Category Archives: Masters of the Universe Movie 1987

Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry

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Watch the YouTube unboxing review HERE

When I saw these guys…I immediately bought TWO. I had been gifted some money for Christmas, and I spent it on a bunch of figures. I thought this was so good I had to get more than one.

Evidently, this was offered at Legions Con, as a preview for a big pre-order set coming up. A set with a story about thousands of years before the main story of Mythic Legions…(which I don’t know much about anyway).

So why was it so great? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

I took some photos and videos at home while I was sick, and some when I was on a trip in early February to the SCMEA convention in Columbia, SC. The hotel had a nice office area and also a good table with a book light that made for a terrific spotlight! (See New Eternia Evil-Lyn on the runway!)

So we get this blister. And it looks really cramped. It doesn’t help that the plastic collector friendly case is very reflective.

We get a lot with this figure. you can see it with the main head, an open mouth head to its left, and a spear to the right. You can see the zippy bag behind him.

But extra striking on the front of the packaging is the foiled out MYTHIC LEGIONS branding.

On the back we have this desert that we have seen before I’m pretty sure. But there is a HUGE Four Horsemen Studios symbol, also in foil.

The story of Mythic Legions is summarized in this too-small-to-read text on the back. This is all I know of the story, besides some that I have picked up from bios on the internet. This is the main way Four Horsemen Studios want you to get this story. As far as I know there is no comics or cartoons or anything, though supposedly there is a video game going to come out some time.

Let me summarize this story even more.

“Mythos has been a peaceful place, with legions of followers devoted to past heroes. There are rumors about evil forces from the past coming back to wreak havoc, and they are bringing their own dark villains to lead them.” How’s that?

On the side we get this bio for Ninian infantry. A true army-builder. You can make it who you want it to be. (I’m pretty sure this is a male…there are definite females in the Bassylia wave made available to pre-order. But as it is, it’s hard to tell with snakes.)

And “snake-men” is what the Ninian Infantry amounts to! That’s why I had to get it. No doubt MASTERVERSE will be coming out with Snake Men in 2025. Too many hints have been dropped. The packaging for Snout Spout…the even more recent packaging for Battle Armor Skeletor. They’re coming in MASTERVERSE form, no doubt. In the original MOTU line Cobra Kahn was the “harbinger,” and to me these guys fill that role as far as my collection is concerned.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE?

Package contents:

  • Ninian Infantry figure
  • Alternate open mouth head
  • Optional tail
  • Optional pauldrons
  • Spear
  • Mace
  • Shield
  • Five pairs of additional hands

Exceptional amount of things, I would say. And this guy didn’t even cost that much. Roughly the same as other “army builders.”

NINIAN INFANTRY FIGURE REVIEW

I strongly suggest using the hair dryer. I didn’t have any problems, like for instance with the Monkey King, but just be cautious. I never have been able to get the pauldrons on or the tail in properly without using a hair dryer.

He stands very well, and is super articulated. There is soft goods layered underneath the plastic armor, and it is all very complimentary.

As always, the Four Horsemen Studios have given us a terrific sculpt and such good paint. Each scale has a paint hit. And there are scales on this figure from the tip of the head to the feet. That is incredible! The design they went with is a surprising homage to the Coral Snake, a species that lives on the coast of South Carolina. Not my first thought when I think of Snake Men, but here we are! (Coral snakes are actually red, black, and yellow. BUT, these guys still make me think of them).

You can of course choose to use the tail or not to. Masters of the Unverse Snake Men don’t usually have tails. I like the tail, however. And I also prefer the fanged head.

He stands with no problems and can balance in several poses. There is a scaly “hump” on his back that you can remove to see what you usually see on the backs of Mythic Legions characters. (It’s a rectangular slot, and then the two holes are there for pegs)

ACCESSORIES

We have had the mace and the spear before, but never with this “enamel” treatment. It is like hardened, glossy paint on the business end.

PICTURED: Masterverse Revolution Sorceress Teela (I call her Green Goddess), and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. This image of Snake Mountain is from the recent New Eternia Panthor (review coming soon)

The shield is new, and I don’t really know which way is up. And is that a snake tail? A lizard? Well, I know what it looks like. NUMBER MUNCHER. (See there, I just out-nerded all of you!)

All those hands…this is similar to the amount of hands that came with the space version of Wal-Torr the Mad. I guess we won’t be getting too many other snake guys in these colors or something.

PROVE HOW GOOD IT IS, SPARTANNERD

This figure is so photogenic. The Meso-American styling is creative and unexpected. With snake men, my first thought is “green.” Which is pretty stupid when you think about it. Most of the Masters of the Universe snake men are fairly colorful.

The figure looks great with Evil-Lyn. Remember the 200x story, where she sold out to the Snake Men, and her payment was to be eaten by King Hiss?!! No wonder Skeletor tried to feed her to an inter-dimensional being.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. Evil-Lyn is using a blue lightning magic effect, proving that those effects don’t have to be for good guys.

