Category Archives: New Eternia

Masters of the Universe Origins- SpartanNerd Review

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See a video review of my new Origins collection HERE.

I’ve kind of just skipped collecting these, focusing on Masterverse and Mythic Legions. Mattel has done a good job of updating all of their vintage designs, and finding space to make new characters, offer crossovers, and also make concepts come to life.

I was gifted these, and won’t offer a rating. I don’t think it is fair for me to judge the things I usually judge: Paint, Sculpt, Articulation, Accessories, and what it means to me personally. In the case of all three of these, they mean so much that I couldn’t offer more than a perfect score. As Origins figures, generally aimed at the children’s market, the sculpt and paint, etc aims for a lower target than adult collector toys.

Nevertheless, I am going to review them and talk about what this origins line is about.

First I was gifted Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man.

STEALTH NINJA HE-MAN

My first Origins figure, but unfortunately the blister was loose from the card…Amazon’s carelessness I’m sure. But this is a good package featuring Masters of the Universe style font, and green exploding rocks, with some of the characters from the story that Mattel and Nickelodeon have come up with. (Also conspicuous the Masters and the Turtles logos on the bottom)

I mentioned that I passed on all of the origins at first. And the reason is that the very first wave that they released had this “play dough” color scheme. It was like I was looking at a vintage figure, but seeing something updated about the colors in a negative way. I was excited that the figures were in scale and went with the vintage line, so they could go with castles and vehicles, etc. But there was this “baby toy” color scheme.

When they announced the crossover, I saw it and immediately said I would get them all. The appeal to me was the wackiness, and if the colors were too bright, that was fine for Ninja Turtles, soo…But I wound up not getting them. These figures are around $20 each, and it was kind of like get a couple of Mythic Legions that I really wanted, or pay out for a full wave of TMNT as I found them at Walmart or somewhere, knowing I wouldn’t like all of them anyway. BUT, I did collect the full run with alternate covers of the Dark Horse crossover comic. Freddie Williams II is an awesome artists, and I really enjoyed his work on the Injustice crossover and the Thundercats crossover. (That Thundercats crossover story is dumb, though).

On the back, at the top you get a comic image of He-Man vs. Skele-Shredder. (I just ordered that guy today!). You can see the only action feature here, which is the shroud that he is wearing. You can place the sword in the slot on the back. There is a cross-sell of April O’Neil, which is the Sorceress, Hordak, which is just a battier version apparently, Stealth Ninja Leonardo (wasn’t he a stealth ninja anyway?) and the this figure, Stealth Ninja He-Man.

I had a question when I reviewed the Masterverse Mantenna…could the origins legs swap with it. The answer is NO. We get this little instruction card that tells us exactly what parts are removable. You can swap the waist with the legs attached, and change the feet with different feet. Also the arms and the head. but the legs are not meant to be swapped. Also, they are too small for Mantenna. It nerves me out to pop the torso off from the waist…the arms, the boots, and of course the head all seem right. But it feels like I am breaking something.

We have this mini comic…this is not the same story as Dark Horse put out. This comic is shorter than the vintage mini comics, but the art is cool. And this seems to be the ending of the crossover story. Stealth Ninja He-Man wears this shroud to change his appearance magically, so he only appeared to be mutated. (The first wave had Mutagen Ooze He-Man or something like that.)

The back of the comic has the same cross-sell images.

I set up all those comics I have to prove it!

This is Stealth Ninja He-Man right out of the package. There was a mask in there that I wasn’t sure what it was until I looked at it good, and so I removed the top of the shroud and fit it over his face, then put the shroud back on. (The shroud has two pieces…a cowl and a cape)

Other updates on the design, He-Man has exposed toes on his right foot. He has a leg grieve, an arm bracer, and a shoulder cauldron, all with turtle shell designs. There is a belt with armor similar to what Skeletor wears.

The sword in the slot on the back of the cowl.

I still have my vintage Buzz-Off figure, and wanted to show this off, along with my vintage Castle Grayskull door. The proportions between the vintage and the origins are practically the same. One thing I have complained about especially with the female Origins figures is the knees. With the Turtles of Grayskull line, it looks like they improved the knees. The arms do seem like they might be slightly longer, but this might be an illusion because they actually have modern articulation. Notice that He-Man’s sword is of the Alfredo Alcala design, rather than a Filmation or vintage toy design. I still have my He-Man who has a vintage Battle Axe, but I wonder if that Battle Axe is newer because it shows no signs of wear.

