After all these years of Masters of the Universe Classics, the Matty Collector team has finally opened the floodgates to release a line of figures inspired by the Filmation cartoon. Sure, we have gotten characters from the show in the Classics line for years now, but this is the premier of getting an A-list roster inspired by the cartoon’s designs. As with the Classics line, “Club Grayskull” is rolling out the star first: He–Man.
For some, this means they are finally getting the definitive look for their heroes and villains, and with the direction the line is already taking, this seems like the only acceptable way to start this feature:
It feels good, doesn’t it? There is no arguing that the Filmation cartoon had just as much to do with the Masters’ property success as the 1980s toy line, so what was once dubbed “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” then “Classics 2.0” and now “Grayskull” has become the preeminent release for 2016, and it serves as a great complement to the more fan-focused “Collector’s Choice” line. There has been a lot that has been said about the changing of the guard in terms of the management group handling Matty Collector, but I cannot deny that this change of pace for the brand is refreshing, even though, for me, it is more novelty expansion, but I mean that in the best way.
I am not sheepish when i talk about the “Classics aesthetic” being my favorite incarnation of MOTU ever. I love the look, feel, and cohesion that it brings, so it is that love that automatically relegates the Filmation line to an add-on of variations, instead of new default characters, Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the original Filmation characters and how they have been integrated into Classics, but with the exception of the Club-exclusive Evilseed (my preferred look for him), I am treating this line as supplementary. If I am being perfectly frank, I will take new characters over variations nine time out of ten, but fact that this club brings the A-listers back in the fold represents something the Matty brand desperately needed.
So, while I was just king of “warm” to the idea of this execution when it was announced, with the exception of Evilseed, I have actually come to really embrace it at this point because I am not just a Classics collector, I collect most things MOTU-related. That is what is great about this new line — not only does it offer some their preferred looks, it gives others a different part of the history that can be collected and displayed as a whole other entity. That is how I am approaching it, and get ready for lightning to strike because I think that, for the first time in my entire action figure collecting life, I am considering keeping a collection in the package.
That is the perfect lead-in to discussing something I normally gloss over in action figure features, the packaging. Overall, I absolutely LOVE the packaging for this line, and rather than lament tossing the boxes away, I am going to embrace them. Unlike the typical Classics packaging, Club Grayskull is really differentiating itself from the standard line with a completely new look and execution. Rather than the standard blister, this line is being released in a higher-end window box, complete with removable slip cover. For He-Man, the box shows off the figure well, and as you can see, it places him squarely in the entrance to Castle Grayskull in the midst of the his signature transformation pose. It is slick and colorful, and the back adds just enough wording to give a requisite recall to the canon of the show, without getting too self-important.
The slip cover offers a stark variation in terms of display options, and a move that would be retail suicide, the front completely obscures the figure behind the Jawbridge of our favorite fortress of mystery and power. This works fine for an online-exclusive release, and I love the effect that it creates in-hand because it mirrors He-Man’s transformation pose, with a packaging transformation. The back gives you a full look at some Filmation-inspired character art as well, and all things being equal, I find this to be the weakest part of the slip cover. He-Man looks be to be watered-down version of some more detailed art, so while it get the point across (mostly), I feel this is a bit of an uninspired copy. For most, this probably won’t matter much, but I am looking forward to Trap Jaw’s art to see if there might be some improvement.
For the figure itself, for all of the differences this line represents from Classics, it is still being handled by the same Mattel design group, and, of course, the incomparable Four Horsemen. I am not going to deny it, I believe that translating the Filmation look to modern figures is MUCH more of a challenge than updating previous toys (feel free to disagree), but the 4H have continued to show their fantastic skills and “feel” for the property. I have no doubts that He-Man was likely the biggest challenge of all of the characters included in the 2016 subscription, but for the most part, I think they got him just right.
It all start’s with He-Man’s likeness to the very fluid Filmation art, and most of that comes from his face and hair. Getting simple 2D cel art into a 3D sculpture is no small task, but He-Man’s iconic look and expression rings true with this release. The conversation and arguments about this figure will likely focus on this likeness, but I for one am very pleased with the final result as it successfully translates the art, while still holding true to a modern aesthetic. The hair is in the iconic pageboy shape that is swept just to one side as if it is in the transformation sequence from the opening credits of the show. It makes for a nice blend of cel art and three-dimensional detail.
