We can rebuild her. We have the technology. Or in this case, the sculpting skills. I think the Masters of the Universe team at Mattel caught the notion that when you apply a qualifier of “2.0” to something, you are either headed for a new software release or you have created some type of ultimate human/robot hybrid. Okay, maybe the latter is just wishful thinking on my part. At any rate, one of the most important characters to the entire Masters of the Universe mythos is getting a recharge in November and while it has long been speculated as to how this new “Version 2.0” of the Most Powerful Woman in the Universe would take shape, prior to SDCC 2011 it was all just speculation. Well, consideration and all due respect for She-Ra was given and not only are we getting an all new design for her, we are getting a proper variant to boot. That’s right – BUBBLE POWER is the latest craze in hip Grayskull Powers and since we are ardent Princess of Power supporters, we are so glad to bring you a First Look at this figure that she got pushed to the top of the pile for the November crew.
You know, when we first saw the original She-Ra MOTUC figure debut, I was pretty darn happy. I was happy for a lot of reasons, actually. First, I love PoP and I think I have made that pretty clear so I was very glad to get our first non-alter ego Rebellion member in the line. Second, I am strong supporter of an overall Style Guide design for PoP characters (more on that in a bit) so I was glad to be able to create that version. Finally – she is flippin’ She-Ra and it doesn’t get any more important than that. But then, like so many figures put under the microscope, the shortcomings of the figure started to trickle out once the figure was released. I am not going to go over all of those here because if you have not taken in more than you need to of it already, no need to subject you to it now. However, the prevailing issue the figure came to the forefront upon the announcement that Swiftwind (her noble steed) would be seeing release in November of 2011. Yeah, She-Ra’s dress was made of a plastic that is too rigid to allow her to sit properly on a horse. That is an issue, I mean, can you imagine if He-Man was not able to ride on Battle Cat? You just can’t have it. So, the team at Mattel and the Horsemen went to work on getting around this issue and it was ultimately decided that an all-new and improved figure of She-Ra would be needed. So, the mystery was out, the speculation began and the wait until this past SDCC was excruciating.
How would the figure be treated? Would she just have a new dress that was made of a softer material? Would she be the “toy” version of She-Ra? Fan suggestions, hopes and even demands were made clear and, even with a few hints dropped by Toy Guru leading into the convention season I personally had no real idea what to expect. My main thought was that if they were going to do a new version of She-Ra, it needed to be worthwhile and not just a straight up reconfiguration on the rumored new female body. At the same time though, I really had no interest in the only version of She-Ra that was able to sit on (what I suspected to be) a FilMation colors Swiftwind to be the doll version. Tricky. Plus, She-Ra deserves all of the respect of character that any A-Lister should get when it comes to creating a variant or update. Expectations were high and the pressure was certainly on.
I think I can say that I was not only one at the Mattypalooza panel that was quite surprised that the long-dubbed She-Ra 2.0 turned out to be Bubble Power She-Ra. Was anyone really thinking along those lines? Doesn’t it seem silly now that were not? I mean, I think Bubble Power was the most prolific of all of the She-Ra variants back in the 80s and at the end of the day, that is exactly what this figure should have been. When we got a new He-Man, it was Battle Armor; with Skeletor it was Keldor and on and on. So while I wanted what I considered to be MY definitive version of She-Ra (Style Guide) to be able to ride on Swiftwind, I found this to be a much more valuable option, especially in the execution.
As you know by now, Bubble Power She-Ra has been created so that you can mix and match parts with the first version of She-Ra so you have a LOT of options when it comes to making your preferred She-Ra. You can keep them as they are, flip the heads and lose the armor to make an improved Style Guide version, or use the toy head from the first version and the body from Bubble Power to make an improved (close to) original toy version. This is how you do it. I love having options and while MOTUC is the ONLY line I collect where I actually display variants, it is still of utmost importance for me to be able to get what I consider to be my definitive version of a character. It looks like I can add She-Ra to that list now.
The funny thing about that is that I did not realize I needed a lot of the improvements to my original She-Ra before I got them. I suppose that could be construed as lack of faith in the ability for them to improve something, but it is not that at all – was just happy with the She-Ra I had. Now I am thrilled because a She-Ra figure that was middle of the pack at best in terms of position amongst all the MOTUC females just now became a frontrunner. But, I still need to be able to display a Bubble Power She-Ra too, right? Well, that is covered as well. So here is my current configuration for the two versions of She-Ra we have now gotten, taking into account the great ability to mix and match. My “standard” She-Ra is made up of the Style Guide head and cape, the silver two-toned Sword of Protection from second Weapons Pak and the body of Bubble Power She-Ra. That leaves the body from the first She-Ra with the head, accessories and armor from this “2.0” version to form Bubble Power. Now, I did this because I want my iconic She-Ra to be the “best” version on my shelf, but the new body and costume from the BP She-Ra (not counting the armor for the moment) also has so many nice details to it, it is almost a shame to cover them up.
