Does one simply “collect them all?” We’re about to find out in a couple of years. Ever since the prototype of a super-articulated He-Man showed its plastic face in a glass case at SDCC many years ago, we knew we were in for some sweet Masters of the Universe goodness. But the ENTIRE He-Man and She-Ra toylines resculpted? Together? WITH FILMATION? TOGETHER?!? Crazy when you think about it. And yet here we are, two years away from a toy line completed. That is to say, with more Filmation, New Adventures, comics, 200X, vehicles, beasts, play sets, and the movie, I could bring this line to 2020 and not feel completed, but you know what I mean. With New York Comic-Con hitting very soon, VeeBee and I thought we’d play “laptop brand managers” and predict (read: request) the line through 2015. Last year we got 130 percent of the subscription’s goal. Soooo that’s extra money, right? More toys, right? Two years, you say? We have an amazing, imaginary budget to work with, so let’s do this!
3rd QUARTER MONTHLY FIGURES
July – TUNG LASHOR
August – MERMISTA
September – ELDOR
I know that when Extendar’s shield was shown at Power-Con, most people went, “WOW! Extendar’s coming up!” I said, “Wow, Extendar, Tung Lashor, and Mermista are coming up!” Reason being is that MOTUC has formed a pattern in that the toys I had growing up in the vintage line(s) have come out two or three at a time in close proximity to each other in Classics (Catra/Sy-Klone, Teela(BG)/She-Ra/Orko, Mantenna/Kowl). The major players left to be crossed off on my personal checklist are Extendar, Mermista, and Tung Lashor. Therefore, science! And ever since He-Ro came out almost five years ago, I’ve been waiting for Eldor. Essentially, they are the only two we know were set for Powers of Grayskull toys when the original line ended in the ’80s. We now have He-Ro and the Star Sisters in Classics. Only Eldor and his Book of Living Spells remain. I can’t wait.
$25 item – NEW ADVENTURES SHE-RA
This didn’t even occur to me until Toyguru said there would be a character released that could be viewed as a “Plundor.” That makes me think, “Which character is not very widely visible and would make the general fan base scratch their heads, while a vocal minority goes ‘YES!!!!’” It can’t be a coincidence that Mattel has teased her with a back shot at two separate toy panels, and, like King He-Man, she’s appears to be a player in Mattel’s NA/Horde World portion of the new bios/storyline. But New Adventures She-Ra before New Adventures Skeletor? Or even before Mara, Darius, and Tuskador, battling it out for their ONE spot? Controversy!
4th QUARTER MONTHLY FIGURES
October – VEENA
November – DRAGSTOR
December – HUNTARA
It’s tough going through the remaining faction pool, giving each one some form of representation. POP has a long way to go, as does NA, but 200X and Filmation have had a longstanding fan base as well. On the 200X side of things, King Grayskull’s lady love, Veena, is a solid choice based on fan polls. Dragstor is a personal choice. My brother got Dragstor the same day I got Extendar, and later found out the two were written in the UK comics as best friends on Etheria before Hordak transformed them hit home to me. You can’t have Netossa without Spinnerella, and you can’t give me Extendar and leave me hanging on Dragstor either. And Huntara? Winner winner chicken dinner! Huntara earned a sub slot. I hope Masque isn’t too far behind. 2014 wasn’t his year, but maybe … 2015?
$25 item – ARROW
He’s the vehicle (pun intended) to fit two needs in one. We need a horse mold without wings (still UGH-ing about a lack of a proper SPIRIT figure in this line), and Mattel needs to make use of that Swift Wind buck. Enter Arrow, the obvious choice. There are plenty of horses left to make, whether it’s a winged unicorn, a basic steed, or a robotic fighter. Arrow is at the top of the list. Most fans seem to prefer his more neutral Filmation look because his vintage figure was VERY different. Would we get a combination of the two looks, just like Bow, or straight up Filmation like Swift Wind? Or will a tighter budget will net us a Swifty repaint in Arrow’s vintage toy colors?
$35 “Holiday item” – ROTAR vs. TWISTOID
The Energy Zoids were some of the final figures in MOTU. The He-Man universe has tons of different archetypes for their wide array of characters. Rotar is an amputee, a soldier having been saved by He-Man and re-engineered for battle by Man-At-Arms. And like every good Heroic Warrior, he had an Evil Warrior to be paired up with in Twistoid, a robot by Skeletor (stealing Man-At-Arms’s machine). So it’s perfect that the two will be packed together. And for good measure, Rotar can include his human “pre-battle damaged” lower torso and legs, much like how Trap Jaw came with parts to change him to Kronis.
CHASE FIGURE – IMP with transformations … and a surprise!
Imp would make a great chase figure. His shape-shifting powers always helped him get incredibly close to the Rebellion. Imp could essentially be his very own weapons pack, including some of his many transformations, plus a catch! It’s an eye for an eye, or in this case, spy vs. spy, as the Rebellion’s own Loo-Kee is hidden inside Imp’s packaging. To make it more exciting, Loo-Kee would never be announced. Only Imp would show up as “on sale” randomly on Mattycollector. But even with all his transformations, for the price of a full action figure, you’re getting a character as small as Kowl, which would seem kind of steep. Loo-Kee would make sense here for added value, with He-Fans and She-Ravers not realizing they got a 2-for-1 deal until they open Imp!
NON-SUBSCRIPTION ITEMS:
200X Head-Pack: MAN-AT-ARMS (helmetless), TEELA, CLAWFUL, GRIZZLOR, BUZZ-OFF, and SNOUT SPOUT w/ the ORACLE.
