The NY Toy Fair was this past week, and the big news about Masters of the Universe…most everything is ON PAUSE for 2026, deferred to marketing for the movie. MASTERVERSE is “On Pause”, and almost all of Origins is also…some of them just started like the 200x Cartoon Collection. “On Pause”. Transformers Origins Crossover. “On Pause”. Turtles of Grayskull just ended anyway, but there is a Thundercats thing. “On Pause.”
I really hope the movie does well. The toys they have revealed look cool. They are more in the scale of GI Joe Classified, and they are proportioned similarly as they are based on real human actors. It is a whole new system of articulation also. And there is a kids line coming out called “core” or something like that, not “the first ones” as was going around about a week ago. Both lines look pretty good. There are some things, like Tri-Klops not having a sword and Battle Cat’s armor looking stupid. There are a lot of really cool things like Trap Jaw and Idris Elba Man-At-Arms.
But putting MASTERVERSE “on pause” is a mistake.
We don’t have:
a non-Kevin Smith Orko
a non=Kevin Smith Battle Cat
Tri-Sorceress and He-Man husband and wife 2-pack
Sorceress of Havoc (she would be awesome!)
Rio Blast
Extendar
Rokkon
Stonedar
Zoar
Screech
King Hiss
Tongue Lasher
Sssqueeeze
Rattlor
Yeah there’s a lot more I could add here. AND I can complain. Why did we get Anti-Eternia He-Man instead of one of the above-listed figures? Why do we have four versions of Beast Man and Mer-Man but no re-issues of Buzz Off or Stratos? Why do we have Motherboard and not a vehicle? Or for that matter the other giant figures? MASTERVERSE had all of this to accomplish, but now it is “on pause.” What about the 1987 movie figures? There was only one short window where we could get Blade, and I missed him. There was a lot more they could have done here.
The SpartanNerd’s collector display shelf.
And there are two competing outcomes.
If the movie does well, everything becomes some shade of the Chronicles line. More He-Man and Skeletor variants. More Beast Man and Man-At-Arms variants. More Teela and Evil-Lyn. And some of the characters I listed above…ignored. And the MASTERVERSE style of toy, which was kind of serving in my mind as something evergreen like Hot Wheels or Barbie, is just outright replaced. (This is the best outcome I think. I hope the movie does well.)
If the movie tanks. (A very likely scenerio). Masters of the Universe goes back underground like it did after the failure of the 1987 movie. Mattel will not support it…they have a lot invested in the success of the film. As awesome as it looks to me , an enthusiastic fan, the moviegoing regular sheeple will probably not see this so much as better than a Star Wars or Marvel movie, (both of which have been suffering for a while).
Maybe this movie will find some of that Super Mario Bros. movie or Barbie movie magic from recent years, and will knock us all out with its awesome story and special effects. Maybe it will be what the fans have always wanted and the moviegoers didn’t know they needed in their lives. But I am 60% expecting “Rise of the Beasts” or “The Last Jedi.”
“On Pause”
I believe “On Pause” is a soft way of telling us they are killing the line. Someone might say, “They wouldn’t do that! Not with so much more stuff to cover!” But they would…they already have done this…look no further than Masters of the Universe Mega Books, (or Mega Constructs, or just MEGA.). Whatever. That brick shop that was promised has given us some Hot Wheels models. They haven’t done anything with Masters of the Universe in years, and that line was VERY incomplete…they even released the Central Eternia Tower, but never the Viper Tower of the Grayskull Tower. If they can leave ends like that loose, you can bet we won’t get any MASTERVERSE Snake Men.
I wasn’t collecting Origins. But I have been gifted several recently. And they are honestly great. Perfect upgrades over the vintage figures actually. And that is really saying something. But at generally $20 each, you really feel the pain since the 1980s, when they were worth $5.00 each. (That means, in 40 something years, $20 now is what $5 was worth. Makes you think…Maybe Back to the Future 2 was correct in their predictions about the future!)
But before all of this new stuff that I have, I thought about getting this as my first Origins figures. The reason…Cringer is a rare figure. Mattel hasn’t made many figures of him. He is a Filmation property, and I think in the 1980’s there was a feeling that taking the saddle and the helmet off of the Battle Cat was close enough to having Cringer.
It became apparent during the Masters of the Universe Classics line that adults really DID want an actual Cringer. So they made him the pack-in with Queen Marlena/Captain Glenn. (There is a visual guide on the internet). This was a non-articulated figure. But it was the first one! (I didn’t get it, but knew about it).
Anyways, the Origins Cringer that was released last year as a Target Exclusive (I think) was readily available. But I hesitated. I really just wanted to put my money into more Mythic Legions or Masterverse figures. But then…I was gifted some for Christmas and they are so nice I wanted it again…only to find…them NOWHERE! Not online. Sold Out. I visited Target, where they still had Moss Man on the shelf. No Cringer and Prince Adam. But at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC, I found one. Keep reading to see my feelings about this figure set.