Ninian Infantry also goes very well with Wu Kong, the Monkey King. Similar colorfulness. And these people seem like they would be enemies. In fact, aren’t snake men everyone’s enemies.

PICTURED: Figura Obscura Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King vs. Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.

NOPE. Thulsa Doom worships the snake god Set.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry X2, Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Conan the Barbarian, wearing MASTERVERSE New Eternia Beast Man’s armor and wielding the bloody axe exclusive to the Battle of the Mounds set. Being sacrificed by Thulsa Doom is Valeria (Spirit), also from Battle of the Mounds. This backdrop is from the Mythic Legions Ogre Accessory set (I think)
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Wal-Torr the Mad and T.U.5.C.C. Pilot, both with the Illuminati Ninian Infantry heads. This backdrop is an Extreme Sets piece called The Compound.

Try these heads out on the Cosmic Legions space men. The Horsemen have already offered a “character pack” using these heads with a Cosmic Legions figure also. I thought of this with the space men first, so I beat them to it! (I did pre-order these blue heads, and also some traditional alien heads.)

And let’s not forget about the packaging for Snout Spout.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout vs. Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. The backdrop was the surprising diorama that featured King Hiss and Lady Slither, a part of Snout Spout’s packaging.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS NINIAN INFANTRY

Sculpt, terrific

Paint, unexpected and brilliant.

Accessories, perfect for army building, and extra head at that.

Articulations, no stupid problems. Just remember the hair dryer.

And what does this add to the SpartanNerd’s collection? So Much Value! Snake Men, I’m waiting.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull, armed with the techno sword from the 200x Castle Grayskull. He is fighting the Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.

So I rate this figure a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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It has taken SO LONG for me to properly review this figure.

But she is pretty terrific! Let’s emphasize “pretty.”

My history with Evil-Lyn coincides with the end of my playing with toys as a child. At around the 11-12 years old mark. (December birthday…probably just turned 12). I received Evil-Lyn and Tyrantisaurus for Christmas, and my uncles had a fit making fun of me at my grandmother’s Christmas party. “You are playing with dolls!” It didn’t matter…I thought she was great. And she went very well with the cyborg dinosaur. (That dinosaur had one of the coolest missiles in all of toys).

The reason it took so long for me to review it … more like reasons…I had a horrible bout with the flu around the time I unboxed the figure. I filmed video of me talking about it, but it sounded so horrible. Not fit to publish. So I did another video about a week later. And THAT one had interference all over it. Background noises, etc. Making YouTube videos is more challenging than I would think.

Eventually, I was at the SCMEA (South Carolina Music Educators Association) conference in Columbia, South Carolina, staying at a hotel, and had sufficient time and a different environment to do some video reviews. So the photos and all that I post here and on YouTube will be a hodge-podge.

PACKAGING

She comes in the superior MASTERVERSE packaging, with superior art. You can see the figure in the window very clearly, as well as her wand. I have a complaint, in that she has drop-down hips, and on the blister they are pulled down, making an awkward look for those MOC collectors. (She doesn’t look as bad as the Green Goddess). The illustration of Evil-Lyn looks menacing and all business. She is in front of Snake Mountain, and there is a Skelcon to her left. (The Skelcon is one of the upcoming SpartanNerd reviews!) MASTERVERSE is in exploding rocks on the top, and Evil-Lyn’s name is on the side slant, which invites you to look at the side art.

We see her standing, cape raised with spellcasting right hand energizing the wand. She stands on alien ground, typical Eternia yellowish brown dirt and plants. Her head appears large above her. If I was a Mint-On-Card collector, I would absolutely display this side on my shelf.

Let’s see the other side.

More Skelcons, and lest we forget, Panthor coming down the stairs on the side of Snake Mountain. Notably, just in the past few days Mattel Creations posted Panthor for order, and I jumped on that so fast. (Panthor review coming hopefully before the end of February!)

Also notable on this side is a glimpse into where this line could go. That moon with a face on it is from the New Adventures line. (Nordor?) I believe the only New adventures MASTERVERSE figure out there is Slush Head. I have seen him on clearance in a couple of places. While I believe Slush Head is cool, and on of my brothers had this vintage figure, New Adventures doesn’t appeal to me very much. This isn’t “my He-Man.”

And here we have my least favorite thing about the recent packaging. This is a photoshopped image of the figure. Pointing out that she appears more “yellow” here, while the figure is Caucasian. (I prefer my Evil-Lyn figures to not be yellow in general). She stands in front of a fungus covered Eternian tree, with a blob of red magic photoshopped on a layer behind the wand, notably assembled in long configuration. Pictures clockwise around show Evil-Lyn raising her hand above the crystal ball, the soft-goods cape, a cross sell of Evil-Lyn (why?), a cross-sell of Fisto (review here), and a cross-sell of Flying-Fist He-Man (I am not getting that.)

BUT, check out this bio. One of the best! So good I am going to re-type it here.

