The evil of Hordak!

The new Masterverse Hordak is something special for me. Hordak is one of my favorite MOTU characters and on my top list of ultimate badass things. There's been a few Origins Hordak figures (and I have them), but this one is particularly nice. Like other Masterverse figures, Hordak comes with a plethora of extra parts. His laser cannon arm from the cartoon (with blast effect), alternate hands (including robotic), and the cape, shield, and crossbow his original toy came with. They are stylized to match the more serious look of the Masterverse figure... but it wouldn't be a tribute to him without them. Most Evil Horde members come packing that crossbow and that bat shield just completes Hordak's look. The cape is cloth and extra long giving him that classic evil villain look.

Like other Masterverse figures, Hordak has a ton of articulation. Since this is specifically meant to represent his appearance in the She-Ra cartoon, Hordak has his blue skin instead of the gray skin his orignal (and Origins) toy has. It does look good, but what looks great is the pearlescent quality to his skull like head. I probably appreciated that more than I should, but it looks really great. I've raved before about just how good Masterverse figures look and this is no exception. The Mrs got me Hordak as a Christmas gift as she knows just how much I like him and this is a GREAT higher quality toy of him. I can't find anything bad to say about this toy, it just feels like art.

Tell the Monstroids it's Christmas

The He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special is a very odd cartoon. Two earth children find themselves on Eternia and have an adventure. It's really a series of sub-plots strung together to make a short 40 minute little movie. One of the more interesting adventures is when the Monstroids get involved. In the MOTU toy line, Monstroid is a large robot monster that's part of The Evil Horde. In the grand tradition of Filmation taking liberties with the source material, instead there's a group of transforming robots called The Monstroids. Though they did later on appear as member of the Horde in a later She-Ra episode.

Clearly both a take on the popular transforming robot toys at the time (obviously Transformers, but there was a few other lines as well) and maybe a little dig at the competition (we've got to stop those evil transforming robots) before the Meteorbs were introduced. I've mentioned before how much I love the bat shit crazy nature of the line in general. A random group of transforming robots showing up in a Christmas special only to be thwarted by another group of robots is a prime example of that.

Grizzlor's Scary Face

On Eternia, He-Man and The Heroic Warriors face a living horror show on a regular basis. You've got Skeletor and The Evil Warriors. King Hiss and the Snake Men. Then there's Hordak and The Evil Horde taking Skeletor's gimmick and turning it up to 11. Instead of a skeleton faced wizard, you've got a skull faced demon. Instead of Beastman, you've got Grizzlor. Beastman is basically a jungle wild man who can control animals. Grizzlor is a freaking murderous urban legend that works for Hordak. 

Literally.

In his introductory mini-comic, Grizzlor is the scary story told around the camp fire by The Heroic Warriors, Eternia's version of Cropsey if you will. Like all urban legends, Grizzlor is based on something real. Unfortunately the real thing he's based on is actually the same thing told on Eternian creepypasta and has started working for Hordak. His one weakness is his own reflection. Which scares him away.

Other depictions of Grizzlor tone that down a bit. In UK comics he got a different background, being a raging beast among his normally peaceful people before being noticed by Horde Prime. In cartoons, he's more or less a monster henchman. Grizzlor was to be in the early 2000's cartoon, but it got canceled with The Evil Horde making a brief appearance in a flashback. He's in the Netflix She-Ra cartoon, but honestly I haven't watched it. I'm pretty G1 about MOTU.

I made the comparison between Hordak and Skeletor up above. Somebody behind the scenes clearly got the two mixed up also as Beastman in the Master of the Universe movie is seemingly based on the cartoon version of Grizzlor. Grizzlor's gotten some toys over the years. His original featured a ton of fur that often got pretty gross overtime from kids and their inherit grossness. Like most Evil Horde members, he comes with the skull crossbow.

There's some releases in the Classics line, one's a homage the original figure and another his cartoon appearance. There's a ReAction figure and a Pop. There could be others that I'm unaware of, but the most famous of them all is the black variant of the original figure. In which so many were produced with a black face instead of a brown one. It's pretty gnarly looking, almost makes me wish that was the normal one. 

Rio Blast Loves Shootin Varmits

One of the best and most enduring things about Masters of the Universe is just how freaking weird it is. Eternia is a world full of science and sorcery, lasers and swords, palaces and haunted caves, living Halloween decorations and musclemen. It's truly a hodgepodge of everything I've ever drawn on a spiral notebook. It's no wonder that He-Man has a cyborg cowboy friend. I mean... why not?

And he makes a mean barbecue

Rio Blast is a cyborg cowboy, like I said above. He has various laser guns that fold out of his thighs, quick drawing from his wrists, and a full over the head unit with cannons. Effectively turning him into a walking tank when he transforms. It's a little crazy and maybe a bit overkill, but if I was faced with the walking horror shows that populate Eternia... I'd probably point every single gun I could at them as well.

 

While the designers at Mattel were coming up with various characters, a villain character named Firepower Man was conceptualized. The character found his way to Filmation and became a member of The Evil Horde named Colonel Blast on an episode of She-Ra. By the time the concept reached actual toy though, he was turned into Rio Blast. Somehow.

And we're all a little better for it

That's a weird journey from concept to creation, but part of why these things are so neat. Like... Rio Blast's only cartoon appearance was another guy. Weird huh? Either way, he's a cool toy and a cool character. Everybody loves a good cowboy and what a better way to insert one into Etenria than outright overkill?

The Evil Ass Horde

Despite his often displayed smile, He-Man had it pretty rough. At any moment he'd have to defend Eternia against Skeletor and his walking Halloween decoration army. Fortunately for He-Man they're pretty incompetent. The Evil horde though, not so much. The Halloween decoration comparison is one I usually make when talking about He-Man, and it's a pretty fair description. The satanic panic of the 80's and 90's often used Masters of the Universe as a talking point and it's not hard to see where they're coming from. Skull faced wizards and castles make for common scary stuff. Hordak and his crew turned the spooky shit up to 11.

From out of backward played heavy metal incantations to Eternia, The Evil Horde looked like walking nightmares available for sale at Walmart intended for children to play with. Walking nightmares for sale at Walmart intended for children to play with that live in a haunted cave. If the inspiration for Skeletor came from a prop in a haunted house, Hordak must have been inspired by a college ouija board session that went wrong.

One thing I've always admired about The Evil Horde is the bat symbol. Just this great symbol of unification among the members that not only signifies their allegiance, but looks cool as hell. There's also the gargoyle head crossbow that nearly every member comes with. I certainly appreciate the uniformity the group posses. As much variety each member brings, they all still rock the symbol and pack that crossbow. Even walking nightmares appreciate team solidarity.

By The Power of Poseidon's Fury

If you've ever been to Universal's Islands of Adventure, you've probably found yourself marveling at the gorgeous Poseidon's Fury facade. It's truly a sight to be seen, while opinions of the attraction itself may vary, there's no lack of love for the look of the place. It's awesome. Set in the ruins of a temple where a battle of good and evil takes place over a magic weapon... does that sound familiar?