Have you been tracking your UPS packages? Have you been checking your doorstep? It is once again that when Masters of the Universe fans welcome a brand new figure into their collection. Well, this month’s figure has arrived at the Fwoosh Offices so we can bring you our look this new figure for October – Eternia’s own Tin Man with a ticking heart, Roboto! There are two things that I can certainly promise you with this look: one, there will be lots of pictures for you peruse and two, there will be NO references to any kind of Thank Yous to our Mr. Roboto in Japanese herein. While Roboto has always been a cool character, Styx has NEVER been a cool band. Burn!
Eternia certainly has its share of buffet line variety when it comes to the various species of its inhabitants. So far we have seen fish-men, lemon lime gorillas, bat-pig men and even handicapable, iron-jawed denizens – just to name a few show up in the MOTUC line. Well, the Eternian robots finally have their voice in this very loyal update of the original vintage Roboto. Like always, I know you are mostly here for the pictures, but I will also share a few thoughts on the actual character and toy so that those of you that are still waiting for your UPS man to arrive will have a little bit of satiation.
Over the course of the MOTUC line we have seen a rather wide interpretation of characters and looks as they have been adapted into the line. Some have come with a blend of styles and eras, some have been introduced as wholly new to plastic, some take their queues from artwork and some are straight up translations of their vintage counterparts brought into the present. Well, as you can plainly see, Roboto is very much the latter and that makes a vintage fan like me quite pleased.
He borrows his legs from Trap Jaw, just like the vintage and his proportions are the same as the 80s figure, e.g., I do not see any of the 200x here. I have heard that some out there feel is “duck bill” jaw is too big, but your personal thoughts on that will vary. It is adjustable, similar to Trap Jaw. I do have to admit that even though Roboto was never one of my favorite figures from the vintage line (he was my brother’s figure), I really like the color pallet that he introduces to the collection. At first glance his red and silver legs, clear torso and rainbow of guts might seem overly garish, but remind yourself that this is MOTU afterall and it is characters like Roboto that make the line as cool and diverse as it is. He stands out on the shelf but it is plain to see, even for the uninitiated that Roboto is a good guy with heart of, well metal.
Speaking of which, there were three things about the vintage Roboto that made him such a hit with kids of the 1980s – he is a robot (duh!), he has swappable weapon hands and he has real moving gears. To go with the latter, it was stated way back in the infantcy of the MOTUC that there would not be action features in this line. Well, time tells time and often times paths lead us on enexpected turns and Roboto is really our first figure with a bonafide action feature. Yep, his gears turn when you twist his waist, just like they did in the original figure. Oh, and those gears are the same color for color too, thanks to Scott and Bill for mentioning it in our SDCC Conversation and bringing through production.
I know some people were nervous about the action feature part and the precedence it might set, but really, I think it was a case of other requirements lining up to make it possible. See, in order to have the gears inside of the clear torso to begin with (something that, if left out would have caused mass hysteria), the ab crunch point of articulation had to be removed. There is just no possible way for both to exist. Thus, I am sure it was always Mattel’s intent to have the gears, so if the the POA is gone, why not have the action feature? It does not take anything away from the figure in its own right and it adds a touch of nostalgia that is better for being there instead of without. I do not see something like this winning out if the action feature alone and of itself sacrifices sculpt of joints, so I don’t see this as something that will trend, but it is cool for Roboto.
Of course you also get the three swappable weapon hands with this figure as you got 20-some-odd years ago – the clamp, the gun and the axe. Again, these are very faithful updates of the original and I think that I will probably employ the clamp on the shelf, I always thought that was the most functional of the three as a kid. He also come with his standard right hand if you so desire for your display and while I know that Toy Guru was going to try to get both hands swappable, it did not work out this time. It is also interesting to note that the three weapons parts will show up again next month in the Great Wars Weapons Pak in a new Trap Jaw deco. I think that is an awesome way to push from more weapons for TJ, but I hope there is some reciprication when Weapons Pak number three rolls around.
Finally, there is the ever present “shoulder-gate” controversy about his backwards shoulders and how his circuitry lines up correctly or not. I can only speak for myself and say that mind does have the reversed shoulders, but I am not sure I would have noticed unless it was pointed out to me. For myself, it is is a non-issue, but I know it is for others and if this was a reversed part that was very apparent, I would count myself amongst the upset. Hopefully this will be a lesson to the design team to add a few more teeth to their QC combs and ensure that our future figures pitch perfect in terms of correct parts.
Coming down the last stretch of 2010, Roboto was probably my least anticipated figure of the fourth quarter. I am a HUGE Grizzlor fan and Buzz-Off is a long time coming so certainly had my sights sent on them more after SDCC. However, like a lot of figures in this line, Roboto has grown on me and he adds a lot of variety to the shelf so I am overall pretty pleased. If you missed him (or held out due to the shoulder thing) he seems like a very likely candidate for a reissue next year, but for now he has sold out from Matty. Thanks for reading, and I leave you with this one caution: remember, MOTUC toys are fun to have, but with Roboto there is an added risk involved when brining him into your home. So, if you have senior citizens living in your house, please heed TV’s Sam Waterston’s and my advice and take a little piece of mind…
Additional Links