“EVIL-LYN| Evelyn Morgan Powers. Evelyn Morgan sold her soul to the Subternian Warrior Goddess. She was given powers beyond her dark imagination, changing her forever into Evil-Lyn.”

BOOM. This right here is what this New Eternia line is about. Evelyn Morgan Powers being Evil-Lyn’s name has been a thing since the planning stages of Masters of the Universe way back in the early 1980’s. As far as I know it wasn’t mentioned again until Masters of the Universe Classics, when they began giving “real names” to characters. Also, “Forever becoming Evil-Lyn” totally bucks the story of Revelation/Revolution, where Granymyr declares her “good” upon his death.

That she sold her soul to the Subternian Warrior Goddess…Who is that? They probably won’t make this character, so, fill in with your own Mythic Legions!

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE

Yep. This is it. Basically this red package contained alternate hands and the bottom of the staff.

I am going to go ahead and complain about that. Mattel ABSOLUTELY could have given us more accessories.

This is the third Evil-Lyn from the MASTERVERSE line, and only one of those came with proper accessories. Revelation Evil-Lyn came with an alternate helmet-less head, two wands (one short and one long,) a pocketbook, and alternate hands. I complained about Movie Evil-Lyn not coming with many accessories, and the same here. There is no excuse. She is known to take that helmet off. We should have gotten that. She transforms into a fireball in Filmation all the time (I watched some Filmation while I was sick…comfort food!) Why didn’t we get some kind of fireball. Or even a magic effect. Kind of like they depict photoshopped on the back. NOPE. We get alternate hands. That’s it. And we have tons of alternate hands already that fit. I am not counting the bottom of the pole as an accessory really. More like “the bottom of the weapon.”

You can see that our new Evil-Lyn is more exhibitionist than the Revelation one. She is also about an inch taller, because the thigh cut is new tech. And also the new figure has new more flattering knees. I like the translucent blue staff, but I will say I prefer the more colorful staff that came with the earlier Evil-Lyn.

FIGURE REVIEW

Having gotten that negativity out of the way, the figure is all around beautiful. This is a wonderful sculpt, and she looks like a fashion model. She isn’t “busty” as some depictions, 200x for instance. No, she is elegant…maybe even “dainty.”

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn with Mythic Legions Magic Effects. The blue effect proves my point about that specific product. (It matches Evil-Lyn’s wand very well).

This sculpt is so good. She shows a lot of leg, and that is appreciated. Unfortunately, you can see the seams on their thighs a little too much, but this was my complaint with Snake Sorceress Teela also. The “loin cloth” hangs down hiding the crotch area, and where the drop-down hips were a problem on card, the way they look adds to the curviness of this figure. A big improvement is the knees. Before, say in Movie Evil-Lyn, the knees looked like “cellulite.” Fat knees that took away. This is what Mattel came up with to maintain more articulation. But these knees looks so much better, and the articulation is just as good. I believe it makes her thigh and calf muscles appear more ripped.

She has sculpted boots with the appearance of a furry top around her calves. So with all this fur on loin cloths, boots, armor, whatever…maybe it stays pretty cold in Eternia? Seems like a contradiction because everyone is also half-naked.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn with Mythic Legions Magic effect, and Mythic Legion Ninian Infantry (Review coming soon)

Her torso…she has an ab crunch right below the bodice. We have nice sculpted details in blue and purple color scheme. She also has blue bracers on her biceps and wrists. This top is sculpted on and is non-removable. (Masters of the Universe isn’t that kind of property!) Kidding aside, you COULD remove Battleground Teela’s in the Masters of the Universe Classics line, so it was worth pointing out. (Nothing to see there, people!)

The cape…it is solid black and soft goods. Evil-Lyn can’t hold it to the side like she often did in the Filmation show. (She is rather plain under the cape. Do I have to say it again…Nothing to see there, people!) I wish this cape had a wire to it so that it could be more posable. And why didn’t Mattel give us this? It would have only added to the figure and couldn’t have cost that much. I like the purple nails.

Her face. Who is this?

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn

No really. Is this some actress? Model? An attractive worker at Mattel studios? I’m just saying, this face sculpt doesn’t look like any Evil-Lyn from before. Which is fine. I mean, it’s just really different but well done. The helmet seems to be a little big for the face. BUT, this brings a point. Perhaps it is a helmet with a headdress on it. Something I never thought about.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA EVIL-LYN

She gets a point for this terrific sculpt. Mattel needs to bring this A-Game to every MASTERVERSE figure.

Her paint is great, from her nails to the fur on her boots, to that wonderful vexing face.

Her articulation is usual…I will say I had a little bit of trouble getting her to stand at first, but after some wrangling this hasn’t been a problem…certainly not a stupid problem to deduct a point.

And she adds what to my collection…the best female sculpt I have. Better than Green Goddess, Battleground Teela, other Evil-Lyn figures…any of them! She seems to go right with King Conan and Boreus here.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Boreus (Horse), Super7 Ultimates! King Conan, and MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn. On an adventure in what tiny bit of snow we have had this Winter. In fact, for several Winters Spartanburg South Carolina has had no snow.

