“I am not in a giving vein this day!”
And with that, Frank Langella’s imposing Skeletor dispatched my favorite new bad guy from the Masters of the Universe movie. When the film was released in 1987, there were several new characters that were introduced who, up until that time, were completely unknown to even the most rabid MOTU fans out there. Gwildor was, of course, probably the most well-regarded due to his friendship with He-Man, but for my ticket, Skeletor’s new lackeys were by far the most interesting. It was a bit odd, though. Beast Man and Evil-Lyn were there, but Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops, and Mer-Man were nowhere to be seen. Instead, they were replaced on-screen by new despots Karg, Blade, and the subject of this feature: Saurod.
I must admit, it took some getting used to because I when I was six, I REALLY wanted to see all of my favorite MOTU characters come to life on the big screen. Upon my initial viewing, I remember being put off by this new band of ragtags at the beginning, but at about the time Saurod and the rest were making mincemeat out of Carl the janitor, I began to really take a liking to them. Due to his unique design, Saurod struck me the most, and he instantly became my favorite of the crew. Blade was a little too normal me for, and I remember thinking that Karg was pretty gross, but for some reason I liked Saurod a lot. Looking back now, it kind of makes sense, Mer-Man is my all-time favorite MOTU character and I still believe that Saurod was standing in for him in the movie (as was Blade for Tri-Klops, and Karg for Trap Jaw).
So when Skeletor decided to take out his rage for the entire mercenary team’s failing on Saurod specifically, I was pretty upset. Here was this great new bad guy (I am all about the MOTU bad guys) that I just met and was, over the course of just a few minutes, really growing on me, and just like that, Skeletor fries him out of existence. C’est la vie, I suppose, because we know full well that Skeletor, especially Langella Skeletor, does not suffer any fools, but damn it if I did not want to see Saurod fight on with the rest of the these crazy new characters.
As luck would have it, and there is a theme of “plastic immortality” in my life-long relationship with action figures, Saurod made the figure cut and I was able to get my very own plastic version of him in the vintage line so he could continue to live out his adventures beyond the screen. I was fortunate, too, because he was by far the best of the movie figures, and his throat-sparking feature is still the cause of wonderment to this day — just ask my three-year-old daughter. So Saurod joined with the Evil Warriors, and, while he was always cautious around Skeletor (I changed the movie logic to Skeletor teleporting Saurod to a prison cell in Snake Mountain instead of outright vaporizing him), he became a new and serious threat to He-Man and his pals.
Fast-forward to 2015: Masters of the Universe Classics is living out its promise to complete the entirety of the vintage MOTU lineup, and in September the line has finally brought Saurod into modernity. Sure, I have had to wait a lot longer for him than I would have liked, but, and I say this emphatically, he was well worth the wait. Like, with no hyperbole, I think he is probably the best Classics figure we have gotten so far in 2015; I checked myself on this too because I did not want love of character to cloud judgment on the actual figure, but Saurod is really the real deal. I mean, really. Fo’ realz.
I am sure you know that, currently, the only Classics figures we can get of movie characters (and movie VERSIONS of characters) as those that had actual action figures back in the ’80s. That means that Saurod is the last of the movie guys under the current agreement, so while it is very sad that we cannot see the likes of an official Karg or Lubic, Mattel certainly saved the best for last of the three figures they can actually bring to the line. I know that Saurod required a 1980s figure in order to be in Classics, but in terms of detail and design, there is certainly not much carryover. So while I really did love the original vintage figure, I am so very glad that this new one takes all of his aesthetic cues right from the movie source, and my or my did the Four Horsemen make sure he brought every last detail with him.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like Blade, and I even have a soft spot for Gwildor – but, at the end of the day, neither of them can even compete with Saurod when it comes to design. I mean, he is an armored-up lizard guy with glowing eyes, a bulging neck, shooting metal fingernails, and intricate armor. It’s like he is Eternia’s answer to the Predator, and, frankly, the characterization is pretty much perfect for me. This would make him a prime candidate for why he was selected to go to Earth to track down He-Man, even if the Classics bio cannot reference that in its continuity. Those design elements certainly make for an interesting action figure, but because everything is so unique, he has a lot less part reuse than most of the MOTUC figures.
