Hordak [Turtles of Grayskull]

While Skeletor pouted over He-Man, Hordak plotted from afar, using his new minion Shredder, to infiltrate Snake Mountain. When the time is right, Hordak will strike, and all of Eternia will be his!

Being one of the big baddies of Masters of the Universe, it's not to any surprise that Hordak has made an appearance in Turtles of Grayskull. Being that it's Hordak, there's a twist! He's been secretly working with The Shredder under Skeletor's nose for an eventual swerve! Well... where a nose would be... Anyway Hordak makes an awesome appearance. I've made my affection for the Slime Pit known in the past, so it's to no surprising how excited I am to see TMNT worked into it. Hordak now runs the Ooze Pit dealing with Mutagen! He even has a Mutagen sprayer equipped to spew the potentially toxic stuff whenever the mood strikes! However, the leader of The Evil Horde mutated himself a little too. Those trademark bat Evil Horde symbols now extend to a pair of articulated bat wings sprouting from his back! Hordak is now the embodiment of that symbol! Like all Origins figures there's plenty of articulation that works well here. This is another solid figure in this awesome line... hey... now it makes sense as to why The Shredder came with that Horde style crossbow!

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.

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.

A little Green with Evil

When I initially started talking about Micro Action Figures here, I intended to do group posts on various series. A Transformers post, a Masters of the Universe post, etc, ... and I totally failed to do that. So in attempt to talk about these cool little figures I like quite a bit, instead I'm just gonna talk about one at a time. Just to keep it simple. Today, we're going to talk about Slime Pit He-Man.

Slime Pit He-Man is a basic repaint of the already released He-Man figure. However, it's a pretty interesting one. Obliviously He-Man is representing himself recently slimed via Slime Pit (it's in the name) and is now a mindless zombie under Hordak's control. To emphasize his slime coated physique, He-Man is cast in translucent green plastic. I don't know why being covered in mind controlling evil sludge would turn you translucent... but it looks awesome. Meanwhile He-Man's clothing and axe are opaque. The mixture of can see through and can't see through looks fantastic.

The pictures probably don't convey that this figure is TINY. At just around an inch tall, He-man had movable arms and waist with an axe that can be held. The original use of this mold had more accessories, but I guess inflation affected that as the cost is still around the same. They still come with a stand. I really like these little toys, but finding them can be a pain. Thankfully, the Mrs found me this one. Slime Pit He-Man is from the newest series of Master of the Universe micro figures and represents a deeper dive into the series than the expected characters. I do hope to find more as I like these little guys quite a bit. There's even a micro Castle Grayskull now. Slime Pit He-Man is a great example of a well done repaint. Just changing some simple colors turns something completely recognizable to something really novel.

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.

Fright Fighter, Come Fight It If You Dare

I'm not sure what Skeletor's intentions with the Fright Fighter are. Either he's going to fight by frightening you, or going to fight something frightening. I'm assuming it was one of the days where he didn't take a survey on what to call the newest Evil Warriors vehicle. Or did. Webstor probably spammed the ballot box. 

Either way, it's a giant dragon fly. 

The Fright Fighter is pretty on brand. The dragon fly plane this has big flapping wings, pinching pincers (in case they want to kidnap Snout Spout), and various lasers for shooting Heroic Warriors from the sky. It's a pretty good looking vehicle as well. A purple and black plane that looks just enough like a dragon fly without being over the top. Which is where the winner takes it all. Apparently in some comic stories, the Fright Fighter is an Evil Horde vehicle. Which makes sense. They could park it behind the Fright Zone and debate if they're fighting frights or fighting with frights.

Mosquitor And His Juicy Belly

Nothing combines both the elements of spooky and summer quite like Mosquitor. A member of the evil Horde who will drink your blood, and a giant mosquito as well. Mattel even put a window in his chest so you can see the blood collect. Just pump the button on his back and see blood slosh about. 

The blood gimmick was used before on Mattel's Gre-Gory. A big vampire bat who of course would suck your blood. Gre-Gory was a little more viscous with his bloody chest though. Not just a tank being pumped full of blood, nope, straight up internal organs. Clearly somebody at Mattel is into blood and guts. You know my joke about He-Man fighting a bunch of living Halloween decorations? Yeah.

Die böse Horde

Damn He-Man, you scary. Well... maybe not He-Man himself, but his day to day life is. In this commercial, He-Man frees himself from the Fright Zone's monster tree. That's how it starts, already in a nightmare scenario. Then he finds himself in the dark and spooky back yard of the Fright Zone confronted by members of The Evil Horde. He-Man is starting to look like a He-Victim.

Thanks to the production standards, this feels more like the commercial for a late night horror movie on local TV than a line of children's toys. That's certainly part of the fun when it comes to Masters of the Universe. Wizards and warriors mixed with science fiction on a nightmarish landscape full of demons and living Halloween decorations. Sometimes you have to just look back at it all and wonder how in the hell did that happen.

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. 

Eternia's Tower Of Power

There was a lot of members of the Heroic Warriors, each pretty unique in their own right. You had flying dudes, dudes with big fists, dudes with guns, and then you had Extendar. Extendar was a cyborg knight who had the ability to extend himself (get it) into a giant when things got tough. 

Fictionally he was a friend of Prince Adam's who was just a regular knight. Wishing he had special powers (I mean, apparently EVERYONE else has them), Hordak promises him them and does follow through. Giving him the power to transform into his new Tower of Power mode. 

Also Hordak turns him into his mindless slave because bad guys generally do that sort of thing. He-Man helps him break free of Hordak's spell and Extendar now has the super powers he craved. Also now his name made sense after all this time. Before that was just his name. Because Eternia.