Here is Stealth Ninja He-Man next to Masterverse Battle Armor He-Man, so you can see the difference in scale. If you watch the video version, you can see me swap the cowl and put it on He-Man…it looks great!

Now if you take all this armor off, you have what is essentially an updated vintage He-Man, with exposed toes on one foot. And as I pointed out in the video, how many vintage He-Man figures have the paint rubbed off at the end of the boot? So this doesn’t even look wrong.

One more thing. Opening this. Holding it in hand and messing with it…this created an emotion in me that is hard to describe. I know it is a wave of nostalgia. It was like I was a kid opening a new figure all over again. Once I went to the Retro Toy Con in Greenville, SC, and they had the voice of April O’Neil announcing all of the events. Hearing her was great! Opening this toy created the same feeling for me.

CARTOON COLLECTION CATRA AND FAKER

These two are from the Cartoon Collection, evident by the Filmation rainbow colored logo. At the top you can see the specter of Hordak staring down at them. On the right side of the box there is a foil 40th Anniversary sticker for She-Ra. The background is Castle Grayskull, apparently on fire!

The back features a comic image representing the vintage cartoon episode they are from. “Magicats” and “The Shaping Staff.” Both have cross-sell featuring themselves and Leech. Neither figure really has an action feature, but Catra’s package highlights that you get her cat form, and Faker’s highlights that you can swap his head from the one with evil white eyes to a regular He-Man head.

Faker is especially notable, because usually Faker is a blue version of He-Man usually with Skeletor’s armor in orange or pink, but in the Filmation Cartoon they evidently didn’t know this, so they made him look exactly like He-Man except for the eyes. So with this figure and that swappable head, you really have a Cartoon Collection He-Man also, right?

Somehow I don’t have a photo, but they both came with a mini-comic that kind of ends with the evil warriors telling Skeletor that “Loyalty is for Losers.” Very entertaining, especially since the vintage cartoon always ended with a moral lesson!

Here is a side-by-side comparison of Stealth Ninja He-Man and Cartoon Collection Faker. you can see the cartoon collection design has some updated features. It is a “flatter” sculpt, and feels less “chunky” in your hand. I don’t experience the same “nostalgia” sensation opening and holding this, and I think it is because it “feels different” in hand, if that makes sense. It is designed like this because it is a reproduction of the cartoon rather than the vintage toy. So this head sculpt is different also. But if Stealth Ninja He-Man’s boots are bothering you, you could switch Faker’s out.

Here is a swap. I swapped the waist. Now Faker seems a little more vintage because he has Skeletor’s belt on, even if it is a shade of chrome.

Here is Catra standing on 200x He-Man. I wanted you to see a comparison with 200x She-Ra, but didn’t want to take the She-Ra off of the wall.

Catra has a mask, and if I remember correctly (I didn’t watch She-Ra much as a kid,) she would put on the mask and change into the cat.

That cat is a non-articulated rubber piece but is nicely painted and is the same armor that Catra is wearing, but with some dinosaur spikes.

The vintage Catra was a doll. So I never played with one, and in fact might not have seen one. My cousins (both girls of a similar age) had She-Ra figures but we rarely got together with our toys. I do remember playing with them a little, but not enough to speak with knowledge about Catra. I find the tagline “Jealous Beauty” to be hilarious…it is like…we can’t have Hordak as the villain of this toyline. It has to be another lady, and instead of EVIL…she is just “jealous.” Sounds like the kind of problem that female children have a lot. (I work in middle school…I know this well.)

You can remove Catra’s head and her cape comes right off, so that can go on another figure. (Check out Count Chocula). Otherwise, she didn’t come with a weapon.

Here she is standing next to Masters of the Universe Classics Despara.

This photo is from an upcoming video…you get rewarded by reading the blog! The video is “The Best of 2025” and this is a photo of the ladies category. PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Teela, GI Joe Classified Series Shooter, Mythic Legions Belualyth, all in front of some of my Batman/Catwoman comics. This is a good Christmas story also, so get to reading Hub-City Geeks!