PACKAGING
Adam and Cringer came in a nice window box with artwork all around (See the top image). You can see the figures and accessories inside with no problem. The top features Adam reclining on a rock with Cringer as his pillow. Classic! Looking on are some evil warriors, Evil-Lyn, Skeletor, and Tri-Klops. There is Eternia jungle swag all around the window.
The side features Imp also spying.
The He-Man and the Masters of the Universe logo is prominent. This was the Filmation Cartoon’s title, so does Imp belong here?
The other side features Pookie, the little creature from the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special that Teela takes up with.
All of this is very cartoon-retro, as it claims to be. Very nice. But the back is where this package really shines.
Oh yeah! Now this doesn’t look like the animation…I mean the castle and the lightning does, but Adam and Cringer are more detailed and shaded, and Adam is stoic and serious unlike the toy.
What I wish they would do is just give us the image of the castle…that would be the perfect size to pose Origins or any other figures in front of. Just think…if a casual collector picked this up on a whim, then they would get a lot of mileage out of that package if they would do that.
I really like the back of this package, and love the new art. But I think there is potential for more here that Mattel missed out on.
FIGURE REVIEW
What do you get in the package???
Prince Adam figure
Cringer figure
Power Sword
Alternate head for Cringer
Alternate head for Prince Adam
Is this $30 worth of paint and plastic?
Sometimes I think Mattel believes that Prince Adam won’t sell unless he has some other incentive. But I think this is a very good Prince Adam figure. The alternate head we get is more of the “laughing Prince Adam” head that was a meme a few years ago.
Like I mentioned above, Cringer doesn’t have many figures, and I feel like this Cringer will work great with Masterverse. What we don’t have in Masterverse is a good Prince Adam. My thought is that this Cringer is in scale with the Cartoon Collection…and this is also in scale with Masterverse because Cringer is a little wimp kitty, but Battle Cat is huge and fierce. Anybody agree with this logic?
Origins figures start at around $20, so at $30 for this set that seems like a good value.
PICTURED: Origins Cartoon Collection Faker attacks Cartoon Collection Prince Adam while Cringer covers his eyes. If anyone saw this…would they put two-and-two together to discover Adam’s secret?
Articulation…this is a big draw, especially for Cringer. The first thing I did was have him hide his eyes, and he can do this classic cartoon move very well. He has the same exact articulation as Masterverse Panther and Classics Battle Cat, only in a smaller Origins format. (Hips, knees, ankles, paws, shoulders, tail, torso, neck, and head. No articulated mouth)
Prince Adam’s articulation is hindered by his vest…he can’t move his arms as much as he could. BUT he has one thing going on that neither Faker (pictured above) nor Stealth Ninja He-Man has, and that is the ability to raise the magic sword aloft. In other words, Adam’s wrist can swing out forward to hold the sword up. (Or to chop down also)
PICTURED: Origins Cartoon Colleciton Cringer and Prince Adam transforming into Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat and Masterverse 40th Anniversary He-Man.
ACCESSORIES:
The only thing we really have is the Power Sword. All of Adam’s joints are swappable as expected. I’m not sure about Cringer’s. The heads interchange easily.
I discovered that the vest has a nifty design. There is a hidden “buckle” imprinted on the inside, where you can snap it together at the belt. My vintage Prince Adam always has problems with his vest, up until the point that I put a hair tie around him to secure it.
PICTURED: Origins Cartoon Collection Prince Adam and vintage Prince Adam. Also vintage Battle Cat.
You can see in the picture above what I am talking about.
So the colors match pretty good except for the vest. The other obvious difference is the head sculpt of the vintage toy is actually the same as vintage He-Man’s sculpt.
SPARTANNERD RATING
As a set this is a 5/5. Especially because of Cringer. If it was only Prince Adam, I would take off for there not being more accessories. But he comes as a set, and I love it!
Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
The SpartanNerd has a ton of action figures…so much so that I no longer can comfortably display them all. And I have a lot of lady action figures also, with several Teela and Evil-Lyn figures among them. But until now I have had no Mythic Legions or Cosmic Legions ladies. Belualyth is my first one. So how did she turn out? Keep reading!
PACKAGING
Belualyth comes in the typical Mythic Legions box, but she is a deluxe figure, so this box is larger than the general standard figures. Think the same size as the box that the Ogre Scale Accessories came in. It is a large window that you can see the figure in very well.
On the side we get a little bio. Evidently Belualyth is big daddy evil skeleton god guy’s daughter. It also mentions the Turpiculi, a figure that I know I will get before the end of the year very likely. (Maybe more than one?)
On the back you can see that Turpiculi as well as other figures in this “wave.” You also see the big bads on the back. I don’t know enough about Mythic Legions Lore to tell you much more about them other than the skeleton god is “Necronominus,” who this wave is named after.
Don’t know who all these characters are. The guy with wings is definitely Poxxus…I saw his figure in a store. Necronominus is the flying skeleton god. I don’t know the other two. The cross sell is Necronominus, Belualyth, Turpiculi, and Undead Legion Builder.
WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX?
