Whew! Did you soak in all of the awesome that was unveiled at Power-Con yesterday? Blade! Scorpia! Battle Lion! A tease of Extendar‘s shield! Wow! I mean, we got some awesome smacks to the face, and now New York Comic Con cannot come fast enough! Well, between now and then there are still a lot of current MOTU items to get and preview, and we thought we would just start right now. Sound good? Cool! Well, today we have a First Look at a figure that could arguably the most anticipated Filmation figure since Mattel acquired the rights to make those original characters. One of the most fully realized and well-developed cartoon characters, Sea Hawk and his noble swashbuckling ways have been in the heart and minds of fans and Adoras alike for a long time now. It took a full add-on Club Filmation sub to get him into the line, but come November, he will be a part of our plastic Great Rebellion for all time.
For some, I know that Sea Hawk is kind of a Johnny (or is that Jeoff?)-come-lately in terms of male rebels and She-Ra love interests, but ever since I saw his figure episode on the She-Ra cartoon, I was a fan. I mean, for all intents and purposes, he is the Han Solo of Etheria. A charming and handsome pirate smuggler with a heart of gold that captains a legendary ship? I think it is pretty easy to draw the comparisons. But that is okay, these beloved and memorable characters are all built on classic archetypes that have worked well for all time, so even in Despondos they ring true. I actually expected Sea Hawk to have more appearances on the show after he was introduced since he was Adora’s love interest and all, but the few that he did show up in are historically fan favorites and some of the best-written stories of the entire run. We got to meet Swen and the rest of his crew: Davy Jones the mouse and even his father, the Falcon. So, while I would not call Sea Hawk a regular on the show, he certainly had a healthy amount of characterization, and his Classic bio borrows heavily from that. So, while many of his rebellious exploits were left unwritten in the 1980s, and there was never a chance for any camaraderie or friction between him and Bow, as of November, you are free to choose your own adventure.
The penultimate figure in the Club Filmation subscription, Sea Hawk is actually a sub-exclusive figure as there will be no day-of-sale stock offered to the general buying public. We can debate the pros and cons of choices like this until the earth collapses on itself, but by now it should be something we are at least used to. Mattel seems to be ramping up the urgency with this model as time goes by since we started with Fang Man, went to Clamp Champ, now Sea Hawk, and Two Bad is up next in January, and that makes for a group of pretty important characters that cannot be had without getting the subscriptions. Overall, I think the Four Horsemen nailed him in terms of design and they brought him into the Classics style very well; I mean, he pretty much looks just like you would picture him. There are a couple of things that make for some odd or interesting choices in terms of accessories and design, though, so let’s jump right into the figure.
If you take a moment to really examine the details of Sea Hawk’s head sculpt, you can see that it is one of the most accurate to the source material likenesses we have seen in the line so far. I mean, from his ginger locks flowing over his head band to his somewhat cocky expression to his brown mustache (the rest of his facial hair is red), the figure really exudes “Sea Hawk” at every turn. After his red beard, I would say that his purple ascot is probably the most memorable part of his look and that is there and accounted for as an attached piece to the removable vest piece. Speaking of which, I know that the vest has been a point of contention among collectors right now with many saying that the vest makes him look “fat” or at least too wide. I will agree that when you soften the physique of a MOTU character it kind of changes the feel, but I don’t think the figure looks “fat” by any stretch of the imagination. I will say that I don’t think that the vest fits quite as snugly as it could around his waist, so it does tend to hang over the belt just a bit. So it kind of depends on the angle, but these figures are chunky to begin with. At a profile, though, the thickness is negligible, but, as always, your sensitivity to this will vary depending on your preferences. Personally, I think the vest makes him look more wide than anything, but you can have a look for yourself.
If you remove the vest, you can see that he has on a black “t-shirt” with new shoulders to accommodate the torn sleeves. For a figure that does not have an overly complicated design, Sea Hawk did get several new pieces. This is where some of the interesting design choices start to show as well, and while the overall look and feel of the figure makes for an iconic Sea Hawk, the outfit he is wearing is actually very particular to a time and place in the progression of his character. The brown, black, and light blue are all constants, and while it could have been easy for the 4H to just give him the Mo-Larr gloves, the figure gets a new and unique design specific to Sea Hawk. His boots, however, are a bit of a departure. See, I thought for sure that they would have used the Snout Spout boots since they are dead-on perfect to the those that Sea Hawk wore for most of his Filmation appearances; however, instead, they give him the specific boots with the light blue bracers at the top.
If you are well-versed in your Princess of Power Filmation lore, you will know that these are the boots that Sea Hawk actually got from his father in the two-part episode “Anchors Aloft.” I am not sure if this was a conscious choice made by Mattel and/or the Four Horsemen for this specific look, but I think that most fans found the choice to be unexpected. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I think this look for Sea Hawk is slightly more interesting while keeping with his iconic design, but I want to pick Cornboy, Eric, and Jim’s brain to see if they wanted to do this version of Hawk, or if he is based on a preferred piece of reference material provided by Mattel. Like I said, I certainly don’t think it is a bad thing, but it is something worth diving into deeper since it is lesser-known look; however, they were consistent in their choice to go with this look and that becomes more important and apparent when it comes to his accessories.
See, not only did Sea Hawk get some clothes from the Falcon, he also got his weapons. Sea Hawk’s laser cutlass had a yellow blade throughout the series; it was his father that used the red-bladed sword with the rounded handle. The Falcon also had the ring that generated the yellow hard light shield that is included with the figure, so they kept the idea consistent. Both of the accessories are actually really nicely constructed, and I am glad they used some semi-translucent plastic on the sword blade and the shield. The blue paint on the handle of the sword is also cool and it is a wonderful touch that the Horsemen remembered to include his gold ring on his left hand. It is that kind of detail that really spoils us as MOTU fans. So, while the costume design and accessory choices were unexpected for most people, they are done very well and they look great, so I cannot really find any merit to complain too much. Oh, and while I have said it over and over again this year, it bears repeating: like most of the 2013 figures that have come before him, Sea Hawk has very clean paint, good plastic, and solid joints. He feels like a high quality figure, and say what you want, but Mattel said they were making a commitment to this, and they are following through.
All right! This is what I am talking about! I am such a fan of so many of the original characters introduced on the Filmation shows, I hope that we are seeing just the tip of the iceberg in terms of selection we can see in this line. If it takes more Club Filmation subscriptions, then so be it. Some fans have been waiting years for a Sea Hawk figure, and even if you don’t count yourself in that group, you can join them in enjoying a solid figure of a really cool character. Adora has her crush and gender balance is finding its way into the Rebellion; hopefully we will still see guys like General Sunder and maybe even King Micah to further help that along. Sea Hawk will be available in November to all Club Filmation members, but he will not be for sale on the site that day. I am sure eBay will offer you a chance get one if you are not a subber.
*Thanks to Toy Guru and MOTU crew for sending The Hawk along for a First Look, gender balance is slowly creeping into the Great Rebellion!
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