Skeletor [Mighty Masters]

Skeletor is a lot of things. Originally an evil demon before his origin was later rewritten into him being the former Keldor, who had been transformed into Skeletor, a skull-faced man. I've made countless jokes before about He-Man fighting an army of Halloween decorations, but the thing with Skeletor is... he was actually inspired by a haunted house prop.

Mark Davis has said that when he was designing Skeletor, he took inspiration from a neon-painted skeleton that scared the crap out of him as a kid in the Laugh in the Dark haunted house. Turns out, that skeleton was a little scarier than anyone knew. The same prop was later discovered not to be a dummy, but an actual corpse that had somehow found its way there. This was discovered when an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man was being filmed and the crew accidentally broke its arm off. Turns out, it was the body of Elmer McCurdy, a Wild West bandit whose corpse became a sideshow attraction that eventually found its way into that haunted house. Skeletor doesn’t just look spooky, he’s tied to a legitimately spooky true story.

This Mighty Masters figure of him is great and, just like the others, is a nice little replica of his original toy. He has the same swinging waist gimmick He-Man has and comes with his trademark Havok Staff to swing around while using it. It’s an extremely likable mini figure of Skeletor and... you know what? I always liked his demon origin better. You didn’t ask, and that was abrupt, but thug life.

I’ve always been a fan of Skeletor’s armor. Faker uses it in orange colors, and it looks fabulous. This is a great little figure to keep you company at your desk or even carry around in a cargo pocket. Just the right size and neatness.

Unfortunately, it’s also the last of the Mighty Masters for the time being. I really hope Mattel continues making these and that there are future series with more Heroic and Evil Warriors. I’ve heard talk of 3D prints of Castle Grayskull out there that are in scale with this... and honestly, that’s awesome.

Skeletor (Alcala Face) [Masters of the Universe]

I’ve been looking forward to this new “kids core” size class in Masters of the Universe—which, interestingly enough, is just labeled as standard MOTU without any extra branding like Origins or Masterverse.

These figures are slightly smaller than Origins. They’re still around 5.5 inches tall, but physically less bulky. It’s hard to describe exactly—they just feel closer to a more typical action figure in terms of mass. A big part of that comes down to the price. At $9.99, Skeletor is a welcome break from the higher costs of Origins and Masterverse/Chronicles figures. Despite the lower price, he’s not lacking. You still get around 14 points of articulation. There are fewer paint applications, but honestly, I didn’t really notice. He’s a good-looking figure—but we’ll get to that in a bit.

As for accessories, Skeletor comes with just his Havoc Staff. That might be the standard going forward at this scale. His armor is removable, and he includes a soft goods cape, which may be taking the place of extra accessories. There’s also likely some shared mold use here to keep costs down, similar to how the original MOTU line operated. Skeletor has the classic “bad guy” hands and feet, while the rest of the body appears to use more standard parts.

From what I’ve seen so far, a lot of this line is focused on movie versions of the characters, but this particular Skeletor pulls from classic MOTU. Specifically, this is a Walmart exclusive featuring a head sculpt inspired by the artwork of Alfred Alcala from the original mini-comics.

I’ve always preferred that earlier, more demonic take on Skeletor over the later Keldor-based version, so this really hits for me. He’s done in his traditional colors, but this exclusive version adds gold-painted accents and a gold skull. The packaging follows suit with a black-and-gold presentation, which looks really sharp.

For what is essentially a budget figure, this is a very nice release. The cape is pretty basic—doesn’t bother me at all, but I can see it being a sticking point for some. Mileage may vary there.

Overall, my first experience with this new MOTU format is a positive one. I’ll still be picking up Origins and Masterverse/Chronicles figures, but I can definitely see this line—and Mighty Masters—becoming my main focus going forward. The price is right, and the toys are fun. Not to mention… they feel just right for a Wednesday post here on the Base.

I’d end this by saying something like “they have the power”… but seriously.

By the Power of Grayskull!

Beast Man [Turtles of Grayskull]

Beast Man did not trust the alien outsiders. Rather than become Krang's next mutated experiment, Beast Man escaped to strike a bargain with He-Man. What he found instead left him shell-shocked.

