I have a long-form video review HERE. You can find links to every figure reviewed on the SpartanNerd home page, or in the description of the YouTube video linked above.
I am only awarding to figures that I got in 2025. This isn’t necessarily figures that came out in 2025, but that happens to be the case for some of these. The featured image shows Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Neither were the winners of 2025, I just wanted to use their picture!
GI JOE CLASSIFIED FIGURE OF THE YEAR
I decided that Panthor and Gnawgahyde were candidates. But it isn’t really fair to put Panthor in the pool…I might feel differently also if he was flocked. Gnawgahyde on the other hand is incredible, with that true-to-life accurate sniper rifle and his two pets, Porkbelly and Yobbo. That’s why Gnawgahyde is the GI Joe Classified Figure of the year.
MASTERVERSE FIGURE OF THE YEAR
New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor is the SpartanNerd MASTERVERSE Figure of the Year. Mattel learned their lesson from the two Battle Armor He-Man figures that we received already…they were lackluster and apparently haven’t sold very well. Skeletor is the opposite of that in every way. A true update, giving him the best axe in MASTERVERSE, a removable helmet, and spikes on his shoulders. He has a chain-mail piece sculpted on his cranium, and also hip armor. You can swap his chest plate quickly and easily…another improvement on the other two. I really considered Roboto, but for my 2025 tastes, I like barbarians and skeletons more than robots (does that make sense?).
LADIES CATEGORY FIGURE OF THE YEAR
I did a ladies category this year, and New Eternia Evil-Lyn was a leading candidate. But she didn’t win. I do love her paint and sculpt. Other nominees were GI Joe Classified Shooter, New Eternia Teela, and the ladies category winner of the year (keep reading!). The lack of paint on Shooter’s weapons brought her down, and the “eye roll” of Teela is what knocked her out. (The others in my comic here are Movie Evil-Lyn and Revlation Evil-Lyn, both acquisitions from previous years)I used an app called Comic Life to make these comics.Skeletor’s Throne has three different colors of fire in its LED set. I liked the green for the Snake Mountain throne room the best.Belualyth the Beastmaster is the Mythic Legions figure of the year. Incredible sculpting and paint details, plus a skeletal snake, vulture, and chimera, which I think is a cow and a big cat crossed with a snake. She is my kind of character! I always play black in Magic the Gathering, I have a collection of skeleton action figures, and this year I also picked up a lot of ladies. (action figure ladies…). That’s why Belualyth is also the ladies category winner of the year.My mom gave me that miniature Lowe’s bucket. Remember Robbies Ribs from the 1987 Masters of the Universe Movie?If you don’t know Carolina Mustard-style Barbecue, you should look that up. Even better, try some!
So there you have it!
SPARTANNERD FIGURE OF THE YEAR!
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! What was your greatest action figure of the year?
See a video review of my new Origins collection HERE.
I’ve kind of just skipped collecting these, focusing on Masterverse and Mythic Legions. Mattel has done a good job of updating all of their vintage designs, and finding space to make new characters, offer crossovers, and also make concepts come to life.
I was gifted these, and won’t offer a rating. I don’t think it is fair for me to judge the things I usually judge: Paint, Sculpt, Articulation, Accessories, and what it means to me personally. In the case of all three of these, they mean so much that I couldn’t offer more than a perfect score. As Origins figures, generally aimed at the children’s market, the sculpt and paint, etc aims for a lower target than adult collector toys.
Nevertheless, I am going to review them and talk about what this origins line is about.
First I was gifted Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man.
STEALTH NINJA HE-MAN
My first Origins figure, but unfortunately the blister was loose from the card…Amazon’s carelessness I’m sure. But this is a good package featuring Masters of the Universe style font, and green exploding rocks, with some of the characters from the story that Mattel and Nickelodeon have come up with. (Also conspicuous the Masters and the Turtles logos on the bottom)
I mentioned that I passed on all of the origins at first. And the reason is that the very first wave that they released had this “play dough” color scheme. It was like I was looking at a vintage figure, but seeing something updated about the colors in a negative way. I was excited that the figures were in scale and went with the vintage line, so they could go with castles and vehicles, etc. But there was this “baby toy” color scheme.
When they announced the crossover, I saw it and immediately said I would get them all. The appeal to me was the wackiness, and if the colors were too bright, that was fine for Ninja Turtles, soo…But I wound up not getting them. These figures are around $20 each, and it was kind of like get a couple of Mythic Legions that I really wanted, or pay out for a full wave of TMNT as I found them at Walmart or somewhere, knowing I wouldn’t like all of them anyway. BUT, I did collect the full run with alternate covers of the Dark Horse crossover comic. Freddie Williams II is an awesome artists, and I really enjoyed his work on the Injustice crossover and the Thundercats crossover. (That Thundercats crossover story is dumb, though).