Like I said before, I am a total Style Guide guy when it comes to the PoP crew, but the Horsemen did such a great job integrating details on Bow and Catra that I guess I have become more of an “essence” of the Style Guide guy. Keep the look, but ratchet up the details in appropriate places. It should come as no surprise that this Classics approach is my favorite design for PoP characters, the Classics looks are also my favorite from every other MOTU incarnation as well, and that includes the vintage figure characters. This She-Ra falls right in line with that design choice and I am really happy for it.
Starting with what is easy to see on the new body – I love the textured and “bejeweled” details on her new gauntlets and boots. They are very much up to par with what was done with Bow and while they keep the look of the SG, there detail adds interesting eye-catchers along the way. All of the joints are pretty solid, including her ankles. The dress is also a marked improvement both from a form and function perspective, and that is the main reason why I wanted to use this body for my standard She-Ra. See, underneath that (admittedly) neat removable Bubble Power armor is a marked improvement to the look of She-Ra’s iconic dress. The most striking of which is that we FINALLY have the color white in our MOTUC palette. Not off-white, not bone, not light gray – WHITE. This new dress is WHITE, brilliantly white. Yes! It is amazing what a slight tonal shift can do to completely change the aesthetic of a rather simple outfit. There is no way I am going to cover that up. Secondly, the dress (thanks to the new female body) cuts as much more feminine silhouette and can easily turn at the waist. I love how she looks more slender (but still strong) now and I hope that when the next female in the line is unveiled (I’ll take Frosta at Power-Con for the win, Alex) that she has such a nice look to her. The waist cut is also great for functionality (I hate it when figures cannot turn at the waist) but when you add a cut, especially at the waist, it tends to grab the eye and stick out. I am not really getting that from this figure because the flower insignia on her dress has been redesigned (superiorly I might add) so that is helps to hide the line. The 4H also made sure that the insignia resides entirely above the cut so that it is not broken up when She-Ra’s waist is turned. Finally, this dress also has the all-important slits up the side so that she is able to sit up Swiftwind. Hopefully we will be able to bring you a First Look of him soon to really show it off, but I have no doubts that she will be able to sit in the saddle just fine. Also helping out with that is the fact that the dress is made of a much more flexible material than the previous one. Now, while I do adore this new female base body, I think the first one got an overly bad rap due to the material used on the first dress. That is obviously moot now, but I think that Catra and even Evil-Lyn showed that the body could be a lot more successful than what it is usually credited for. Oh, and while the dress is made of a softer plastic, I want to note that I do not have fear of it ripping when she is in the saddle. That is not a euphemism. Get your mind out of the gutter or She-Ra will kick your behind with her new found flexibility.
So, does it sound weird that I think the new body and dress are too good to be covered up by the Bubble Power armor? Yeah, it kind of is, but while I plan on ordering another one of these in November, for now I am going to use the BP armor (which I quite like) and put it on the old She-Ra body. I think that with all of the new detail in the armor and headdress and weaponry, the lost detail in the old boots and gauntlets won’t be as noticeable because there is so much more to look at. But the fact that I really like how all of these things turned out (even though none of them would ever add to my iconic She-Ra) makes me doubly glad that Mattel made a viable She-Ra variant rather than just a reboot. See, now that I have this figure in hand, she makes for the perfect counterpart to the Battle Armor versions of He-Man, Faker and Skeletor. Oh, and I am tossing Hurricane Hordak in with this group too. To me, BP She-Ra makes a great Battle Armor She-Ra. I love it when a theme comes together and the best part is that they all look really great standing together.
The armor itself can go on and off easily and is made from a flexible plastic. The waist band was obviously made to fit the more svelte new body, but it can also (thankfully) fit the original dress. I am actually quite surprised how much the armor doesn’t inhibit the movement and articulation. I like the Romanesque quality to it and it recalls Skeletor’s loin cloth (did I just say that?) so it blends well. If I remember correctly, the original BP She-Ra’s armor had stickers to match the tiara on the armor, and while a sculpted interpretation of the fractal print could have been cool (but it could have also been very gaudy) if that was not there I am glad they did not go with an actual sticker as it would have looked cheap and probably would not have stuck to the soft plastic.
