Whew! SDCC has come to a whirlwind of an end, and, as usual, Masters of the Universe was the big highlight for me. So, now is the time to move from predicting characters and covering them to raking them. Come check out our picks!
Here is how I would rank all of the great reveals for SDCC. Needless to say, it was tough because there are so many standouts, so I am looking forward to all of them!
16. SWEET BEE
A couple of these are kind of unfair in terms of ranking, simply because they were spoiled prior to the convention, so it took a big of the edge off. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Sweet Bee, she looks like she stepped right off of a Filmation cel, but, she did get spoiled and I don’t think she looks quite as good as the rest of the females that were revealed. Her costume just isn’t as visually interesting as, say, Spinnerella, and her antennae actually come out through the top of her head instead of off the head band, like in the source material.
15. SNAKE ARMOR HE-MAN
I am sure I will get some blow back on this pick, but this figure just doesn’t captivate me. The sculpt is beautiful, at least from the neck down, but I am not a fan of the Snake Armor at all. It is too busy and scattershot for my tastes, and that big patch of unprotected shoulder is ridiculous for the purpose since a snake man can just take a big bite out of He-Man’s exposed traps. I know MYP fans are finally getting that “200x” head, but it looks too surfer dude for me. Hsss is certainly the better part of the pack.
14. HOVER BOTS
Skeletor has an army! I have been waiting for these for such long so I am absolutely THRILLED they are finally coming out early next year. That being said, I wish that they were a bit further along in the production cycle because I don’t think they really showed off how good they will eventually be. Usually I can overlook a figure being held together by blu tak, but since these guys are small and have spindly appendages, it really stood out, especially in the face of such stiff competition. I do think that they will shoot way up the list as we see them get further along. The different hands and stickers will be really neat and Brandon Sopinski (the new Mattel designer working on the line) said that they are working on a lenticular application for the “mouths.” That will be fantastic if it comes to pass.
13. ELDOR
Again, he is another one that got spoiled early, so it took the surprise factor away. He is one that I am thrilled to finally be getting and the “big three” of Preternia is complete with King Grayskull and He-Ro. Now the focus on that era goes to Veena, I suppose. Eldor has a ton of detailing so he is one of those figures that departs quite a bit from the prototype, but he still looks great for the most part. The hood did not make it through production quite as nicely as I would have hoped, so it takes a slight hit there.
12. HUNTARA
The fan choice from SDCC 2013 is finally coming out in March of 2015. It already seems like ages, so the wait will be killer. I want Lord Masque very much, but I did vote for the purple Silaxian, so I glad she is coming out. Overall, I think she looks good, but there are a couple of things I hope Mattel design addresses before she goes into production. The first one is an easy fix — she needs to be a slightly darker shade of purple. As of now, she is more lavender than anything so it doesn’t look quite a fierce. The other thing is that I wish she had slightly stronger features so she looked more like Grace Jones, the model for the character. Now, that might have been changed on purpose, but I still miss it. An alternate masked head would have been cool as well, but I would not be displaying her with it anyway.
11. ARROW
Again, this is another figure that look fantastic, but in the midst of everything else, he kind of gets lost. I love that they followed the Filmation model for him and the fact that you can display him with or without the wings is just perfect. I am a bit torn on the coloring, though. On the one hand, I LOVE the bright and striking orange on the tail, wings, and hooves — it looks great. However, I do find the pink on the figure to be slightly too amped up as it looked more reddish on the cartoon. That is a small nitpick to an otherwise great figure that will be a great addition to the Rebel shelf in November.
10. King HSSSS
Like Snake Armor He-Man, this figure is a long-time coming and he turned out great. The standard King Hssss figure is one of the least beloved in the entire Classics line, so I know a lot of people will be looking to this figure as a new alternative. The snake form is the best and worst part of the figure, though. It is the best because it looks like it hopped right out of an Earl Norem painting is leaps and bounds better than the first snake form. The bad part is that it won’t actually be included with the two-pack and will come with a different figure later in the year. TEASE! Since I am not really a 200x guy, I will display this figure in snake form and make him some kind of “snake god” or something, he looks like he could be more of an “unnamed one” than Gorpo.
9. SPINNERELLA
The “plussed-up” figure of Club Etheria, Spinnerella is packed full of new tooling and deco. Scott said this was the only way to be true to the figure because the cheaper price point version just wasn’t doing the character justice. It is inspired that we get alternate ways to display her hair (cartoon or vintage doll) so a big thumbs up for that. I do wish her tassels were more split and thinner though, but I am sure that is an engineering requirement. At any rate, the most sought after figure from the vintage PoP line is finally coming to Classics, and higher price point or no, she will be a heck of a lot cheaper than the original.