She loses a point because Mattel just didn’t give us more accessories. I think about this problem, and … I don’t know the business, but here is a thought.

She stands an inch taller than earlier Evil-Lyn figures. That’s an inch more of plastic and paint. That would be accessories, because they haven’t raised the price. Maybe I’m wrong. But regardless, Evil-Lyn should have more things. Filmation artifacts, scanners and collars from the movie, magic effects, or a fireball…something. And what about Screech and (and Zoar for that matter?) This would have been a cool addition.

So the SpartanNerd rates MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn a 4/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! Also be sure to go over to YouTube to like and subscribe to my content. There you will find this review in a different form, as well as other recent reviews of MASTERVERSE, Mythic Legions, and other 6”/7” figures.

SpartanNerd Blog- Best (and worst) of 2024

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I actually did this one as a YouTube video first! So you can check that out here, or keep reading for practically the same content.

I’m not ranking these. They are all great! Someone on here might have gotten a 4/5, but over time have grown to be among the top. So no haters…OK!

FIGURA OBSCURA Father Christmas (review link)

After taking off the red and white costume, and putting it in the terrific packaging for storage until Thanksgiving or Christmas In July…(or maybe some other reason, who knows?) you have a generic elf knight body that you can continue to use all year. YAY!

Cosmic Legions SSKURR’GE (Whiplash homage) (review link)

This thing is just great! Amazing sculpt and green paint. He fits the MOTU need for Whiplash very well. It is just too bad that neither head that he came with really looks like Whiplash. I can find a customized version out there, or maybe eventually something will come out that will work.

Super7 ULTIMATES! King Conan (review link)

I could have put any of my Conan action figures here. I chose the king because he is really different…one of the most “clothed” versions of the character. I could have thrown Thulsa Doom in here easily, though. I have him holding the axe (in the video) from the Battle of the Mounds Conan, just because I like my Conan figures to hold an axe 75% of the time!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout (review link)

I almost passed on this. He was available for so long, and I kept waffling. Then I finally pulled the trigger on the Mattel Creations purchase and I am glad I did. He is HUGE. And that sculpt doesn’t look anything like a “sad Dumbo.” I had the chance over the weekend to pick up the 200x Staction version, but this version is better simply because it is an action figure. It’s true the Four Horsemen sculpt is better, but this MASTERVERSE version takes design cues from that and is superior in articulation and accessories.

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck (review link)

You can see that my Mekaneck has more neck than he came with stock. I’ll get to the reason why later…

Mekaneck is just great. That we got all of those neck joints…great! His paint is flashy and his armor is just right. And how they are presenting him story wise is also different, with him now taking on underwater responsibilities, getting him away from just “reconnaissance,” as if that wasn’t important. (reconnaissance is VERY IMPORTANT, Hub City Geeks). And that he fills the essential role of Mekaneck in the lineup of heroes is also very nice.

Cosmic Legions Wal-Torr the Mad and T.U.5.C.C. Pilot (review link)

Hey. My list and my rules. I am including Carolina and Clemson on this one! Both have terrific sculpt, paint, and accessories. AND if I was rich I might army build these guys.

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor’s Throne (review link)

I could have considered Conan’s throne or Boreus (the horse at the top with Santa) as Diorama pieces, but Skeletor’s Throne is the best. It generally sits in the middle of the bad guys, and any of the many versions of Skeletor that I have can fit well on it.

WHO ELSE SHOULD I HAVE INCLUDED IN MY VIDEO? Probably Snake Sorceress Teela, (who I call the Green Goddess.) (review link)

NOW FOR THE WORST OF THE YEAR. (review link)

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Sy-Clone

Remember when I had more necks for Mekaneck? That’s because Mattel Q.C. Sent me another copy of him to atone for the missing mask on Sy-Clone. Mattel didn’t bring us a product that matched past versions…no lenticular sticker on the chest like the vintage one, no ring on his back like the 200x and Classics version. What was supposed to be new and different was that mask. They included these fire effects that can fit on the shield or on his wrists, and they are cool, but they should be IN ADDITION not in place of. He just feels uninspired to me, and with the missing mask, I feel this figure is one of the lowest of the year.

MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man (review link)

Ugh.

He looks like the salesman for beef jerky or the Geico caveman. He doesn’t look like the movie representation. They should have gone with rooted hair and more of a Grizzlor approach to have done him right. Now we probably won’t get another version of this in the next 15 or 20 years. And that makes this an extra bummer. The design choices of making those hair-mats out of plastic armor pieces…I hope we don’t see those again. And that armor is kind of crappy. And the face sculpt is off. I hate to be negative, but WHY? Probably has to do with rights, etc.

SO DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE, HUB CITY GEEKS? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS! Also, please support the new YouTube video formats coming for 2025.

MASTERVERSE “Movie” Beast Man

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I jumped for joy when they leaked/announced this guy. I have waxed poetic about the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, and you can read about that here if you want.