On the back, at the top you get a comic image of He-Man vs. Skele-Shredder. (I just ordered that guy today!). You can see the only action feature here, which is the shroud that he is wearing. You can place the sword in the slot on the back. There is a cross-sell of April O’Neil, which is the Sorceress, Hordak, which is just a battier version apparently, Stealth Ninja Leonardo (wasn’t he a stealth ninja anyway?) and the this figure, Stealth Ninja He-Man.
I had a question when I reviewed the Masterverse Mantenna…could the origins legs swap with it. The answer is NO. We get this little instruction card that tells us exactly what parts are removable. You can swap the waist with the legs attached, and change the feet with different feet. Also the arms and the head. but the legs are not meant to be swapped. Also, they are too small for Mantenna. It nerves me out to pop the torso off from the waist…the arms, the boots, and of course the head all seem right. But it feels like I am breaking something.
We have this mini comic…this is not the same story as Dark Horse put out. This comic is shorter than the vintage mini comics, but the art is cool. And this seems to be the ending of the crossover story. Stealth Ninja He-Man wears this shroud to change his appearance magically, so he only appeared to be mutated. (The first wave had Mutagen Ooze He-Man or something like that.)
The back of the comic has the same cross-sell images.
I set up all those comics I have to prove it!
This is Stealth Ninja He-Man right out of the package. There was a mask in there that I wasn’t sure what it was until I looked at it good, and so I removed the top of the shroud and fit it over his face, then put the shroud back on. (The shroud has two pieces…a cowl and a cape)
Other updates on the design, He-Man has exposed toes on his right foot. He has a leg grieve, an arm bracer, and a shoulder cauldron, all with turtle shell designs. There is a belt with armor similar to what Skeletor wears.
The sword in the slot on the back of the cowl.
I still have my vintage Buzz-Off figure, and wanted to show this off, along with my vintage Castle Grayskull door. The proportions between the vintage and the origins are practically the same. One thing I have complained about especially with the female Origins figures is the knees. With the Turtles of Grayskull line, it looks like they improved the knees. The arms do seem like they might be slightly longer, but this might be an illusion because they actually have modern articulation. Notice that He-Man’s sword is of the Alfredo Alcala design, rather than a Filmation or vintage toy design. I still have my He-Man who has a vintage Battle Axe, but I wonder if that Battle Axe is newer because it shows no signs of wear.
Here is Stealth Ninja He-Man next to Masterverse Battle Armor He-Man, so you can see the difference in scale. If you watch the video version, you can see me swap the cowl and put it on He-Man…it looks great!
Now if you take all this armor off, you have what is essentially an updated vintage He-Man, with exposed toes on one foot. And as I pointed out in the video, how many vintage He-Man figures have the paint rubbed off at the end of the boot? So this doesn’t even look wrong.
One more thing. Opening this. Holding it in hand and messing with it…this created an emotion in me that is hard to describe. I know it is a wave of nostalgia. It was like I was a kid opening a new figure all over again. Once I went to the Retro Toy Con in Greenville, SC, and they had the voice of April O’Neil announcing all of the events. Hearing her was great! Opening this toy created the same feeling for me.
CARTOON COLLECTION CATRA AND FAKER
These two are from the Cartoon Collection, evident by the Filmation rainbow colored logo. At the top you can see the specter of Hordak staring down at them. On the right side of the box there is a foil 40th Anniversary sticker for She-Ra. The background is Castle Grayskull, apparently on fire!
The back features a comic image representing the vintage cartoon episode they are from. “Magicats” and “The Shaping Staff.” Both have cross-sell featuring themselves and Leech. Neither figure really has an action feature, but Catra’s package highlights that you get her cat form, and Faker’s highlights that you can swap his head from the one with evil white eyes to a regular He-Man head.
Faker is especially notable, because usually Faker is a blue version of He-Man usually with Skeletor’s armor in orange or pink, but in the Filmation Cartoon they evidently didn’t know this, so they made him look exactly like He-Man except for the eyes. So with this figure and that swappable head, you really have a Cartoon Collection He-Man also, right?
Somehow I don’t have a photo, but they both came with a mini-comic that kind of ends with the evil warriors telling Skeletor that “Loyalty is for Losers.” Very entertaining, especially since the vintage cartoon always ended with a moral lesson!
Here is a side-by-side comparison of Stealth Ninja He-Man and Cartoon Collection Faker. you can see the cartoon collection design has some updated features. It is a “flatter” sculpt, and feels less “chunky” in your hand. I don’t experience the same “nostalgia” sensation opening and holding this, and I think it is because it “feels different” in hand, if that makes sense. It is designed like this because it is a reproduction of the cartoon rather than the vintage toy. So this head sculpt is different also. But if Stealth Ninja He-Man’s boots are bothering you, you could switch Faker’s out.