Here you can see that she is much shorter than other lady action figures I have collected this year.

THE FUTURE

Well I already decided to order Skele-Shredder and Origins Sharella. So now they are on the way! Is this the new rabbit hole for the SpartanNerd…probably not. I’ve had my eye on Sharella for a little while, and actually saw one in a store…she was much shorter than I expected, and there was serious markup on the figure. (I got it today from Mattel Creations sale for $12. It was on the shelf at that prestigious store in Spartanburg for $45). Playing with Catra convinced me to go ahead and get it, and Skele-Shredder will be a great nemesis for He-Man.

Do you have Origins figures, Hub-City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mantenna- SpartanNerd Review

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See YouTube versions of this and other reviews HERE

I grew up with two younger brothers. Being the big brother and general winner, I usually had the good guys when it came to Masters of the Universe. One brother had Skeletor’s guys, and another Hordak’s guys. But near the end, neither of them were getting Masters figures. There were a lot more GI Joes, Ninja Turtles, and other stuff happening. So I got a few baddies of my own, and Mantenna was one of them.

I’m unsure of when I realized the character had four legs. The figure only had two…but if you look closely you can see that they are actually skinny legs sculpted together. Kind of genius. I probably realized it after watching She-Ra, but maybe from the mini-comic. But all around…one of the weirdest looking dudes. And he had a lever on his back to make his eyes pop up. So very cool to a 10-11ish year old.

So how did the MASTERVERSE version come out?

PACKAGING

You can see above that this is the same kind of packaging as we have gotten now for around three years. Why isn’t he from the “New Etheria” line? The recent Hordak was.

The wraparound image shows the Evil Horde attacking Eternia. The Horde mothership flies above the palace with a fleet of Klingon Birds of Prey (not). Isn’t that the Temple of Shakoti in the background?

The other side has the library image, with the alternate eyeballs extended on their stalks.

The back shows a photoshop of the toy, with what might be the Whispering Woods in the background. Mantenna is searching for pieces of Castle Greyskull. Interesting!

You have some action feature images…it shows off the weapon he has, which isn’t a crossbow (BOO) and his alternate looks with different eyes.

The cross sell features Anti-Eternia He-Man and Mosquitor (Review coming soon.)

I probably won’t get Anti-Eternia He-Man. Just…Why? I’ll accept it as a gift from someone, though!

FIGURE REVIEW

What do we get in the package?

  • Mantenna Figure
  • Eyeball Ray Gun
  • Two eye stalks
  • One alternate eye.

He was $23. So I’m saying this up front. He is a good hunk of plastic. But not much paint. Most of the resources here went to the four legs and the swapping eye feature.

I am actually showing you the closest you can get the figure to appearing like the vintage member of the Horde. You can’t pose the legs parallel to one another. Otherwise all of his articulation is good. I do wish you could close his mouth instead of him having this static toothy round cavity.

The good thing is, though, this may be a hint of how we will get Modulok and Multi-Bot. Both guys had four legs in their default mode. But here is a question…these legs have single jointed knees, and furthermore the knee area looks quite a bit like the Origins figures. So … are these legs swappable? I am not going to risk it, but if they are, then that is another hint about those two lego-type characters.

All around, the blue plastic…it is too dark and just needs paint. This was a cost-cutting measure I’m sure. I’m not a fan of Webstor or Zodac. Why? BORING colors. Mantenna wasn’t in that category for me, but they managed to do it wrong. Maybe the plastic is too dark…or maybe it needs a “wash” of some lighter color blue. I can’t really tell…photos and such that Mattel provides have super good lighting and it kind of offsets the effect. But if you don’t have it under that perfect jewelry store condition, you have overpowering dark blue.

ACCESSORIES

Is it really that hard to give us a crossbow instead of this dumb weapon?

You’ll have to make up your own story for this one. BUT…Snout spout can easily win by spraying water in his eyes. Thunder Punch He-Man can use that sword and … chop… the stalks… Same with Battle Armor Skeletor and the axe. If Mantenna shoots eyeballs with that gun, couldn’t Panthor just pounce on it? I’m just saying…PICTURED- MASTERVERSE New Eternia figures, Battle Armor Skeletor, Panthor, Two-Bad, Snout Spout, Thunder-Punch He-Man, and Mantenna. I DO appreciate that he is as big as Snout Spout, but at a lower price point.

