Eternia (and Etheria for that matter) just got a whole lot scarier thanks to Matty and Toy Guru. That’s right, hot on the heels of Zodac, our pals at Mattel have sent over an advanced copy of the one and only Ruthless Leader of the Evil Horde – Hordak! Come on and take a look, the baddest, scariest and battiest fiend in the universe will soon have all of the rest of your MOTUC figures running for cover.
I know there are a lot of different versions of where Hordak and the Horde fit into the Masters mythos. Back in the 80s he was on Etheria and, along with Horde Prime and the rest, fought to keep its people and the Great Rebellion under his boot. In the 200x cartoon series he was just about to be introduced as the ancient villain of King Grayskull when the series was cancelled. It appears that Mattel is keeping that history going by Hec-tor’s biography on the package (also integrating the SDCC exclusive character He-Ro). However, you tend to stick with how things went for you in the beginning; for me, when I was kid, He-Man fought Skeletor. Usually He-man would win, sometimes Skelly would come out on top, and so it went for many a battle. However, every once and awhile the Horde would show up and then everyone would be #$%&-ed. Hordak was always the most powerful, evil guy in all of Eternia and everyone, from King Randor to Beastman, feared him. I still remember the first time I saw him- in the JC Penny catalogue, my mom HAD to order him, his pals and the Fright Zone that same day.
I am happy to say that this new Classics figure holds up and goes beyond that nastiness that I alway identified as being Hordak- he is probably the most detailed and intricate figure to date in the line. All of the classic elements are there, from his slightly porcine nose to his little bat buddy. However, elements such as his staff have also made it in from the 200x design. All in all he is walking a perfect balance of old classic, contemporary influence and unique newness. I will let the pictures do the talking but there are some very nice points I would like to hit on here.
First of all, Hordak here comes with more “stuff” than any figure so far. When you include all of his accessories (staff, crossbow and bat) and all of his separate costume pieces (removable armor, cape, arm band and head) the small packaging holds a lot inside. The crossbow and bat are great updates of the originals, the former does not have any moving parts and the latter is very detailed compared to his vintage counterpart.
His armor is also a throw-back to the old figure (though it is soft and rubbery, not hard plastic) and snaps on in the back. He has a new lower abdomen piece without muscle definition to simulate the armor continuing to his belt, but it also keeps the articulation in tact. Another small touch is that Hordak has the same, longer furry shorts that King Grayskull sports. This is a nice subtle touch to draw the two together as ancient warriors. One of my favorite parts of this figure are his boots- they are completely unique and highly detailed keeping with his overall (very apparent) bat theme.
All of the paint details are crisp where they need to be, and a bit rougher in areas. I believe this to be a choice by Mattel to make him a bit more menacing. The silver paint really works to make him pop. His head is the shining example though- sculpt, paint, detail, everything makes him the most impressive MOTUC figure to date.
June 15th at www.mattycollector.com is going to be crazy. Hordak is the first Horde figure released under the MOTUC banner (with a great “Horde” sticker on the bubble) and I think he is going to set a new standard. He is elevated in terms of detail and accessories and is very much a $20.00 figure. I think he will be one that wins over a lot of speculators for the line. That is both good and bad, as I don’t think he will last longer than a couple of hours. I hope I am wrong, but be online right on time.
If I had one negative to say about Hordak it is that it seems he will be standing alone for awhile. We know that there are no more Hordesmen coming before September, and most of his denizens require a lot of unique tooling. Oh well, Hordak can take care of himself. I am really looking forward to some Princess of Power characters too. I only had the She-Ra figure as a kid (I can admit that) but I did watch the cartoon when I could catch it because I loved the Horde so much. We need the Great Rebellion and all of the Horde (I am looking at Shadow Weaver, Mattel)! Expanding into those corners of the MOTU mythos will help to keep figures coming for a long, long time. Thanks for reading!
*Also, as usual, a HUGE thanks to Toy Guru and Matty for making this First Look Possible.
NOTE: if the thumbnails are not showing, simply click on the image and it should open for you. Our apologies, we are working out some bugs, but we wanted to bring this to you as soon as possible.
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“And they call you Batman? Bah!”