There was also another origin story featured in UK comics in which Extendar and Dragstor of The Evil Horde were originally friends. A kidnapping by Hordak turned them into their super powered cyborg selves. Extendar was able to break free of Hordak's mind control, but Dragstor wasn't. Extendar went on trying to free his friend of Hordak's control as an ongoing plot. 

As a toy, Extendar is a more complex than the standard MOTU figure. He's thicker knight with basic standard articulation except for his waist and head. A really sharp looking figure too, pearlescent white with copper accents and a big red shield. To transform him, you literally just extend out his parts. It's in his name.

Knees, elbows, waist, and neck extend to form the Tower of Power. The extensions are sculpted with circuitry detail and a peace symbol on his neck. Because Eternia. The shield also unfolds into a larger shield as now he's a much bigger target. There's a MOTU Classics update in which the extensions are snap together parts instead of the extending gimmick. Also included is a lance that really fits in with the whole knight theme and I wish was included with the original toy.

I hope Mattel fits him into the newer toys. He was always this great figure that stood apart from the others. I don't want to say because he was a giant... but that was why. However, he transformed into the giant, making him even more unique. If he was a knight that didn't transform he'd still be pretty great. Wonder what his name would be then? Earl?

The Evil Horde Is Even More Evil In Germany

Hey Rob, it's been a while since you've said anything about the walking Halloween decorations that He-Man has to fight. You know what reader? You're right! Let's clear that up with this particularly spooky German commercial for new Evil Horde figures. When I say haunted house, I mean it. He-Man is walking in the some creepy woods and the new members jump out and scare him. Haunted House ass stuff right here.

Dragstor, who's basically a walking car engine with a tire in his chest pulls up. Multi-Bot, the robot companion to Modulok, swaps heads. But the award for most effective jump scare goes to the Horde Trooper. Horde Troopers are Hordak's robot foot soldiers and probably the most common source of disposable cannon fodder. The toy's gimmick was exploding to simulate the many deaths of Horde Troopers in battle.

Ever been in a haunted house? It's usually decorated somewhat scarily and various workers jump out to scare you in costume. The bigger the budget, the better the costumes and decorations, so it's not just the cashier from Subway with a white face and some fake blood. A big budget one transports you to this imagined world and that's really a scary monster jumping out and scaring you. Unfortunately they all say stupid lines regardless of the budget. This commercial is a big budget haunted house, in Dragstor you've got the guy who slides up and scares folks in the parking lot. In Multi-Bot you've got a variation of the headless freak. But in The Horde Trooper, you've got the walking pile of gore.

The funny thing is, Horde Trooper variations isn't the only type of foot soldier employed by The Evil Horde. There's wraiths, giant insects, and skeletons riding scary horses. Hordak's headquarters is a haunted cave. His entire army is a bunch of monsters and demons. That's in addition to Skeletor's gang and I've not even touched upon the Snake Men yet. There's got to be a support group on Eternia for citizens who have jump scare induced health issues. The entire planet is one giant Walgreen's Halloween section with He-Man and The Heroic Warriors usually wearing brown pants. You know, if it happens, maybe it'll blend in.

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.

The Scary Ass Fright Zone

Earlier today I was playing with my new Master of the Universe Mega Construx figures and found myself thinking about what old stuff I'd like to see in the line. Which lead me straight to thinking about the awesome Fright Zone. The most somebody glued together some Halloween decorations He-Man bag guy spooky shit ever. It's every haunted cave you've ever seen and sold to small children. He-Man and his crew was the target of a lot of the Satanic Panic of the 80's and they kinda had a point.

Regardless, it was a cool play set with all sorts of scary stuff included. You had the before spoken haunted cave with a gnarly prison. A scary ass tree that would grab you without consent. But the most horrifying and diabolical feature... the puppet monster that'd eat the shit out of you. Thirty something years later and it just now occurs to me that the prison is a red herring. Yeah He-Man, just try to rescue Buzz-Off as seen in the above picture. Boom, monster eats your whole ass.

I don't know if you took notice in the commercial way at the beginning in my typical way of using old commercials to set the scene for a post, but the monster did not ever actually say The Fright Zone. Neither did the tree or Hordak even. It was just some guy yelling off screen. I cannot just explain how much a classmate of mine didn't believe me when I told him the monster doesn't actually say 'THE FRIGHT ZONE'. In hindsight, maybe his did.

The Power To Go On Tour

As an avid subscriber of Masters of the Universe magazine, I don't have to tell you I was sold instantly on the Power Tour. Though being in the third grade... I didn't get to make these types of decisions on my own. BBBBuuuuttttttttt the thing is pretty much all over the internet and I could watch it if I want to. Looking back, it might have been a good idea not to go as holy crap did Skeletor have his own haunted house at the show or something? I've made my joke about He-Man's villains being a bunch of Halloween decorations before, but holy shit ALL of the villains look straight our of a Spirit Halloween clearance sale. I'd like to point out that each time I typed Power Tour while writing this, I accidentally typed Pour Tour. Because Orko looked drunk.

The Slime Pit

Slime is great. It's like a giant booger that you willingly buy and when used by Hordak a torture device that creates mindless zombies! I buy a lot of slime. Little dollar cans here and there in weird colors. For my wife, even more. Random types in random varieties with all sorts of stuff mixed in them. We have a slime loving household and we're damn well proud to call it home. This weekend while she looked at expensive slime (there's a boutique market) online I pondered about making a new version of the classic Slime Pit for my newer Master of the Universe mini figures.

It couldn't be too hard I recon (famous last words) and something I'd love to have. Though I want to make a smallish castle for my fantasy figures to display on. An included Slime Pit would be perfect and probably make for something great. Dang, now I have to find the appropriate Halloween decorations to craft this from.