Rather than take her out, I decided to get the top blister off. First of all, a little baggie came off of the backing card (that features the sort of generic D&D artwork that includes a dragon, some flames, and a demon). That baggie contained the additional hairpiece)
So going around the box clockwise
Birdcage with snake skeleton inside
Bird skeleton, probably a vulture
Alternate undead head with rotten nose
Belualyth figure
Shoulder pauldron with strap
Cage hanger
Bone saw
Alternate hands…gloved fist and ungloved fist for the other hands
Chimera skeleton pet
Witchy alternate hands
And also, alternate hairpiece
So Belualyth comes with a lot of pieces, and this was one of the big draws for me to get her. I have a ton of SpartanPets, and so I can relate well with her. If she is a good pet owner, then she is good people. (Maybe…)
Stop and think about all this. She didn’t cost that much! So WOW!
FIGURE REVIEW
Fully loaded!
Her sculpt and paint…we are talking about the Four Horsemen Studios. You know it is among the best in the business! There is a cloth skirt piece, and that belt hangs loosely there. Speaking of, that belt is one of the best pieces, featuring different animal skulls and a skelly hand. There is also a chain and a whip, and a pouch on the back for us to wonder what is in it. (The Four Horsemen are known to add these as details).
She is what is termed a “Mythic Legions 2.0” build, meaning she consists of smaller skinnier parts than say, Demistros, or the Gold Knight Legion Builder. The SpartanNerd has two such other figures…Undead of Vikenfell and Father Christmas. The addition to my collection then is the upper torso, which is obvious female.
She has very good articulation, with no real stupid problems. She stands well, even overnight on what I term to be a difficult surface to accomplish that on (Magic the Gathering playmat). Everything moves like you would expect, and the pieces are also modular like basically all mythic legions. (You can swap them with parts from other figures…be careful though. Use a hairdryer to soften the plastic).
I have never successfully removed the “normal” head from the neck to use the noseless head. Just saying…my example is on tight! I could do it if I really wanted to, but I don’t like that head. I prefer my ladies to have a nose, thank you! There are two hair pieces if you want to give her a different look. And I haven’t done it, but I can’t wait to try using the alternate wig on other action figures. (Maybe in October)
ACCESSORIES
It seems the pets are such an ingrained piece of the character I almost reviewed them in the above section!
Let’s start with the bird. It is stuck on the arm guard. If you have ever witnessed a falconer, then you know they have to use a tough piece of leather on their arm to protect themselves from razor sharp talons. It appears that Belualyth is worried about that, but unfortunately the bird doesn’t come off of that arm guard. You can’t have it stand any other way except by precariously balancing it on something like the tree in the snake cage. (We’ll get to that in a minute).
To get that bird on her arm, you don’t have to remove the forearm. At first I thought you had to, but I’m glad I came to my senses after looking at some photos of her online. Just remove the hand and slide it over the forearm bracer.
And now the snake in a birdcage. The cage comes apart, letting you get a better view of the skeletal snake and the tree perch inside. The snake is bendy, but I wouldn’t stress it too much. It seems to be a delicate piece and I would hate to break it. But you can wrap it around things or characters arms or whatever.
The pet tree can be used to prop the vulture, but it is a delicate and precarious process. It looks good in pictures though!
You can’t put the bird in the cage. And this is kind of a shame. The Four Horsemen missed an opportunity here if they had just designed the cage or the bird a little bit differently.
So about propping it on Belualyth’s back. I totally get why she would want to carry all these pets with her everywhere she goes!
PearlLoveToby
The SpartanNerd has lots of pets, and he loves them so! AND his wife has a sticker on her Jeep…”There’s like a lot of dogs in here!” She takes her pets everywhere, and so why wouldn’t Belualyth do the same? I think this is why the character appealed so much to me.
So to get the birdcage on her back, you have to use this hanger that I discussed in the above section. And it snapped right in the spot on her back like it was supposed to twice, but then it was too loose. The Horsemen thought of this, and that is why the shoulder pauldron is different for this than what we usually get with say the knight characters. The strap is necessary to hold the piece to her back.
(I couldn’t tell what the shoulder pauldron even was until looking at photos on the store horsemen. It looked like it might go with the pets or something).
This strap is a tight fit, but totally necessary. And the pauldron keeps her from having the “cold shoulder.” Remember that talk about how good her balance is? This is crucial to having the character be displayed properly.
Now onto the biggest most obvious pet. The Chimera…originally I thought it was a Cerberus. But it actually only has two heads, but also the tail of a snake. It is about the size of a German Shepherd in comparison to Belualyth. The heads are some kind of tiger skull and antelope or cow skull. Both are on ball joints and could be used on other figures. AND that’s a double neckpiece that is removable and could go on another figure.