Beast Man is one of the classic MOTU characters that no series feels complete without. So of course he makes a showing in Turtles of Grayskull, but a rather unique one. Beast Man, who isn't feeling like the Foot Clan and their Mutagen are the best idea, isn't mutated like the other Evil Warriors. However, Beast Man has taken up the ways of the Samurai as his cool new armor would imply. This figure is a straight forward reprint of the Origins Beast Man toy with the additional armor and weapon.

Every toy line has cost saving figures and this is one of them. Fortunately the Origins Beast Man is an all around solid toy and the new stuff included makes for a nice cherry on the top. Replacing his trademark bullwhip whip is a cool new razor chain whip. Clearly taming the animals under his control inst Beast Man's focal point at the moment. The Samurai armor fits neatly over the figure, though I found the helmet to be a little loose. Not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer a slightly better fit. Beast Man is also carrying a turtle shell shield which keeps him matching the other figures (Teela comes with a similar one) and the theme. I did notice some official stock photos displaying a different shield instead of the one that comes included. I don't know if that was a running change or a variant. Fans in MOTU groups haven't pointed it out to my knowledge, so it may be the former. This is a fun figure of a classic character. He has a more simple approach to the theme and that's ok, because it still works. The gold armor contrasts nicely with his oranges and reds. Frankly, I think the whole looks suits him really well.

Meteorbs- Watch the Battle Unfold!

Masters of the Universe Meteorbs, 1987

The Sliming Skull

I've spoken before about my love for The Slime Pit. Simply put, one of the coolest play sets ever made. At first glance, it just looks like a stone wall with a dragon's skull on top. Is it some sort of altar for magic rituals? However, you might find yourself lead there, a captive of The Evil horde! Hordak commands Modulok and Leech to put you in the device as a skeletal claw holds you tight. The skull tips forward as slime pours down coating every inch of your body. Your mind is no longer your own as you become a Slime Pit Zombie!

Mega Construx has finally gotten around to releasing a Slime Pit set for their brand of mini figures I so enjoy. It took awhile to get one, so imagine my surprise to find it in the pile of gifts from my wife Christmas morning. The Slime Pit is a Skeletor skull style set, normally restricted to recreating the accessories from classic MOTU. As the original play set was pretty small... it works pretty well. Included is enough blocks to recreate the Slime Pit within the inside of the color matching skull (including simulated slime!) and a translucent green He-Man as it's victim.

The included He-Man figure is along the same idea as the the Micro Action Figure I talked about last week. However, as a Mega Contrux mini figure, it's a much nicer toy. Heavily articulated and larger... it's kinda amazing just how nice these mini figures are. I've honestly have always been a little amazed by that. He-Man has his Power Sword here which can be stored on his armor. This armor originally gave him a force field... that doesn't seem to have helped. It's a really cool figure that's just a simple color swap... but effective. The set itself is pretty simple, but extremely awesome overall. It's hard not to like slime, yet alone a mind controlled slime zombie. The idea kinda sells itself.

Jungle Warrior Man

When it comes to He-Man, we've all pretty much know what to expect. However, it wasn't always that way and was a more grim affair initially. He-Man himself was a barbarian from a jungle tribe off on adventure to fight evil when he ran across the Sorceress who gave him weapons to fight Skeletor (said evil). If you've ever wondered about the mix of mid-evil fantasy and sci fi in Masters of the universe, the original setting had Eternia left as sort of a wasteland and all the high tech stuff was leftovers from the previous more advanced society. He-Man's power weapons were some of these leftovers.

The Power Sword originally wasn't really that much of a big deal. It was literally half a sword. The full Power Sword had been split in half as it is the key to Castle Grayskull. Skeletor has the other half and really wants control of the magical castle. The armor provides He-Man with a protective force field. There's another identical set of armor that makes him stronger. I have no clue how he tells them apart. He-Man mainly used his battle axe, and shield as he was a barbarian. You know like that guy he totally isn't supposed to be. In the first mini comic appearance, He-Man has a knife stowed away in his boot. If you get his Micro Action figure, it comes with that little knife. Neat huh?

