One of the newest executions in the world of Masters of the Universe toys is the MOTU Giants that debuted at the San Diego Comic Con back in July. Like with most things, there has been a lot discussion and debate about these huge MOTU figures, but up until now, we have not had a chance to feature any of these. I will admit, when I subscribed, I opted for the one-time shipping, so my set of figures will not be here until next month. However, we just got a preview copy of Stratos, so we wanted to bring you this First Look right away, ahead of his on-sale date of November 17th.
When I was at the Mattypalooza panel in San Diego, I have to admit, I was pretty pumped for the realization of the line that was teased in February at Toy Fair. I have been a big fan of the giant Star Wars figures from Gentle Giant for a long time, so to see a similar execution of one of my favorite properties was pretty exciting. The goal of these figures is to be faithful recreations of the vintage figures from the original 1980s MOTU line, only at a 12-inch scale. That is a huge step up from originals in terms of size, and from what we have seen of all of the releases, most of them are hitting the mark. The He-Man figure has come under the most fire in terms of his vintage accuracy (especially his head sculpt), but Skeletor, Beastman, and Stratos all look to be faithful renditions.
Stratos is my first “in-hand” experience with these Giants, and while I am a much bigger fan of the bad guys, I think Mattel has done a great job in creating this large vintage update. What I mean is, I think this figure accomplishes everything it sets out to do. Unlike the He-Man figure, the entire Stratos sculpt is pretty spot-on to the original figure. His wings and backpack have been slightly modified to be able accommodate the larger scale. For instance, the cuffs of the wings fold down more practically than the simple bend of the old figure, but since the plastic is thicker in the larger scale, I suspect this was a required alteration. As it stands, I don’t find it to detract from the aesthetic of the wings at all.
I do think that everything in the head and body is recreated in great form in terms of aesthetic, and Stratos is the first foray into the hairy “beastie” body for the line. The chest, back, and leg details are faithful to the original, and the details in the hair texturing is very nice, so I cannot wait to see it on Beastman. His feet have more defined toes than the rounded “slipper” feet of the original, so that is a bit of a change, but his left hand is splayed just like the 1980s figure. He has the knuckleduster-like armor on his right hand, and while it does not really bring all that much to Stratos, I think this is an essential piece for the aforementioned Beastman. I do want to point out that these figures are hollow, so they are probably lighter than you might originally suspect. Because of this, the sculpt does take a knock because each leg is cast from two pieces, so there is a big seam right at the knees. At first I thought this was an added bit of articulation, but it is not, and, I hate to say it, it is a bit distracting. If this figure is going to take a hit anywhere, this is the spot, and I really wish that they were able to avoid this in production.
The head, however, is spot-on perfect to my eyes, and it recreates the rather passive and nondescript expression of Stratos well. I know that he has never been the most exciting of the vintage Masters figures, but I am glad that Mattel did not choose to “spice” him up just for the sake of doing so. These figures are a spot where I think that slavish devotion to the source material should be followed because it is an important part of the aesthetic and philosophy of an execution like this. This is where there is some variance in each figure, depending on the attribute, so I hope Mattel will make it a priority to fully follow the soul of the vintage in possible future figures.
In terms of the construction of the figure, there are some things that have been recreated just like the original, and some that have been updated. For example, the “power punch” waist is just like figures of yore, if not quite a boisterously spring-loaded. However, the arms, for instance, are not detachable from the pegs like the vintage counterpart. Additionally, the “rubber band” legs have been modified with a nylon strap to avoid the eventual decay. I find this to be a fine update, and the divots at the tops of the legs are also appreciated to help lock the legs into a standing pose. I know that some of the old figures could be tough to stand, but it takes no effort for Stratos to stand tall.
I want to also point out that the backpack is red and the wings are blue on this figure. I find that interesting because, if I am not mistaken, this scheme is actually a variant of the original combination of blue backpack and red wings. Sure, they both existed in the vintage line, but I think the blue backpack version was more standard. I personally had the blue wing Stratos figure as a kid (the pictured figure is from the commemorative line), so I am fine with this, but I want to find out why they went this way when the new MOTU brand manager comes forward.
Finally, I want to say that I am torn on the packaging, and a lot of that is due to the fact that you have to, well, tear the packaging to open it. Gentle Giant has done a great job making their giant Star Wars cards resealable, so I REALLY wish that was done here too. I like how the bubble and front card art is a tribute to the originals as well, though I wish the “Masters of the Universe” logo were bigger. The card back, though, is an absolute joy and I LOVE seeing those original figure watercolors brought back in large form here. Just like I did as a kid, I am going to end up starting at that art for hours, probably wondering why the eventual Giant Mer-Man (my favorite MOTU character) doesn’t look like the art. It is great fun and I hope that all of those original paintings can be presented in some form in the future.
Overall, I think this Giant execution is fun new avenue for Masters. They are not going to be for everyone, and I wish a few things could be a different and more accurate to the vintage, but I find that I am enjoying this Stratos quite a bit. At any rate, it makes me excited to get my preferred Skeletor and Beastman figures next month, and I am relieved because, based on this, I do not regret going all-in on these. The Giants are priced at $75 a pop, so if you are good with the price point, you will be able to get Stratos this Monday at Matty Collector, and Beastman will follow in December.
*Thanks for checking out this First Look, and thanks to the MOTU team at Mattel for sending him along in advance for this feature.
Additional Links