There is a leash that is permanently attached. Its four legs are articulated only at the shoulders and hips, and there is a slight splay on the back legs, but not much. The tail is a snake head. It seems to be a little bendy, but I wouldn’t push it too hard. It does have a swivel joint so you can move it some, but if you do it looks a little awkward at the joint where it breaks up the vertebrae sculpt. And I guess I need to mention this one other thing. When I reviewed Maxillius the Harvester, you can see that they have sculpted and painted blood wings and organs, etc into that figure. They didn’t do that here…for reasons of cost I’m sure. I’m just saying that for a customizer, there are some opportunities to improve the details between the ribs and around the joints. But the paint isn’t bad at all! I’m actually comparing a full price figure to what is an accessory!
I could complain a little bit about the articulation and such on these pets in light of some other better articulated pets in competing lines, but she is an absolute Michael Jordan slam dunk of a figure. Where say the GI Joe Classified pets might be more articulated, the paint and sculpt on those isn’t as great.
OH yeah! Almost forgot about the weapon. She comes with a bone saw, which is highly detailed. It is a bone saw made of bone…not creepy at all, right?! There is a razor end and a serrated piece. There are spikes on the backside of the hilt. In other words, Belualyth could really mess somebody up with this if they got past those pets.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS BELUALYTH
I just mentioned complaints. I really don’t have any except writing the name Belualyth is hard to spell and harder to type! Let’s break these points down
Sculpt- Awesome!
Paint- No slop here. she is a drab figure, and is painted wonderfully so in sickening hues of blue and with bronze patina. Her nails are black. Her eyes stare vacant.
Articulation- Terrific! The only hindrance comes when she is wearing the hairpiece and the cage. But you can work around these problems easily for display purposes. And no real stupid problems.
Accessories- Are you kidding me? Maxillius came with a lot of accessories…the Undead of Vikenfell came with a lot. The undead builder pack basically IS accessories. But Belualyth has managed to just about outdo them because she came with three pets and a weapon.
The feels point- Well she adds a female Mythic Legions to my collection…that counts for something. But look how great she looks in my diorama of skeletons and undead guys. Yeah…she adds a lot.
THE SPARTANNERD AWARDS THE MYTHIC LEGIONS BELUALYTH 5/5.
You might think I am going easy on her, considering that my recent review of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela was also a 5/5. But there really isn’t a comparison of the two. The MASTERVERSE figure was way cheaper and still hits the same sort of boxes that a 5/5 hits. This Mythic Legions among other Mythic Legions absolutely is a solid 5/5, compared to say Warrior Beasts Head Hunter.
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
I ordered MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela from BigBadToyStore when she was first released, and this time I did something different…I ordered three other things that I sent to the “Pile of Loot.” So lots of reviews coming soon! (New Etheria Hordak, New Eternia Cobra Kahn, and Mythic Legions Belualyth…I will update links as I review them)
And why did I order this Teela, when I already had three other modern Teela figures? Keep reading!
PACKAGING
In this box you can see her very well. And she is looking upwards.
Teela came in the typical “Transformers” style packaging. (I use that term in reference to the way Hasbro has been doing TF toys for awhile…it increases the artwork and minimizes the blister plastic). We have a good image of her on the front holding the Staff of Ka…but you could mistake her for rowing a boat! After all, there is a Merfolk warrior looking on. (Aquaticans, I believe in Motu lore). As the image wraps around you can see her golden horse that was depicted in the early mini comics. (OK, so if Mattel doesn’t give us such a horse, this is the Four Horsemen’s chance to capitalize on what people surely will want!) Also in that wraparound image, we have an image of Castle Grayskull, but in 200x style! And we all know, Mattel and Mondo are both going to be issuing some 200x style toys. (This is a whole blog entry itself when more details get revealed).
The other side has the library image for people who store their action figures in the box, with her having windblown hair and wearing the “warrior goddess” snake headdress. And so we have homage to four different iterations of Masters of the Universe…200x with the castle, mini comics with the golden horse, filmation with the main presentation, and vintage toy with the hooded look.
The back has kind of generic photoshop of the figure, and just like the Green Goddess and Evil-Lyn, they have “airbrushed” off the seam at the thigh cut. We all know it’s there. Come on Mattel, why lie to us? Teela has a bio indicating that she has embraced her destiny as “the avatar” of “The Goddess of New Eternia.” Underneath this bio there are three cross-sell images that in addition to this figure includes Hordak and Kobra Kahn. I suppose the other figure in this was is New Eternia Moss Man, but he was offered only through Mattel Creations, mostly to Club Grayskull members at that. (The cross-sell functions for retail store shelves).
WHAT DO WE GET IN THE BOX
I told you there were seems in the thighs!
New Eternia Teela figure
Snake headdress
shield
Staff of Ka
Warrior Spear
a pair of punching fists
We have the accessories here for two different looks: “Captain of the Guard” and “Warrior Goddess.” And this starts to get into the weeds of who even is this character. Most people will remember Teela from the Filmation Cartoon and other iterations (200x) as the Captain of the Guard. And the presentation here is clearly homage to the vintage action figure, being a repaint of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn with a different head. (In the vintage line, it was the other way around!) The whole Warrior Goddess thing comes from the early mini comics, which is basically an entirely different story from the Filmation show. When I was a kid I was confused by this, but you know…pretty much since I was in high school and began to get back into Masters of the Universe that there were different forces writing different stories has been clear. As Warrior Goddess, in the first issue she was green. (This is why I tend to call MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela “The Green Goddess.” This is a fan nickname, like Baby Yoda for instance). In subsequent issues she was colored caucasian, and sometimes blonde instead of ginger. There is this whole story about Skeletor cloning her to be his bride also, and so that is why there is a Sorceress and more of a princess Teela. (It feels so weird typing all that. The mini comics were indeed different!)