I really wish they were giving us crossbows. Maybe updated ones. I wouldn’t mind this eyeball gun so much if they also included a crossbow. Or maybe if the gun was an eyeball-crossbow arrow or bolt.

The eye-swapping feature…to do it, you have to remove the upper face of the figure. THEN the eyeballs are in the socket pretty good. I had to use a guitar pick to wedge them out.

They alternate eyeballs they give us feel like a down-grade from the main eyes he is packed using. I don’t much see the point, these may be a reflection of the She-Ra cartoon. I haven’t watched it enough and don’t have much memory about it.

SPARTANNERD RATING

It’s a shame, but I just don’t have that much more to say. The blue darkness overpowers the positives. Mattel has opted to cut the paint and promote the plastic…something we see more and more. Kobra Khan was bland for this exact reason. That shiny green was OK on a snake, but not spectacular when seen through the larger lens of other available figures. GI Joe Classified…same price point, always better paint than this. Mythic Legions cost more, but face it…MASTERVERSE is competing against that brand, and all of the figures from plain skeletons to royalty have exceptional details in the sculpt and the paint.

It’s like Mantenna hits the big point from the 1980’s. He has bug eyes and a bizzarre head. Mattel hit these points, and everything else was an afterthought. I remember hearing the Four Horsemen talk about laboring to design figures. To make them epic. I’m afraid Mantenna doesn’t feel epic. It feels like a chore to take pictures of him…and that is a definite bad thing.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mantenna and Mer-Man. Do you see what I mean about Mantenna’s paint? Some of the same design elements are present in Mer-Man, but somehow it works better. Obviously more care was put into it. I feel like I have to add paint to Mantenna so that it will be right.
Mantenna decided to crash the office party. And you see what I mean. PICTURED: MASTERVERSE 40 Anniversary He-Man (retail), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela, Man-At-Arms, and Fisto. MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress Teela, King Greyskull, and Captain of the Guard Teela alternate head on MOTUC Battleground Teela body, and Super7 ULTIMATES! Battle of the Mounds Valeria.

You can see in the above picture different lines and even companies. And the colors on Mantenna seem to be more plain than anyone else. He’s big, blue and red. But that doesn’t make him epic.

Even if he is worse than these two, he does feel like he belongs with them.

I am awarding MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mantenna 3/5. He just doesn’t do it for me. The lack of accessories and the boring colors make someone who should be amazing rather bland. He gets a feels points because I NEEDED Mantenna on my quest to recollect the toys I once had. He doesn’t have stupid problems, but if a kid gets this they might have a hard time swapping those eyes. His sculpt is OK. Points subtracted because of accessory count and paint apps.

3/5…Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Kobra Khan- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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See the Video Review HERE

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Kobra Khan- So easy to misspell! So forgive me if I mess up, Hub City Geeks! I remember Kobra Khan seemed to come out before the rest of the Snake Men. Growing up there was Kobra Khan in the SpartanNerd household, as well as Tongue Lasher and King Hiss. So we didn’t have an army of Snake Men. The SpartanMom is deathly afraid of snakes. I kind of lumped him in with Skeletor’s crew, rather than seeing the Snake Men as a different faction. He had a water squirting action, and there were a few other toys in He-Man that had this…Dragon Blaster Skeletor and Snout Spout. Water action was a cool thing then in the 1980s and continues to be a feature in toys today.

Of course, the MASTERVERSE figure doesn’t have a water feature. So how did they deal with that? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

This package is just as great as any of them. But let me say something here…I have had a rush of reviews lately…So Belualyth, New Eternia Moss Man, Cold Slither, New Eternia Teela, and New Etheria Hordak. And this character just feels…less epic. How much of that is my bias, I don’t know. But this is the reason I waited to do this one last. Apparently, like Battle Armor Skeletor and Blade, he has pretty much sold out everywhere. (I’m still feeling burned about Blade…just saying. That is the SpartanNerd failure of the year.)

So I need to keep it focused…I like that we have an image of Tongue Lasher, who is my favorite Snake Man. Hopefully he will come out soon.

The wraparound image features Rattlor.

