The hits keep rollin’ this week thanks to Matty and Toy Guru. We have seen Man-at-Arms and the Earth-3 set so far, now we have a look at a Masters of the Universe Classics figure that will be available for the first time at Comic Con 2009 – the Preternian hero, He-Ro!
The original Masters of the Universe toy line was a billion dollar enterprise for Mattel back in the 1980s. Toys, cartoons, books, and just about anything else that had room to carry the logo was made into MOTU fare and the dance lasted for the better part of a decade. However, by 1987 even this goliath started to slow its roll- the cartoon was off the air, the live action movie was not a huge success and even sales of the toy line started to dwindle.
During the final days of the decline Mattel was preparing to pitch a new spin on the MOTU line – an offshoot to be known as “The Powers of Grayskull” with figures and vehicles/animals that inhabited Eternia before the time of He-Man. A time that is often been affectionately referred to as PREternia by the Masters faithful (a name that I believe was actually conceived by Mattel). While none of the figures ever made it out to the stores, pages from the Mattel catalogue showed pictures of prototypes for figures of brand new characters- most notably Eldor (an old, sage-like character) and He-Ro, a heroic wizard character. A point of high interest for Masters fans for over two decades, Mattel has finally given us a figure of He-Ro, the first character in the Masters of the Universe Classics line that has NEVER had an action figure. It feels like we are playing a part in a bit of history here, this is the first new Masters character from the 80s to get a figure since 1987 (or since 1992 if you are a rare faithful of the New Adventures of He-Man line). It’s kind of a big deal.
So, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. A couple of things that I want to hit quickly though-
- As you can tell, this is the Matty Collector version of He-Ro, NOT the SDCC version (that will have the SDCC logo tampo print on the chest under the armor).
- His staff is actually a VERY cool accessory. I was worried that it might not want to stay closed around the Spell Stone (green here, but red and purple are also variant options so be on the lookout). I am glad to say that the four arms snap up nice and tight and will stay closed until you want them to open.
- Ro here has a lot of new tooling, especially for a mostly exclusive figure. His cape, gauntlets, boots, short shorts and armor are completely new (not to mention his head and staff) so this is a fantastic figure that breaks from the heavy re-use of the line.
- All of the new parts are wonderfully detailed (duh, Horsemen) and while we know He-Ro is from the past, there is a bit a of a technological air about him, something that helps to further the theme of barbarian and high tech, a cool combination on Eternia.
- The Sword of He (still not 100% convinced on that name) is a neat variance on one of the few reused parts of this figure. I like the color of translucent blue that they used, and- sparkle-sparkle!
- Finally, I know a lot of people have been a little suspicious of some of the biographies that accompanied many of the figures we have gotten so far. That is somewhat unfair as we do not have the whole story yet (but perception is reality after all). However, this is actually one of the bios that I really LIKE and I think they do a great job spinning Ro into the Masters lore through his connection with the ancient King Grayskull. Very fitting, especially considering his apparently heroic death (I for one would love to hear how it happened). So points to Mattel for a good biography.
That is about all I can say for now. This is a very fun figure and it is really neat to get a character in plastic that has been on the fringe of this rich lore for 20 years. Good stuff. Enjoy the pictures and I am sure you will remember to pick him up at the Mattel booth if you are going to Comic Con, or you can try your luck at www.mattycollector.com on August 3rd.
Again, thanks Matty and Toy Guru! We still have more to bring you this week so, ahem, stay tuned…
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