As the new year rolls in, the floodgates open! Prepare yourselves! There is an embarrassment of Eternian riches about to come your way because we have the next couple of months all locked up with First Looks in rapid fire (hopefully). Now, I know today brought news of a some scheduling changes for many figures and while I like do roll these out in chronological order, that won’t be the case for this round. Yeah, it kind of stinks that the hottest mom on Eternia is going to be delayed until February, but she will most certainly steal your heart just in time for Valentine’s Day. Yep, Teela’s mother, The Sorceress, is finally arriving to protect the secrets of Castle Grayskull on your shelves. I think that next to Ram Man, she was probably the most anticipated figure yet to be released in the line and while the former is still completely MIA, Teela’Na is set to finally fly home.
See, this is my very first Sorceress figure. Yeah, I never got the vintage figure as a kid and I don’t think I ever even saw it in person until a few years ago. None of my friends had her either and while we were able to grab most of the other “end-of-the-line” figures like Randor, Clamp Champ and Scare Glow, the [arguably] most important character always eluded us. Well, twenty-five years of wrongs have finally been made right and I have to say that, for the most part, she was worth the wait. I must admit that getting a figure of the Sorceress (at least first) that looked any other way than just like in the FilMation cartoon would have bordered on tragic for me. I realize that most young boys (and some young girls) grew up watching the He-Man cartoon secretly crushing on Teela, even if they did not realize it at the time. That is understandable, she was pretty and could be your best friend, I mean, is there a better girl than one that can help you kick Skeletor’s bony behind? But for me, I always had a thing for the Sorceress. I don’t know why, and since I am pretty sure I did not realize that she was Teela’s mom back then (I was only 5 or so!) it cannot be anything to chalk up to mommy issues. Whatever it was, I was always a sucker for the blue and orange bird lady and the Four Horsemen have reminded me that I was just ahead of my time – they have given us one heck of a hot mom.
I mean that sincerely too, this is a beautiful figure and I knew she would be since the day I clapped eyes on here at SDCC last year. Catra has been dethroned as the prettiest female sculpt in the line thus far because the face sculpt on this figure is absolutely gorgeous. I know some of the first production sample pictures had some fearing that she looked too ‘nice’ in her expression, but I do not find that to be the case at all. She looks kind and very compassionate, but also very strong, forthright and serious about the path she has chosen and for me – she HAS to be. See, like all the rest of the characters in the MOTU-verse, I kind of have my own background and history for the Sorceress. Yes, I take pieces from the old cartoon, mini-comics, biographies, other fan suggestions but a lot of my story comes into play, especially with her. Yes, she is Teela’Na and she came to be the Sorceress of Grayskull after Kuduk Ungol (of whom we still need a figure) just like J. Michael Straczynski wrote her, however, I think that is pretty much where the direct history comes to a close. For me, she is Teela’s mother, but not by cloning and Duncan is Teela’s real father. In fact, after the defeat of Skeletor, in my mythology, Man-at-Arms finally retires and goes to Grayskull to finally be with the Sorceress. So, as you can see, she does not die from a snake bite either. The Sorceress is one of many strong females in my MOTU world and I have never, EVER thought of her as a disposable plot device. So, in long-winded fashion you can see why it was very important to me for her character to be captured perfectly in her face and I think the 4H nailed it.
Chatting with Eric Treadaway at Comic-Con, I could tell that he was getting a bit fatigued when it came to sculpting feathers. Understandably so, he had just spent several months working on Swift Wind, the Sorceress and the Gothitropolis Raven so that is a lot of bird cover. To our benefit though, every since feather on this lady is individually sculpted and while you have to look closely to see each line in each feather, it all comes together to form a wonderful aesthetic. Her boots and bodice have subtle and small feathers while her headdress is right off the screen. And when I say off the screen, I mean it is like she came out of old standard definition and into real life where you can finally see all of the little details that were never apparent before. The Sorceress is THE shining example of a perfect translation from FilMation to Classics. I say that because, while there was a vintage line figure, this new version more closely resembles the animated version. The feathers in her wings are also painstakingly detailed and I personally like that she now has both blue and orange on the inside of her feathers instead of just a giant wall of orange.