Yeah…So Rattlor wasn’t on my radar as a kid. I think I must have been aware of him, but I never saw him and didn’t have him. So there’s that. Also, I didn’t even know about Blast Attack until I was an adult. AND…why is he considered a Snake Man? I did have a cousin or someone who had Snake Face, but I pretty much hated it. So Kobra Khan, King Hiss, and Tongue Lasher were MY Snake Men growing up. I did eventually own SSQUEEZE in Masters of the Universe Classics. (Tangents, Tangents)

The other side features the library image that also shows the alternate way of displaying the character…more vintage style or with the hood. Also, notice the Snake Men logo. This is either Classics or 200x. Good that they are keeping that.

The back is once again what you expect. A Photoshop image of the toy on an illustrated background. The bio reinforces the 200x story that it was Kobra Khan who released King Hiss and the other Snake Men from the pit in Snake Mountain. I like how they made this story track with the way the figure was released practically as one of Skeletor’s guys but then double-crossing Skeletor.

The cross-sell art might help confirm the first statement I made about why I was less excited about this one. (He looks dorky in between Hordak and Teela)

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the box?

  • Kobra Khan figure
  • Cobra Snake Hood
  • Blaster Gun
  • Mace
  • Alternate chest piece
  • Alternate claw hands
  • purple “venom” spray effect
after messing with it for awhile, I swapped the hands for the claws for a more vintage feel…thinking maybe this would help me out with my problem here. Not really.

Kobra Khan is sculpted in pearlescent green plastic. Or is that metallic? He has the same lanky build as the other MASTERVERSE figures. There are bronze and brass painted details on the figure…his hands and the claws have a darker color than the main figure. (The hands make it feel like he is wearing gloves.)

Kobra Khan has the same eye effect that Panthor and Mer-Man have. A very realistic looking eye, that in this case kind of feels like it is something different quality than the rest of the figure.

Here is a little comparison with the Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. I gave him Savage He-Man’s spear to make things even. And you can see that the Mythic Legions is easily a better sculpt. Kobra Khan should have more scales all over.

I guess the paint is alright. I mean, he is a green guy. But the big elephant in the room for me is the head sculpt. He looks “Rabbity” with those teeth. It is good that he has an articulated jaw…I was in fact worried that this was a static piece just from looking at the box.

ACCESSORIES

So kind of…the accessories and the figure run together a little bit. The hood and the breastplate…are these accessories? Similar to the wrist bracers…I guess they are technically accessories.

The hood just isn’t epic enough. So…weak head sculpt with a rabbity look, combined with a less-than-epic hood, means that Kobra Khan has kind of a “muppety” thing going on. BOO! (Serpentor hood? Cobra symbol? Mattel could have done better to compete with Hasbro here.)

Retreat! Wascawy Wabbit. For real, notice Cobra Commander’s snake on the hilt of his sword. Better hood than Kobra Khan. And those Cobra symbols from the GI JOE Classified Series packaging also look more epic. If there is a Serpentor, I will probably get it and compare, but I bet…

The venom spray effect is how they handle the water feature. This is purple, and not until taking the final photos did I start to realize that it looks kind of barfy. (I already did a video, and didn’t even have this thought then…)

She is the Snake Goddess. Shouldn’t he be more respectful?

Luckily, you can attach it to the end of the gun. Unfortunately, Snout Spout’s spray effect isn’t interchangeable with this one. Another missed opportunity by Mattel to do something cool that couldn’t have been that hard to accomplish.

I think it is great that you can swap out the chest plate. I prefer the one with the Snake Men logo, but the plain one is just fine and feels more vintage.

The gun has a snake sculpt to it. At first I thought it was the same as Zodac’s gun, but it is different and more flavorful. (I don’t own a MASTERVERSE Zodac…I am referring to my memory.)

And that mace. This is the weapon that came with the vintage figure, and is in fact the same that Clawful has. Which is stupid because those claws don’t hold it well.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA KOBRA KHAN

Originally I rated this figure as a 4/5. But it has been a few more days with it, and I have changed my mind. The gun and the mace need paint apps. The hands are a strange color. The head sculpt looks rabbity and even worse when the hood is on. The sculpt doesn’t stack up to other Snake Men figures on the market. (Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry, for instance). The purple venom effect reminds me of the purple vomit scene in the movie The Sandlot.

