Yup, I never got the original Origins Tri-Klops, so I need him (I'm not really doing the cartoon figures). I read that he's a re-release for folks like me that got into the line after the first few waves sold out. The Zodac re-release is on Amazon, so I was surprised that I couldn't find Tri-Klops there too. I'm really hoping they do a re-release for the original grey Stratos too.Firstly, do you need that Tri-Klops? It's just a reissue of the Origins version, non-cartoon. Secondly, it may just be a BBTS replenishment? They've done that with random sets and figures, and sometimes they just don't come through. So if it's something you really need, odds 100% that BBTS will fulfill.I'm a little confused, is Tri-Klop only available at BBTS? I can't seem to find him on EE or Amazon.
So, just to make absolutely sure I'm not missing something - Reptilax went up for preorder but Vypor did not yet, right? I need both of those desperately and don't want to miss.
Origins is one of the hardest lines for me to collect because of the various release patterns and rotating exlcusivity. I'm still grumpy that I missed out on Lady Slither. I'm still confused about Necro-Conda - has that gone up for sale yet or are we still waiting? That's Wal-Mart only, right?
I wish this stuff was easier to buy.
Thats correct. Vypor has not gone up for pre order yet. And neither has Necro-Conda. Vypor should be a fan channel release like Reptilax. But I think Necro-Conda is a Wal-Mart Exclusive whenever that happens. As is the Crimson Horde Trooper set.
The insane all over the place ordering for this line has become very annoying, even for those here in the US. And it must blow times 10 outside of the US.
But Fan Channel, Mattel Creations, Wal-Mart, this day, that day. Damn. It's like my entire life is tracking Mattel and the MOTU Origins line.
Since I am fundamentally on the complete opposite side of the opinion divide on this I'll chime in a bit. I think the idea is to make this something beyond just a slavish recreation of what's come before it. Trying to make the line something that builds the brand rather than just re-covering the same well tread ground over and over and over.
I get wanting to rebuild the vintage collection for the old heads - I do understand it... but as someone who didn't collect this in the vintage era and doesn't have huge nostalgia for the Filmation cartoon (though I do appreciate it) I am far more drawn to expanding the universe, to covering new ground to seeing new characters and getting new figures. So it makes me happy to get this stuff and I hope they keep doing that and other things like it. The two pack of skeleton warriors was fun. Give us more of those characters from the box art. I'm not saying don't also keep doing those characters from the vintage era - but I don't see any reason that has to be first.
I've said many times that I am fully on board with new characters, new designs, etc, being incorporated into MOTU. That not only is fun and interesting, but needs to happen for the brand to keep going. Both of the new Netflix cartoons, in my opinion, did a wonderful job of reimagining or rejuvenating the franchise in this way. I've been right here on Fwoosh -begging- for Origins box art figures to be incorporated into regular waves.
However, it's only fair to say that this line literally started as a modern redo of the vintage line - in fact we were promised by Mattel that all of those characters would be made. So yes, those figures should take priority. That doesn't mean ONLY do those figures. But we're basically being treated like those remaining vintage figures are unsellable at retail and so have to be overpriced MC fodder, all the while Mattel is throwing random Snake Guy Number 7 over to BBTS where anyone can get it. It's an ignorant way to approach those remaining characters and, not to be too hyperbolic, a spit in the eye of the collectors that bought so deeply into this line that they even can consider doing random snake guys.
And even then it wouldn't be so bad if you didn't look over the reveals for Origins (not counting the cartoon collection) and most of an entire quarter of releases is just new random snake men. That doesn't grow the brand. It just alienates more actual customers. I guess think of it this way - we all got that Snake Men two-pack in Classics and loved it. But what if the entire first half of that year's subscription figures were brand new Snake Men characters? People would have rightfully lost their minds. Because it's a dumb way to approach the line to pretend you don't know what most of the customers are here for.
Edit: Probably doesn't need to be said between us at this point, but if any of that came off as dismissive or aggressive, it was not intended that way. Just giving my thoughts and how this is rolling around in my brain as best I'm able.
I think they’re just overdoing it on Snake Men. Their numbers have more than doubled since their Origins debut. Mix it up.