Here is a swap. I swapped the waist. Now Faker seems a little more vintage because he has Skeletor’s belt on, even if it is a shade of chrome.
Here is Catra standing on 200x He-Man. I wanted you to see a comparison with 200x She-Ra, but didn’t want to take the She-Ra off of the wall.
Catra has a mask, and if I remember correctly (I didn’t watch She-Ra much as a kid,) she would put on the mask and change into the cat.
That cat is a non-articulated rubber piece but is nicely painted and is the same armor that Catra is wearing, but with some dinosaur spikes.
The vintage Catra was a doll. So I never played with one, and in fact might not have seen one. My cousins (both girls of a similar age) had She-Ra figures but we rarely got together with our toys. I do remember playing with them a little, but not enough to speak with knowledge about Catra. I find the tagline “Jealous Beauty” to be hilarious…it is like…we can’t have Hordak as the villain of this toyline. It has to be another lady, and instead of EVIL…she is just “jealous.” Sounds like the kind of problem that female children have a lot. (I work in middle school…I know this well.)
You can remove Catra’s head and her cape comes right off, so that can go on another figure. (Check out Count Chocula). Otherwise, she didn’t come with a weapon.
Here she is standing next to Masters of the Universe Classics Despara.
This photo is from an upcoming video…you get rewarded by reading the blog! The video is “The Best of 2025” and this is a photo of the ladies category. PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Teela, GI Joe Classified Series Shooter, Mythic Legions Belualyth, all in front of some of my Batman/Catwoman comics. This is a good Christmas story also, so get to reading Hub-City Geeks!
Here you can see that she is much shorter than other lady action figures I have collected this year.
THE FUTURE
Well I already decided to order Skele-Shredder and Origins Sharella. So now they are on the way! Is this the new rabbit hole for the SpartanNerd…probably not. I’ve had my eye on Sharella for a little while, and actually saw one in a store…she was much shorter than I expected, and there was serious markup on the figure. (I got it today from Mattel Creations sale for $12. It was on the shelf at that prestigious store in Spartanburg for $45). Playing with Catra convinced me to go ahead and get it, and Skele-Shredder will be a great nemesis for He-Man.
Do you have Origins figures, Hub-City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
NOTE: There is a secret item in this box that I review here. I placed that part of the review at the very bottom after the rating to prevent anyone from getting this spoiled.
This is my third item from this Four Horsemen Studios line after Figura Obscura Father Christmas, and Figura Obscura Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King. The FH just keep cranking out the hits. I thought for sure we would get a Ghost of Christmas Present, which would probably be an Ogre sized Santa. BUT…two years ago when the Father Christmas just came out, I’m pretty sure I heard Eric Treadaway saying something about the Mouse King. Looks like that came true!
I got an e-mail, of course, that featured some Christmas ornaments and presents on Black Friday. I mentioned it to the Spartan Wife. I spoke with the kids about it. I wondered what it would be, and would I get it. I passed on the Ghost of Christmas Past last year. She’s a pretty figure, and very Christmas. But there just isn’t much use for her in my collection in any alternate way besides some kind of bride. She is an unnaturally pale female under that dress, so I don’t have any further use for her parts. (Turns out the FH re-used the body for a figure of Nymph/Churl that hasn’t been released yet. This mixes parts of Ghost of Christmas Past with parts of Belualyth.)
But when I saw the Mouse King, I knew I had to get it. And it was a small window. In fact, the “All In” Package, that I got for an additional $15 that contains a coffee cup, a Christmas card, and a Fig-pin did sell out by 10:30. So I made the best call.
It’s true I have seen the Nutcracker ballet as well as experienced this as concert music several times. But I am not a Nutcracker Super fan. I like it OK, but Ballet isn’t my jam. I usually use the Sugar Plum Fairies theme when I play NES Tetris. And truly, besides some Trans Siberian Orchestra, that is my fandom for this work. Romantic Era Russian Nationalist classical music isn’t really my preference. (I say Beethoven was the greatest, you know 30-50 years earlier and German). But this figure…the presentation of the Mouse King as a seven-headed villain. This was too good to pass up.
I unboxed this on film, so please watch the video to see the rundown of this terrific box. But here are some more details.
PACKAGING
The packaging works very similar to what we got with Father Christmas and The Monkey King. There is an enclosing “book” capping over the box. This makes for collector friendly packaging and adds worth the the figure for displaying.
The front outside image on the capper gives us a good comic image of the figure, with gold foil details. As you wrap around the box you can see a whole Christmas setting where the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker would take place.
The capper has a backdrop on the other side, giving us a scene inside a grandfather clock. Apparently the Mouse King’s lair. He has a little throne made from a compact mirror and some makeup items. There are books, some kind of snake or cat skull, giving us some context of some of the king’s past victories maybe, and an oil lamp.