Aww look…they are dancing. Kidding aside, even MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela (a different sub-line based on Kevin Smith’s cartoon,) her hood looks more epic. In general New Eternia figures look better than the cartoon figures.

No. He isn’t anywhere close to a perfect five. I am awarding MASTERVERSE New Eternia Kobra Khan a 3/5. I am giving him the feels point because I needed him for my collection. He doesn’t have stupid problems…he stands well and has good articulation. And he came with a lot of accessories. But the paint and sculpt are just too bad.

I hope Tongue Lasher and King Hiss turn out better. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack

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(See the video unboxing and review on the SpartanNerd YouTube channel!)

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!

The half skull head with ectoplasm effects really improves Warrior Beast Head Hunter. Also, add extra arms to Skeleton Legion Builder II!

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.

Wal-Torr the Mad showing off those spectacular thighs!

ACCESSORIES

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!

Maxillius the Harvester

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See the video unboxing and initial review on my YouTube Channel

I ordered this guy so long ago. February 2024? Something crazy like that. This was really when I was starting to get into Mythic Legions more heavily, and they announced the Necronominus wave, and I didn’t place any orders…I missed it. But then Big Bad Toy Store had it for pre-order so I got it there, not realizing that Store Horsemen purchasers get theirs first, and also cheaper. But it was a learning experience.

I wanted him because … I mean he’s the grim reaper, right!

PACKAGING

Maxillius comes in the regular collector friendly blister. As you look at it, you might think he has huge hands sticking up beside his hood. Nope. This is a halo. (Yes. A halo of DEATH). My specific example also features the rope around his waist coming down onto the Mythic Legions logo. you can see some stuff behind him, the hard edge of a ziplock bag, and something else that isn’t clear.

On the back you see the Necronominus wave boss, Necronominus himself. (I know I am likely not spelling this correctly, and I also can’t pronounce it. Listen to me stammer on YouTube!).

The figures on the cross sell…I don’t know any of these, but I think I might have seen the blue girl or someone like her in a store. The creature on the bottom is akin to Modulok. It is an alien beast skeleton that you can swap the parts around, and I probably will eventually get that because I like stuff like that. I watched a Dork Lair review of it, which is why I know so much about it.

And the sides…one side gives us the bio from the vague Mythic Legions story. Basically, Maxillius comes before the big boss who is the gaudy skeleton thing featured in the art on the back of the box. (That is Necro-unpronouncable himself). And the other side has a spider which is probably the faction symbol.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX

Here he is, taken directly out. No posing or anything. he stands just fine

Here’s what you get.

  • Maxillius the Harvester action figure
  • Removable robe with rope belt
  • Removable halo
  • Front armor (this was what the mysterious thing in the box was…it was upside down)
  • Scythe weapon. Or should it be labeled a “tool.”
  • Hourglass
  • Pair of pointing hands
  • Alternate head that is a traditional human skull.

And just so you know, this is what he looks like if you remove the halo and the robe. (I also put the other head on)

“Specimen Room” PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Wal-Torr the Mad with Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell etched skull, and Maxillius the Harvester hanging on display using Cosmic Legions figure stand.

One of the selling points of this figure was that it is a bare skeleton, and as far as I know the first one in Mythic Legions. They have since come out with a few others, and I am definitely tempted to get those…one is a box of four glow-in-the-dark Halloween skeletons. “Graveyard Skeletons” or something.

And then the next selling point was you have a three-in-one figure. You can go with bare skeleton, traditional Grim Reaper, or Mythic Legions mini-boss. (Who am I kidding. This guy is a main boss, even if captain gaudy unpronounceable skeleton god is his boss.)

FIGURE REVIEW

This. Sculpt. Is. Amazing. WOW!

I have been seeing the Four Horsemen talk about the dragon kickstarter at recent conventions on YouTube, and one thing to point out…Eric Treadway doesn’t make symmetrical sides. The right and left dragon legs have varying details. Well, this is true here on some of the Maxillius figure. For instance, that halo is made of an upturned ribcage. Each rib has a different treatment.

