To be considered for a Throwback Thursday article, and action figure has to be at least 10 years old. So, as much as we probably don’t want to believe it, that qualifies this 200x Mer-Man for a spotlight feature. By Eternia, time does fly.
The 2000-ish relaunch of the Master of the Universe toy property was a pretty big deal. I mean, it was the first time that we were getting new, non-reissue MOTU toys since the very early ’90s. In addition to the new toys, the Four Horsemen were brought on to handle the sculpting duties, and there was a new cartoon to support it all. Thus, many fans thought we were entering a new golden age of Eternia, but as it turned out, it would not last long.
Due to terrible handling of the show (in terms of scheduling) by Cartoon Network (they have a long and ugly history of these things), it was pulled after two seasons and the action figure line did not last much longer than that. The latter was largely due to endless variants and repacks of He-Man and Skeletor with the supporting characters becoming rare unicorns on store shelves. Thus, it became a quick burn as far as time goes, but it did leave a lasting legacy in terms of story and character.
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the 200x period of MOTU, and while I appreciate its role in helping to pave the road to Classics, I mark it near the bottom of list in terms of MOTU incarnations. I like a lot of the elements of the cartoon, and it gave us a chance to see characters like the Snake Men on a show for the first time, but while I appreciate the effort given by the Four Horsemen, stylistically, the 200x aesthetic has never been “MOTU” to me. The hard line and “anime” style was pushed by focus groups and a popular fad shoehorned MOTU into a style instead of letting it find its own. That is not a knock to the Horsemen or the managers handling the line; that is just how things go. Plus, the reduction of articulation at the production level and the inclusion of some action feature really hampered the figure for me.
However, even through I am more of a Classics and vintage guy, I still find some great things in the 200x line, and it just so happens that my favorite MOTU character is also my favorite figure from the line. I remember the day I got Mer-Man — it was filled with joy and relief. Right when the line launched, it caused a frenzy because anyone not named “He-Man” or “Skeletor” was really tough to come by, and Mer-Man as not actually included in the first case assortments. Naturally, I was really worried because if there was going to be a figure I NEEDED from the line early on, it was Mer-Man.
I eventually scored one on eBay (I couldn’t wait for retail, not for Mer-Man), and even though he did not strike me like the original figure, I actually thought he had a better redesign than most of the characters in the line. A lot of his features were amplified to feel like an undersea creature, and his head sculpt finally resembled that of the vintage art and card backs that I had been in love with my entire life. Plus, his action feature was subtle, so it did not alter the aesthetic or most of the articulation of the figure.
Mer-Man retained his classic green color in this figure, but the palette also expanded greatly when it comes to his costume and armor. Different shades of orange and even copper were now a part of his look, but as garish as that sounds, when you are talking about MOTU, you need at least three-four outlandish colors just keep par with the rest of the field. This is where the Horsemen did some great work because while they did introduce a lot of new elements to the figures in 200x, most everything was always in the spirit of the character, and Mer-Man’s revamped design is certainly a testament to that. While he did get an eventual repaint (that I never acquired), it was never distributed or marketed as much as this original.
Another spot where the 4H brought new but appropriate ideas were in his weaponry. I am not a fan of the giant sword, but Mer-Man finally got a trident for the first time ever, and that is saying something because a trident is pretty requisite for any sea-dwelling character, be he hero or villain.
I still look at my 200x Mer-Man figure fondly, and he is actually the only figure from that line that is currently displayed in my toy room. While that is mostly due to space, I think he is one of the best figures from the 200x line, and my little Mer-Man collection would not be complete without him. It has been fun taking another look at this figure, so I will probably dust off some of the other figures from this line in future installments of TBT. Thanks for looking!