@theknightdamien So, I hear what you are saying - but also... I think the analogy you make with the Snake Men and classics isn't as strong as you think it is. Obviously many of the important MOTU characters had been delivered already in the first 3 years of the Classics line - but in 2012 - the year the Snake Men 2-pack was included in the line, the subscription also included such luminary classics as Starla, Jewelstar, Tallstar, Horde Prime, Griffin, Vykron, Dekker and Procrustus before they ever delivered characters like Jitsu or Ram Man or Clamp Champ.
Classics did exactly this very thing. Maybe they didn't lean quite so heavily on one faction specifically, but they definitely delivered minor shoulder shrug types before finishing off all the vintage stuff. Two Bad had to wait two more full years after all of that with the likes of Strobo, Fang Man and the previously unnamed vehicle pilots from the box art from models getting figures before him (them?)
Anyway... I understand your point... but additionally there may be more cost associated with some of the vintage figures remaining to be done and so that may factor in a bit as well. The other 'new' snakes - previously released in Origins were just mish mashes of existing parts, cheap and easy. These newer ones seem to have some new tooling, though there may be some planned reuse (Fang Man is an obvious choice from Reptilax if they want to go there). So it may be a budget thing as much as anything else.
Me personally, I'm much more excited for Vypor than I will ever be for Stonedar or Dragstor or whoever.
@theknightdamien but in 2012 - the year the Snake Men 2-pack was included in the line, the subscription also included such luminary classics as Starla, Jewelstar, Tallstar, Horde Prime, Griffin, Vykron, Dekker and Procrustus before they ever delivered characters like Jitsu or Ram Man or Clamp Champ.
Oh for sure. But again, I'm not saying they need to deliver -every- classic character before anything else. I'm saying a healthier mix of the final vintage toy characters, fan-demanded characters, and this new stuff they're so invested in creating. Let's not ignore that 2012 was also the year of Spikor, Snake Face, Rattlor, Stinkor, Fisto, Sorceress, Mosquitor, Mekaneck - and core POP figures like Frosta (I think), and Shadow Weaver. I don't think the absolutely stacked 2012 line-up is remotely comparable to the like.. 3? classic fan-demanded characters we're going to get from Origins this year while being inundated with new concepts.
Also, all the characters you named actually had people requesting them. The only new characters in 2012 were the snake men soldiers and an entirely separate subscription for the newly created characters like Draego Man, as I recall.
Again, though - I want everyone to get the stuff that excites them. And I'm also on record as not caring about quite a few of the final vintage figures. Rio Blast, Two-Bad, and Extendar are the only remaining vintage figures, besides the giants, that I -really- care about. But it's not just me here. I want to see everyone get the figures they're waiting for and see Mattel held accountable for the things they say they're going to do when making a sales pitch. 'Buy our Eternia - we're going to make all the vintage figures!' Do it, then. Collectors held up their end. They deserve to have that trust rewarded.
Not to be dismissive here either. You're probably absolutely right that there's an element of 'cheap, easy reuse' going on here. But also like.. do ALL the easy re-use figures have to be snake men? They can't think of anything else? Though it's great to see that they're doing things like re-issuing Orko. That's a smart way to not only make money on that tooling again, but to do so in a way fans have been desperately calling for. Same with other re-issues they've done.
Oh, and I was really glad to see everything available on BBTS when I got home from work today. Trying to go easy, but I HAD to get in my PO for the re-issue Orko, Adam/Cringer, Filmation Mer-Man and Evil Lyn. The only Origins figures I'm missing now that I really care about are Stinkor and Wun-Dar. I'd also like to get a Frog Monger, but I don't see that ever happening. I wonder if the Filmation line will eventually include characters that only appeared in the animation. And I'm still baffled by Origins never getting any proper New Adventures releases since they went to the trouble of sculpting He-Man parts for the boxed set.
I just don't see how they managed to give us that Cringer and Adam so cheap. $30?? I keep thinking it has to be a mistake. A standard Origins is $20. I would have even thought $40 was cheap. That's basically like getting Cringer for $10. Unheard of in this day and age of collecting. I know Adam is largely re-use, but this line has always been about that and they still charge $20 for the figures.
I really like the snake men, but I'll admit when they release so many figures all at once like this, those are the figures I skip. Random snake men when there's a lull between familiar characters are an easy impulse buy for me, but not when I'm about to drop a couple hundred bucks on familiar characters.