Speaking of the halo. DUDE. It has MEAT! There are some bloody details around the spotwelds. And then…MEAT FEATHERS. Yep. This is a thing. Coming out the back of the halo are small angel wings made of MEAT FEATHERS.

A glimpse into the increasingly inadequate Nerd Closet. This halo…wow! What a piece. MEAT FEATHERS are a thing. They remind me of the gills on a fish kind of. And those ribs…butcher shop. This was a detail of strength I wasn’t aware of.

While he is wearing the robe, this halo makes it apparent that this grim reaper is a Mythic Legions. It isn’t your average Halloween prop. A casual observer might think “Oh. A doll of the death angel.” But the halo and the armor piece that hangs down front give it intense flare.

And sticking out of the robe are perfectly sculpted feet and hands. This robe has wires in the sleeves…you don’t realize how necessary this is until you think about how important it is for his bony hands to point at stuff. (Especially people that he is reaping).

Surely, you know this image Hub City Geeks…(Google Image Search)

You have two head sculpt options. I thought I would prefer the classic human head, but the more alien head is growing on me. And you can pose the hood over his eyes better with the alien head. But with the human head, it looks more Halloween classic. Now that head is the same head that some other skeletons in Mythic Legions have, but it has less paint…and it could definitely use some black eyes. But also, the alien head’s eyes need some paint. As it is, they are bulbous protrusions with the same bone color as the rest of the skull.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto and Ram Man vs. Mythic Legions Maxillius the Harvester and Skeleton Legion Builder Reinforcement. They fight MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man and Fisto. Maxillius is armed with Masters of the Universe Classics Despara sword and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon shield, while Skeleton Reinforcement is armed with Super7 Ultimates Battle of the Mounds bloody weapons short sword. I understand that in D&D, to beat skeletons you should use hammers and blunt weapons. So metal fist and rammy head…

But taking the robe off. WHOO HOO. What’s underneath!

This skeleton sculpt looks less Lego-ish than I had criticized it as being when I first ordered it. Of course, we are looking at prototypes then, so I am glad to report that the final product doesn’t feel so Ninjago-ish. True, the calves might be more thick than true human bone, but if it was thinner it wouldn’t support the figure’s weight. So we kind of have a tibia and fibula kind of sculpted together, with a patella also glued on. (SpartanNerd dropping the big words today!)

So this skeleton is so accurate! Every vertebrate is a sculpted detail. This is a new neck piece that doesn’t seem to be removable…but why would you? It feels kind of delicate, though. The spine goes down the back of the ribcage, and then the lower spine connects to a ball joint in the upper torso so that we have an “ab crunch” (without the abs.). And I almost didn’t notice at first, but the upper torso has LUNGS sculpted in, perhaps rotten, but this justifies there being some meat for the ball joint to attach.

The ribs are not removable…but they might be for a customizer. It seems like they are glued on the front.

And in this naked form, you have what must be the most articulated Mythic Legions action figure. And I haven’t disassembled him, but you could take him apart and strow bones around everywhere.

The paint on the skeleton…the bone color is a pretty close match to Skeletor’s throne. Reinforcement Skeleton is darker.

“Am I Evil”. PICTURED: Mythic Legions Maxillius the Harvester on MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor’s throne. (Also called bone throne, and Havoc throne.)

ACCESSORIES

“I was hardly using it anyway”. PICTURED: Mythic Legions Maxxilius the Harvester and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn. Her soul is a ghostly skull effect from a Mythic Legions Magic effect pack, and they are at Skeletor’s throne with green fire.

Pointing fingers are a necessity for the Grim Reaper. But they gave us this hourglass to capture people’s souls. So cool. I never would have thought of this, but it is a crazy fantasy idea. And here’s one for the nerds. Master Tonberry in Final Fantasy wears a robe, has an instant death knife, and what? An hourglass. So maybe the Horsemen were thinking about this?

The Scythe. (See the picture above). This is huge and all one piece. It is beautifully painted, and has battle scar marks. The stick end is slender and sharp, but this was made for adult collectors, right…(I poked myself with it accidentally and it really hurt 😦

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS MAXILLIUS THE HARVERSTER

“Maestro Maxillius”. PICTURED: Mythic Legions figures Maxillius the Harvester, Undead of Vikenfell, Skeleton Legion Builder, Demistros, and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon, and Revelation Scareglo (Comic Con exclusive). The diorama is Skeletor’s bone throne.