Beast Man is the fourth MASTERVERSE figure specifically from the 1987 movie. (So far we have He-Man, Skeletor, and Evil-Lyn). Like Evil-Lyn, this figure has never been made before. Sure there have been some Beast Man figures…several variations actually. But this is the first movie-inspired design.

PACKAGING

You can see a video review of the packaging here, along with the packaging for Skeletor’s Throne (Review here)

Beast man comes in the same packaging as recent MASTERVERSE figures. This time with a darker theme and the specter of the movie design for Grayskull behind him.

I like this Transformers style packaging, where you can see the figure and the accessories clearly.

FIGURE

I would like to apply for the job of Beef Jerky salesman. Or Insurance man. One or the other.

Here’s what you get in the box

  • Beast Man figure
  • Wrist guards
  • Sword
  • Pair of open “grabbing” hands.

Not many accessories.

So my thoughts on the general design. Even as a kid, I thought he looked way too much like Chewbacca. (I pronounce that word CHOO-Bahka. I also say TAEN-ussee and Buh-JANG-uls). It was 1987. Star Wars was fresh in our minds. Plenty of other movies were made with similar ideas. Teen Wolf. Harry and the Hendersons. Even King Kong had a little revival around this time.

In the cartoon and on the figure, and in most comics Beast Man is always orange. I suppose the William Stout’s in the design studio thought that wouldn’t work. But this Sasquatch design didn’t ever do it for me. And in the movie he also doesn’t speak. Just growls a few times and grovels at Skeletor after he kills Saurod. (Sadness.)

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Beast Man. I really feel like New Eternia is the ultimate design. (Review Here)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie Skeletor and Movie Beast Man. Beast Man grovels at Skeletor, who now appears to have TWO Havoc Staff. (This is the New Eternia Skeletor throne, and somehow I didn’t put the Staff of Ka where the Havoc Staff is.). Skeletor and He-Man review here.

To me as a Masters of the Universe character, the design was a lot closer to Grizzlor. And I am going to call this my problem with what we have here. If you watch the movie, you can see that fur getting wild and tangled and matted.

No chance for that here…all of the fur is sculpted and molded. Throw in that cheesy smile, and unfortunately, like I said, he looks more like a mascot on a Geico commercial.

And one more thing. His thighs are covered in what would be called armor, but you can see what it is in the picture above. These thigh-pads are supposed to be furry matts to cover the joints and prevent breaking the sculpt. But how wrong does this actually look in any pose outside of basic standing?

ACCESSORIES

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Beast Man and He-Man, both using the movie designs. Notice that I modded He-Man’s gun. Now it has movie-accurate paint.

Here is Beast Man armed with all he came with. You just remove the hands and slide the wrist guards on. I should go back and watch the movie to see instances of Beast Man using this sword.

As a sword, anyone could use it. I do get kind of a “wooden”toy sword vibe off of it. It is a basic as a sword could be, which make He-Man’s sword seem even more better I suppose.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE BEAST MAN (1987 MOVIE)

As much as I love the movie, this figure falls short. It is definitely the weakest we have gotten of the four releases.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie figures released as of August 2024. Beast Man, Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and He-Man. Evil-Lyn review here. What could Evil-Lyn do with two cosmic keys?

However, he does represent hope that we might get more movie designs. I’m pretty sure in Masters of the Universe Classics they released a Karg figure from the William Stout Collection. So Karg will be coming, but hopefully they don’t repeat some of the mistakes they made with Beast Man here. Of Course we will get Blade and Saurod, and very likely “god” Skeletor.

And look how many “good guys” we have. Only He-Man. So bring on the Man-At-Arms movie design and the Teela, and a better Gwildor. (Could they beat the MOTUC Gwildor?)

I just can’t rate this guy very highly. The design is wonky. The paint is good, but that expression on his face just kills any vibe you could get from the rest of the figure. Why are wrist guards considered accessories? Practically he only came with alternate hands (which every MASTERVERSE figure comes with) and a bland sword which might have five seconds of movie time. (I’ll go back and check.)

So I am going to award this figure a reluctant 2/5. One of those points is really optimism for the future, because as a figure, he kind of …

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man and MASTERVERSE Revelation Stinkor. Stinkor is armed with the boring shield he came with, but I painted gold details on it. He is also using the satellite dish that came with Super7 Ultimates! TMNT Metalhead. This makes a good stand-in for a gun that Stinkor didn’t come with. These two are now at the bottom of my list. Also. SPECIAL EFFECTS ALERT. Thanks to Toypixx Toy Photography

Action Figure Showdown-MASTERVERSE Battle Armor He-Man (He-Men?)

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I began comparing figures with one another way back with Demistros and Black Falcon. Then I did the three kings. And now, two versions of the same character. Or are they?

One of my thoughts was “It looks like Revolution version only has a single damage mark option, while the older New Eternia version has two. Oh I get it! They are encouraging you to buy both for interchangeable pieces.” Well, keep reading to see how that works out.