I know there are ones I'll probably regret not picking up, but my poor wallet this week needed something to give. (Especially since they got me real bad with the TMNT/MOTU mashup figures, that was an added collection I did not anticipate but love.)
With the snake lair on the horizon, I’m cool with all of the snake men releases. We need a bigger gaggle of snake people to really occupy a playset, and Mattel knows this, so it’s a good time to build up the collection. What I’m most excited about though is all of the cartoon collection figures, those look so dope.
I really like the snake men, but I'll admit when they release so many figures all at once like this, those are the figures I skip. Random snake men when there's a lull between familiar characters are an easy impulse buy for me, but not when I'm about to drop a couple hundred bucks on familiar characters.
See, I think it's a bit of a mirage to think they are releasing a bunch of new snake men all at once. Of the figures made available for pre-order today:
Filmation Stratos
Filmation Evil Lyn
Filmation Webstor
Filmation Mer Man
Prince Adam & Cringer
Tri-Klops (reissue)
Orko (reissue)
Reptilax
of the 7 new figures put up - and 2 re-releases - only ONE was a snake man. KD's complaint is that the only NEW character that hadn't already been released in Origins previously is that snake man character.
Of the other new reveals there was filmation Spikor, filmation Clawful, Horde Trooper Prime, Vypor, and Stranger Things He-Man and Vecna. Again, that's one out of 6 new reveals that's a new snake man.
So while I get there's a frustration that the remaining vintage characters aren't being included, this idea that it's only new snake men and nothing else is counter factual.
Now if you want to ignore the filmation specific remakes and re-releases then we have Cringer, Reptilax, Vypor, Vecna and Horde Trooper Prime as "NEW" figures to the line. Still less than half snakes.
But yes - there could stand to be some more representation from the unmade vintage contingent there. It isn't clear to me why Mattel is dragging their feet quite so hard on including them. It seems like they could have announced maybe a single Rio Blast among these and at least smoothed some feathers.
If they're gonna make so many Snake Men, I wish they would have made their leader easier to buy. King Hiss was one of the few figures I wanted to get from the line since he's my favorite character just after Skeletor, but he sold out everywhere so quickly. Now he goes for upwards of $60 on the aftermarket.
I hope they reissue him or make a 2002 variant or something so I can have some Hiss representation in my collection.
I never had any Snake Men from the previous lines except King Hiss for Classics, and I picked up a cheap Kobra Khan in bad shape loose a few years ago. I have no attachment to the group. I wound up getting the ones that were in the original line from Origins. They're ok, but don't do a lot for me. I picked them up because they were easy enough to acquire. No jumping through hoops as exclusives, just straight preorders. I don't plan to buy more. As a faction, I feel like they just bring chaos to a line already crowded with three factions. But I guess that's what keeps it exciting? I got some Rulers of the Sun on clearance, but they don't do a lot for me either.
Reptilax is the action figure equivalent of wearing mismatched socks. His body is Sunkist and his head is Ecto-Cooler.
It's fair for everyone to prefer what they prefer.
For me, my absolute favorite things from Origins have been the Rulers of the Sun line - always wanted those, and now I have every one of them - and the previously unmade items - the skeleton warriors, the frog monger, Kol-darr and these new snake men. I already had versions of the other characters - either as vintage figures or as Classics - so getting stuff that I haven't had at all is my favorite part of this line. So, I'm personally hopeful that they continue to move in that direction.
And it doesn't have to be exclusively snakes. Make other characters from any of the cartoons, or make some of those other Axel Gimenez designed characters into figures - Great Black Wizard and Red Shadow and Bandwidth and Gladiator - (although it does look like the new Masterverse Man At Arms with the white armor is Gladiator adjacent). Mimeo... Stalker... those are fun concepts that Mark Taylor hastily sketched that Axel fully fleshed out. I'd love to see any and all of that in figure form.
I like new stuff. That's what get's me excited. Hopefully they can balance that with the rest of the old stuff to keep everybody happy.
@panthercult I wasn't actually saying they released too many snake men all at once though - I was saying I spent almost 300 bucks on MOTU *before* including the snake men, so the 1-2 or 3 they might release, if lumped in with all the others, were the ones I'd skip to save a bit of cash.
I figure if they didn't unleash the whole fall catalogue within days of collector con, I'd impulse-buy most snake men too.
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