Freddy Krueger (Savage World)

When I was a kid, Freddy Krueger was the most badass thing at the school lunch table. I still recall a kid named Jeremy correcting me that his name was actually "Freddy Cougar" because of his iconic clawed glove. As an adult... Freddy hasn't aged very well. The movies are still fun, but pretty cheesy and definitely a relic of their time. Most of the 80's slasher movies were hair metal flavored, but none quite so much as A Nightmare on Elm Street. It's only appropriate that Funko gave him (and the other 80's slashers) the 'He-Man' treatment in their cool Savage World toy line. Savage World (or Primal Age for DC comics characters) was essentially five point five figures in the vein of Masters of the Universe or other similar type figures of the various licensed properties Funko has.

The designers got a little creative with Freddy. Taking his dream demon powers into account, he has a bit of a different appearance than you'd expect. His brown leather fedora is replaced with a leather hood, while his green and red stripped sweater is a raggedy sash. Combined with his pants and boots and Freddy looks like some weird Dungeons and Dragons villain. It's pretty creative and I love the imaginative design. Not to be outdone with his outfit, Freddy's trademark clawed glove gets the treatment as well. Not much of a reinvention, but more of a stylish re-imagining. Now it's a big gauntlet with some LARGE uneven claws. It's surprising just how well this works. Freddy really came out great in Savage World and blends right in with Skeletor's Evil Warriors. I should point out that I've gotten this far without calling him Fred Savage.

Phony Baloney

Faker is another MOTU character I wasn't concenred with as a kid. He was just this oddball evil blue He-Man clone that wasn't given much focus. Not to mention, he pretty much flew under the radar. Honestly, I don't remember ever seeing his toy at the store. As an adult toy collector, I'm aware he was just case filler and the most blatant repaint in the line. Also as an adult, I fully recognize just how awesome he actually is. 

Depending on the fiction Faker is a robot either created by science or magic. I like the magic origins because it makes him seem like some weird Eternian Golem. This new toy follows the Origins model perfectly in that it's literally a blue He-Man with red hair and an orange Skeletor outfit. Of course there's the requisite sticker of all his circuitry. How else would you know he's a robot? He has the 'vintage' He-Man head that comes with some figures on the standard He-Man Origins body. There's a ton of articulation included with that. Of course he's sporting his orange take on Skeletor's outfit with a fake orange version of the Power Sword. There's a Powercon Exclusive version of Fake with a slightly different deco and Dupli-Cat. Dupli-Cat is his evil robot clone of Battle Cat. The pun based names never end... thankfully. It's hard not to like Faker, he's a Halloween colored evil robot clone of He-Man that relishes in it's ridiculousness. In the included mini-comic of this wave, it's shown that Skeletor has an army of Faker clones. There's not one fiber of my being that doesn't love that.

Masters Of Their Own Dang Universe

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a new cartoon and toy line aimed more at kids unlike Origins and Revelations. That gives it the freedom to be different. I've generally always been pretty G1 with He-Man, but this one has my interest. Taking a more sci fi route, they're practically reinventing the series for a new generation of kids who practically don't know the gang. Going by the trailer, I'm assuming the new versions of the crew are a group of kids or younger people. They'll find themselves discovering Castle Greyskull and all the various magical stuff that makes up Eternia. It's a little weird seeing Man at Arms the same age as Prince Adam... but the whole thing has a general Megaman/Big Hero 6 vibe that's hard to not like. For me anyway.

The toys so far seem to match the show models pretty well. They're the standard 5" you expect from a He-Man style figure with some beefy, more animated styled sculpting. There's also some fancier 8" figures that look pretty neat. Not to mention vehicles and playsets. The visual styling is a pretty big departure from what you'd expect, though I'm making 'The New Adventures of He-Man' comparisons thanks to the more sci fi look. I plan on getting a few, but would go hole hog on Eternia Minis of them if they happened. You know, I'd love a game. A 3D platformer on my Switch.

So far the reception to the trailer and early toy looks has been pretty positive in the MOTU groups I'm in. Which was surprising, I'd figure the opposite. But no, most seem to be pretty welcoming towards it. The only negativity I've really seen is the generic nerds who generally overvalue their own opinion. I think with the healthy amount of new and old themed MOTU product available, most folks are ok with something different. They literally can just ignore it if they choose. Me though, I'm digging it. It's a pretty fun departure from a well established formula. I'm ok trying something new out. If it's not for me, then no biggie.

Something Stinks On Eternia

Super strength, lasers beams from eyes, and flying are probably what comes to mind when somebody about super powers. What if I told you there is a villain who's power is smelling horribly?

Stinkor is a member of the Evil Warriors who's basically a giant skunk. His secret power? The funk. If you had his toy, you know he stank. That skunk stunk. 

I always thought he smelled kinda good, which was because the odor was achieved by infusing patchouli oil into the plastic. You know that stuff people buy scented with to make their house smell good? According to toy lore, the first batches contained the right amount to make him outright stink while later waves it was lessened after complaints from parents. I got mine a little later, so if that's true, it makes sense.

Fictionally the bad smell is an attack that renders paralyzed. Which is a pretty good idea all things considered. I mean, you've got a guy whose a walking bio weapon. It only makes sense that he himself would stink. Initially he was just one of Skeletor's minions who was a smelly skunk person. Later he's been portrayed as developing the power after a chemical accident.

One of the reasons I've not been as fond of newer MOTU incarnations is the updated fiction feels a little too much like fan fiction. This newer back story is ok though, not too shabby. I do like the original mini comics introduction better as he's just some guy who stinks. The simplicity of the original MOTU is something special. Here's Stinkor. He just is.

The toy is recycled from other molds. Merman's body, Mekaneck's armor, and one of the shield's that came with Castle Grayskull. It's crazy how some different colors and some stinky plastic can go a long way. 

His Heroic Warriors counterpart was Mossman, a green flocked Beastman mold with a pine scent. I guess evil stinks while good doesn't. 

Stinkor to this day is one of my favorites from Masters of the Universe. Aside from the odor gimmick, I genuinely like the way he looks. The skunk with orange armor is sharp. He may be remembered for stinking, but his toy sure didn't. Well, it did... but you know what I mean.

 

I have the Championship!!

One of the toy lines for 2020 that I'm super excited for is Masters of the WWE Universe. Mattel is doing a lot with He-Man in 2020 with the Origins toy line due in fall as well as other fun stuff like more Mega Construx toys (love) and the upcoming Netflix series. Mattel also makes the WWE action figures that are pretty popular among wrestling figure collectors.

Somebody had the idea to mash He-Man and WWE together in a fun toy line exclusive to Walmart. That somebody is a genius. I hardly watch WWE anymore, they lost me somewhere awhile back. I keep casually informed as to whats going on, but I'm more into other wrestling companies. That however doesn't keep me from loving this. Fortunately a good deal of the figures are older wrestling stars that I'd be more likely to buy like Sting or The Ultimate Warrior.

The toys seem to be using Origins bodies and weapons, so they'll match right along with those figures. It's kind of funny. Back in the day, companies like Remco would use their MOTU 'inspired' toy molds to make wrestling figures. Battle Tribes homages this with their figures. Now Mattel is even in on the act.

It's silly, but it's fun. The Grayskull Mania set is proof of that. Five point five customizers have been using wrestling figures for year, because duh. I'm really looking forward to where they go with these. Specially after some of the Savage World/Primal Age customs I've seen. It's just neat, you know?

Transform Squadron 10 Apex Unit

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Rob talks Godzilla, Microman, Five Points Festival, Rangerstop and Transformers keshi in this June 2019 edition of the show.