“We have the Power, so can you!” Those are not just the catchy lyrics to the theme of The Secret of the Sword, the first five episodes of the Princess of Power series that make up the theatrically-released animated Masters of the Universe movie. No indeed, that is also the philosophy for Mattel’s MOTU Classics fan vote, where fans attending Mattel convention panels often get to have a voice in deciding the fate of certain Classics items. It started off modestly with the flocking choice for the Panthor figure, it got a bit bigger when we got to decide the deco of Swiftwind, until finally, at SDCC 2013, fans chose Huntara over Lord Masque for a slot in the actual Club Eternia Subscription. Not to let the left coast get all of the fun, Matty brought a New Adventures vote to the New York Comic Con later that year and we are finally seeing the results of that decision with the release of the Galactic Protector, MARA OF PRIMUS, into the line. She had to fend off some tough competition, but I am happy to say that females are now two for two in convention voting.
A great thing about Mara is that she represents a bit of a double, and perhaps even TRIPLE minority in this line. First of all, she is female, and the women are outnumbered in the MOTU Classics line by more than two to one; second, she is a New Adventures character and that era has been lagging behind the rest in terms of numbers for a long time, but she is also an NA show character that never got an action figure back in the early 1990s (there was a prototype, however), so Mara is definitely a bit of a unicorn. Now, I don’t know if those points had anything to do with her winning that fan vote, but to hold off challengers like Tuskador, she had to have had a lot going for her.
We got our first glimpse at Mara back at Toy Fair in February, and even though we knew she would be coming out this year, we did not have an exact date, nor did we know the look that would be chosen for her as she has had a couple of different styles in the various media incarnations in which she has appeared. I was relieved to see that we would be treated to her prototype/battle gear look as that is what fits best with MOTUC (to me anyway), and the design is ripe for some interesting challenges and interpretations for an action figure. Based on the look alone, Mara had the chance of being one of the best female figures in the line, so let’s see how it all played out.
Now, you should probably know that I am a big-time Princess of Power supporter and the Great Rebellion is one of my favorite factions. I really like a lot of the characters and there are many strong females in that sect alone. That being said, PoP has roots more in classic fantasy than the barbarian fantasy where a lot of MOTU resides. So you obviously see more mages and mystics and magical power within many of those characters. This version of Mara feels like she is cut more from the same cloth as Teela, and it is nice to get another true battle warrior to help expand the variety in the female ranks. From her melee staff to her spike ponytail, Mara is ready to go to battle and there is a lot to like with this figure.
Personally, I find Mara’s design to be very eye-catching and there is a lot you can glean about the character just by looking at her. Now, I will be the first to admit that my knowledge of the character has always been a bit tainted over the fact that I am not at all a fan of the New Adventures TV series (sorry, I appreciate the spirit, but I just cannot enjoy it), and that is where the character has mostly lived, but having her figure in MOTU Classics means that we can take a step beyond the media shackles of the past. So, while she does look good with fellow Galactic Protectors (nee: Guardians), she also fits in well with the warrior and barbarian influence of the early vintage MOTU characters. I can easily picture her battling alongside He-Man, Man-at-Arms, and Teela in the battle pit against Gy-Gor, but her color scheme and details also provide some continuity to her New Adventures origins.
That means that while I have always thought that the idea of a ponytail mace is a disaster waiting to happen, Mara sure does wear it well. Plus, who cares if real life rules would make such a weapon more dangerous to the wielder than to the opponent? This is MOTU, dag nabbit! The execution of the whole ponytail rig is very well done, and it offers some surprises from a design and engineering perspective. First, the actual “hair” portion is cast in a very flexible and soft plastic, so it can have some leeway for posing options. That being said, it is nice and strong so I do not worry about breakage or decay at all. Second, the braid is actually segmented and the mace at the end is removable. That means you can actually adjust the length of the ponytail for long or short options and have the mace attached to either look. I think this is a GREAT piece of engineering and even if you never change how you have Mara displayed, you can have the option for what you want.
