It’s Monday, kids, and while I am sad that the weekend is over, I am happy that we we get to start this week with another look at some new Masters of the Universe Classics figures. Benty and I have been trying to lock off all eight of the latest offerings from Super 7, and while I dig the Club Grayskull figures, the “traditional” Classics figures being offered via the Collector’s Choice are my real jam. So, while Benty got to talk about Karg the other day, I am getting a shot at looking at my tied-for-first-place figure in this series with Wrap Trap. Oh, and the long-demanded Granita is here, too.
Unicorns, man. Wrap Trap, along with Karg, has been my unicorn in the MOTU Classics line. Sure, the “Horde Mummy” was originally left in the dustbin of history as nothing more than a concept drawing for the 80s line, but man, ever since that image came into the public eye, he has had a cult following. Back in the Matty Collector days, we were always told that Wrap Trap and Karg were not possible for the line due to rights and licensing issues. So, the fact that I badly wanted figures of both of these characters only exacerbated the appeal of them because we could not have them. Well, that is yesterday’s news at the point and I have been beaming since these guys arrived on my doorstep.
Needless to say, out of this duo, Wrap Trap was destined to by my favorite, but the fact of the matter is that, regardless of character preference, Wrap Trap is most certainly the better figure overall. But, let’s not mince words and just get right to, and since I love anticipation and saving the best for last, let’s start with…
GRANITA
Admission time: the Rock Warrior have never been my favorite concepts/characters in the annals of MOTU mythology. Yeah, the transforming gimmick was pretty cool, but they never really felt like “proper” (I realize it is ridiculous to apply that) MOTU characters to me, and while I had Stonedar and Rokkon, they only ever got infrequent play as a kid and never really did much. That is a person preference thing though, and I only say that because I felt like I was in the minority in terms of being excited to finally get a Granita figure. I am glad to have her, but she has not ever been near the top of my most-demanded characters, and the other three figures in this assortment would have had lay complete eggs for her to emerge as my favorite of the group.
However, it didn’t even have a chance to get to that consideration, though, because at the end fo the day, I think she is weakest figure in the group, and it is not really close. She looks good for what is there (I mean, we are talking about the Horsemen here), but I think she could have used a bit more detailing to pull her up the level of the other Rock Warriors, instead of skewing more towards her straight up Filmation look (even though that was her primary (only?) media representation). I do have to say that I like the colors an awful lot, though, and she stands out a lot amongst her brother and Stonedar. This figure has some loose ankles and one of her hips is a bit gummy, so there is some engineering snafus going. Also, the red part of her top is a separate piece (I am not going to make an over the shoulder boulder holder reference here), and it does not cover all the way down due to the way it is attached, so you can see some pink coming out of the bottom. Underboulder maybe? Stop.
While MOTUC is a line deeply rooted in nostalgia, and I have truckloads of it for the original 1980s line, I personally love every aspect of this modern line so much, that it has probably eclipsed my love for the original. I know that is a terrible thing to say, and the original line is still in my top five lines of all time, but maaaaaaan, from an action figure standpoint, MOTUC consistently improves upon what come before it and the collection is not miles beyond what was achieved by then, at least from a figure standpoint. However, the rock transformation gimmick is NOT one of those things that has improved with modern day figure-making. The original figure accomplished the trick so much better than these new ones, and it was so easy to do. I get it, the MOTUC Rock Warriors were designed to be able to remove the rock pieces, and I appreciate that for sure, but getting that comes with the trade-off of a much more cumbersome transformation.
That point is taken up a notch with Granita because, to be honest, I cannot even get her to completely transform. At least with the other two, after some finagling, I could aways get them fully into their rock form, but with Granita, I can only get her close with some of the seams still open, and you can see the actual figure between the rock parts. I think some of this has to do with the fact that my figure has a gummy hip, but I fiddled with getting her into place for far too long, and the picture here is as close as I got. Don’t mistake me, it REALLY appreciate that Super 7 included all the pieces (yes, I know I have the legs pieces on backwards in the pictures), and it is not even a huge deal to me anyway because I will likely never post the figure in the rock form, but trying to get it there was a trek of frustration to be sure.
Overall, I find Granita to come up a little short compared to guys like Karg, Wrap Trap, Quakke, Fang-or, but I don’t think she is a bad figure. Super 7 seems to be having the most trouble with the female figures in the line right now, so I hope they continue to try to make improvements when they can. I realize for some, this is a big get in terms of a figure that has been missing in the collection for some time, but my heart lies much more with…
WRAP TRAP
Yeah, I pretty much sang my song of devotion to this character in the opening of this feature, but this figure give me that “old MOTUC feeling” so strongly, and it is a wonderful reminder of why I love the line as much as I do. Wrap Trap and Karg are representative of the best new figures Super 7 has done in this line (Fang-Or and Quakke are up there, too), and aside from some plastic choices here and there and some stiff joints, this figure is absolutely great. The Four Horsemen did this dude so much justice in taking him from drawing to final figure that he actually lands as one of my top ten of the year. Like so many figure in this property before him, I am so drawn to the colors and the familiar, yet very “MOTU” concept, that I have been missing a muscled-out mummy in my life up until now. Plus, he fits in so well with the Evil Horde and their recalls to the Universal Monsters stable. We have had our Dracula, Creature, Wolf Man, etc. for since the beginning, and now the mummy takes his rightful place.
The bandage details and rotting out flesh (in glorious neon green) makes Wrap Trap one of the most sculpt-intensive figures in the entire line. There is not a smooth spot on this dude and I love that bolt from the typical MOTU symmetry, but still fits in perfectly. He has some wrappings that flair off from the body, and they look good, but I wish they were not made of such stiff plastic and had more give to them. That is a small nitpick, but I could see this guy taking a shelf dive onto a hard floor and having some of the wraps break off, so that would be my warning about this guy.
Wrap Trap’s weapons had to be contrived from scratch as there were never any accessories that accompanied the original drawing (at least to my knowledge), and again, the Horsemen did a great job here. Being a mummy in the Horde, Wrap Trap requires to carry a crossbow, and the scarab motif applied here is pretty damned perfect. Yeah, it is a bit clean and garish for me, but I am so glad they included this, even as the “Egyptian” influences also call out the Snake Men… much like his curved sword. This would be the more practical weapon, and it is fairly straightforward save for the ornate snake head handle. I like to think of this as a total mockery of King Hssss and his compatriots, so that is how I will play it up for sure.
Overall, I really could not be any happier with Wrap Trap, and adding him and Karg to my shelf is a dream come true long in the making. MOTUC doesn’t keep my attention on monthly repeat anymore due to Super 7’s different release pattern, but that doesn’t mean I am any less excited about getting new figures when they are released. The next series of Collector’s Choice has not been revealed yet (Club Grayskull has, though), so I am waiting in eager anticipation for what is next. Whatever it might be, I hope it is in the same vein as Wrap Trap, because he is just awesome.