Yep. This actually happened in the mini comics story “The Tale of Teela.” Funny how Skeletor says his plan is “simple.” I didn’t imagine all of that about Dolly the Sheep in the 1990’s did I? Also, this is a creeptastic plan. And this story was meant for CHILDREN TO READ.This story kind of explains why Teela has blonde hair and the goddess has red hair and wears that headdress. I’m pretty sure after this story, they began to use the word Sorceress to soften the religious connotations.
The vintage action figure came with this hood and snake staff, as well as a sword I believe. I never had a female action figure until I was 12 years old and got Evil-Lyn for Christmas, so I only know what I have seen in vintage toy stores. But I can see how all of this can be confusing for who this character actually is. But it is just fine to think of her as “He-Man’s girlfriend”.
(In the newest Netflix cartoon, Revolution, Teela and He-Man are practically married by the power of Grayskull at the end! If they make figures of this, I am the first in line! The designs were so pretty!)
FIGURE REVIEW
Well, I am at the point of wondering what the greatest action figure of the year is, and I was starting to think they couldn’t be better than MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, but Teela has proven me wrong!
Teela jumped right into the den of zombies and skeletons!Notice Skeletor’s Staff of Ka being very large and unpainted BOO!
She has the same body as Evil-Lyn, only painted with lighter colors as Teela. The same boots, arm bracers, everything. She has a different skirt piece, and this is a point to bring up because in my figure, this was flattened down far too much, and also askew from the position it should be in. I was able to fix it, but if you are a mint in box collector, look out!
So this sculpt and paint are brilliant. Maybe the best part is that she looks like a real woman with maybe legs that are only slightly too long…(Mattel Barbie dolls famously have this too, so…) In other words, no hyper-sexualized design like something from Street Fighter. The upper body is tastefully presented, and that is kind of refreshing.
Her face sculpt and paint. The image on the back makes her look like the face is more round than it is. She has her hair pulled back in a ponytail, which I guess gives her a high forehead look. But her eyes…They are done very pretty. But I asked the SpartanWife if she thought the same thing as I do. I think she is looking upwards? So for Force Captain, this looks kind of strange if she is just standing there, but not if she is stabbing something with that spear. For the hooded goddess look, this looking up looks more spiritually powered up and otherworldly appropriate.
ACCESSORIES
This Teela proves that Evil-Lyn didn’t come with enough stuff. Sure, you could argue that cape was something, but really it was inexcusable. Teela’s accessory count is very welcome in the MASTERVERSE line. They are bronzy-gold in the same color as the highlights painted on the main figure. BUT…this means the Green Goddess’ Staff of Ka remains the best of the three we have been given. (Skeletor’s throne came with one also)
The Green Goddess’ Staff of Ka is still the best one we’ve been given in MASTERVERSE.
This shield looks very royal and feminine at the same time, and has that barbarian spike in the middle. The spear as well looks like it belongs in the throne room. The only paint of the accessories that I see is the spot of green on the eyes of the snake mask and a brighter colored ring around the “neck” on the Staff of Ka.
The headdress fits loosely to her face, and yet feels snug. How did they do that? I managed to get the Masters of the Unvierse Classics Weapons Pack snake armor on the earlier MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela figure only with a hairdryer. (Granted, it was for a different line…) Teela’s tiara is hidden perfectly by the mask when she has it on, and it really kind of is that she is presented as a different character. A person could be justified in having two of these! (I won’t. I’ll wait on Sorceress of Havoc to come out…that will be AWESOME if they do that!)
Four Teela figures. From top left clockwise. MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela, MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela, Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela (with Revelation alternate head), and MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela kitbash, with Classics weapons and Super7 Ultimates! Conan the Barbarian ceremonial snake dagger.
In the above picture I have kitbashed some MOTUC with MASTERVERSE. Ultimately, the earlier MASTERVERSE Teela seems a lot more “babyish.” You can also see the improvements they have made in the knee joints so they look less lumpy. I heard another reviewer complain about having single jointed elbows, but I think that is the best choice…the arms just look better this way.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA TEELA
I can’t say enough good stuff about the sculpt. (1 point). The paint is very good even if the choice to have her looking upwards is questionable…but she isn’t derp. (1 point). Very good articulation and she stands very well with no stupid problems. (1 point). Her accessory count is very good also. (1 point).