Removing the capper from the box reveals the inside box.
On the inside box you have a picture of the Nutcracker and some lady I don’t remember. I’m pretty sure she isn’t the girl having the dream, as that is a child. So I don’t know who this is. One thing about the Four Horsemen showing us this picture…it is taking away some of the mystery of how they might design a Nutcracker to pit against the Mouse King in the future. On the other hand, Nutcrackers are easy to come by, especially in this size and scale, while Mouse Kings are usually missing in action. (Other fantasy villains for Christmas, right? Krampus. The Grinch. Jack Skellington.)
The back has information about the Mouse King. I haven’t read it, I confess. (There is also a booklet inside that I only glanced at. It appears to be a re-telling of the Nutcracker story.
One more thing…
Behind the figure we have yet another backdrop piece which is a clock face, featuring two swans. I don’t know the significance of these two swans, but it made me think of the Swan theatre or something like that Wagner was famous for putting on performances for King Ludwig (Is my history right about this? And if so, does it have anything to do with the Nutcracker?). I already imagine I will use this to remake some Earl Norem photos from the Golden Book “Time Trouble.”
Normally I talk about how you can see the figure inside. Nope. Not this time. They put opaque plastic over the figure so you can’t see him in the blister. Maybe the FH studios thought this one might just be too creepy to see on a store shelf?
FIGURE REVIEW.
What do we get in the package? It is a double blister, and this feels like more stuff than either Father Christmas or Monkey King. Like, more plastic and paint straight up. It weighs more.
The Mouse King Figure
Alternate neck
Alternate frilled collar
Pair of alternate clawing hands
a scepter
a sword
a reversible cape
a flight stand (what?)
and a mystery trash bag. (See the end of the blog entry to know what you get here. NO SPOILERS!)
How does the Mouse King work
I was very cautious this time. I have had a recent spat of problems with Mythic Legions figures. The Monkey King had a lot of problems. Last month, though, I broke Maxillius the Harvesters neck. There has been another recent Cosmic Legion that I will be blogging about soon…and so…I didn’t take any chances. I got the hairdryer out first before I removed any parts.. And thankfully nothing has broken or been too difficult to manage.
He has all of the articulation you expect, but this time he has a huge harness with seven mouse heads on it. Five of these heads are the same. There is one savage rat head with bared teeth, and then there is the king head with a crown of seven bones. This piece by itself weighs as much as the rest of the figure. Luckily, they gave him big feet, but this time with reversed knees, which are anatomically true for a rat I’m pretty sure, but the more I pose him and mess with him, the looser this has become. He also has a tail that works exactly like the Monkey King’s tail as well as the Ninian Infantry tail. In other words…it is bendy and very posable, BUT it doesn’t want to stay in the hole. It did better after I hairdryered it, but it still isn’t reliable. Which is a shame because like real rats, that tail would help him balance.
But…stop SpartanNerd. You are getting ahead of yourself! This sculpt is AMAZING! Of course it is the Four Horsemen Studios work. There are so many details here that just show tremendous love for the subject here, and so much care for their fans. This harness has a gruesome SPINE on the back, and tipped with a violent spike. Where have we seen this before? This is a throwback design from Todd McFarlane’s Spawn…the Violator and similar characters had these spikes.
The Mouse King and the Monkey King do battle at the good-guys office Christmas party. You can see the harness very well, with the five regular heads and the two other heads: Savage and King. Also, you can see how large the cape is. AND the tail.You can find reviews of most figures pictured on the SpartanNerd blog and the SpartanNerd YouTube page.PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Beast Man and Mythic Legions Belualyth. Both are beast masters who control animals.
You can easily remove the harness like any other Mythic Legions head, and this gives you the option to make just a generic mouse or rat warrior. And so…the Mouse King can be used all year long, not only just at Christmas! (Well…a Mouse King can be used anyway all year I suppose.)
You can see in the photo above, I believe the only re-used parts on this figure is the chain mail loin cloth. Maybe the sword is also re-used from a previous figure. Maybe the hands are the same as the Monkey King’s?
Something new to point out about the torso. This figure has new butterfly joints in his shoulders, giving us the ability to make even more dynamic poses with our Mythic Legions. The Mouse King is the first, but evidently all new releases going forward will have this! I have found them to be really tight, and was sure to use the hairdryer. But I had no problems.
PICTURED: Figuara Obscura The Mouse King and Super7 Ultimates! King Conan. Both are doing battle to see who the real king is. If you look close, you can see the Mouse King has a stripe of blood on his face. And King Conan’s gigantic sword is dripping with blood.
Maybe they can just get along.
PICTURED: Figura Obscura Mouse King and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.