I find the face to be well-executed too, and He-Man’s expression is rendered “just like you remember.” His look is emotive but still fairly neutral so that he is not locked into too much of a singular moment. The eyebrows have a lot to do with that, and overall they are accurately portrayed, if not the *slightest* bit thick to my eyes. The Filmation He-Man has been subject to so many artist renditions, both in two and three dimensions (third party MOTU customizers alone have featured a bevy of takes), so achieving that perfectly iconic look to every pair of eyes that claps a look at this figure is going to be nigh impossible, but I find it to be a centered execution.
The rest of the frame of the figure borrows heavily from the standard MOTUC base body, so even though the aesthetic is markedly different from Classics, it still shares some ancestry. The torso, upper arms, and upper legs are borrowed verbatim, so if you own just about any Classics figure, you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect. The figure does depart from the standard line quite a bit more than what I was expecting, and this is most apparent in the harness, gauntlets, furry shorts, and boots.
Frankly, these new pieces involve quite a bit more tooling than what I would have guessed, but at the end of the day, the argument for being true to the source has won out to blending better with Classics. The aforementioned pieces are all new, but I was completely expecting, and perfectly okay with, the figure using the same shorts, boots, and gauntlets as the standard Classics He-Man. That would have been a compromise in style to be sure, but the cohesion and cost-effectiveness of that execution seemed like a given prior to getting the full look at this figure. These new pieces do a wonderful job of translating the somewhat simplified details of the Filmation show into a rendition with a whole other dimension. Sure, it might be easy to tag this direction as a watered-down take of Classics, but that is a false assumption as that is not what this line is trying to be — it is a homage to the show more than anything else.
To accomplish this, these news pieces have copied the designs from the show in accurate form: the details are smoothed out (compared to Classics) in the boots, shorts, and gauntlets, and the harness leaves the red accents behind but adds the accurate sheath.
All of this seems to be a great take on the show’s look, but it all somehow gels with Classics at the same time, as odd as that might sound. I mean, to me, this is Filmation He-Man, and it would never displace the standard He-Man (with vintage toy head) as my default hero of Eternia, but if that IS what you are looking for, the figure should blend pretty well with your established collection. Personally, I have never been a huge fan of the Filmation sword sheath, and the smoothed-out details are a bit too much for my OCD to add him to my Classics collection, but my take will not be everyone’s, and that is beauty of the balance in the figure.
One thing I am very happy to see, and sad that it is not present so ubiquitously in Classics, is the added articulation in this figure. First and foremost, this figure has the wrist hinges the standard He-Man has been begging for since the day he was released. He can FINALLY “hold aloft his sword” and say, “By the Power of Grayskull” in the most convincing of fashion. I don’t know (or want to know) a He-Man fan alive that does not support that. Additionally, the other big addition is proper ankle hinges (for side-to-side movement) that has been a scattershot across the previous line. The movement is fantastic, and it is remarkable how two little points of articulation can add so much range. Now, that being said, these are not the most visually pleasing ankle rockers I have ever seen, and I wish they would have followed the Hasbro Marvel Legends formula for them, but they are not NEARLY are ugly as the pre-release dust-up would have you believe. The rocker sets the front to back hinge a little high on the ankle so it elongates the shin a bit, but it is not terrible. Just be prepared for this figure to be slightly taller than a standard Classics figure.
Finally, the figure comes with two accessories: his Sword of Power in the Filmation look, and a brick block designed to hold said sword, along with She-Ra’s Sword of Protection. I have to say, I am not overly hot on either of these accessories. The sword is requisite, and I wanted it, but it is a bit too wide and does not match the source art as well as it could. Plus, going “full Filmation” in this case a little too much here, as a some silver accents would do wonders to break up the blob of grey. The sword holder is fine, and it works as it should, but it is not at all exciting on its own. I don’t know, maybe there is a market for it out there, but I would have been much happier with a new and more dynamic artifact.
When this club was announced, I knew I would be in because there was no way I was going to miss the exclusive Evilseed figure, and while he remains the biggest draw, I am really liking this He-Man figure, and I am very much looking forward to Trap Jaw, Skeletor, Beastman, Evil-lyn, and Clawful. These will sit as an addendum to Classics, not something to blend therein, but that is perfectly fine because it enriches my overall MOTU collection. I have put this figure back in the package since shooting the photos, and I am going to keep him there, at least until I can see all of the figures together from this first year (minus Evilseed, he is going in the Classics collection) because I really dig the packaging. I hope that, if the line continues in 2017, we will get more updates but also some original Filmation characters, too. There are so many to do yet, but at the same time, I REALLY want my Filmation Mer-Man, Hordak (the right way), and several others. If you were hesitant about this line, give He-Man a chance, you might end up like me and like him a lot more than you expected.