At first glance it might seem that there is a ton of paint on the figure, but what is there is very nicely done and there might be a bit more paint detail than what you might have originally thought. Where it really counts, in her face, it is very clean. The eyes, brows and lips are all rendered very well and while looking at the extreme close-ups provided herein there appears to be some bleed, it is really hard to tell from just looking at the figure. The headdress is also painted very nicely and it is here where I noticed some paint detail that is added throughout the figure for the first time. All of the white feathers have a very subtle pearlescent paint highlight to just barely lift them up from the rest of the figure. When you look at her under a soft light you can really see it, and it really works. I don’t know if you will put you finger on it immediately, but the effect will be noticeable.
So for me, from an aesthetic standpoint, the Sorceress is undeniably a winner. When it comes to construction I think most people will find her to be a mixed bag and mostly for one important issue. The good news is that she is built very well and has solid joint construction with tight movement. She is based mainly on the 2.0 female body so she does have the waist swivel, but she also makes use of the Battle Ground Teela hips, something that I was hoping would not happen save for when the joints are not covered up. So, she loses the twistability in the thighs, but her bird dress is soft enough that she retains good front/back and side to side movement. It is common in just about any toy line for the female figures to feel more fragile than the male counterparts but that is not the case here, the Sorceress feels built as tough in body as she is in character. That being said, I suppose it is time it get to the giant falcon in the room…
The wings. Well, I think everyone knew that there would plenty to discuss when it came to the wings and that is already proving to be true. The good news is that they do “lift” with the arms and spread out like vintage toy was intended to do. I must admit, it works better than I thought it would but I think most will feel the effect was not completely worth it for what it sacrifices. The wing “drums” on the back of her shoulders are big and they are very visible from any angle that is not dead-on front. That is not the biggest issue for me as they are there to compensate for the wings, but the issue comes with how they are attached to shoulders. People were not sure if her arms would be able to move forward with the drums attached in the back and while I can confirm that the can, they also take all of the wings with them. So, when the go forward, the wings go up and come up parallel with the floor. The result can be seen the pictures, but I can best describe them as “wing trays”. She could easily serve any visitor to Grayskull a Pina Coloda without using her hands. I have seen a lot of proposed alternatives to the execution online and while I think that some of them might work out great, I think I would have just preferred the drums to be attached to the back wing and leave the arms completely free. I know that would defeat the ability for the wings to drape, but sometimes I just want to have natural movement and then have her stand in her classic pose at will. Like I said, this is already the hot topic and it will continue to be just that for awhile, especially since she has now officially been pushed back to February, but everyone will have their own preferred version of how this should have been handled. At the risk of sounding a bit overdramatic, this one flaw is pretty tragic because otherwise, she is a prefect figure for me. As it stand though, she will stand in turret of my Zombihamma Grayskull when it arrives in few weeks so over time, the issue might diminish as she won’t be as actively posed.
For accessories, she comes with the long-awaited classic color scheme of her alter-ego Zoar, complete with armor and stand. If you have the previous Zoar or Screeech you know what you will be getting but as far as color composition goes, this one is my favorite. She also has her classic staff recreated with all of the modern details. It is pretty long at first glance but when she is holding it while her wings are splayed, it is prefect height. It is finished in the same pearlescent paint as her white feathers and while I was originally not going to pose her with it, I am now because it is so well done. I know she needed a grip hand to hold the staff, but I kind of wish she had a spell-casting hand for the other. It is not a huge deal to me, but maybe in a future version.
So, my favorite lady of Eternia is a complete knockout in the looks department, but I think the wing construction is going to make people feel very split on this final figure. Like I said, it is a shame that it will probably be the only focus when it comes to this figure because everything else is right there. This won’t be the last Sorceress figure we see this year as the mono-white Temple of Darkness version will be hitting the convention circuit but I hope we might see future incarnations of this character; maybe a pink version, a head swap for Kuduk Ungol and if they are feeling like making a major departure, a 200x Egyptian version. I like the idea of have a Sorceress for each He-Man (which is why my ToD Sorceress will be a unique character to go with Vikor) so I am sure we will get to Veena at some point too. Overall, I love the look of this figure and I am very happy to get her, all potential issues aside, she is beautiful. Remember, she has moved to February so you have a few more weeks to wait, but I think most will find the wait for her worth it.
*Thanks for reading and thanks to Toy Guru and crew for sending her along for review. Like I said, we have much more coming and up next is a figure that is completely PERFECT in every way. That is not hyperbole. At all.
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