Masters of the Universe Masterverse

What!?  Drop down hips!  They're not my most needed articulation, but interesting that they have them.  A complete surprise.

MAA mustache face may be a little bit shiny compared to the  matte appearance over the rest of the figure, but overall he is terrific.  I hate to admit I don't know if his weapon was always meant to have a ball and chain.  I was a toy guy first and can't remember much from the cartoon and I'm not sure if it's cannon.  I liked it though.  I'm going to need a second MAA for the clean shaven face. Right grip hand is up-down hinge.

It's such a shame collectors will overlook these because of the scale.  I guess they would rather complain about Marvel Legends 🤷.

These three were so good, I should've thrown in Skeletek.  I still need to pick up Webstor and Clamp Champ too.

Opened the new wave today and man, they knocked it out of the park with this wave. I didn't realize Man at Arms had an alternate head and I am absolutely buying a second one so I can display both. Beautiful figure. Trap Jaw is AMAZING. The skirt on Teela is a repeat of the Sorceress skirt (really inhibiting leg ROM) but otherwise a great figure. 

I probably could've done without the new Skeletor, to be honest, but they did a great job with the figure - just not my favorite version and probably could've skipped him but that's 100% personal preference. He's a very cool figure objectively. 

I would say they're three of their best figures.  I have to compare later, but It's think Teela doesn't suffer from the short neck like or as much as previous female figures.  Also, Trapjaw might have a better mechanical arm?

I finally bought Trap Jaw, Man At Arms, and Sorceress Teela from BBTS.  I can't wait to get these in hand.  Especially MAA.

I wonder when and where that Snout Spout figure will go up?  Maybe it will be a Target exclusive.  but I wish it wasn't an exclusive at all.  It's such a cool looking figure, and I always love any Snout Spout figure.

Hopefully it goes up for pre order before to long.

I received Sorceress Teela, MAA and TJ from BBTS yesterday. MAA and TJ are magnificent. Perfect interpretations of their classic designs in the Masterverse style. Couldn’t ask for anything more, other than getting more figures just like these.

I just saw someone on Reddit share a photo of Trap Jaw... I didn't realize his jaw is swappable with the jaw from his clamping hand. Pops right off both the head and hand and swaps right on. This gives him a jaw that matches the gunmetal coloring of his arm. Also has teeth more visibly sculpted on rather than a vague zig-zag contour. It's pretty cool looking and gets him to fit in with the slightly different New Eternia aesthetic. Could have used some additional armor like others, but this is a very nice touch on an already impressive and gorgeous figure.

Posted by: @normdapito

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I just saw someone on Reddit share a photo of Trap Jaw... I didn't realize his jaw is swappable with the jaw from his clamping hand. Pops right off both the head and hand and swaps right on. This gives him a jaw that matches the gunmetal coloring of his arm. Also has teeth more visibly sculpted on rather than a vague zig-zag contour. It's pretty cool looking and gets him to fit in with the slightly different New Eternia aesthetic. Could have used some additional armor like others, but this is a very nice touch on an already impressive and gorgeous figure.

Yeah, that feature was shown off a while ago, but I forget which reviewer it was. It's very cool.
Honestly, I think Trap Jaw figures are consistently some of the best figures in any given MOTU line. I don't know if it's because designers/sculptors all have a special love for the different elements that go into his design so he's just fun to work on or what, but his figures are almost always really, really good.

And I'm saying that from a position of not really caring too much about the character. I never had the vintage toy as a kid, and so he has never ranked highly on my list of favorite Evil Warriors or MOTU-related characters. Still can't deny how cool his figures always are.

Posted by: @theknightdamien

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Posted by: @normdapito

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I just saw someone on Reddit share a photo of Trap Jaw... I didn't realize his jaw is swappable with the jaw from his clamping hand. Pops right off both the head and hand and swaps right on. This gives him a jaw that matches the gunmetal coloring of his arm. Also has teeth more visibly sculpted on rather than a vague zig-zag contour. It's pretty cool looking and gets him to fit in with the slightly different New Eternia aesthetic. Could have used some additional armor like others, but this is a very nice touch on an already impressive and gorgeous figure.

Yeah, that feature was shown off a while ago, but I forget which reviewer it was. It's very cool.
Honestly, I think Trap Jaw figures are consistently some of the best figures in any given MOTU line. I don't know if it's because designers/sculptors all have a special love for the different elements that go into his design so he's just fun to work on or what, but his figures are almost always really, really good.

And I'm saying that from a position of not really caring too much about the character. I never had the vintage toy as a kid, and so he has never ranked highly on my list of favorite Evil Warriors or MOTU-related characters. Still can't deny how cool his figures always are.

 

I think Trap Jaw might be the most iconic character design in all MotU. The swappable hand feature was the first of its kind, to my knowledge. I know GIJoe BATs came soon after, but this guy did it better. Something about the color scheme, the versatility, the opening jaw, the ring in his helmet for a zip line, all of those features add up to make one of the most fun and coveted toys of the '80s. In a line full of figures with gimmicks, Trap Jaw was top of the line.

I didn't know about the interchangeable jaw.  It almost seems obvious when you take a moment to look at the accessory.  I really just inserted the gun into his arm and hung the hook and claw off his belt without giving them much of a second thought.   TJ might break into my top 10 favorites of the year.  

@normdapito It wasn't. Trap Jaw is basically just a redo of an old Big Jim villain Iron Jaw:

Hell Skeletor shares some similarities to Captain Drake from the Big Jim Series:

and Jitsu shares some similarities with Dr. Steel:

Battle Cat shares an uncanny resemblance to the Big Jim Tiger as well 😉

I got some new Masterverse figures.  Trap Jaw, Man At Arms, and Sorceress Teela.  These are all really nice! Especially MAA and Trap Jaw.  Teela is great too.  It's just she does look a bit more animated since she is from the Revolution cartoon.  And that's fine, I just like the more realistic look of the other two.

Mattel is doing a great job with all of these Masterverse figures.  But I love these New Eternia versions.  I have another MAA pre ordered on Amazon so I can display him with both helmet and alternate head options.

I read up on the Big Jim line because I had never heard of it and as it and MOTU are both Mattel properties, it's not surprising that MOTU borrowed some ideas from it.

Also, looks like the Iron Jaw figure was never actually released (Wikipedia says there were just pictures of it in catalogues and ads) so Trap Jaw may be the first released figure with swappable hands. They clearly liked the idea behind Iron Jaw and made sure to get use out of the concept with Trap Jaw.

Big Jim is one of those lines I hoped people would age out of causing a drop in price.  Good condition figures are more than I want to spend.  I vaguely remember them and have a few from when I was a kid with no accessories.  I have the bald guy with the metal hand.  I see a lot of broken hips, grungy looking cloth goods, and soft covered or rubber arms don't always hold up well.

Zoar and Screech also used the Big Jim eagle figure.

The Big Jim gorilla was also the base for the original Gy-Gor.