrait reflecting the vintage toy's relation to the Beast Man figure, but it's a little different. Instead of the classic Beast Man portrait he instead comes with the Lords of Power Beast Man portrait. It makes him definitely look more intimidating and brutish, though I certainly don't prefer it over the classic Moss Man head.
* He does come with Beast Man's armor, though, this time molded in yellow like the vintage 1985 Weapons Pak.
* Beast Man's arm bands are also included and fit around Moss Man's biceps just fine. No issues with flocking rubbing off or anything.
* The MOTU Origins figures are built like the vintage toys but with 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 MOTUC figure. They're quite fun to play with and they feel very sturdy. They're also modular and can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs!
* Moss Man comes with the same mace as Clawful, though now it's a more wood-like brown color.
* He also includes Pig Head's flail, now also molded in brown plastic.
* You have a choice between two left hands if you want Moss Man to have a vintage inspired open hand or the ability to hold two weapons.
* He comes with a very cool minicomic, too. I love that artwork on the cover. The story is nifty and the art is great inside, too.
If Moss Man were just a standard figure or even a deluxe release, he'd be one of the best. At $40 bucks, though, he's a bit steep. He comes accessorized as well as a deluxe figure or most of the Mattel Creations exclusives, but he's still about $15-$20 dollars more. Maybe it's the flocking and the scent, though I don't see that being realistically worth that much. Still, he is a very excellent but overpriced figure. Ultimately, gets a Great from me. He's get top marks but that price is a bit hard to swallow, even coming in a beautiful window box.
Does Moss Man have a refreshing pine scent? Yup.
Is this exactly what I wanted from a Moss Man action figure? Yup.
Moss Man is one of my favorites and along with the vintage Moss Man I've also reviewed the 200x Moss Man, the Masterverse Revelation Moss Man, the M.U.S.C.L.E. Moss Man, a stick of Eternia Pine Deodorant, the MOTUC Moss Man, the Dorbz Moss Man and Beast Man 2-pack, the POP! Moss Man #568, the POP! + Pez Moss Man dispenser, the Vinyl SODA Moss Man, the Pint Size Heroes Moss Man, the Monogram International Moss Man bag clip, the Masters of the Universe Minis Battle Armor Skeletor and Moss Man 2-pack, and the Mega Construx flocked Moss Man that came with the Battle Bones set and the standard Moss Man.
Always a favorite. I gotta find this guy.
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing him pretty consistently at Walmart, so hopefully you'll stumble upon him soon.
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