As far as soft plastic on accessories go though, the buck stops at the armor, and that is a good thing. Her shield, sword, tiara, axe comb and Bubble Wand are all made of sturdy plastic and none of them came out of the blister with any kind of warping. Yay! You know, as one that likes the PoP doll looks, I am kind of surprised how much I actually like all of these accessories. While the BP tiara will never be preferred over the Style Guide version, I like this one MUCH better than the first attempt at the toy tiara. The shape is much more accurate and visually appealing AND it has tabs to hold on the side of She-Ra’s hair instead of requiring a massive hold in the forehead. More display options! Speaking of which, I know the question has come up regarding the ability to display the tiara as packaged AND as a mask. Toy Guru has said no, and it is completely understandable that he has done so as it was not DESIGNED to fit that way, much like Catra’s mask. The last thing they need is people beating down their door due to trying to force the mask to go on the head. However, I am telling you (and showing you) that it can be done, but it doesn’t really want to stay on. I mean, it will if you just leave her standing on the shelf, but it does go on securely like it does turned the correct way. Just don’t force it. If you take the hamfisted approach to attaching it and break the tabs you can snarl at me, but I won’t take the blame as you have been warned. Oh, and the head that comes with the BP figure is the exact same as the toy head from version one, only without the giant puncture wound.
Her sword is also interesting but fitting to the Bubble Power theme. I was hoping that we would get some explanation about the sword itself since it does not look like the Sword of Protection. Maybe she finds a new sword? Maybe this is a different form for it. I mean, she did have a “sword to blanket” moment in the cartoon, so anything is possible. It is made of a first plastic and is thick enough to keep its integrity. The shield is the same as the previous shield only beset with a matching pink jewel to keep up the theme and it is painted two-toned to accentuate the sculpted detail. You know, I never would have thought that two shields would be two of my most anticipated accessories in this line, but a silver version of She-Ra’s shield and a Skeletor colors version of He-Man’s shield are both long overdue and I am starting to hope for a weapons pack inclusion now.
The Bubble Wand itself is an interesting accessory and one that I am positive will remain unique for the life of the line. Apparently this is a new way to tap into the Power of Grayskull and send energy fumes at the Evil Horde. I’ll buy it, especially in this universe but don’t expect to be able to blow bubbles with it like the old one, at least not easily. I guess that leaves it as sort of an oddball weapon as it was originally conceived only as means to blow bubbles so you will have use your imagination a bit. I actually like the look of it as it is an interesting design, especially without any of the feature and the color is good too. Hey, this is Bubble Power She-Ra, she would just be a big fat liar without a bubble wand so what are you going to do? I happen to like it so I will be using it in the display.
The last two accessories, the cape and the axe are straight-up carryovers from the first She-Ra, but the cape, of course, is now in gold. The gold looks good on this version as the red would have looked horrible, but I wonder if it were pink if that would have been too much pink. As it stands, it just kind of blends into her hair color, but it is true to the original.
Um, Swiftwind now, please? Yeah, I am pretty excited to get him since Bubble Power She-Ra is such a success for me. I now have a version of She-Ra that I never really expected to need and she fits in great as a female facsimile of the Battle Armor variations. Now, while it took some cobbling together to get her, I feel like I now have the iconic version of She-Ra I have wanted, and needed for her due in this line. Like I said, I think this new body fits better for the Style Guide look as that allows for showing off the great new color and detail in the dress. I realize that there was NO WAY that Mattel could not have done a new She-Ra that can sit on Swiftwind without a trip to the fan gallows, but I am glad that the Horsemen went the extra mile to really give us a viable variant. As it stands, “Able to Sit on Her Horse” She-Ra just doesn’t have the same ring to it. I was already excited to get more ladies in the line but this figure amps that up significantly. I think that the design aesthetic is really hitting its stride and balance for the PoP figures in MOTUC and characters like Mermista, Peekablue and my beloved blue-haired ice queen Frosta are just begging to take advantage of it. I really think this figure will please a lot of people for a lot of reasons so remember that she is NOT included in the 2011 Club Eternia subscription and you will need to logon to Matty Collector on November 15th to get her.
*Thanks to the Masters at Mattel for providing this sample for a First Look, we have more to bring you soon but should it stay feminine or go cybernetic pachyderm? Hmm…
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