Sometimes there are things that can be so painfully obvious, and completely amazing all at the same time. The Castle of Power has done it again with the brand new Masters of the Universe compatible Warlord kit.
As you probably know, Warlord is a long-standing DC Comics hero that has been a favorite of fans of comics and fantasy since his debut in 1975. Created by the incomparable Mike Grell (of Green Arrow and Green Lantern fame), Travis Morgan’s adventures were hitting all of the right notes right at the reemergence of the Conan the Barbarian craze, but with some modern sensibilities. For fantasy fans, this meant that their preferred genre was getting some spotlight in the world of superhero comics and while Warlord’s stories have often been self-contained, he has found his was into the larger world of DC comics as well.
In terms of action figures, Warlord has had his time to shine now and again, and in recent times he has been treated to plastic courtesy of DC Direct, and made an appearance in the Justice League Unlimited line as well. It seems really, REALLY crazy that he never had a figure released in the seminal DC Universe Classics line from Mattel, especially since it seemed like he was always “right around the corner” once that line really started to go deep.
However, Warlord’s shining moment in action figure lore came in the early 1980s when there was an entire line of action figures (and an accompanying “villains” line) dedicated to his adventures. It was realized by the now-defunct, but eternally awesome Remco company, and to be completely honest, the line was harnessed to ride the wild success of the Masters of the Universe line that was hitting its monstrous strides around the same time. Heck, even the original packaging for the line boasted that the Warlord figures were compatible with MOTU, so it could not be any more obvious. Corporate competitions aside, this was FANTASTIC for kids because it made that Warlord and MOTU adventures would be expanded even further with a large cadre of new characters.
That line is real influence for this brand new release from The Castle of Power, and just like the 80s, we are able to bring the world of Masters and Warlord together again. As I said before, it should come as no surprise that Mat O’Toole completely nailed this kit, and the conversion to a full figure could not be any easier. When you order the kid from the Facebook page (in the “About” section), you have the option to get the the set painted or unpainted, and it comes in three pieces: the head/helmet, cape, and sword. I ordered mine pre-painted, so for the purpose of this review, you can see the great paint job that will come with this set.
I don’t need to get into the fact that Mat is a fantastic sculptor; we have covered so much of his stuff in the past that it should be plain to see by now, and, well, he is a professional, so there is that. The likeness to the old Warlord figure is pretty spot-on, but it has, of course, been updated with more detail and proportions that fit with the MOTU Classics system. The helmet wings are particularly nice and even though they are very thin, they are strong and not brittle. That doesn’t mean I would take the kit into the bathtub or anything, but Mat uses some great resin, so there is no need to be nervous about the thickness.
Also included is his distinct, if not slightly garish cape. This is one of the largest pieces that the CoP has put out for a kit. It fits over the build of a standard MOTUC body perfectly and it is thick enough to show off the implied pelt material that it would be made from, if this was real life and all. Finally, Warlord’s sword is included and like the comics, it is styled off of a foil to illustrates Morgan’s skills as a fencer. It is, of course, not a foil exactly, but is it it like a broad blade set on a foil hilt. At any rate, it makes for a very distinct weapon that is perfect for the character.
As for the body, I used a plain old regular Classics He-Man figure, stripped down and painted. It is nice because none of the joints or the flesh tone had to be painted, so the figure retains all of the articulation despite technically being a custom. His costume does have a lot of white in it, so unless you have some good paint (I used Citadel and Tamiya) you will probably have to do multiple coats to get good coverage, but it is worth it. Also, at first sight, the pattern on the furry the shorts felt a little intimidating, but adding the matching black pattern to the cape was actually pretty easy, you just have to be confident and hold your breath. I would highly recommend laying down the white paint first because covering up the black would be a total nightmare.
Well, it is another month and we have another hit from Zombihamma. At this point, this week’s Toy Fair needs to happen because Mat has been running away with all of the awesomeness as of late. This Warlord kit is a perfect match for the MOTUC aesthetic and I have no problem integrating his stories from Skartaris into my Eternian canon. Or, if you are more of a DC fan, you can add Mr. Morgan to your shelf as well. So, where do we go from here? Well, I would hope that Diemos would be a given, but I am going to try to talk Mat into tackling all of the Warrior Beasts. Hachi-machi those would be INSANE as MOTUC kits. Hmm…
*Don’t delay, get your Warlord kit from the Castle of Power today!
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