Just sitting here, thinking about Spikor

A couple of months ago, my mom called me. She was at Walmart picking up a few things. They had some MOTU toys and she asked me if I wanted Moss-Man or Spikor. "Spikor!" I said with excitement, I wasn't aware he was available. "But he's stupid looking?", she said. Clearly, Mom didn't appreciate the glory that is Spikor. Speaking of glorious, ever have a Kinder Bueno with a cup of coffee? Absolutely wonderful.

Spikor is a member of the Evil Warriors that as you can see, is covered in spikes (not sure if the name gave that away). He may look like a porcupine, but that's actually his armor. In newer fiction it was revealed that the armor is magically bonded to his body making him a walking wall of spikes. He may look silly, but you try punching that. Spikor also has that trident for a hand. It's obviously handy (lol) in combat and depending on who's writing, can shoot lasers. When used in tandem with his mace, Spikor's a pretty big threat. Fortunately in the cartoon, he's an idiot.

Of course all the Evil Warriors are idiots in the old cartoon. A running theory is that the producers of the show dumbed down things to make them not as scary for small children. I've talked about how He-Man and his gang were often in the cross-hairs of the Satanic Panic groups. It's not hard to see looking back where they were coming from, MOTU is pretty line crossing at times. Spikor is essentially a walking Iron Maiden that works for a skeleton faced demon. That's a little harsh for a 6 year old.

Outside of the cartoons, Spikor is portrayed as a master of combat and a blacksmith. In fact he created the Terror Claws for Skeletor. Part of me finds that really interesting. Ultimately Spikor is a background character that just pops up every now and again, but he still has a use other than just another soldier. That's neat. Spikor may be one of the more under the radar characters in Masters of the Universe, but sometimes, those are the more interesting ones.

Weekly Halloween: The Haunting of Grayskull

 

Castle Grayskull is a spooky place. It's a big, old,and decrepit castle with a freaking skull for a front door. Inside is all sorts of magic and sorcery. Hard to believe this is the good guys place, but it is... well unless Skeletor takes over and becomes Master of the Universe. While there's all sorts of scary things within, one particular ghost serves a purpose. The Spirit of Grayskull is the voice of the castle itself. He serves to guide those within on matters like the power sword and becoming King of the Castle. 

Originally the spirit was depicted as a cloud like skull face and was a more involved  fictionally in the early days, but did stick around. He appears in the original Filmation cartoon as a disembodied head. Later in Classics, it was established to be the ghostly form of King Grayskull himself. Personally I prefer those earlier depictions. Eternia and all it's citizens were more raw and that floating skull coming out of a skull shaped haunted castle was just perfect.

Summoning Monstroid

 

Not too long ago I talked about the Monstroids here. It was always odd that there was a groups of 'evil transforming robots' in the cartoons, but in the toy line Monstroid was an individual robot monster who worked with the Evil Horde. If you've never seen him, Monstroid is a really large toy that looks like a crab. The top half spins around chaotically which make the body rock around. Said rocking makes Monstroid walk around on his long legs in whatever direction gravity takes him. Stick a figures arms or legs in those claws and watch them be flung around like rag dolls. It's pure insanity and maybe a broken lamp if the figure flies loose from the evil grip of MONSTROID.

The big guy didn't get much fiction time aside from random art appearances. However he did show up in a comic story in which The Evil Horde summons him from Sea of Rakash. Under Hordak's magic spell, Monstroid attacks He-Man and Skeletor. Orko and Extendar save the two and Multi-Bot is eaten in the process. It's nice that such a chaotic toy is just as out of control in his fictional debut. I like that without a doubt, Monstroid is a monster. He's aligned with The Evil Horde, but that's basically thanks to a spell. In any other situation, there's just a giant robot-crab thing that's going to kill everything in it's path. I also like the fact that a living robotic creature that lives in the sea without any explanation and we're just supposed to go with it. Pure chaos on every front.

Land Shark

 

Somewhere within Skeletor's forces of Evil Warriors they got something right. Someone created the Land Shark. In a world terrorized by living Halloween decorations, somebody made a shark tank. A shark tank with a giant mouth that opened and closed. In the original cartoon the Land Shark was seemingly alive. A primitive robotic shark creature that lived to ride around and eat what it couldn't shoot. Or eat what it did shoot. Basically a death machine.