You can reverse the cape also, which gives us a different look. I find that in the photo above, some kind of nerve for “The Secret of NIMH”, a movie from the 80’s/
SPARTANNERD RATING OF FIGURA OBSCURA THE MOUSE KING
He earns a 5/5 hands down. Definitely one of the greatest figures of the year!
Here is my metric.
A point for sculpt
A point for paint
A point for articulation, especially with no stupid problems. (OK. The tail)
A point for accessories
A point for what he stands for as a unique action figure
No QC problems this time. AMEN! says Reverend SpartanNerd. (The hair dryer really improves the tail). And you can use this figure year round as a generic rat warrior creature.
Do I wish anything was different? Well, I think they will offer this in a different color some time in the future, probably brown. You might be able to do an homage to Master Splinter in this way. I also wish the seven-headed harness could be used on other figures. The way they did it, they sculpted the frilly collar onto the harness. Additionally, there is a small piece of mouse neck on every hole of the harness. So this head really only can be used for the Mouse King. And one more thing…mind you that these are not complaints…only some things that could improve it even more. We could have been given a mouse rear end. What I mean is…a regular rat body that you could put a head on. Surely in some future we will have this, but if we were given even only one, that would have been something else awesome.
But the Mouse King is awesome as he is! 5/5!
NOW IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET ACCESSORY…KEEP SCROLLING. OTHERWISE
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YOU WERE WARNED!
A Nutcracker head! Here I have placed it on the Kitbash Bros. Gamecocks Knight. There is no Nutcracker body, so you can put him on whoever you want. You could also have it as a severed head beside the Mouse King, which was my first instinct. This head looks battle scarred and beaten, with an eye missing and just some busted up details!
Just something else that pushes this figure over the top! Thanks for reading! Like, subscribe, comment…check out my YouTube channel! Merry Christmas!
It’s that time of year again…and I received my very first Christmas present from a student. General Mills Count Chocula Action Figure by Jada toys.
Now I have eaten this cereal, and if you read the SpartanNerd blog, you also probably have also. It is WAY too chocolate…more like a dessert really. Chocolate cereal pieces with marshmallows. So much nutrition! And if you haven’t eaten it (plenty of international readers it seems,) check out this article, that when I read I learned a lot myself.
I am going to review this figure, but not offer a rating as it is a Christmas gift, and I am very appreciative! (Check out my review of the San Diego Comic Con Ninja Turtles from last year)
PACKAGING
The packaging looks like a more squat and fat version of the cereal box.
You have an image Count Chocula and the General Mills branding featured prominently.
As you turn it around, you can find the nutrition labels, which aren’t that at all, are they? Instead more like a contents list.
On the back you have some Jim Lee DC Comics featuring the Monster Cereal characters up to the point of the early 2020’s. (Carmella Creeper has been added to the family in the past couple of years.). But there is Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Berry Boo, Frute Brute, and Yummy Mummy all featured in this comic, which actually doesn’t seem to pull together a coherent story. But it does kind of show off the personality of each character.
There is a flap that you open to see the figure on the inside. And a large “groovy” image of Count Chocula on the back of the flap. (It turns out that this was a mask to cut out on vintage cereal boxes. I didn’t know! Keep reading!)
You can see Count Chocula inside the window, stuck in his blister card. He has an alternate head with a more surprised expression, and a box of Count Chocula cereal.
FIGURE REVIEW
Normally I would give a photo about what is in the package, but this time the above items are it.
Jada toys made this, and as far as I know the only thing I have with Jada toys is a carded set of micro-machine style GI Joe vehicles.
If Jada would make more of these, I would buy them.
But I know that Jada has been putting out high-level Street Fighter figures for awhile. This action figure is supposedly 1/12 scale, so in scale with vintage Masters of the Universe figures for a small comparison, but kind of in scale with Mythic Legions for a large comparison.
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Origins TMNT Stealth Ninja He-Man, Jada Toys General Mills Count Chocula action figure, and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Showing off the 1/12 scale of Count Chocula with the variance of sizes in that scale.
The box says 21 points of articulation on the nutrition panel. So here they are…
Rotating head on a ball joint that can also look up
shoulders that can swivel up and down and out
swivel-hinged elbows
Rotating wrists
waist twist
Upper-thigh joints
thigh cuts
double-jointed knees
Vertical up-and-down ankle
Rocker feet on a swivel at the ankle
So I only count 20 points. BUT, they could be counting the cape. By the way, it is a removable cape and probably should count as an accessory. You could put it on almost any other figure.
ACCESSORIES
Count Chocula came with an alternate head that shows an expression that he seems to make a lot in animation. It is a google-eyed surprise face…the same face a kid is making when served this food of course.
What is happening here?
There is a miniature box of cereal with images on the front and back but no side labels or nutrition facts. One side basically is the same image from vintage boxes. The back is the same mask from the inside of the package, but this time with the instructions “Cut out mask! Fool your friends! Play monsters!” And that is how I knew this mask was a feature.
