One of the cool things about the Masters of the Universe Classics line is that, now that it is in full swing, we are actually able to get figures of characters that have NEVER had toys before. Don’t get me wrong, the old Skeletor crew, Great Rebellion, Horde, ect. are still my primary favorites, but characters like He-Ro and The Goddess who have existed in comic or concept for decades are finally finding their way to plastic, and that is very cool. I love revisiting the old favorites but getting something new is always exciting. So, when the evil Count Marzo was announced at the New York Toy Fair this past winter, I was very pleased at the aspect of adding him to my shelf.
See, he originated in the old Filmation cartoon as thief and a magician whose plots often centered around children. I will let you interpret that as you will but another cool aspect about his was that he was actually used as a primary villain for Mekanek. That’s right, Mekanek – the Rodney Dangerfield of all of the Masters, the guy with the extendo-neck that just can’t get any respect. So giving him a villain was a great way of helping to cement him as valuable member of the Master’s team.
So, when the 200x cartoon came calling, some of these attributes were carried over, most notably the Mekanek connection. However, this new Marzo (of whom this figure is based) became much more of a powerful magical badass (a level 5 wizard to be exact) who helped Evil-Lyn almost free Hordak from Despondos, but, without his precious amulet, was just left as a feeble old man. Further developing his character, his new bio tells us that he was raised in the Dunes of Doom and was responsible for the banishment He-Grandpappy, King Miro. No wonder people have been really excited for this figure! Points to Matty for making his one of the more impressive bios to date.
He has all of this neat back story and I can tell you that he is also a great figure. From construction and engineering (I have no loose joints), to his paint – he is very well executed. His all-new cape and loincloth are cast in soft plastic so they are very flexible and his all-important amulet is made of a clear red plastic so light can shine through and when he is holding it you can actually see his hand (new sculpt) through it. I know that is subtle, but the devil is in the details like that so I tip my hat to the design team for for the little things. His loincloth also has a place to store his sword (I will get to that in a minute) as well as the amulet (on his back) and I love it when a figure can carry all of it’s allotted accessories. Really, there is a lot to like about this figure.
But, despite all of these things that make him a great action figure, I am not ready to say that he feels 100% like a Masters of the Universe Classics figure. Confused? Yeah, I don’t blame you. Yes, he is made up of standard MOTUC parts like his torso, arms and legs, but with all of his new parts, he doesn’t quite fit the very recognizable MOTUC aesthetic. At least not to me. With his hair (ah! windswept!), head, sword and even the aforementioned loincloth and cape, the Four Horsemen did a stellar job of capturing his look from the 200x cartoon. The thing is, the translation is almost too literal. See, with figures like Optikk, Zodak, She-Ra and Keldor – those that have been adapted from lines outside of the vintage MOTU line, they were designed to really fit in with the over look of MOTUC established early on by the updated vintage figures. Marzo here has been brought pretty much straight over from the source material so, to me, it leaves him feeling a little out of place.
MOTUC is very detailed action figure line, but the detailing is done in a long established, and VERY recognizable fashion. Count Marzo’s face, hair and sword are very detailed but they don’t quite fit the feel of MOTUC, at least not to me. The rounded and exaggerated details are substituted for the more lined detailings. Look at the pictures and draw your own conclusions on this, your opinion is sure to vary, at least a little bit. These aesthetic differences though aren’t strong enough for him to look completely out of place (and having him on the shelf a little longer will probably help to make him feel more at home) but I hope that when they get to characters like the highly rumored Chief Carnivus, they bring that great MOTUC feel to the figure while still respecting the overall original design.
Like I said though, Count Marzo is great figure and I have zero nitpicks about how the figure turned out on it’s own merits and I really do like him, I am just pointing out a few things that make him feel a little different to me. He is a great character and I am very happy to add him to the shelf, and having him in hand makes me want a Mekanek and it REALLY makes me want a King Miro figure.
July will be a busy MOTUC month with SDCC so if you have a Club Eternia member, be glad that the Count here will ship to you automatically. If you are not a member, you will have to try your luck on Matty day in July. I think a lot of fans will be happy to add the long-beloved character to their shelves and even with my feeling about him “fitting in” he is a great figure and if anything, he looks like a total badass you would not want to mess with. I can hear his Rasputin-esque accent already!
*Thanks again to Toy Guru and Matty for sending this 5th Level Wizard along, we can’t wait for the next wizard… a little guy named Orko!
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