Who conquers space? Gets up in your face,and bosses Skeletor like a dog? A Space Mutant with scorn, and hangs with Staghorn? He’s FLOGG, FLOGG, FLOGG!
He’s Flogg! Flogg! He’s mean, he’s purple, he’s mad! He’s Flogg! Flogg! He’s better than good, he’s bad! Everyone wants a Flogg! You’re gonna love him, Flogg! Come on and get your Flogg! Everyone needs a Flogg! Flogg Flogg Flogg!
FLOGG from Mattel!
The Space Mutants can finally count themselves as a faction with a little bit of direction. The Evil Warriors have Skeletor, The Horde has Hordak, and the Snakemen have King Hssss, but for the longest time, the evil Mutants were missing their leader and figurehead Flogg. Now, if you are an educated fan of the New Adventures of He-Man, you know that Flogg’s leadership was somewhat hollow once Skeletor came to the Tri-Solar system because, as you can expect, old Bone Head has a habit of taking stuff over, but figurehead or no, Flogg is a long-awaited faction leader for Classics. I don’t think it is any secret that the Mutants have been some of the most fortunate recipients of the magic of Four Horsemen and the strengths of their designs have been beautifully highlighted in this line. Let’s see if ol’ Brakk keeps the streak going.
The fourth member of the Space Mutants to join the line, Flogg is coming a little over four solid years after the initial release of Optikk back in 2010. Since then, Slush Head and Karatti have also joined the throng, but even as I lamented the slow going of the Great Rebellion a couple of days ago, the Rebels have been rapid fire compared to the poor New Adventures sects. However, time marches on and we have been seeing releases coming a bit closer together, so hopefully the Space Mutants will expand past four members relatively soon. It seems like Lizorr and Crita (at the very least) are becoming prime candidates for figures as we move into 2015-16.
For all of that, though, Flogg is a big win for the line if for nothing more than he is a major NA character. As first in command of the Mutants (or second, depending on your point of view), he has most certainly been the biggest holdout thus far, and back before Optikk was released all of those years ago, I thought for sure that Flogg would be the first evil NA character that would be introduced in the line. He is here now, though, and I know a lot of collectors (myself included) are ready to breathe that big sigh of relief come July.
Like most, if not all, New Adventures characters, Flogg’s design is one more steeped in technology than in the fantasy barbarian realm. That was the progression of the He-Man property as it moved into its next iteration at the end of the 1980s, so every time I think that the Horsemen are going to have a big challenge with a lot of new pieces on their hands, they go and surprise me with their creativity. Optikk borrows a lot from Trap Jaw, Karatti does too, and Slush Head has most of his frame built on the Whiplash base; these are the kinds of inventive uses of parts that make this (somewhat) modular line so effective, even under the mandate of heavy reuse. Flogg is no exception to this and his body is really a scattershot of a lot of existing pieces made very different by how they work together and are accented by a few new things here and there. The Horde Troopers are getting their first official reuse with this figure as their arms are being used to represent the extension of his new armor. Under there we find that Whiplash’s torso is utilized again and Trap Jaw’s lower legs and Hordak’s feet complete the check-outs from the MOTUC part library. Flogg does feature the all-new aforementioned armor, but also new trunks, thighs, and, of course, a new head. Everything comes together pretty well to make up a nice representation of the classic NA character, but I do have a couple of minor quibbles.
To begin though, I think that all of the reused parts work well for the figure. Sure, every time Trap Jaw’s legs get reused there is small outcry, but I think they are fine. I DO wish that Mattel design was able to utilize the newly created Intergalactic Skeletor feet for this figure as they are much closer to being on-model than Hordak’s kicks. I guess because Flogg has the Trooper arms, I automatically assumed that he would have their robotic build under his armor, but the lizard skin is used instead and that makes a lot more sense as that means the neck coalesces with his scaly face much better than the techno bits. I honestly would not have thought about using those Trooper arms for this character, but they actually work really well and prove yet another reason why the Horsemen get paid to do this kind of thing and I do not.
As for the new parts, well, all of them have a lot of great detail and match up well with the vintage figure. I have no complaints about the new thigh pieces, and while they accurately represent the weird “bar” patterns in the front, the back has a lot of great detailing. The fantastic detail certainly extends to the body armor and trunks too. While the armor is really just taking what the vintage figure had and making it more detailed and dynamic, the trunks really saw the benefit of the Horsemen’s magic, and all of the pockets (think ’90s X-Men!) and shapes about his britches are highlighted much more than the vintage pieces ever were.
My beef with these pieces is that both the armor and the trunks are pretty bulky and puff out from the chest and hips, at least more than they need to. I know that this has been a chronic issue as of late and a particular designer at Mattel has caught the ire of many of fans for this, so for better or for worse, Flogg kind of continues the trend. I don’t think that the parts make him look “fat” per se, but some of the articulation about the shoulder and hips is inhibited because the overlays flare out a bit. Now, how much this impacts your opinion will vary, but I know that fan feedback on this issue has been heard, so hopefully we will see some progress as we continue to move along in the line.
I do think that the 4H nailed Flogg’s likeness in their head sculpt too. Once again, the monstrous characters prove to be the Fab Four’s bread and butter, and Flogg can happily be the recipient of their latest disgustingly beautiful triumph. From his scaly face to his teeth and overall expression, I really like how he has been executed. His Man-at-Arms-esque helmet is also very nice, even though it is not permanently attached to his head. Yeah, it was supposed to be removable like the vintage helmet, but that was changed in the end for some reason. I am sure was explained, but it escapes me at the moment. Removable helmets can be tricky and you’re often left with an odd sculpt, a pinched face, or a hole in the head, so maybe it is better that they did not take the risk – I cannot really think of when I would have him without his dome protector anyhow.
Finally, Flogg comes with two accessories: his mace/whip/fishing pole weapon and the Classics incarnation of He-Man’s animated (see: Filmation) Power Sword. I suppose his weapon could be used to “flog” his enemies (hence the name), but Mer-Man and Mermista should avoid him at all costs because dipping that thing in the water will snap them up fast. There is some nice detailing in the control panel portion and the string is nice and long with a cool hook on the end. I am pleased the string is an actual string now, instead of a sculpted piece, so good on them for making that important change. For me personally, I think the shaft of the weapon is a little too large and bulky, but your opinion will vary. It doesn’t bother me or anything, but I think it would have looked a bit more proportional if it was a touch smaller.
The “Filmation” Power Sword is kind of a cool and somewhat unexpected inclusion as well. It has certainly been “Classicized” so it doesn’t look spot-on to the reference material, but it is serviceable, and if you have one of those third party He-Man heads rolling around in your part bin, you can now build a more convincing animated He-Man. I think it is fine, but being a big Filmation fan, I cannot help but think it is a little too far “Classicized” and I wish it matched the source just a wee bit better.
So, of all of these new figures that we have looked at recently, I like Flogg better than Double Trouble, but not as much as Flutterina. It is great to have the de facto leader of the Space Mutants on the shelf, but he is probably my least favorite out that group as of now. It is not that Flogg is not a good figure, it is that the others just strike me as being a bit more dynamic. Like I said, this figure is a win, and come July 15, a lot of seasoned and new NA fans will be very pleased to have this guy on their shelves.
*Thanks for staying with us, and thanks to TG and crew for sending us Flogg all the way from Denebia! But wait! There is more! See you back tomorrow!
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