I am also a fan of Mara’s head sculpt and I say that knowing full well that it will likely be divisive amongst the fan base. In the Jetlag cartoon, Mara was very much depicted as a softer character with few very few warrior traits (at least for most of the run), so, as this figure has a much sterner look to it, I would imagine that will fall out of the favor of those that like her classic characterization. If this figure was made with her robe outfit, I would agree, but since this is warrior Mara, I dig that she has been amped up a bit and has a very tough look about her. Her expression is serious and she has some strong features in her chin and cheekbones, so you better not mess with her. One small troublesome spot is that the right eye on this figure is slightly derpy due to the paint job. Now, I would hope this would be isolated but due to the Angella issue, it might be something to look out for. We won’t know if it is more widespread until August, however. I do think that the irises could stand to be a *touch* smaller as well, but that is a matter of opinion.
The design of Mara’s overall costume is interesting as well and her look is a pretty major departure from any other female we have gotten in the line thus far. Her headpiece, gauntlets, leg strap, and boots all have a very gladiator/warrior feel to them while her top and short shorts (which fit perfectly, by the way) have the more futuristic feel of New Adventures. I really like how the gladiator portions under normal circumstances, this would be a difficult combination to balance but since we are talking about property where just about anything goes handled by the masterful Four Horsemen, the effect is pulled off seamlessly. Mara’s color combination is pretty unique as well, and while there is a lot of gold, the magenta, white, and blue bring a balance to the look. In the end, she makes for a really striking figure and one that will easily blend into the most savage of MOTU battles.
Overall, the figure is built really well and the joints are strong, but this is also the area that will get nitpicked the most with Mara because some issues with the part choice/articulation scheme are going to have a lot of collectors keeping this figure at the “pretty good” level, rather than “great.” Above the belt, she is just fine, and we should all be accustomed to the female articulation scheme in this line by this point. Sure, she is missing an ab crunch (as are all the ladies), and I would have loved a twist at the top of her ponytail, but really, she is good there.
The issues come from the leg and hip areas, and some previous shortcomings are pushed forward even more by some additional missing articulation. Mara borrows several of her pieces from the Battleground Teela library, and that includes her upper legs. As you probably know, that means there is no rotational articulation on those pieces, so right away she is more limited than if the standard Teela thighs were used. That would not be a huge deal, but the new pieces for her boots also lack any kind of shin swivel. So you are left with legs that cannot achieve movement for some natural posing. I predict that will incense a number of collectors. I get that the thighs were used so that a joint in the leg is not visible, but that boot cut would have gone a long way here. Additionally, Mara has little to no back-and-forth movement in her ankles, so she is more limited than some of the other females in the line.
Mara also comes with two accessories, and I have to say that I rather like her staff weapon, even though I wish it had some paint applications to bring out the details. It has a mace on one end to match her ponytail and wrist guard, with a short blade on the other end. That ensures that Mara will be able to battle challengers from all sides, and I like the stark contrast of her melee weapon with the rest of the NA guys who seem to get more lasers and blasters. She also has a shield that is adorned with a motif to match the gold and magenta portions of her costumes. It seems reliable as far as shields go, but I think Mara looks better holding her staff with both hands rather than employing a shield. Something to note is that the clip is sized to fit on her left arm gauntlet, so it will not work well on the right arm.
I am have to say, I am mostly pleased with how much I like this figure of Mara, especially considering my real lack of sentimental attachment to the character. I do have a beef with the leg articulation, but other than that I really like what I am seeing. With this choice in costume, I see her more as a fighter rather than hanging out with her NA compadres, but she looks good doing both. She can be a real scrapper and pin cushion since she has so many weapons and implements at her disposal, so she should be really fun to place in your Eternian sortees. If you are an NA fan, you best pick her up in August (if you do not have a subscription) because this might be the only New Adventures figure we get this year. So, if it is, at least Mara is a pretty good one.
*Thanks for reading and thanks to the Matty team for sending Mara along for a preview. More coming soon!
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