And OK. This is my new “go-to” Teela. I am retiring the kitbash that I have used forever. I’ll keep using MOTUC Battleground Teela for that even more barbarian “skimpy” look, but this figure is downright beautiful, and fun to play with to boot. So with the “feels point” I award MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
Way back. WAY back….WAY BACK in February (2025) there was this magical event called “The SCMEA Conference.” (Happens every year.)
I took this couple of days of staying in Columbia South Carolina to do a bevy of figure reviews. I reviewed MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, the Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry snake warrior guys, and the MASTERVERSE Skelcon. But I alsobegan this project, that I eventually named “Kitbash Bros.” I wanted to wait until football season to release the review, so here we are on this season opening Labor Day weekend of 2025.
The Four Horsemen Studios had just released their wave of Legion Builder knights figures. These were a lot of the same knight over and over in different colorways. Most of them. (These are still on sale on their store…you should go take a look). Truly most of them are the same figure. There seems to be an “evil” and a “heroic” type, with some varying helmets. But the striking thing is the different colors. But then there was the Red Leather knight. He was different. And when I saw him, I knew it was time to get crafty.
I had been collecting knights, along with skeletons, barbarians, and apparently non-mythic legions females. (It’s true. My uncles should make fun of me for all of the Evil-lyn, Teela, Sorceress figures, etc). So I had Sir Godfrey and also a Gold Knight. And also the Xylernian Guard, more of an archer but still similar. When I got Sir Godfrey, with his “Knight Templar” motif, I noticed a dark version…”the Dark Knight Templar.” What’s more, he was far cheaper than Godfrey. But I decided to hold off.
But Red Leather Knight…Dark Knight Templar…SCMEA Convention in COLUMBIA South Carolina, home of the Fighting Gamecocks…FOREVER TO THEE. See where I was heading? I could in theory combine the pieces of the two knights and make an ultimate “Gamecocks Knight!” (There was a proper “Gothitropolis Ravens” rooster kind of in Gamecocks color. But who has that? A true mascot figure.)
(The Gothitropolis Ravens are dream figures…I felt priced out and this was one of the reasons why it took me so long to get into Mythic Legions)
I said “began” at the beginning of this post. Keep reading to see how this turned out.
(Post Structure: Dark Knight Templar review first, Red Leather Legion Builder next, then Kitbash Bros)
DARK TEMPLAR PACKAGING
The Dark Knight Templar came in the usually collector-friendly packaging. You can see the figure inside very well. (I am in a hotel room, where I have made a photography table out of the end table and a book light that was attached to the bed…I did the same thing with Evil-Lyn and others that I reviewed in this room). Perhaps notable is I don’t think sourcehorsemen is a website anymore, showing the age of this figure. (I believe this was among the first figures labeled “Mythic Legions,” so Gen 2 knight after the ravens)
The back has this image. And I don’t think I have seen this image before. It shows all the guys who came out in the wave kind of lined up in a battle formation. And there were eight figures in that wave…impressive. The only one I think I have seen is the goblin guy. Maybe the bearded guy on the bottom. The ones I have seen are probably re-issues (All Stars waves)
Here is everything you get.
Black Knight Templar figure
Halberd weapon in two parts (pole and axe)
Shield with the Templar Cross in black and white
Shoulder pauldrons of a smaller variety than usual
A regular knight’s sword, with a scabbard
a leather weapons strap.
Also notable…those “wings” on the helmet are removable.
So this figure works exactly like Sir Godfrey. But he has those wings on the helmet. (fins? horns?)
This was my first time with the halberd…a weapon that I would see again. This time it was in chrome. The pauldrons snapped right into place with little effort. So that’s unexpected.
BUT…the scabbard. Such a rare accessory. I was excited to see this! But sadly, the connector on the back of it came off with the tiniest of effort to get it on the weapons strap. BOO! But this would prove to be the only real problem with the figure.
Sculpt and paint. Great! (1 point)
Accessories. Great! (1 point)
Articulation. Very nice (1 point)
Stupid problems– easily broken scabbard. (no point. BOO!)
The Feels. I am going hold this point until the project is over. The purpose after all is to make a Gamecocks Knight! (? Point). But as a standalone figure he seems like he would work well in Elden Ring.
RED LEATHER KNIGHT PACKAGING
Once again, classic Mythic Legions packaging. BUT…this time we have foil lettering. NICE!
The back notably doesn’t have a cross-sell on it. Instead we get what I think is the same image that came with the Heroic Magic Effects, but with a foil Four Horsemen Studios mascot on there. There is a bio on the back. And basically “choose your armor and select your weapons”…is the cross-sell. They want you to go buy a whole mess of these guys. (You can buy the whole set for $450 or individuals for around $45)
I have installed the pauldrons, the belt, and the weapons strap already.
Here is everything you get
Red Leather Knight Legion Builder
A pair of pauldrons
A weapon strap (the usual)
A belt with leather strips
A shield
A mace that has two options for a head
A sword with scabbard
An epic sword
a pair of fists.