That fact will likely make a lot of people happy, but it could also be cause for concern for some due to the very specific aesthetic that MOTUC holds. If you are in that latter group, don’t worry, Saurod brings all of the detail and uniqueness with him, but he still fits in perfectly with rest of the line. He does have some reuse, and his torso (under the armor) and feet are the most obvious of this, but for all of the new pieces, they are still very much “Classics” parts. The detail in the new parts really highlights the direction taken for this figure, and it is unmistakably skewed toward the movie design, not so much the toy. But that is fine because, really, the vintage toy was just a less detailed interpretation of the movie look, so we have come full circle.
There is a lot to talk about in terms of highlighting all of the details the Horsemen gave Saurod, but the what struck me first, and this might be silly, was the detail in the hands. They are new, obviously, but every millimeter is covered in sculpted detail that matches the source material. Saurod’s hands are featured in the movie as well during his battle with He-Man in the alley behind the pizza joint, and his “fingernails” are actually weapons that can shoot at his enemies, so director Gary Goddard gave us a nice close up on the gloves. That gave the 4H a nice shot of source material and they matched it beautifully, heck, even his palm is detailed with his scaled skin texture. It is pretty wild seeing it in person, and, you know, if the hands are this detailed, the rest of the figure is surely following suit.
Saurod is mostly covered with his trademark copper-colored armor, but beneath that he sports a layer of chain mail, all of which is faithfully represented here. You can see the difference in the texture from his skin to the mail, so that makes it noticeable right from the start, but the paint is also different and the chains have a metallic quality to them. If I did have to nitpick something here, I wish the mail was colored more like the movie. If you look REALLY closely, it is more of a tarnished silver, but that is pretty slight, though it is kind of strange his mail armor matches his skin tone.
The head sculpt is absolutely beautiful and it is one of those perfect representations in the line. I don’t have anything to criticize here, and Saurod looks like stepped right off of the screen. His eyes are reptilian and very menacing, and the mouthpiece of the helmet looks just like it would help to support a barrage of sparks spewing from his throat. Speaking of the helmet, it is very unique in its appearance; for some reason it reminds me a bit of the Sydney Opera House, and it looks great. It certainly gives him a big dome, but it doesn’t feel out of place, and, as I said, it definitely gives him a very cool “Predator” vibe. They also included the oft-forgotten “ponytail” piece out of the back, so it is neat to see that here.
Saurod also has a lot of new pieces in his arms and legs, the latter is what I believe gives him his enhanced height. Compared to Blade, Saurod is an absolute BEAST and he towers over his sword-swinging pal, so if you are a purist to the movie, that might take some getting used to. In the movie, Saurod is fairly lithe and not really any taller than any of the rest of the mercenaries, but he has been run through the “Classicizer,” so he got some bulk and a little heightening. When I first saw this figure in the display case, I thought his height and heft was not going to sit well with me, but blended into the rest of the collection, I really couldn’t care less. Since he is more monster than man, it helps with that suspension of disbelief and his new stature is another point on the long list of things that makes him feel like a Predator.
As far as construction and engineering goes, I don’t have anything to point out in terms of weakness. All of the joints are strong, but still fluid, and with the exception of a small limitation by the ponytail for the head, nothing inhibits the articulation. He does have his tail, but that is not articulated in any way, and while it looks like it borrows from Lizard Man, the plastic is a lot softer. His blaster is modeled after the movie version and it is unique and looks good, but I had to take a hairdryer to mine to straighten it out from the packaging. Now, while I certainly wasn’t expecting them to do it, it would have been kind of cool if Mattel would have done something to recreate the sparking effect from the vintage toy. I am not saying to keep the actual spark feature, but a cool blast effect or something would have been a nice homage, especially since Saurod only gets one accessory.
I love this figure: it is definitely the best of the movie crew, and I think he lands squarely at the top of the 2015 figure lineup as well. Like I said, I am biased to the character, but really, the sculpt and engineering put him very much in a class all of his own, even shipping alongside the impressive King Chooblah. So the last Evil Warrior has arrived and movie lineup is complete. For now. I REALLY hope that 2017 might bring us some news of Mattel getting the movie rights for its 30th anniversary because Karg, the Shock Troops, and all of the rest would make great additions to Classics. I have put together my own group thanks to the very talented Mat O’Toole (Castle of Power), Joe Amaro, and JimPansen, but everyone needs those guys!
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