In December of 2015, Masters of the Universe Classics wraps up its long run before shifting into a different-yet-similar form that retains all the familiar elements, yet presents them in a slightly different way. So in that sense, getting Dare (or He-ro II as he’s called) as a final Classics figure is entirely apropos, since everything about him is different-yet-similar to what has come before. And while many might disagree, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing at all.
There have been many controversial figures throughout the history of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics line. From Gorpo to Spector to Spirit of Hordak to Point Dread Teela’s face, we’ve all seen how vocal the fans of the line can be when they don’t entirely agree with these little plastic guys. From fat armor to black plastic, the issues have been well-discussed to the point of fatigue. But floating underneath all of this has been a little concept that either is accepted or loathed: Son of He-Man. Was he an inevitability, or would Mattel skip right over him? Opinions raged. Raged, I tells ya. Some wanted him. Others hated the very idea of him. Like him, love him, or loathe him, Dare has arrived. Tina Turner might have said we don’t need another He-ro, (kind of) but Mattel clearly disagreed.
And you know what? I’m glad.
I’m fine with it mainly because I don’t see the existence of He-Man’s son taking away from He-Man himself. Having Dare doesn’t mean I immediately retire my He-Man figure. Nothing is reduced by the existence of this toy. Nothing is marginalized, and nothing is ended. In fact, this only embiggens the mythology. Because as this is a concept that hasn’t been fleshed out at all outside the existence of the recent MOTUC mini-comics . . . Dare can be anything. He doesn’t have to be He-Man’s son. Masters of the Universe as a concept is such a fluid thing with so many variations on a core mythological structure that a piece of colored plastic with a trademarked name attached to it can be just as fluid. You can choose for him to be the Son of He-Man. You can choose for him to be an adopted son like in the original Filmation pitch. You can have him be a grandson or a relative further down the genetic line. To me, the three most important words in a brand like this are “what happens next.”
I’m looking forward to Skeleteen . . . who will in no way be called Skeleteen in my personal canon, because that is a horrible name that, if a name could be an actual person, would need to be dragged into the street and beaten with a tire iron.
Ignoring the controversy and just judging him from a pure figure standpoint, Dare is a lot of fun. He features the standard mixture of barbarian and science fiction elements: furry boots mixed with techy vests. He comes with two different vests: one that is the New Adventures of He-Man vest with a different paint job, and another that is more stripped down. I like the stripped-down, cross-strapped chest piece much more and will be keeping that as my standard for him. 
The clear red jewel in the middle of the vest is a nice touch. It could be a simple decorational element or it could have some mystical value, depending on your point of view. The shoulder pauldron features He-Man’s Iron cross motif, as do his gloves.
Since he’s supposed to be He-Man’s son, his face is very similar to the standard He-Man head, but it still manages to look slightly younger. It’s obvious there’s a relation between the two without this just being He-Man’s head or a redux of the New Adventures of He-Man head. Apparently, if you use the NA He-Man head and Dare’s head as a benchmark, ponytails are what guys will be wearing in Eternia’s future. The 200x Duncan head was ahead of the curve. And you’ll notice Dare has brown eyes compared with He-Man’s blue-eyes.
Some discussion has been made over the use of blue legs for Dare instead of bare legs. While I like the blue, I think bare legs would have been decent as well, andthey would have connected He-Man and Dare a bit more. I’m sure if you’d prefer that aesthetic, it would be a simple swap to give him bare legs from a spare Vykron or someone of similar skin tone.
Being a fairly stripped-down figure, Dare doesn’t suffer any particular loss of articulation, more so if you use the simpler vest. He can get into any number of battle-ready poses and looks great posing with either sword or blaster. He comes with a working holster and his gun can easily be stored there. He also comes with a sword that can be stored on his back.
And, yeah, that sword: it’s not the standard Power Sword that the He-Man figures have come with that replicates the original toy sword. This is the first Classics appearance of the Power Sword as depicted by Alfredo Alcala in the original MOTU mini-comics. If you’re one of the collectors that goes nuts for Alcala stylings in the Classics line (like me), then this may become your default Power Sword. Another bonus is that if you don’t care for his being He-Man’s son and chafe at the notion of someone other than He-Man holding the Power Sword, then this can just be an ordinary sword being held by a random dude called Dare that has no genetic connection to He-Man.
I’m not going to talk anybody into digging Dare if they’re against the entire concept of a son of He-Man. But I look at this line the same way I looked at the line when I was a kid, and I see every character as a brand new chance to add to the story. I’m into the past, present, and future of Eternia, and Dare is an integral part of that, regardless of whether he’s He-Man’s son or something else entirely. Masters of the Universe Classics as it was is done, and Dare is an official part of it. I’m eager to see what happens next.