PICTURED: Figura Obscura Father Christmas brings joy to the orphanage, while MASTERVERSE Revelation Orko babysits. Looks like Count Chocula is donating some cereal! (Last year’s gift, Loyal Subjects San Diego Comic Con TMNT set is shown here)
PLAYING WITH COUNT CHOCULA
You just don’t get more 1980’s than this.DC Comics literally did the comic panels on the back of the box. It is funny…this is a different kind of Batman Off-World. Count Chocula fits right over Batman.
SPARTANNERD RATING
I am going to rate this…FUN/FUN. That’s right! Thanks for the gift! I love it, and Count Chocula isn’t anything but fun. Spending time with this action figure made me think of how actually goofy this character. Is. I mean…a vampire with no fangs…instead buck teeth. He kind of looks like a 1950’s host of a show or something, but then you see all the chocolate coloring all over him. he has an instant appeal as a cartoon character. So many vampires instantly look threatening. No fear is possible when looking at this guy. And now I am getting too philosophical!
So let me know in the comments Hub City Geeks if you eat this cereal. Do you have other action figures in this line? Let me know in the comments! Merry Christmas!
I picked up Shooter and Tunnel Rat from Walmart.com, fairly cheaply. I was worried…a few times I have ordered from Walmart and had some trouble. But no issues this time, and they came the next day. What got me started was reading GI Joe #12 from the Energon Universe, where Shooter was the main character. When I found her (I looked everywhere else first,) she was readily available and only $10, so I looked for someone else to also buy. They are on the same “Night Force” team, and so this is how I came to get Tunnel Rat.
How did they turn out? Keep reading! You can find a video version of this review on YouTube HERE.
Because I am doing two figures in one review, I am trying to concisely write…my headings are a little different than usual. I usually do Packaging, Figure, Accessories, Review. I am lumping it together kind of this time.
Shooter
I mostly collected Cobra as a kid…they had the most awesome designs, AND I had the ultimate aircraft gifted to me, the “Cobra Night Raven.” So it surprised even me when Shooter stood out. The reason? The Energon Universe comics.
If you haven’t read them:
Void Rivals = space opera that features Transformers and Cobra-La
Transformers = classic alien war story between Autobots and Decepticons
G.I. Joe = fallout from the alien war to the humans.
Recently M.A.S.K. has been included.
PICTURED: The issue of GI Joe that got me into Shooter. This is the Energon Universe Transformers Vol. 3 graphic novel. And don’t let the frumpy art on the cover of Void Rivals #1 throw you off…it is a great story.
It is a Hasbro remix that feels like the Ultimate Marvel Universe or the DC Comics Flashpoint.
But Shooter? I never heard of this character before until reading this comic.
A three-time gold medalists marksman who never misses. There are characters like that…Hawkeye, Green Arrow, etc. But she is different because she carries her father’s medal for balance, who hears his voice guiding her — This is a detail the SpartanNerd just couldn’t put down…I even read the comic twice in an hour.
Packaging, Accessories
The front packaging. I don’t even want to show you more of this package. The only artwork on the whole thing is this image on the left of the box. It is bigger on the side, and there is a black and white version inside the box. The back shows the package contents.
Shooter and Tunnel Rat arrived in the stupid windowless box, part of Hasbro’s “plastic-free era.” Long-time readers know I’m not a fan of this packaging. No file card, no real bio, just a QR code that dumps you at Hasbro’s shop. The side artwork is decent but doesn’t make up for the downgrade. (Go back and see my blog entry about Sgt. Slaughter.). The upside is that this packaging strategy didn’t sell figures well, and now figures with this style of packaging they are sold at steep discounts. Hard to argue with that. She was very likely a shelf warmer (female action figures often are even if they’re Scarlet, Baroness, or some other headliner).
Inside the Package
She is tied down in this shoebox with plastic things…I thought the point of this dumb packaging was to not use plastic? It is also stupid that she is in the box with the gas mask on default.
When you open her package.. (Tunnel Rat’s is the same)…The figure is tied in with plastic ties to a shoebox kind of situation with the same artwork from the front but in black and white.
She comes with a cardboard “footlocker” setup similar to Sgt. Slaughter. Accessories include:
A pistol
A knife with quick-access sheath. (I didn’t realize it when I made the video, but this is a throwing knife, making use of her terrific shooting skills in a different terrifying way)
A sniper rifle (rubbery and slightly sagging)
Two hair pieces (braids & mask-compatible style)
Gas mask / night vision
Back mount for her rifle
I don’t like that she has the mask on as a default look…but since this is a windowless box I don’t guess that really actually matters. It took me a little bit to find the nerve to remove the mask…But it came off without too much trouble.