MASTERVERSE Revolution Battle Armor He-Man

PACKAGING

The packaging of this features terrific artwork. Once again, this newer “transformers” style packaging really works for me. You can see the figure inside, along with his main accessory. It’s a good drawing, but you can clearly see that the figure’s head sculpt has fatter jowels and smaller hair. Also featured on the cover are the Eternian Guards, who no doubt if they are ever released will have the same armor design. I almost predict this as a reveal at the SDCC this week. (Nope. Skelcons and Horde troopers!) Link to Pixel Dan video.

The back of the box features something I don’t like so much. This is a photoshopped picture of the action figure posed in an artwork setting. The shadow beasts ARE cool though.

We are treated to the “selfie cam” image. But also we can see the other ways of displaying He-Man with this set. We get a traditional harness and a no-scratch plate and a one-scratch plate. The cross sell on the bottom…I have all of these except for the Tri-Klops, which I deem pointless. We already have a MASTERVERSE revelation Tri-Klops that was pretty good. I have seen this one on the shelf, and the sculpting is more detailed and better all around. But it is still just Tri-Klops. Mekanek is excellent, and King Keldor is … OK.

There is some side-art

We get a picture of Andra. Now the story on the back and in the show is that Andra, as Man-At-Arms, designed this battle armor and gave it to He-Man for extra protection because he didn’t have the sword. (Gwildor and Orko were working on it).

About Andra…she is a fine character, and I get why they promoted her to importance. Lots of reasons. But she is a character that won’t sell. I am saying this because I have seen upwards of 30 of them on clearance between two different Target stores, one dedicated toy store, Wal-Mart, and Ollie’s. The bounty hunter looks really cool. But given a choice between Andra and someone more nostalgic, me and the vast majority of MOTU fans will choose even the worst vintage character over her. Maybe this is my two-cents, but evidence is evidence. She is regularly marked down on BigBadToyStore also. She’s not moving for under $13, which is likely what they paid for her wholesale.

Overall, this packaging really isn’t as good as some of the other more recent packaging, and I hope they don’t move to that photoshop design instead of the terrific art that is for instance on the back of Clawful’s packaging.

FIGURE

Here’s what you get in the box.

  • He-Man figure
  • Chrome battle axe
  • Two interchangeable chest plates
  • Alternate traditional battle harness with the “H” symbol
  • Two punching fists
  • Should I count the bracer? OK.

So how does it work?

The armor is of hard shell design. It goes together with clips on the side. You don’t have to remove the armor to swap chest plates. (An improvement over the MOTUC version.)

Here I have He-Man holding a triangular guitar pick. (Rhombo pick). This is what I use to pry the chest plate off. You could use any “spudger” to do this same thing.

The classic power harness looks great, but there is no loop on the back to store the axe or a sword. Well, there is no sword anyway. You can see that this is easily the best battle axe, and is a reason for purchasing this figure almost by itself. He changed into battle armor mode by fist-bumping his chest if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, his muscles are too big on the figure to do this.

Here are a couple of reenactment scenes from the Revolution show.

He-Man crowns Keldor the king. OOF.
King Keldor sent He-Man away to take the fight to Snake Mountain. He slyly mentioned to someone else when asked where his crown was…”I left it at home.” PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revolution Battle Armor He-Man holding King Keldor’s crown, looking confused standing in front of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor’s throne. (Review coming soon!)
Because I don’t have Prince Adam, mid-transformation face-plant will have to do. OOF. PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revolution Battle Armor He-Man and Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat, both without armor.

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Battle Armor He-Man

PACKAGING

New- Eternia Battle Armor He-Man came in the decidedly worse old-style MASTERVERSE packaging. But you can see everything clearly. And we are treated to the 40th anniversary symbol.

Now THIS IS COOL ARTWORK!

A very barbarian image of He-Man, this version with the obvious beard I haven’t mentioned yet, fighting a skeleton guy and some kind of orc. He stands over them, furry shorts and boots engaged, ready to mete vengeance with his battle axe! His right hand open about to grip for a powerful swing.

The cross sell oddly features a brown beard on He-Man. I never have needed a Sun-Man (another character that is shoved at us.) I just passed on Jitsu yesterday in Columbia, SC. And He-Ro…meh.

Side art…( the other side is just block letter title)

FIGURE

Here’s what you get….

  • Battle-Armor He-Man figure
  • Shoulder pauldron
  • Plate armor belt
  • Two armor plates, one undamaged, the other two- scratched
  • A right hand fist and open left hand
  • Power sword
  • Battle axe
  • Shield with vehicle detail
  • Boot strap knife

This is an impressive accessory list!

The head sculpt…he doesn’t look as grizzled as the artwork.

SO HOW DOES THIS GUY WORK? (SpartanNerd shaking his head)

Very unsightly. Why? Mattel, we can do better.

Where to begin. Before trying to remove the armor, it is already clear they sculpted and painted his belly. But he is slimmer than Revolution, but really you can’t display this figure without the armor.

