I know, I am way behind on this seeing as how Comic Con was well over a month ago, but seeing as how I have a little giveaway to tack on the end of this, I figured it was still worth talking about.
Sometimes a mash-up of two great things comes together so perfectly to make an even greater thing that it is hard to believe how we previously lived without it. Peanut butter cups and cereal come to mind, as do (most) comic books and movies, and in the toy world, we have seen it as well. While you might think it is hard to beat something like Transformers and McDonalds food items, the guys at Super7 have brought two 1980s properties that meld so magically, I cannot believe that it had not been done before. Yep, Masters of the Universe and M.U.S.C.L.E. have combined their powers to form M.O.T.U.S.C.L.E., and it is pretty wonderful. Now, I know you don’t need an introduction to Masters of the Universe, but if you are fuzzy around the whole M.U.S.C.L.E. thing (shame!), here is a quick rundown of the fantastic property.
I have such great memories of M.U.S.C.L.E. from when I was a kid, and even though I did not have all of them and am without any at this point, the idea was so simplistic, but so much fun, that I have always been a fan. The little character designs are so much fun and the variety was certainly there. Plus, gauging by the secondary market and auction prices for some of them, I am surprised the original property has not come back for this golden age of 1980s nostalgia-collecting. However, as cool as the original was, being the diehard MOTU fan that I am, mashing-up MOTU and M.U.S.C.L.E. to make M.O.T.U.S.C.L.E. is damned well amazing to me.
The guys at Super7 have brought some of the best MOTU characters into the mix to start things off, and all I can say is I REALLY hope we get more characters from this. Debuting at Skeletor’s Lair at SDCC, Super7 sold four 3-packs with this breakdown:
- Heroic Warriors: He-Man, Man-at-Arms, Teela
- Heroic Warriors: Man-E-Faces, Buzz-Off, Ram Man
- Evil Warriors: Skeletor, Beastman, Trap Jaw
- Evil Warriors: Mer-Man, Tri-Klops, Whiplash
This gives us a good variety of characters, but those that they chose for this initial offering also have designs that lend themselves well to this execution. Sure, we did not get the full “8-Back” roster, and Evil-Lyn might be a glaring omission, but the two guys that would not normally make the cut, Whiplash and Buzz Off, actually make for two of the very best figures in the assortment. None of the designs are lifted directly from any single source material that I can recall, but a lot of the character traits have been embellished to fit the M.U.S.C.L.E. aesthetic really well.
As I said, Whiplash and Buzz Off are probably the overall best figures out the set, but Mer-Man, Beast Man, and Teela are all very strong as well. That is not to say that the other characters are not good, it is just these six stand out the best to me. Buzz Off and Whiplash are both really big in comparison to most of the others, and bee and lizard motifs work really well at this scale. Speaking of, just because these guys are nary 2 inches tall, that does not mean that they do not have a lot of detail, which hopefully you can see in the pictures. While Whip, Buzz, and Mer-Man are definitely my favorites, Tri-Klops and He-Man himself are probably my least favorite of the group. Tri-Klops’ design just isn’t as exciting as the rest for this execution, and I would have much rather have seen Spikor or Two Bad in his place.
This standard set is cast in a rubbery pink material as a recall of the original M.U.S.C.L.E. line, but Super7 did have an exclusive black set at their booth at SDCC, and Mattel was giving away the poly-bagged purple Skeletor at their booth that you can see in these pictures. Frankly, the pink works the best for me as the detail is very apparent here, and that is something that just gets a little lost in the black plastic, so I did not even make an attempt to grab them at the show. Now, for the big M.U.S.C.L.E. fans out there, you will notice that the material is not same as the vintage figures — it is more rubbery and bit more tacky with a sheen, but I don’t think that takes anything away from them.
Now, on the back of the package, Super7 boasts that other properties are coming soon to this style, and while that is great, I REALLY look forward to seeing what will be coming in MOTU wave 2. Like I said, Spikor and Two Bad NEED to happen here, and guys like Stratos, Zodac, Evil-Lyn, Fisto, Moss Man, and Clawful would make for some killer figures in this style. So c’mon, Super7: this is a great concept and is very affordable, so keep giving us the goods.
I am fan. I did like the Stage 1 Prototype figures that Super7 also did for MOTU, but I think this execution is far more successful, and I know I am not alone in that. Right now, this set is sold out at the Super7 site, but I am hoping they will get more in stock and that there will be news for additional offerings soon.
Oh, and even though the purple Skeletor was an exclusive to the Mattel booth at SDCC, I just happen to have an extra one, so I will give one away. All you have to do is leave a comment below (make sure your email is attached to your account when you reply) by 11:59pm FRIDAY, August 28, 2015, and I will draw a winner at random next weekend. Pretty easy, right?
