The world of Masters of the Universe has always been a haven for monsters, barbarians, techno cowboys, and just about anything else you could possibly imagine — that is one of the things that makes it so great. Over the past few years, though, we have gotten a wide eye at some explanation that some of our previous “freaks” are actually victims of horrible, horrible battle wounds; explosions; or freak accidents. So, some guys aren’t just crazy monsters, some of them got a nasty lot cast their way in their past adventures through Etenia. Trap Jaw is one of these as well as Mekaneck, and within the celebratory 30th Anniversary line, we are introduced to another evil (yet unfortunate) victim of terrible bodily harm in the all-new character Cy-Chop. The brainchild of Mattel designer Terry Higuchi, Cy-Chop is the criminal that used to be known as Sychor and is the former partner in crime of Kronis and a hired hand of the Evil Horde. We are almost at the end of the 30th series and Cy-Chop certainly provides a new and unique look to your shelf.
For the most part, fans have been pretty clear-cut in opinion of where they land in terms of the 30th crew. Photog makes amends for a 30-year wrong, Draego Man is pretty much universally adored, and Spector and Sir Laser-Lot have both met their fair share of challenges. I think Cy-Chop has actually provided quite a bit of debate amongst the supporters and the haters, but you cannot deny that he will not be confused for any other character in your MOTUC collection. He literally borrows from a lot of corners in terms of construction, and he gives some tribute to other lines on the past, namely Microman.
According to his bio, Cy-Chop used to prowl the universe looking for his next big (illegal) score with his pal Kronis. That is, until the Empire, er, I mean the Horde tracked their ship and Cy-Chop was betrayed by the future Trap Jaw in order to escape, and, as a result, his corporeal self was [mostly] completely destroyed. Taken in by some scientists, his guts were put under glass, his brain was put in a wicked chrome dome, and in a fantastic move of practicality, his hands were replaced with two giant hedge trimmers. Edward Scissorhands got nothin’ on ol’ Cy-Chop here. So, for some reason, he was thankful to the scientists for saving some part of him (I imagine the hairy arms and legs are original parts) and he served them for a couple of decades before being hired by Hordak to help out at the big rumble in the second Ultimate Battleground. That all sounds close enough to a MOTUC bio to me, but what kind of ill-fated duo were Kronis and Cy-Chop anyway? Two rough and tumble criminals who both ended up as more machine than man in elevated Darth Vader style probably did not predict their lives would turn out like this.
Most of the 30th guys have been made using a lot of different parts from the MOTUC bank, but Cy-Chop takes that mix-and-match potential to an all new degree. He has a new head, belt, and chopper hands, but he also has Beast Man extremities in blue and the Roboto chest that is just perfect for showing off the remainder of his duodenum. I rather like the concept of that torso being used to house fragile internal organs, and, in classic MOTU fashion, they are on display for everyone to see. I also have to admit that I am a big fan of the Beast Man arms and legs cast in blue plastic and if any enterprising customizers have been jonesing to make an X-Men Beast from MOTU parts, this should start you on your way. Since this is MOTU, I will ignore the insane fact that Cy-Chop’s arms and legs could be saved, but not his torso even though it seems pretty impossible from a physiological standpoint. Yes, I make that point even as I glance over at Mekaneck.
The brain in the cybernetic head is certainly not a new concept, but I actually really like the way it turned out. Sure, this figure walks the line between neat mash-up and a pick-a-part disaster, but the chrome color of the head and the horns (whatever they are for) look really nice with the pale blue eyes. Perhaps that is one last bastion of his organic soul that sits just above his visible digestive track. Sorry, I just can’t get past the guts under glass thing, I like it too much.
He is not called Cy-CHOP for nothing, and even with all of the crazy parts that make up the rest of him, the first thing you will notice on this guy is most certainly his primary gimmick — the scissor hands. These things are massive and the size is really the only thing that I don’t care for in this figure. Sure, scissor hands don’t make any practical sense, but since this is MOTU, they don’t need to be practical or make any sense at all, for that matter. I just think they are between 33 and 50 percent too big. They seem like they have more of a 200x aesthetic in terms of proportion instead of the Classic look, and if they were just a bit smaller, I think I would warm up to them a lot more. As it stands, I kind of wish he also got some cybernetic hands and a repaint of the Horde Prime hands would have been PERFECT for him. As it stands, though, the slicing hands make perfect sense for a MOTU gimmick and I could see this being something that would have worked just fine in the vintage line. Plus, they articulate rather well and can open and close to your heart’s content or be swapped out with any of the standard MOTUC interchangeable forearm parts.
The only other accessory that he includes is his bright orange Horde belt. I cannot really say that Cy-Chop “feels” particularly “Horde” to me, but his belt tells me that he is (or at least hired to be). The belt is removable, so if you have an extra Mighty Spector lying around, you can put the belt on him with Horde Prime cape’s and antenna head and you have a pretty spot-on UK comic Horde Prime, so that is cool. I tried to think of another accessory that could be included here but since the scissors are his main shtick and he would not be able to hold anything else anyway, nothing is really missed.
My complete verdict on Cy-Chop is still out, but I do have to say that I really love certain parts of him. His head and fishbowl guts are great and the hairy arms and legs work surprisingly well. The hand blades still seem a little too big for my liking and even though that is his primary “thing,” I might go ahead and give him the extra set of Horde Prime hands I have lying around. I already seem to have more practical sympathy than those kooky scientists that worked to put Sychor back together again. I would be interested to hear some thoughts on this figure, so leave a comment below because, as I said, I think opinions are going to be pretty split on him. Personally, I think as a 1980s figure, people would have gone nuts for him, but I would like to hear the “Classics” take on the figure since this is a completely different time and place than the fabulous 1980s. Cy-Chop goes on-sale on October 15th at Matty Collector.
*Thanks to Terry Higuchi for sharing his creation with us and thanks to Toy Guru for sending him along. This is our last MOTU entry for this round but we have one more First Look to bring you to close out an amazing era in DC toys. Stay tuned!
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