Outside of the cartoon, the Land Shark was just a vehicle that Skeletor used often in the mini comics. In Revelation, the Evil Warriors had a fleet of them, which was just great. Despite being totally ridiculous, it's also completely bad ass. If I described it to you, you'd probably laugh. However, if you saw it coming after you, you'd run in terror. Such is the weird world of Masters of the Universe. It's absurd, but in the most awesome way.

There's a new Origins toy I must get. I do have an original and the Hot Wheels mini. Something about a little die cast version of this horror show is impossible to ignore. I love the colors too. The purples and dark blue contrast nicely on the awesome look of it all. Something about a robotic shark tank being driven by a buff living skeleton is just so hard to express fully how awesome it is. I'm just in awe of it all.

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.

Fish Lips

This past weekend the Mrs. picked up the Lords of Power version of Merman up for me. I've been trying to find these guys (damned elusive Beastman) and was very thankful for her efforts. If you didn't already know, Lords of Power was the original name for Masters of the Universe during it's development. These LOP versions are based on the mock-ups for the developing line. MOTU Origins is a very neat line like that, G1 He-Man stuff to the weirdest detail. However in the Masterverse line, they're doing the Barbarian He-Man. I honestly don't know what extent Mattel has in mind with all this. Either way it's super fun.

The most noticeable difference between this and the standard Merman is his head. The sculpt is more detailed and closer to his depiction in the original paintings. That old concept figure was mostly modeling clay meant to sell an idea. Details like the fishy bits stood out more as they were basically glued onto the base toy. Aside from that, Merman is the standard Origins figure with all the bells and whistles you'd expect. As an adult, I really appreciate the weirdness of classic MOTU. Merman is a good example of that.

Shut your Trap

The new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toys have finally started showing up at my local stores and I was happy to see them. I loved the show and couldn't wait to get a few of the figures. Honestly this new He-Man renaissance is pretty great. There's so much new stuff available that it's a MOTU fans dream come true. It's been super fun in the MOTU groups talking the various different toys. I grabbed Trap Jaw this past weekend happily. He's my first figure from this new line and what a cool toy he is. These new figures serve as a core class for MOTU at $10 each and more basic articulation. It's not much of a concession as they look great and even have gimmicks. 

Trap Jaw is a departure from his classic look, while still looking familiar. He's a nice mix of cyberpunk and fantasy with that robot arm and goblin boots and stitched tights. The helmet is a play off the original design while being more scary. There's even a throw back to his classic zip line loop. Trap Jaws gimmick is that energy projectile can be shot. It's not on a spring, instead if you twist him at the arms and waist, he'll bend around as if putting some effort into the attract. Let go and the toy swings around flinging the blast out towards the Masters. Pretty neat.

Notice I said Masters? That's because in this new series there's no more Heroic and Evil Warriors. Instead we have the Masters fighting the Dark Masters. You can guess which side Trap Jaw is on. It's a reinvention of a classic story that still manages to homage the original. Obviously intended for smaller kids, but so far us adults seem to really like it. I've even been seeing adult fans praise it over Revelation. I'm sure that's pretty surprising to Mattel who you can bet are paying attention. I'm usually very G1 about MOTU, but am happily enjoying this new series a lot. 

He has CLAWS and he's AWFUL

Sometimes I'll completely miss something obvious. It took me forever to realize the pun in Clawful's name. You see, he's a bad guy, so he's awful. Also has claws. Admittedly it's because he came out when I was a kid and completely oblivious to such things. Regardless, despite being such a silly idea, Clawful is a pretty great toy. 

As a member of the Evil Warriors, Clawful is a crab/human hybrid. You'd think he'd be more aquatic based, but nope. He's just walking around anywhere. Ready to pinch Fisto's ass and hit him with that shell cracker. Considering the majority of clothing on Eternia, it makes sense as to why he's so threatening. 

Depending on the fiction, Clawful is either a serious threat or an idiot. Sometimes Skeletor's right hand monster and other times not trusted. I'm pretty sure they wanted to eat him. The right claw alone could feed Snake Mountain for days!

Beastly Sled of War

It's been far too long since I've talked about Eternia Minis. This set is Beastman with the War Sled, which is part of the Revelation series. Like Fisto, Beastman is available carded but has some deco differences here. It's small, but just enough to make it different. Also like his case mate, Beastman doesn't come with his whip weapon. It's too bad as he'll have both hands on the handlebars. Let's get down to the star of the show here. 