With the final weapons pack coming out later this year — with KOWL, mind you — Mattel has come up with a great suggestion for a follow-up pack, helping those collectors who have been asking for different head options for their figures. A 200X head-pack idea has been warmly received, so I would hope that this would become a reality. And like Kowl, for this set I’d suggest adding in the Oracle as a bonus. Not only to get another 200X character done (one of my favorites, actually), but also to gimmick the packaging by having him in the center casting a spell making the different heads appear around him. It would help add some fun to a “heads in a box” presentation. We know Roboto is a popular choice, but he was omitted because he needs a full and proper upgrade, not just a head. He needs a 2.0 release with the 200X armor and head on a corrected 1.0 body with his shoulders assembled correctly and maybe some new weapons attachments for good measure. He deserves it, poor guy.
Hey, here’s a magic trick for you. Say “Oracle” really fast and it sounds like you’re saying “Orko.” You’re welcome.
STRIDOR
According to Chinese astrology, 2014 is the year of the horse. And it should be the same for MOTU Classics. We still need many more steeds before the end, and it would help to get all the molds done now so Mattel can save money in the long run. Swift Wind gave us our flying-horse mold for Silver Storm, Crystal Sun Dancer, Crystal Moonbeam, Star Wind, and the Unicorn King. Arrow gives us our regular horse buck for others, like Charger or Winter. Stridor means Night Stalker is checked off completely! He’s a perfect investment.
San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Exclusives: FILMATION HE-MAN vs. SKELETOR
Here was our hint: He-Man’s Filmation sword accessory was revealed. Also, a little over a month ago, the Filmation series just celebrated its 30th anniversary. So it makes sense that the cartoon that started it all gets some He-Man and Skeletor variant goodness. There are still so many things you can do to “2.0 upgrade” your basic He-Man and Skeletor figures. New Filmation-accurate head sculpts, a lighting-effect sleeve you can put over the Power Sword or an energy bolt for the Havoc Staff, ball-jointed wrists for both warriors, and a hinged joint for Skeletor’s jaw(!) so you can imitate Alan Oppenheimer’s laugh. Better yet, why not throw in some packaging with vintage cartoon sound effects and new taunts and other snarky phrases voiced by Alan Oppenheimer himself! The lights and sound effects would be exclusive to SDCC, while an electronics-free boxed set comes courtesy of Mattycollector.com.
ADD-ON SUBSCRIPTIONS
While 2015 proves to be a highly anticipated year, we haven’t been promised anything yet. That said, 2014 will be quite a bit ambitious. To make up for the lack of slots in the regular subscription, some add-on subs will be needed to flesh out a more complete collection.
TWO-PACK MINI-SUBSCRIPTION featuring PRINCESS OF POWER and MOTU MINI-COMICS:
It’s no secret that this line has survived and thrived by He-Fans’ and She-Ravers’ teamwork. This is no different. With the over TEN She-Ra characters left to be formally announced, PoP is way behind. And this is where they play catchup. Switching off every other month with them are two-packs based on the vintage mini-comics fans have been begging for since the line started. The two-packs ship monthly, beginning in the first half of 2014.
January – FLUTTERINA vs. DOUBLE TROUBLE
February – MASKS OF POWER DEMONS
March – PERFUMA vs. HORDAK (Filmation)
April – SLAVE CITY! GARN and LODAR
May – SWEETBEE vs. ENTRAPTA
June – OO-LARR, THE JUNGLE HE-MAN and THE GODDESS (2.0)
Releasing the Defenders of Good vs. the Evil Horde allows PoP to be fleshed out outside the main sub, leaving an equal balance of factions for 2015. Plus, we finally get the 1st He-Man, Oo-Larr, as well as a well-deserved second pass at the Green Goddess. It gives us an opportunity to not only update her, but a chance at a long-requested upgrade of Teela as well. A separate cobra helmet from the cobra chest gear, a new two-piece outfit, Battleground Evil-Lyn’s arms/gauntlets, a green energy blast (reused from Castspella?), a new head sculpt, and staff means we not only get a refreshed pre-Sorceress, but some much needed groundwork for a possible new Teela (and Evil-Lyn) down the road as well. Speaking of 2.0’s …
FILMATION 2014 MINI-SUBSCRIPTION
So nice, let’s do it twice. Starting in July for the remainder of 2014, some longstanding Filmation heavyweights will finally be fully realized in all their plastic glory. And depending on your preference, you not only get more than one version of a character, but sometimes two characters at once!
July – EVILSEED (with interchangeable 200X parts)
August – GRANITA
September – LIZARD MAN
October – GENERAL SUNDER
November – HAWKE (with interchangeable DELORA head)
December – VULTAK (with KOWLA)
I think the Four Horsemen would nail an interchangeable look or a combination Filmation/200X execution for Evilseed and Hawke, just like Queen Marlena and Bow respectively. Vultak’s accessory, Kowla, is simply a Kowl repaint in Filmation colors and eyelashes painted on her. Lizard Man opens up a whole new leaner buck. A Hawke purchase doubles as a Delora purchase (or a female Avion army builder two-pack, essentially). And in a perfect world, I’d have Granita include Jewelstar in her jewel form, a missing accessory that should’ve been in the Star Sisters set. Solidarity in Rock People, my friends!
So that’s our dream 2014 lineup. Granted, our pre-NYCC predictions are very ambitious. We prefer to say it’s generously diverse. But this line has always given us more than we ever imagined. Shadow Weaver, Granamyr, and Castle Grayskull can attest to that. You’ll also notice we left out some heavy hitters as 2015 hostages. What’s next? Stay tuned for part two when we assemble our ultimate 2015 MOTU Classics lineup. Let’s keep this line going for another 30 years!
*Thanks to Veebee, and Emiliano Santalucia, Gbagok, and google at large for the images used in the article!
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