First Look – Masters of the Universe Classics Teela

The testosterone party just got busted up! That is right, with what has to be one of the most anticipated action figure releases of the year, Teela is going to break up the MOTU Boy’s Club next month. The first female release in any line is quite often a very important figure and Masters of the Universe Classics is no exception; in fact, Teela might carry even more importance in this line comparatively. She will be the model for the Ladies of Eternia (and Etheria) going forward so a lot rests on this figure. Mattel has to deliver a real winner right out of the gate becuase everyone wants their Teela figure to be awesome. How did they do? We are going to take an indepth look at all of the facets of this figure and show as much detail as we can with lots of picutres. Read on to get the scoop and to welcome the arrival of our most beloved Warrior Goddess.

Since Teela is our 14th figure in the MOTUC line (can you believe we have that many already?) I think we have discussed the rich history of the Masters mythos on several occasions. That being said, Teela still recalls something that we have not had the chance to relive yet – it is cool to have a “girl” toy. That was what made Teela such an awesome figure and character in the 1980s, in a time when the line between boys and girls toys was clearly drawn and cooties were swarming everywhere, you could be a confindent and proud five-year old and let Teela join in all of your fiercest clashes with Skeletor. Teela is probably one of the coolest characters ever in an action figure line, male or female, so getting a chance to get an all-new, beautifully sculpted adopted-daughter-of-Duncan has been something that has been weighing on my mind.

Sure, I have been looking forward to her since the announcement of the line and when we got glipmse at her in pictures and SDCC my anticipation has grown. However, you just never really know how good a figure is until you have it in your hands. As I said, Teela is setting a very important precedence fo the MOTUC line so Mattel needs a lead-off homerun. Let’s see just how the Captain of the Royal Guard turned out.

Before we go any further, let’s get to the obvious – this is a gorgeous figure. It is becoming ubiquitous to say (even though I, in fact, love saying it) but the Four Horsemen are, ahem, Masters of Masters of the Universe (and anything else they touch). What continues to amaze me is the fact that they are still getting better at what they do, especially with the female figures. I got my DCUC Power Girl figure about a month ago and the first thing I said was “They are going to have to do a lot to top this one”. Well, as you can probably guess by the wordy build-up, Teela is right up there with her. I think I am in love. Again. Within the parameters of MOTUC alone, while she is new territory she is going to hold her own with guys like Mer-Man, Tri-Kops and her daddy Duncan as one of the best looking figures of the line so far. While she is a classic throw-back, very lovingly preserved to the roots of her 1980s figure, she is also a whole other animal entirely. Bigger, better, stronger, and these qualities are at every turn. Is she perfect? No, but most figures aren’t and she has a couple of things that I really hope Mattel will use as points of focus going forward, but the is always room to improve and I will hit on that in just a bit.

First –  what works. As mentioned above, Teela is a beautiful figure. I am particularly fond of her non-Snake Armor head, it is strong and very feminine all at the same time. She has very distinct almond-shaped eyes and the Four Horsemen continue to improve on their hair sculpts, especially with her ponytail. The Snake Armor head is very nice too and is a great update. I love how the Horsemen took a little detail like the golden widow’s peak in the old card art and turned it into a helmet that is removable from the snake portion, very nice touch.

For her costume, it is a very well done embellishment on the old 1980s toy.  Her bodysuit us very detailed in the accents and the gauntlets are ornate but still fit right in. Her boots are in the same vein as the new male Masters boots – familiar but with new detail for miles, I dig the white fur.

I am a fan of her sculpt and how her body type is in line with the exaggerated males, but more sleek. Don’t get me wrong – I certainly would not mess with Teela, she is thick and very strong especially in her arms and thighs. Again though, while she does look incredibly strong, she is still very feminine. A couple of places that did not get any exaggeration are her butt and bust. Now, no mistake, I am certainly not of the “every female figure needs to be a great piece of T&A” thought, but because Teela is so thick and stacked in all of the other spots of her physiology, she looks flat in those two areas. I know the Horsemen went back and gave her a little more bootie, but they should have given her a lot more booty. Again, this isn’t to sexualize her (any more than she already is) but to just pull her in line cohesively.

Another spot where the is going to be so debate is in her height. As you can see from the picture, He-Man has nothing on Teela. If you look closely you can see that she is ever so slightly shorter than him, but her ponytail brings her past his height. Some are going to be okay with this, some aren’t. For Teela, I think it is fine, she is a Warrior Goddess and she should be able to hang with the big boys. Whether or not the same success will be had with future females like Ardora or perhaps Evil-Lyn is yet to be seen, but I feel like it will have a larger impact with them. Teela is an ass-kicker and while this figure sets a new height boundary from her old toy and cartoon series, I think it is excusable in the mythos of the character.

I said I was going to hit on my quibbles, so after loading you up on the goods, here are the areas that think Mattel can improve upon in order to have even better female figures in the future. First, her outfit needs to be made of a softer plastic. She does have a waist swivel joint but it is really of little use to her because it is being restricted. Her hip joints (along with her new ankle joints) are my favorite points of articulation on this figure so I want to be able to use them more freely. She does have a pretty good range of movement, but I would certainly take more if all that would be required is a softer material for the outfit. With that, it brings me to my other spot for improvement: I do wish there was some mid-torso articulation with her. I am not saying it has to be an ab-crunch, but that floating joint cut right under her bust would have worked really well I think as it would have allowed for some good movement hidden under her one-piece costume.

Other than that, her construction and articulation is really great. Oh, and very clean paint too. And great accessories (I am really glad for the inclusion of her sword, shield and Staff of Ka).

So, I hope that maybe Mattel and Horsemen can take these things back for reevaluation for future figures. I think Teela is a fantastic figure, but even then I can see some room to have even better females in the MOTUC line.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to her final accessory – Zoar. Actually, this is like getting a whole other character with Teela. If you have the Jayna eagle that came with the DCUC Wonder Twins set, you essentially have Zoar, but the paint is very nice and very vibrant. Toy Guru has made note at SDCC that the Zoar with the orange and blue deco will be coming at some point (I am guessing with the armor and stand with the Sorceress) and this same base can be used for Screech too, hopefully with Evil-Lyn.

So there you have it. Teela makes a stunning entrance into the MOTUC world and I think she does a wonderful job fitting in with he boys club. She is beautiful and strong, that is for sure and with just a couple of tweaks here and there I can see even better females coming into the line soon. Makes me want lots more females in the line so bring on those Princess of Power girls! Overall though, Teela is certainly a winner (most definitely in my MOTUC Top Five) so if you did not get the Club Eternia subscription for this year be sure to be a the ready on www.mattycollector.com on October 15th.

*Again, thanks so much to Toy Guru and Matty for making this possible and stay tuned for more First Looks coming soon!

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