Well, well, well, Beast Man has moved into management.
That’s right, the reporting structure at Snake Mountain just got turned on its ear, and for the first time ever, there is a lackey (named Klacky) that isn’t answerable directly to old Bone Face himself. So, for all his badass looks, if Goat Man has a problem with his time card, he has to go to Beast Man. If he has a creative suggestion on how to take down the Heroic Warriors, he has go through Beast Man (who will probably just steal it) before it can go Skeletor. Can you imagine the break room in Snake Mountain? Mer-Man and Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw standing around complaining about what pompous manager Skeletor can be, and poor, lowly Goat Man has to hang his head in shame because he knows that he has to report directly to Skeletor’s most notoriously abused lackey. These are the managerial misadventures that you can now play out with your Masters of the Universe Classics figures because Goat Man is finally here.
Mildly amusing Dark Hemisphere office politics aside, can you really believe that we are getting a Goat Man figure? In terms of potential recognition, he has to be one of the most esoteric characters (that was established prior to Classics) that we have gotten in an already deep line. That is the beauty of this line, though (and Masters in general), because we are getting the chance to “go deep,” and those D-list characters are often times the most visually interesting. Oh, and I mean “D-list” in the most loving way; it is certainly my favorite echelon of characters.
Goat Man is this year’s “traveling convention” figure, so he will be at all of the shows that Mattel attends this year, with the exception of SDCC, and he is also going up for sale in very limited quantities this spring on Matty Collector, and then again at the end of the year. I am not sure if Mattel has confirmed any shows 100 percent yet, but I would bet that New York Comic Con would be one of them. So Mattel is really carving out a bit of a pattern with this figure slot because Goat Man is following Strobo (last year’s traveling figure) in a lot of ways. They are both pretty obscure print media characters, but longtime fan favorites. Again, I am so very glad that this line can afford us this type of character, and if Mattel continues on with the convention slot in the future, I would be very pleased if the figures always fit that criteria. There are plenty of cool characters out there that do, so hopefully Mattel plans on attending cons for the foreseeable future.
Now, I am positive that it did not take you long to determine just why this guy is named Goat Man, right? That being said, even though his name might not elicit instant fear, his looks certainly do. Not since Castle Grayskullman have we gotten a character that is so “metal,” and he most certainly adds some additional bad-assedness to the ranks of Snake Mountain. I mean, he could be a Classicized William Blake subject (or Tim from Monty Python…) and could just as easily fit a name like “Satan Man,” but that probably doesn’t play well for a toy. Regardless, there are a lot of qualities about this figure that make him quite scary, and it is going to be a blast having him march against those poor Palace Guards. They will have the dubious distinction be being forever referred to as “goat fodder.”
It all starts with his head sculpt. Accompanying his giant iron horns are deep-set black and red eyes and some gnashing yellow teeth, along with the red visage of his head (or mask) that makes him quite devilish and very imposing. His head might be a touch on the small side, but the horns help balance it all out with rest of his standard Classics body. His design takes a less demonic turn as you move below his neck and realize that he could really be any old Eternian chap if not for the mean mug. His body armor matches his red head, and the black straps almost look like forged iron built around it. The armor is much like Blade’s as it is pretty wide, so I hope we can use this as another example of how the armor tabs need to be moved to the BACK, instead of the side.
Klacky here also has black bands around his thighs that match those on his chest armor. I am not sure what purpose they would serve, but this is He-Man, so just go with it. That does add a couple of new parts to the MOTU part library, but I am not really sure where they would be used in the future, but the Horsemen are the creative brains that get to make those decisions. Past that, Goat Man is the standard MOTU male body with some new bracers to add a bit of detail. Maybe these could be used on a more tech character in the future, but at any rate, it is good to see something past the “arm fins” or standard metal bracers. All of the paint is solid and his construction/joints are of good quality.
Goat Man does come with two accessories: his giant poundin’ hammer and the comic version of the Staff of Avion. The hammer is unique and has a bit of a “200x” vibe to me. It has some nice paint details and the head is proportioned so that even Thor himself would be jealous of its pummeling power. The staff is also very unique in terms of looks. It is cast in a source-accurate translucent green, which is cool, but the overall design makes it a bit of an eyesore. That is not the fault of Mattel or the 4H; I just think it is one of those “love it or hate it” kind of things. As it stands, it is unique enough that I want to display it, but I will probably make it an evil weapon as I prefer the Filmation Staff of Avion for Stratos. The good part about this one is that it actually has a handle, so Stratos can actually hold it with no help, which is really a plus. Wow, two Staffs of Avion in one year. Whoda thunk it?
Hey! Goat Man! Did you really think we were ever going to get him? Well, if you are going to NYCC this year, you will have your chance to add him to your collection. Don’t worry though, these traveling figures have not really been too difficult to come by, so make a friend who is going to the show, or hold out for the end of the year on Matty. He makes a cool addition to your Evil Warriors, and Beast Man can finally use his “Eternia’s Best Boss” coffee mug!
*Thanks to Toy Guru and team for sending Goat Man for a First Look Stay tuned, we still have more to come!
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