So let’s characterize this figure as the newest knights build, maybe gen 3, as opposed to the dark Knight Templar which seems to be pretty old. These pauldrons went in easier than any other mythic legions I have, including the Ninian Infantry. Right away, this was noticeable. The sculpt and paint on this are remarkable, especially since the price was fairly low. Every rivet has a gold paint hit. He is a little more glossy than I expected…I consider this to be ok, but maybe it takes away from the idea of “leather” a little bit. The head is the same knight’s head that came with Father Christmas, and I think this is the first figure to use it. I mean…look how awesome he looks. And this is without discussing the accessories.
The shield…Let’s just say this shield puts the MASTERVERSE shields to shame. It is the same shield that came with the Undead of Vikenfell, only in gold and gray. Why are there two swords? One normal knight sword, and the other epic “greatsword?” The weapons strap has a gold buckle paired on it (yay!) and the leather belt has more leather bits hanging down. If you played Skyrim you know you can use leather bits like this to improve your armor. The mace has the same head that came with the mace the Ninian Infantry had, but this time with gray and silver “enamel (wrong word?)”. The alternate is a classic iron ball with studs. So there are paint hits on every stud on the figure, and studs on the weapon. So is this guy a … stud… (Don’t ask me!)
Sculpt and paint. Great! (1 point)
Accessories. Great! (1 point)
Articulation. Very nice (1 point)
Stupid problems– Well, I was extra careful with that scabbard. But it is the exact same piece I assure you and has the same stupid problem. BUT. I am aware of it and had no breakage. So I won’t mark down on this one.
The Feels. I am going hold this point until the project is over. The purpose after all is to make a Gamecocks Knight! (? Point). Same comment as above…he seems like he would belong in Elden Ring.
THE PROCESS OF CUSTOMIZING
After I took the photos above, I got to work customizing. And I went ahead and got out the hotel hair dryer. (I didn’t want any incidents like happened with The Monkey King.)
I sat in the floor of the hotel room with all of the pieces disassembled. Right away it is obvious that the Red Leather Knight is more easily modular than the Dark Knight Templar. I don’t know how many years separate these two guys, but the Legion Builder seems to want you to take him apart and re-arrange him, while the other more legendary figure seems to fight you. I didn’t need the hairdryer on the Red Leather Knight, but I had to use it over and over on the dark knight templar. And then…as I began to re-assemble them how I wanted, Dark Knight Templar did NOT want to play well. I had to use the hairdryer again and again. And I was starting to get tired. So I put it in a box and took it home to work on over the next weekend.
…ONE WEEK LATER…(I hoped to do this quickly. Oh well!)
I got them together how I wanted, but they still weren’t “Gamecocky” enough. So I went to the store and got some magnets (no sports stickers at Dollar General Market?) and adapted one for the blank shield that came with the gold knight. Some time during the COVID crisis, I built a Master Grade Epyon Ver Ka model, and used glossy reddish-purplish paint. I used some of this. And so I now present (you probably already saw it as the lead image to this post)
TWO GAMECOCKS KNIGHTS!
I hit the Dark Knight Templar helmet with some … let’s call it “garnet” highlights on the wings and on the cross of the helmet. (Sir Godfrey has a gold cross in the same way). I’ve swapped legs pieces, shoes pieces, and arms pieces to even it out, and they both appear now to play for the Fighting Gamecocks!
And so, in memory of when Carolina defeated Clemson on November 30, 2024, with a score of 17-14, and also in honor of todays (August 31, 2025) win over Virginia Tech at the 2025 season opener, (24-11)…
Is it fair to rate my own project? No, what I am rating are the two action figures, and including whatever my project accomplishments were to “the feels” score.
Dark Knight Templar– This one gets 4/5, losing a point because of the broken scabbard. A scabbard is kind of a rare piece, and I was excited to see it, but so disappointed that it broke when I was just using it normally. The sculpt is great. The paint is dark and moody and great. Who doesn’t love the black knight? An iconic character re-imagined as Batman and also as Darth Vader. He did give me some problems with being a modular figure…all Mythic Legions are modular with swappable parts. But he fought against me. Just the same, I was able to get TWO Gamecocks Knights, so 4/5.
Red Leather Knight– This one gets all 5/5. Awesome paint for a Legion Builder…a figure meant to be bought as an army. Great accessories, though two swords is a head scratcher. I especially like the shield, and he looks very “football” really without even doing anything to him. Easy 5/5. And it was his parts that made the TWO Gamecocks Knights that are the KITBASH BROS.
Do you agree or disagree, Oh Hub City geeks? Let me know in the comments! Like and subscribe also the SpartanNerd YouTube Channel!
(Sorry for not many reviews lately…Summer Vacation is over an all that, but I have several things coming soon)
I went with my Apple Cash to the Toy Federation, hoping to find Beaulythe to be my first Mythic Legions lady. (I know I didn’t spell that right!) They had a few Mythics there, but not who I came for. So then I started looking around at other stuff. Eventually I came to something I actually never heard of…”The Undead Builder Pack.” Seemed like a winner for a guy with a big collection of skeletons. Keep reading to see how it turned out!
