Action Figure Review: He-Man from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Mattel

 

   

   My review marathon of Mattel's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe line based on the Netflix series of the same name continues with a look at the standard He-Man from the 5.5 inch line. Yes, Mattel has divided this line up into two scales, 5.5 inch and 8.5 inch, which always seems like a strange move to me. With a toyline based on a cartoon on Netflix that is largely untested with today's kids, is there really a need for multiple scales? I really think the idea behind this is that having different scales creates more SKUs for store shelves but that's at the expense of a more robust toyline. Still, despite my complaints there it does seem that Mattel has lots more figures in store if the line is successful. I've already talked quite a bit about the new He-Man design in my review of the He-Man and Ground Ripper set so for this one we'll just jump right in and look at the basic He-man for this line. Let's check him out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Battle Armor He-Man from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Mattel

 

   Mattel's new He-Man and the Universe line based on the Netflix series of the same name has two scales of action figures: The 5.5 inch traditional line and the 8 1/2 inch oversized line. The 5.5 inch line looks to include more characters in the near future while the 8.5 inch line is similar to other oversized, budget lines that often are called "Shampoo Bottle" figures due to their resemblance to the character shaped shampoo bottles of the 1980s. The first series of 8.5 inch figures includes He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, and a Battle Armor He-Man variant. That Battle Armor He-Man variant is the one I'm checking out today as he was the first of the larger figures I found. Battle Armor He-Man works his way into nearly every Masters of the Universe line in some fashion and this one has a very unique look. He definitely seems like a design reminiscent of the 200x era variants, doesn't he? I'm only 5 episodes into the show and so far I haven't seen this version of He-Man pop up. It's likely just a variant made for the toyline. Let's check out this larger version of Battle Armor He-Man after the break...

Action Figure Barbecue: Skeletor and Painthor from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Mattel

 

   About two weeks ago I reviewed my first figure from Mattel's new toyline, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, based on the CG animated Netflix series of the same name. I'm about 5 episodes into the show (I didn't binge it like I did with Revelation) and so far I'm enjoying it. It's a very different take on the Masters of the Universe story but I'm enjoying it along with the characters and character design. Of course, you're here to read my take on the toys so let's start what is going to be a fairly length review series of most of the figures released as part of the first series of the line. I've already reviewed the "figure and motorcycle" set of He-Man and Ground Ripper so let's take a look at the evil counterpart, Skeletor and Panthor. Yes, Panthor. Rather than being a purple cat similar to Battle Cat/ Cringer (who is awesome in the show) the toyline's take on Panthor is that he is a purple, feline styled motorcycle. Oh boy. At this point I don't have any idea if this shows up in the actual show (I haven't seen any evidence of that yet) or if this is just a Mattel creation for the toyline. Skeletor on a motorcycle, huh? Let's see how that worked out after the break...

"Update: So it turns out that the multilingual packaging lists this set as Skeletor and Painthor/ Panthor. I initially thought that this was clearly referring to the cycle as Panthor but it seems that the English name is Painthor, a play on Panthor. So, the bike is officially the Painthor. I was wrong."

Action Figure Review: The Clown from Spawn by McFarlane Toys

 

   So far I've picked up two of McFarlane's new Spawn figures so far and today I'm looking at the second of my acquisitions: The Clown! I reviewed the original figure of The Clown from 1994 years ago I had that figure as a kid and, apparently since I have some nostalgia for Spawn, I ended up grabbing this guy with some GameStop rewards points a Couple weeks ago. The Clown is a creepy looking guy and while I've just started reading the Spawn Compendium vol 1 I'm at least familiar with the character from some of the comics that came with the original toys and his appearance in the movie. This version of the Clown is absolutely loaded for battle with a massive backpack outfitted with enough firearms to overthrow a small country. I imagine he's inspired by 1996's Clown II from Spawn Series 4. Ready for another creepy, murderous clown to ruin your night? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Mandarin Spawn Deluxe from Spawn by McFarlane Toys

 

   I've been kind of getting back into Spawn lately and most of the blame falls on the Reel Brad Bell from The Epic Review. Every time we talk on the phone Brad has been going on and on about Spawn. Spawn this and Spawn that. After him going on and on about Spawn I finally picked up the first volume of the Spawn Compendium and have been making my way through it. It's an enjoyable trip back to the 1990s when Spawn was new and cutting edge stuff and McFarlane Toys was a trailblazer in the action figure industry. While I never focused on collecting Spawn I do have quite a few action figures from the line as it was just too cool and impossible to ignore. I'm going to be reviewing the two figures I've purchased so far from McFarlane's revival of the Spawn line over the next couple days and I'm starting with the GameStop exclusive Mandarin Spawn Deluxe. Picking up this figure is something I can't blame on Brad, though. I purchased the original Mandarin Spawn back in 1999 and loved the heck out of that guy. I still have him, too. Mandarin Spawn was retooled, re-released, and repainted many times over the years but he originally appeared in Spawn: The Dark Ages, the 14th series of Spawn figures released in late 1999. He was one of the most impressive action figures ever at that time and I still keep him on my shelf on display. I received this guy back in September for my birthday but due to all of the 31 Days of Toy Terror reviews I've been working on it has taken me some time to check him out. Let's look at the deluxe release of Chenglei, better known as the Scarlet Edge or Mandarin Spawn, after the break...

Collectible Review: Teela Staff from Masters of the Universe by Factory Entertainment

 

   

   Skeletor's Sword and Teela's Staff of Ka are the two newest releases from Factory Entertainment's Masters of the Universe Scaled Prop Replica line and since I just reviewed Skeletor's Sword (awkwardly called "Skeletor Sword" on the packaging) it's time to check out Teela's Staff of Ka (awkward called "Teela Staff" on the packaging). So, what exactly is Teela's Staff of Ka? It's the snake themed staff that came with the vintage Teela figure. The vintage Teela figure was originally intended to be two separate figures (the warrior Teela and the pre-Sorceress character the Goddess) but was combined into one, thus the reason Teela came with a bunch of snake themed items. In Masters of the Universe Classics Teela's staff was given the name the Staff of Ka and tied in with the Snake Men. It makes sense and adds a bit more mystery and magic to the item. Considering is and has always been an A-List MOTU character it's fitting that one of her accessories gets covered in this line of miniature prop replicas. Let's take a look at Teela's Staff of Ka and see if it's a worthwhile addition to this line...

Collectible Review: Skeletor Sword from Masters of the Universe by Factory Entertainment

 

   

   Wait! Isn't 31 Days of Toy Terror: Skeletober over now?

  Well, yeah, it is. That doesn't mean you're not still going to get a ton of Skeletor reviews even during non-Halloween months! Skeletor seems to get merchandised even more than He-Man. Today I'm going to start a miniseries of reviews of the newest series of Masters of the Universe scaled prop replicas from Factory Entertainment and I'm kicking off things with a look at the Skeletor Sword scaled prop replica. This sword is the same as He-Man's Power Sword from last year but now given a brilliant purple finish, similar to the Skeletor's half of the Power Sword from the vintage Masters of the Universe toyline. In most MOTU incarnations since the early minicomics Skeletor's sword is nothing special and the Power Sword is a standalone weapon but a purple Power Sword still endures in MOTU toys and collectibles. Need an evil counterpart for your Power Sword? Prefer the bad guys to the good guys? Then we have the right piece for you! Join me after the break...