Action Figure Review: Beast Man from Turtles of Grayskull by Mattel

 

   Just this week I got my hands on all four of the series 2 basic Turtles of Grayskull action figures from Mattel, so get ready for some reviews of these meldings of Mutants and Masters! I'm starting things off with Beast Man as he's kind of just a Beast Man variant.  While Mouse-Jaw is a blend of Trap-Jaw with M.O.U.S.E.R. technology, Beast Man is actually just Beast Man wearing some armor given to him by Donatello. I haven't acquired any of the series 1 figures yet, so I haven't read the minicomic, but in the minicomic included with the series 2 figures Beast Man is sent to the TMNT, Man-At-Arms, and Teela to tell them that he has defected from Skeletor (who is now working with Shredder and Krang) and that he knows where He-Man is (who has apparently gone missing). Everyone is suspicious of ol' fur face, but they do give him some armor (with a tracker in it) and he leads them to He-Man. And Skeletor. And Shredder. And the now mutated Evil Warriors. So, yeah, it's a trap. If you're in the market for a samurai Beast Man (you could put him with your 200x samurai variants of He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Skeletor) then you're in luck. Let's check him out after the break...

The Facts:

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, whip, pauldrons, helmet, belt, and minicomic.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars

The Positives:

* Underneath all of his armor, Beast Man is pretty much just the MOTU Origins figure from 2020. His orange fur might have a bit more red in it, but overall it's pretty much identical. Beast Man has jumped a little bit on the aftermarket, so if you missed him the first time around this might meet your needs. His furry red collar is still included here and gives him the key part to have a vintage looking Beast Man.

* The portrait is largely the same as well, with only minor differences (like the orange of his head going down much further on his nose, the yellow of his face arcing up above his eyes, and his blue facial markings being a bit smaller and positioned further back). It's still a pretty good vintage Beast Man head. Since it's been about 3 1/2 years since the standard Origins figure was last released, releasing this guy again doesn't feel too egregious.  

* What really makes him standout is his armor. Since Donatello gives it to him in the minicomic, it does have some turtle inspired flare. Well, mostly just the turtle shell pattern on the pauldrons. The kusazuri and pauldrons are removable, so you can change them up a bit or even put them on a different character. Seriously, make your own 200x Samurai He-Man. The armor is really nicely detailed and has some sharp paint applications, especially on those pauldrons. 

* Beast Man is rocking a kabuto helmet which the package calls his Beast-Shido helmet. That's a very TMNT inspired pun, isn't it? I could imagine seeing that describing the accessory on the back of a vintage TMNT backer card. It's a cool looking helmet with an awesome face mask and a very pronounced maedate (the crest on the forehead). 

* The Turtles of Grayskull figures use Mattel's MOTU Origins designs, so they're aesthetically similar to the vintage MOTU toys but with more modern articulation. While their bulky frames make the articulation a bit clumsy, they do feel like an evolution of the vintage line. They're quite fun to play with and pretty durable, feeling more like a toy than a strict collectible. They're also modular and can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs!

* Check out this cool whip that Beast Man comes with! It's much better than his standard rope whip. It's not poseable or anything but it definitely looks great with the figure and it sure seems much deadlier than his usual weapon. It looks like it's made of linked, bladed chains. Simon Belmont would definitely approve of something like this, don't you think?

* Since Beast Man is wearing armor borrowed from the turtles, his shield resembles a turtle shell. It's a good, solid shield with a useful handle on the back. The paintwork matches his armor, too, so everything blends together nicely.

* The Turtles of Grayskull minicomic is titled "Belly of the Beast (Man)" and it's longer than your average Masters of the Universe Origins comic with 10 pages, not including the covers. I really enjoyed it and I'm kind of eager to read the first part and the upcoming third part. It's a minicomic included with a toy, yeah, but the art is fantastic and the comic reads as well as you'd expect if this were a regular comic team up of the TMNT and MOTU. Honestly, it's a shame there's not a regular series as this seems quite good. 

* Like the vintage toy Beast Man has the little spiked gauntlet on his wrist. It's a fun little detail!

The Negatives:

* Unfortunately, neither the spikes nor Beast Man's wrist cuffs get a paint application. That feels kind of lazy to me. 

* Like the vintage Beast Man figure and the first MOTU Origins Beast Man, this guy has those weird plain feat. No claws, no toes, nothing. It's like he's wearing orange slippers or something, or footie pajamas. I didn't like it when it popped up the first time on Origins Beast Man and it seems like even more of a bummer now. Even giving him some boots would have been preferable. 

* Beast Man's kabuto helmet is really cool looking but it's a bit loose. You really have to get it tucked under his pauldrons if you don't want it to flop around. That's a bummer as it looks like it would be nice and tight. 

* The whip is incredibly cool but it keeps wanting to fall out of Beast Man's hands. It just doesn't seem like it's quite the right size. It might be a bit too large for his grip. 

   Beast Man looks pretty cool in this armor, though there are lots of little clunky elements that detract from the fun. The original Origins figure having those dull, featureless feet and the unpainted bracers and wrist claw are still present and haven't gotten any more acceptable after four years. The armor looks fantastic, as does the whip and shield, but the helmet being a bit loose and the whip not always wanting to stay in Biff Beast Man's hands throws a bit of frustration into the mix. Mattel definitely gave the figure a cool look, but I'm surprised that Beast Man didn't get a more unusual look. Of any of the Evil Warriors who could be monstrous and mutated, or dressed up in punk gear like Bebop and Rocksteady, it seems like Beast Man should have been the likely candidate. He's a Good and a 1/2 figure: Fun but flawed. I really would have liked something different from him as there samurai armor seems like a weird mix for him. Still, it's cool looking armor. He's the least exciting figure from this series; the rest are pretty boss and we'll be getting to them soon.


I've reviewed so many Beast Man toys that he has his own review archive. Check out Beast Manor for all the Beast Man reviews you could want!

For more Turtles of Grayskull reviews check out the following:
Mouse-Jaw