I am an ardent and passionate Masters of the Universe collector. I am also a huge fan of General Sunder (now SundAr), and even I was pretty convinced we would never see him in the MOTU Classics line. Well, here we are …
There is a LOT of really cool Filmation-originating characters in the MOTU world. No matter how you feel about the tone or the stories from the cartoons, so many of the designs and sheer number of new characters introduced by the He-Man and She-Ra shows really added to the overall landscape of what is represented by MOTU overall. Most of these characters only ever got one episode to make an impact, but guys like Evilseed, Strong Arm, Icer, and a host of others left an impact lasting enough to finally get their day in the sun when it comes to toys. General Sundar (with an “A” now, for possible trademark needs, or just a plain old spelling mistake) though, he actually had TWO episodes during the Princess of Power cartoon, and they might be two of the best of that entire run.
If you REALLY want the best lowdown on General Sundar, go check out the Princess of Power episodes “An Unexpected Ally,” and “Return of the General.” These are Sundar’s two starring turns and in those scant 44 minutes of run time, you actually get one of the best non-regular character development, and two well-written and exciting episodes to take place on Etheria, or Eternia for that matter. If you want the Cliff’s Notes version, here it is: General Sundar was a life-long Horde military man who, while fighting for the causes of the Horde, always maintained a strong sense of honor and justice. He was a mentor to Adora during her time in the ranks, and like her, he eventually saw the evil of the Horde for himself and eventually turned on them to be an ally of the Great Rebellion, and a farmer.
Unlike Adora, Sundar was never subject to any mind control, and he served and abandoned the Horde of his own free will. His second episode (a rarity in Filmation) really amps up the drama as he goes on a “man on a mission” run to rescue his wife and daughter who were enslaved by Hordak. His military background and prowess were harnessed and put on display by the Rebellion, and his journey as a character followed an interesting route from devout Hordesman to family farmer. In those two episodes, Sundar gets more character development than a lot “main” MOTU characters have gotten in multiple media outlets over the course of over 30 years, so I find him to be particularly interesting.
So I am not just “saying it” when I state he is my favorite heroic PoP show-originating character, and while he certainly warrants it, I am still a little surprised we have gotten a figure of him in the line. He can be easily overlooked, and the PoP cartoon had a LOT of new characters to cover in this line, but I am just thrilled to have him. I have been making the case for a long time now, but as usual, the Four Horsemen followed a logical formula to construct the figure and, as usual, added some logical accessories to make for a satisfying release.
I have always been a big fan of the Horde Trooper design, and, when you think about it, things are always more badass with a crested helmet, so in classic military legion logic, there would be no mistakes about the fact that Sundar was a general. The head sculpt turned out really nice, and the lines from the helmet’s design in the show are recreated here to give his “face” a bit more definition. His expression is pretty placid, as was expected, but I like paint work done on his eyes, they are expressive without being too pointed. Now, as a big Sundar fan, I might rant a bit about how this release should have contained an alternate, helmetless head, because he appeared without his helmet quite a bit. I realize it was furloughed to provide accessories for a previous release, and that is cool, but I am always a proponent of accessories supporting the actual release first, then others.
The Horde emblem is removed in his new chest piece (much like Adora, this was not present in their uniforms, mostly likely due to their eventual turn to good), but just about everything else in the Sundar figure is the reused Trooper base. This includes all of the electronic-looking pieces under the chest armor (that extend up to his neck) so if you take the armor off, it would appear that Sundar was actually a cyborg. I mean, while there is context from the show to display Sundar without his armor, the reuse doesn’t really bother me because that cuts pretty deep. Sundar’s shoes/boots are also the same grey color as the armor, and this is actually an inaccuracy from the show to the figure. I don’t know if this was an oversight, but it makes Sundar a bit more monochromatic as a result, so I might consider swapping the feet with a Horde Trooper I already cannibalized for a custom, or just paint them. As is it doesn’t look bad, but it is a curious change.
Now, while I might have seemed a bit disgruntled about the lack of a helmetless Sundar head, this figure DOES have some very interesting accessories, but most of them support the Horde Trooper from which he is modeled. He DOES get his essential twin pistols (that fit nicely into the holsters), and these are essential as his weapons of choice, being a skilled marksman. The sculpt on these is all new, so I appreciate that since the could have cut corners and reused something from the tooling library. Next, there is an axe that follows the tradition of new Horde weaponry modeled after the bat emblem. This is actually a cool new piece by the Horsemen and I like the styling and effectiveness of it much more than the bat shield that was included with the Troopers.
Sundar also ships with three new heads, and while you technically can use them on this figure, the new Navy Trooper, Eternian Invasion Trooper, and modern comic Trooper helmets work much better on the actual Horde Trooper body. I don’t really have much of a use for the comic head, though it is unique and the face is interesting, but the navy and old school helmets have been big wants of mine for a long time, so they add some cool variety to my legion of troops. At any rate, all of them are done well, and if you missed the original release of the Horde Troopers, they are apparently being rereleased this November on Mattycollector.com, so be on the lookout for that. I wanted to remind you of that since Matty must have overlooked it …
I have said this a lot over the course of the MOTU Classics line, but I *still* find it amazing that I am getting action figures of characters I never really dreamed would ever happen. Ticking off guys like Evilseed, Shokoti, Scorpio, and Fangman has been a thrill, and now I actually have a General Sundar figure – one of my all-time favorites! This goes to show that the line can still keep it fresh, even after all of this time, so with NYCC just around the corner, I am very hopeful to see what Super7 will be showing off in the line’s next incarnation. Long live MOTUC!