THE WAR SLED IS AWESOME. Normally the War Sled is a slight variation of the Sky Sled used by the Evil Warriors. A little different looking but really it's the same thing. Not anymore! Now a cobra headed, bat winged air scooter of doom! Cast in a glittery purple with awesome green highlight and look at the decals! Holy shit this is a damn fine vehicle for villainy. It's just so freaking cool looking! I'd be super happy with multiple releases of this thing in different colors. Just look at that thing!

I'd Buy Those Masters For A Dollar

I'd been looking for these Micro Collection MOTU figures for what felt like an eternity. Fortunately on a random swing by the Dollar Tree, the wife saw picked them up for me. In the grand tradition of producing discount versions of mainline toys for dollar chains, Mattel released these figures at stores like the Dollar Tree and 99 Cent store. They're mini figures of some of the base characters in action poses. You know I love them. 

Each figure is on a rocky base with the MOTU logo proudly displayed. You could easily display them with a Castle Grayskull and they'd blend in... of course the castle may look huge in comparison, but shouldn't it? They're a soft plastic with pretty good sculpting and decent paint. For a dollar each they look pretty good. My favorite is Orko, who came out perfect. Man At Arms unfortunately is the worst. His sculpt is ok, but there's just something off about him. He's not terrible, just could have used a little extra work overall.

I'm super happy to have these and hope there's another series. Even if it's just repaints, I'd be down. I love little oddball things like this. For the price they're hard to beat and fun to collect. I could see if there's ever a time that I slowed down on my toy collecting, things like this would likely be my outlet for toys. I'd be happy with mini figures and keshi. Especially when the quality is as good as it is here. This is a great little set of figures for a total of $5. They totally have the power. I'm not apologizing for that, you saw what you saw.

The New, New, Newer Adventures Of He-Man

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuted on Netflix this past weekend and boy was it a fun time. It's funny that I spent extra time with The New Adventures of He-Man this summer, because it's really hard not to draw comparisons between this new show and that old one. On top of the classic He-Man formula is sci-fi and anime influences with a healthy dose of comedy. The show is a mix of action, adventure, laughs, and even feels. It's pretty damn good. 

It's not the same old He-Man either, a complete reboot. I'm surprised I like it as much as I do, because I'm very G1 with my MOTU. It's just the way I prefer it, but man, they did a great job. He-Man is the leader of the Masters of the Universe on Eternos. Once again he's Prince Adam given super powers with the power sword and Castle Grayskull. He shares this power with his friends giving them super powered forms as well creating a team to fight Skeletor who's mastered the forces of Havok and created his own Dark Masters. It's a new twist on some familiar faces that's a lot better than I expected it to be.

Stratos Of The Bird People And The Wings Of Doom

I've talked before about various MOTU guys I initially didn't pay much attention to and Stratos is right there with them. There were so many different characters and toys in the original series it was super easy to do so. It didn't help that some of the earlier ones like Stratos seemingly got buried under other toys when they were new. I don't remember ever seeing him at the store. Zodac and Tri-Klops always seemed to sit at drug and grocery stores, but the bird guy? Nope. It's not that he isn't cool, he is. There's something inherently great about a monkey/bird guy with a jet pack. 

Fictionally, Stratos is the leader of the Bird People. Which is a race on Eternia that is exactly what it sounds like. Stratos reminds me a little of the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. Which is probably intentional as he was originally planned to be a Evil Warrior member. You can spot him in Skeletor's crew in the first mini comic and early promotional material. Like Moss Man he uses the Beastman mold with a different head and flight gear/wings. Originally anyway, there's some new sculpts in other toys while I'm sure they reuse what they can in others. 

Some of those early mini comics had Stratos in flesh colors instead of gray. I'm sure that's a holdover from conceptual artwork and thankfully it eventually got corrected. Despite He-Man's attire, something about Stratos was pretty unsettling. Maybe it was all the body hair. Despite initially not being to concerned with him, these day's I'm pretty fond. I'm currently trying to track down his Eternia Mini figure which has turned out to be quite elusive. Guess I'm not the only weird money/bird guy fan,

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.