FIGURE REVIEW
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela and Super7 Ultimates! Valeria Spirit, with GI Joe Classified Series Night Force Jodie “Shooter” Craig. Shooter appears to be a middle schooler next to these ladies.PICTURED: My favorite GI Joe Classified so far has been Gnawgahyde. Do you see how they both have a sniper rifle, but Gnawgahyde’s is far better. He has a case, a tripod, as well as a scope, a silencer, etc. True, he is a poacher, not a sniper. But there is clear disparity here in what could have been done with Shooter.
She looks great overall, but:
Her shoes have no laces — they look more middle school trendy than military.
The sniper rifle is too rubbery and droops at the barrel.
The gas mask/night vision is removable, but requires some force.
Her hair attaches via slotted pegs — bald-head customs aren’t happening here for anyone who might have wanted to do that. The gas mask/night vision is attached to a hairpiece. Her face sculpt is pretty and the paint on the actual figure is good with a night-mission feel. But I feel like there could have been a lot more paint on the accessories.
Tunnel Rat
Tunnel Rat came in the same windowless packaging, but at a slightly higher price and with way more gear — as he should. He’s nostalgic from the G.I. Joe animated movie, where he trained under Beach Head and pulled that “sewer tunnel shortcut” stunt. (To the SpartanNerd, this was the precursor scene to the iconic Beach Head-cussing-at-Jinx scene, one of the reasons to watch the movie when I was ten years old!.)
Inside the Package
Tunnel Rat’s footlocker contains:
Backpack
Attachable Flashlights
Dagger / combat knife
Heavy machine gun with stabilizers
Ammo bandolier
A magazine clip
Night-vision goggles
Sculpt and Notable Details
This version lacks the classic Tunnel Rat face paint.
The sculpt is based on Larry Hama (which I didn’t know until I checked Wikipedia). Larry Hama has written GI Joe comics and stories for 30 years, and was a minor cast member of MASH!
Also from Joe-pedia, Tunnel Rat is Trinidadian-Chinese with a Boston accent — a wonderfully unique character background.
The tripod attachment on his heavy machine gun is far inferior to Gnawgahyde’s. It looks like leftover sprue plastic from a Gundam model kit — Hasbro can do far better.
On the bright side, he stands up extremely well next to other Classified figures and outclasses the Super7 Ultimates! line in detail and at a lower price. (I am not getting any more GI Joes from Super7.)
Ratings – Shooter & Tunnel Rat
PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Tunnel Rat and Jodie “Shooter” Craig, infiltrating Cybertron. They both definitely look like they are on the same Night Force team.
Shooter is up first.
Pros:
Great sculpt
Strong character representation
Two interchangeable hairstyles
Solid articulation
Fantastic value at $10
Cons:
Weapons lack paint
Sniper rifle boring gray and lacking in things like a case.
What does she add? This character resonated strongly enough with me on a personal level on the singular exposure in the Energon Universe comic book that I read. I ordered this out of pure emotion, and am glad to add her to my collection. She gets the feels point, but loses a point for the lack of detail on the accessories and that she was shortchanged in the sniper rifle department.
Shooter — 4 out of 5
Tunnel Rat is next.
Pros:
Loaded with gear
Great sculpt and colors
Strong nostalgia factor
Cons:
Tripod is cheap-looking
Missing the classic face paint
No ammo box to feed the bandolier
Getting Tunnel Rat was kind of a knee-jerk buy on account of Shooter being so inexpensive. Just the same, he gets the feels point on account of I watched him for hours as a kid on a Beta tape that included the GI Joe movie, recorded from what was apparently the only time it ever aired on TV.
Tunnel Rat — 5 out of 5
Do you have Shooter or Tunnel Rat? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Do you agree or disagree with my ratings? I am really actually just getting into GI Joe Classified. It has been slow for me, but the Cold Slither pushed me over!
And as always — thanks for reading, listening, and watching!
I know a guy has the market cornered on Mosquitor (Pixel Dan), but I also have fond memories of the mosquito member of the Horde. Mosquitor was one of the final MOTU figures I ever had. The last few I had were Rio Blast, Extendar, Evil-Lyn, Tyrantisaurus, and Mosquitor.
I am CONVINCED I saw Laser Power He-Man and Laser Light Skeletor on some clearance sale at a discount store, but didn’t get them. Maybe this is a Mandela effect thing? (The SpartanNerd is from Spartanburg SC, not Sparta, Greece. Not from Europe…)
I remember getting Mosquitor as an Easter present of all things. I loved the blood sucking gore effect, unique to this figure in the whole of Vintage Masters of the Universe. So how did he turn out for Masterverse?
PACKAGING
Mosquitor comes in the usual MASTERVERSE packaging. There is nice art on the front showing him with wings up and a long curly nosepiece. You can see the figure clearly in the window, which unfortunately for MOC collectors (not me) doesn’t have a full nose piece on. So it looks like his nose is sawed off.