8. GWILDOR
Holy smokes, you can get lost in all of the detailing of this figure. The “holiday” item for 2014, Gwildor is coming with 100 percent new tooling to boot. He is a hybrid of the movie version an the old toy with most of the look coming from the movie, but the color decor coming from the toy. His accessories are outstanding as well and the fact that we get his staff and the prototype of the Cosmic Key makes me very happy. I know he will cause some controversy based on the fact that many might see him as not quite fitting in with the line due to his detail, but I think he makes through just under the wire.
7. GALACTIC PROTECTOR SHE-RA
The variant figure in the Club Etheria line, this figure made cool a She-Ra no one probably thought they wanted. The design is so toyetic and the fact that we know we will be getting the rest of the vintage Rebels by the end of 2015 makes this a great addition to the line. I love how she syncs up with He-Man and has costume cues from the vintage doll. Nate Baertsch did a fantastic job with her design and she fits in just like as though there was a vintage version of this figure. The sword and shield are definitely highlights.
6. TUNG LASHOR
Damn, he looks good! The purple snake man “creature” always had a bit of a departure from a snake design, but he was always one of my favorites. He was kind of spoiled before his reveal, but seeing him full-on and in person was a great experience. His colors are so great and he will stand out amongst the rest of his brethren. I am very happy they are including two heads to recreate the action feature, but mine will most certainly be displayed with that wicked tongue!
5. OO-LARR
Wow! The original media representation of He-Man is finally coming to Classics and he looks really great in all of his barefoot glory. This is the true savage He-Man fans have been begging for for a long time, so it makes a nice capper as the club exclusive figure for the “final” year of the line. I think he looks good with long hair and minimal costume, but my favorite thing about this figure is that it includes a vintage He-Man head. That thing is BEAUTIFUL! As soon as Oo-Larr arrives, my old Classics He-Man head is going in a bin and this one will set forever on the shoulders of my standard He-Man figure.
4. LIZARD MAN
Hooray for Filmation and hooray for Lizard Man! He looks like he stepped right off of the screen and I am thrilled with the fact that he is getting a more slender base as it is what the design requires. I think the Horsemen did a great job realizing him and they were smart with the new pieces as that tail will certainly be used for Saurod later in the year. As the only Filmation-originated Heroic Warrior, Lizard Man will stand with all of the rest and fact that he brought the bone sword and Diamond Ray of Disappearance with him is such a great plus. I hope we get to see more Filmation as the year rolls on.
3. MERMISTA
YES! My long-time Rebel hold-out is finally here and I think they knocked her out of the park, and in a standard figure slot to boot. She has a fantastic mermaid tail complete with full articulation and sparkly deco. She also has her vintage toy legs so if you want to display her as land-bound, you can do that as well. She comes with her vintage accessories and a new stand so help support her fish form, so they really crossed off all of the requirements of this figure. Is she the best Great Rebellion figure yet? Right now I am saying yes, so I hope everything finalizes perfectly for her arrival in December.
2. NINJOR
Holy cow, does he look incredible! As one of the last additions to the vintage line, I know many consider him to be too derivative for MOTU, but I think he fits in perfectly. Ninjas kick ass in every situation, even against mighty techno-barbarians. The embellishments to his costume are great and I like that a little bit of armor was added. His red eyes fit the figure perfectly and I am glad they went with the monstrous forearms and feet. I have always seen him as more of a “Oni” styled demon rather than just a ninja guy, so the figure checks all of the right boxes for me. He did not get skimped on any of his accessories and they even added an addition one — a removable rendition of Jitsu’s 200x belt. So, if you have been wanting to plus him up a bit, now you will get your chance. The only tough thing about this figure is deciding which to display — his masked or unmasked head.
1. BATTLE RAM
Okay, I am normally a figure guy more than a vehicle guy, but I was so very thrilled to see this baby finally getting a release. It turned out perfectly and is absolutely beautiful. I know it took several years longer than we would have liked, but the wait was most certainly worth it and it is a BEAST. I love that they did a swap out for the snake head on the Sky Sled to make it a little more unique and yes, the missile will launch. Woo! I know some people are upset that Man-at-Arms is included, but I think that is great because you get a 200x unhelmeted head on, essentially, a Filmation body, so you can really build your perfect MAA based off of all of his releases. This is so cool, it speaks to the strength of the line and, dammit, bring me the Talon Fighter or Roton or Land Shark or Road Ripper in 2015!
So those are my rankings — do you agree or disagree? Sound off in the comments below. I think they knocked it out of the park in terms of reveals and 2015 looks like it will be a blast to collect, so go subscribe if you have not already. We will have a lot more MOTU SDCC coverage coming soon.
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