To swap plates, you remove the front armor. The back is sculpted on and not removable. There are these holes in his chest, where pegs on the back of the plates go. Awkward, and stupid. There is some circuitry design….just. Why?

Also, the boot knife fits in an indention awkwardly. (This is a different boot knife than 1987 Movie He-Man came with.)

I removed the belt armor for this one. Like Mekanek, He-Man’s shield celebrates a vehicle we probably won’t get for MASTERVERSE. This time Dragon Walker I believe. You can store the sword behind the shield, but there is no scabbard or loop. The shield pegs into a hole just like on the wrist bracer. The pauldron goes on with a snapping loop.

So for me, it’s the head sculpt that is the only redeeming factor of the paint and sculpt. Where did the beard “come from”? Masters of the Universe Classics had a “King He-Man” figure, who was more wizened, and grizzled. That figure featured a beard. I have neglected the slight scratch of red paint on his face. BLOOD. (I own a copy of DC comics He-Man: The Eternity War #6 which features King He-Man on the cover.)

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Battle Armor He-Man on Super7 Utlimates! King Conan’s throne. He-Man is wearing MASTERVERSE Revolution King Keldor’s crown, and holding MASTERVERSE New Eternia Thunder-Punch He-Man’s sword. (It’s gold…more “kingly.”

I think Mattel might have been going for a Mythic Legions or a Christopher Helmsworth look as this bearded version seems younger and more spritely.

Here is a kind of re-make of the artwork on the back. It actually isn’t possible to one-for-one that artwork. He-Man came with opposite hands.

COMPARISON

Both of these figures have strengths and weaknesses. Revolution has a more modern design, while New Eternia was one of the earliest figures. Mattel has had time to improve. This has something to do with the cheap, cheap price I was able to pay for New Eternia.

New Eternia really updated the design. Giving He-Man a beard was almost worth the whole figure. But throw in the other armor pieces (Pauldron, Girdle) and all of the accessories. This makes New Eternia more fun. I haven’t spoken much about it, but the hip armor plates have the button-on belt and after removing it I had to use the hair dryer to get it back on.

Revolution has a decidedly worse head sculpt. He doesn’t look like the cartoon. Maybe I’m stupid, but he resembles Shaggy from Scooby Doo, with blond hair. At least to me. I appreciate that the armor is shinier than New Eternia’s. And that battle axe is hands down the best painted one we’ve seen. But it is small. (Savage He-Man has a huge axe.)

The biggest problem for me with New Eternia is the design of the armor…how it removes and how you swap the plates. It is INCOMPATIBLE with Revolution Battle Armor He-Man. I wanted both figures, and it would have been a nice bonus to have interchangeable pieces, but Mattel just decided not to give us that.

SpartanNerd’s Rating of both MASTERVERSE Battle Armor He-Man (He-Men?)

Revolution gets 2/5. I find him to be kind of bland. The pop of chrome paint is most of his redeeming factor. That head just doesn’t do it for me. Why didn’t we get proper armor plates? He didn’t come with a sword or anything else. We could have done away with the bracer even and gotten plates to accurately represent the vintage switching look. Additionally, this armor makes him appear overweight. As a Masters of the Universe/ Transformers/ GI Joe guy, I value escapism. He-Man having a gut hits too close to home for me.

I am reluctantly giving 3/5 for New Eternia. He doesn’t look bland at all! Everything about him would be awesome if his whole torso-buck wasn’t sacrificed to make the armor work. I don’t like the way this was executed, period. What were they thinking? I feel like this buck was throw-away also. Who else could use it? Back then I bet they were thinking Battle Armor Skeletor, maybe Faker, maybe Eternian Guards. I’m willing to bet there was such negative feedback they scrapped it.

Soon there will be a New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor released, and let me say, the preview images look AWESOME! I’m thinking that will take design cues from Revolution He-Man.

Hub-City Geeks…I did this so you don’t have to. Don’t go into purchasing both versions thinking you can swap them. It won’t work. I actually wanted both versions…I saw Revolution on sale at Wal-Mart in Westgate for $21, and New Eternia was marked down on Prime Day. I have like $32 worth here and feel I have my value. But as it is, Mattel needs to do better to give us better Battle Armor He-Man in the future.

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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For unboxing and initial review of the packaging for Snout Spout and Vykron , click here.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

Snout Spout is one of them characters. Yep.

So I have owned every version of Snout Spout ever released EXCEPT for the 200x Staction, which looks totally awesome! I picked up the Masters of the Universe Classics version at Big Lots that time that a bunch of Matty Collector stuff landed there…But I sold that when I did my mass sell off of MOTUC figures. (I am really starting to regret that. It wouldn’t be so bad if Mattel would support MEGA a little more). As a vintage character, I remember using that squirting action feature all the time. The Classics version didn’t have that, but came with the awesome Jaws of Life weapon. I didn’t get that “Heads pack” with the awesome 200x design.