As you look around the side you can see Imp, Hordak’s pet, sitting on the top of a cannon. This is definitely not safe for the little guy! Of note and interest…this figure is labeled “New Eternia” not “New Etheria.” The pet that came with the NE Hordak was not Imp. So it is odd that they used Imp in the art on Mosquitor’s packaging.
The other side shows the library image for easy storing, sorting, or otherwise alphabetizing your figures. (Just joking.). It is nice to have this as a feature, and showing off additional looks for the figure.
The back of the figure features a photoshop of Mosquitor with an animated style background featuring a large skull. We are given windows into how the “action features” of the figure works.
There are cross sell images on the bottom that show us Anti-Eternia He-Man, Mosquitor, and Hordak. I don’t know if I will get get Anti-Eternia He-Man or not. I don’t have a strong connection to him, and I have some other problems with the figure. For instance, we already have Faker. He-Man doesn’t need another doppelgänger. Especially not one more frightening. I have more rant about this offering, but this is a review of Mosquitor, so I will keep it at that. However, if someone gifts me Anti-Eternia He-Man, then…
FIGURE REVIEW
Mosquitor comes with everything you see here in the package.
MASTERVERSE Mosquitor Figure
Three alternate nose pieces
An alternate chest plate “dripping blood”
A laser gun
A hose
Should I count the wings as accessories?
The hose is the same hose that came with New Eternia Snout Spout. It plugs into the back of his head and connects to his armor. What would have been cool would have been the “blood tanks” on Emiliano Santalucia’s design…and then this hose would have been more logical and epic.
The paint. Well, there isn’t much. He is molded in the colors he is supposed to be. There are paint hits on his boots, and he has these red spikes on his shoulder armor which are one of the best details of the new design. After spending some time with the figure, I have noticed some paint slop.
There are two options for displaying Mosquitor. You can have a full tank on his chest, or a partially bloody “dripping” chest. This isn’t a pumping action feature, but instead a chest plate similar to what Battle Armor Skeletor has. The bat shape just pops off and can be replaced. Some of the paint slop mentioned above is on the full tank chest piece. At the same time, I wonder if in that case it was purposeful? It adds to the effect of “blood tank.” But I suspect this was accidental, by the same factory worker who did the other red paint on the figure.
Mosquitor has the same eye effect that some other recent MASTERVERSE figures have had (NE Panthor’s is the best). A 3-d effect where it is like a translucent cover that gives the illusion of a real eye. Except that in the case of Mosquitor, his eye doesn’t look realistic because it looks like the vintage toy’s eye.
All of his articulation is what you would expect from a MASTERVERSE figure, “30 points of articulation.” But it brings up a tired complaint. These figures are lanky, and yeah, they have good articulation, but the net effect is that they are not that posable. Most of them are standing on the shelf in a similar pose. Balancing well on their feet with their arms forward holding something. Maybe this is me not being creative? Don’t get me wrong…I prefer the option to pose as opposed to a statue. I just think it a little bit ironic.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor attacks New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man. NE Snout Spout takes on New Etheria Hordak. And Panthor is just there.
ACCESSORIES
The wings attach to the back of the armor, and are interchangeable with Hordak’s wings. These wings are opaque muted pink, the same size as Hordak’s, and are just as posable. It is important that they remove or are easily hidden because some collectors might prefer to display him without this.
The gun…this is NOT a Horde crossbow. Instead it looks a little bit like the gun on Emiliano Santalucia’s 200x He-Man.org Christmas wallpaper artwork from like 20 years ago. (Once again, I wish this figure had those bloody tanks for his back more than I like the wings.)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor takes on Four Horsemen Studios Figura Obscura Monkey King. In the background you can see McFarlane Mortal Kombat Khotal Khan and Masters of the Universe Classics Sir Lazer Lot
The nose pieces can go on either the end of his nose or on the end of the gun…in fact on both ends of the gun. (This gives you the option of fashioning the gun into a melee weapon. One looks like the vintage mosquito nose. One looks like a curved dagger, and the other is a tentacle, which anatomically is a “proboscis” I believe.
RATING
I awarded MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor a 5/5 when I filmed the video two weeks ago, and I am going to stick to that notwithstanding the paint slop I began to notice. ***He has an asterisk :)***. I feel like he fits right in with NE Hordak and Mantenna.
He is one of my “need to have” figures, and he does it well. My “need to have list of” members of the Horde now only has Grizzlor, Modulok, and Multibot left to go. I didn’t have that many of them around when I was a kid. (I know there is a Grizzlor, but that molded plastic hair sucks.)
Do you agree or disagree with my 5/5* rating? Let me know in the comments!
spartannerd 