PACKAGING
This is the same Mythic Legions package, with the same “classic” kind of art. BUT. This time it is a full oversized image in the background, meaning I can now throw away the older small ones I have around.
The card image behind the blisters
You have a double blister inside that you can see the figure very well. And all the accessories. And that is what this figure is REALLY about. The back features the art from the Necronominus wave, but zoomed out.
The big skeleton god is appears smaller in this exposed version of the image. And let’s take a second to talk about him. I have been critical of this image…that the figure looks goofy. Blah Blah Blah. But I saw it in person…Like I almost bought it instead of the undead builder pack. That headdress can’t look right in a 2d image…too goofy. In full on person, it looks amazing. It is kind of like Maxillius the Harvester, with all these intricate bone details all over the armor, etc. The cross sell also features the other figures released in this wave, including the one I came to get but they didn’t have, but also the Turpiculi, which I suppose I will eventually get. I was just really shocked at how cool Necronomius (I can’t say it or spell it) came out. And so this means…the Undead Builder Pack must have been cool enough to come away with instead of those guys! Also of interest to the readers, the skeletal horse, Conabus (spelling?) also has far more details in person than I had detected from images.
We do have a brief bio…it says something like “the dead do not rest in peace on Mythos.” But it says it in a verbose and over-the-top way.
WHAT DO WE GET IN THE PACKAGE?
Rather than get the figure out and put him together in some way, I figured it would better serve us all to show a picture of the items in the two blisters. There is so much here!
Undead figure, with translucent ghostly jaw-less skull, arms, hands, and thighs, and feet.
two different “smoke” effects
Three alternate head sculpts
Opaque rotten arms
Opaque Rotten thighs
translucent and opaque angle joints
Opaque Feet
Mace
short handle axe (halberd head)
curved sword (khopesh?)
belt
shoulder armor
Back adapter set
small smoke effects
handcuffs with metal chain
alternate collar piece
Six ghostly hands
eight opaque rotten hands
And this is the WINNER! I have no other action figure with this many parts. Not even Black Falcon!
BUT…
FIGURE REVIEW
As a figure with all of this, like if this was the only one you had, that would be incredible. But I think the Four Horsemen were thinking people like me would be adding the parts of this as accessories to our other existing figures.
As a figure, vanilla out of the blister, he is pretty good. These translucent ghostly parts have a “gumminess” to them that is very welcome, and makes this figure extremely versatile.
It wouldn’t have been my choice to market him with the translucent half skull as the main look. It is OK, but that screams “ghost” to me and not “zombie.” They should have put the head with the open mouth on there. But this is me nit-picking about their choice. This doesn’t have any bearing on how great this set is!
He comes apart easily and is very modular, and also highly articulated as a positive consequence. The opaque undead parts are masterfully sculpted. These feel like the classic Mythic Legions, and you might need a hair dryer. (I didn’t). And the details. Wow! We could have had two symetrical thighs, but no the Horsemen went the extra mile and gave us different decayed details on each one. And this is so throughout the character.
Yes. This can be a standalone action figure for a fan of zombies I guess. But the real magic is what it brings to everyone else. As such, I am giving you lots of examples in Mythic Legions as well as other figures.
The three weapons…we already have the axe head. The other weapons were new to the SpartanNerd.
All of those heads and hands!
And so here is my only one complaint. And the Horsemen did this on purpose I’m sure. We are a torso/waist, set of wrists and lower legs from having a second figure. In fact, I wish they had done this. Gave us TWO full figures in the package. One fully ghosted and the other fully zombified. I mean. We are literally six parts away from that.
But the nature of this set is that we will customize our other figures.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF THE MYTHIC LEGIONS UNDEAD BUILDER PACK
MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn energizes her staff while holding the spectral skull of an evil master.Thulsa Doom, a figure that woefully lacked snake themed items, can hold the little smoke effect as a magic serpent.In honor of Mattel giving us all kinds of cool origins figures in the $10 CLUB GRAYSKULL membership, I put the decayed head on Masters of the Universe Classics Despara. See the irony. The sarcasm! Why no MASTERVERSE in the Club Grayskull? They didn’t make this clear!
It can’t give anything but a 5/5.
Sculpt- The Four Horsemen bring us another incredible piece of art
Paint- The opaque parts are sickening gray, and the armor and weapons have very nice paint. The head sculpts are also painted very well. The translucent parts don’t have paint and don’t need it. (There is a dab on the face sculpts)
Articulation- The ghostly parts are very modular, and I didn’t need a hair dryer for the parts in this set.
Accessories- This figure is almost ONLY accessories, if you like to count alternate hands and feet as accessories. Otherwise the smokey energy effects and the three weapons are very nice.
Significance- I bought this so that it could add to my skeleton collection. And it does that very well!
And we are moving into the “Mega Bloks” kind of aspect of Mythic Legions. Masters of the Universe Modulok. This kind of figure. And I actually have the blue knight builder on order, so there is more like this to come eventually to the SpartanNerd. AND…Back to the Tupiculi. That guy is firmly one of my future buys.
I award the Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
spartannerd 