When Mattel Creations listed Snout Spout for $33 a few months ago, I thought about it. Wouldn’t they just eventually mark it down? It did look cool, but did I like the character that much? Remember, I picked up the Classics version for $20…that was really a steal and a deal that will probably never come back up. the MASTERVERSE version didn’t look quite as fierce as the 200x version, but it didn’t look like a Dumbo either as the vintage one and stock MOTUC one did. I finally decided to when I saw Vykron on a Mattel Creations sale and thought, “what else should I get” while I was on vacation. Not getting Motherboard at $65 of Dark-lyn. Snout Spout was the winner.

So what did I think of it when I had it in hand…keep reading to see the SpartanNerd’s review, and also his first ever Special Effects Toy Photography!

ADDITIONAL PACKAGING REVIEW

When you open the box, you get to see a poster of the same artwork on the cover. BUT the other side features (EXCITEMENT!!)

YEP. SNAKE MEN! Now there is no reason to have snake men here. Snout Spout (presented as a firefighter) doesn’t have much to do with them. Mattel will have to do some explaining. He does look cool standing between King Hiss and the lady (Lady Slither?). But more importantly, this art seems to point to Snake Men coming soon to MASTERVERSE!

Snout Spout was tied in just like Vykron. No blister bubble. One thing that is an improvement on the package is the smooth black poster finish on the cardboard. But the way the trunk is wrapped…it makes it look like he was injured.

You can open the little box, which doubles as a stand, to see the rest of the items.

FIGURE REVIEW

Here is everything you get.

  • Snout Spout figure. He has a power harness and belt that is removable.
  • Fire fighter’s axe
  • Backpack
  • Three hoses
  • Alternate fist hands
  • Water blast effect

A good bit of items! And look how impressive he looks! This orange and pink and metallic purple, silver, and bright red. It all works so well!

Those eyes use “Light Piping.” And this is kind of a bummer. Mattel tries to play it up as great, but it would be better if there was some kind of battery. When you don’t have a light right overhead, you get the “dead eyes” look.

So the hoses can be attached all over the place. You can connect them from the bottom of the backpack to the power harness. You can connect the shorter one from the top of the backpack to the back of his head. You can connect one to the bottom of the axe to make it into a nozzle. You can use your imagination! You can also attach the water effext to the power harness to make it seem like he sprung a leak. Or you can put it on the end of the axe.

Speaking of imagination, the SpartanNerd is a middle school chorus teacher…one of the things that almost kept me from purchasing this was the belt. What might a middle school student (especially a boy) say about that pressure gauge?

The hose nose (this is Snout Spout’s alternate name). His real name…Jaxston. Awesome! This nose is very posable, made of several hard plastic joints. Not foam. Not rubber with wire. This was done right!

ACCESSORIES

I really already talked about them, didn’t I!

But not including the Jaws of Life…that is a missed opportunity. Now I realize that item was roughly an homage to The Four Horsemen…it was in the shape of their symbol. Still…we have Clamp Champ. There could have been some parts re-use.

The axe is pretty cool. It looks kind of dinged up and used. There could be more paint apps.

REAL SPECIAL EFFECTS PHOTOGRAPHY!

This is my first time. I watched of few YouTube videos, especially about adding explosions and fire to GI Joe Classified and Star Wars Black Series figures. I knew there would be plenty, and I could apply those here.

I took a trip to the Dollar General Market to find some dollhouse pieces or something to destroy. It would have to be really cheap. Would you believe the only thing they had was an off-brand Barbie doll house that was $25! No way. Not for this project. So I went back home, and took the to box cutter to some Amazon boxes. And some spray paint…

You can see what I did if you watch this video! Snout Spout to the Rescue video.

Here are some of the pics I got when I lit it all up!

PICTURED: New Eternia MASTERVERSE Snout Spout rescuing MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil-Lyn, who is dressed in Tri-Klops’ robe as “Eternian Winch.”

I did two special effects videos… the fire and a snow one for the barbarians. But the fire one was truly a blast! No, this Snout Spout can’t really squirt water. But he looks great fighting fire!

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MATTEL CREATIONS MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA SNOUT SPOUT

Not kidding. Snout Spout turned out to be one of the coolest figures I almost punted on. I’m glad I didn’t! He looks impressive. So tall and heroic. He is taller than anyone else besides Mekanek with all the pieces. At first I thought this torso was a re-use of 40th anniversary He-Man, but it can’t be because the neck is different and larger. It is similar size to Beast Man, but isn’t the same either. The only re-used parts I see are the pauldrons, which are Vykron’s but with all red. The head sculpt doesn’t look like the 200x, but it also doesn’t look like the sad elephant from the vintage line. Those are huge feet…he stands very stable for what is a heavy build and big head. The trunk is very posable.

The light-piping isn’t very great, some kind of electronic design would be better. I am considering modding this with some LED’s. I seem to be living dangerously lately. The Jaws of Life would have been a good include. But the many options for display, plus the bonus promise of snake men over-rides these weaknesses. Snout Spout is one of the best figures I own now! I highly recommend him. 5/5!