Well it was worth the wait!

Maxillius delivers everything I would have wanted, and also MEAT FEATHERS, that I didn’t know I wanted until I had them.

Sculpt- Great. Paint- Great. Accessories- Great. Articulation- Great with no stupid problems.

And what does he add? He adds a bare skeleton, a classic Grim Reaper, and a Mythic Legions Skeleton boss.

Maxillius is a solid 5/5. And I suppose you have to agree with me, Hub City Geeks. What argument is there against this figure being a 5/5? No one ever comments, so LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and COMMENT! Let me know your opinion of Maxillius the Harvester!7

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon

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Who? I don’t remember this guy (or “these guys”) from my childhood in any way. Possibly they were in minicomics, or non-American media. I don’t remember them from Filmation.

I decided to get him when I saw it go up for sale as an army builder. But I already have an army of skeletons, with more to come. So I only got one. He seemed like he would go well with Battle Armor Skeletor and Undead of Vikenfell. I ordered it, and then had to wait about a month.

He’s OK…but how OK? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

Skelcon comes in the now standard MASTERVERSE packaging. You can see the figure from the belt up, with a spear on his left. Now, right away you can see one goofy expression on this face. He has such a long nose that the articulated face is askew. This is bad for a Mint-On-Card collector. I haven’t seen other examples, so I don’t know if this is how everyone’s will turn out.

We have nice artwork on the front featuring Skelcons fighting Stratos and Avionians. We can see Avion in the background. Wait-a-minute. I see a Skelcon with wings. (No wings with this figure…curious). Notable that we don’t have Stratos in MASTERVERSE (that I know of). I suspect this is a teaser for the future. And on the side we are treated to a lady Avionian, who totally could be done in MASTERVERSE.

The other side shows Skelcon standing with a shield, and his portrait floating above, making it completely possible to store and file easily on card.

The back is one of those dumb photoshop pictures. There is no cross sale, but we do get a bio that mentions Infinita, the nearly forgotten opposite of Eternia. (There was this “series bible” in Mattel’s files as they were designing the Masters of the Universe line. Infinita was a planet on the same orbit as Eternia, but diametrically opposite. This is where Skeletor and “his people” are from.)

FIGURE REVIEW

Just beamed in from Infinita

What do you get in the package?

  • Skelcon Figure
  • Battle Axe
  • Spear
  • Dagger with sheath
  • Shield
  • Alternate fist hands (not pictured)

I am not counting the harness or the girdle…though you might.

This figure has several re-used parts. I pretty much think he feels like the same figure as New Eternia Mer-Man, with a different head. But this isn’t so entirely. Just the legs and feet.

The Battle Armor Skeletor vibe is also unmistakable. But he doesn’t share parts…he “seems” to, but for instance Skeletor’s three-toed feet have these metal boots on them.

The best thing about the sculpt is the head. That articulated jaw opens and closes…and he has a nasty, gray…perhaps decayed tongue sculpted to the lower jaw. He has a horned helmet that is glossy purple, and black “highlights…(sounds wrong…outlines) there are red eyes that look like Skelcon is always in attack mode. I have a little bit of paint smudge over the eye on mine, but this adds to the figure! He looks like he has a scar or burn.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mer-Man and NE Skelcon.

He stands as well as Mer-Man, which is to say, he is lanky. I have a bit of a time getting him to stand independent of leaning on the wall.

This figure is in Skeletor blue. So kind of you can swap parts easily. The armor is in dark purple, almost black, and there are pops of glossy purple. The horned skull on the belt ties it together.

BUT, the paint on this figure is really plain compared to other skeleton warriors. From MASTERVERSE and other lines. And I am not sure it is from lack of application…it is color scheme. The SpartanNerd isn’t that great with colors…a problem that is getting worse the older I get. I don’t see the black straps on the armor right away…my eye gets lost in the forest and leaves the trees behind.

I do feel that the body could use some kind of “wash,” rather than being flat blue. Also, the chain mail on the armor could use some wash.

PICTURED: Left to right. MASTERVERSE Revelation Scare Glo, Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon, Mythic Legions Skeleton Legion Builder (with MOTUC Vikor cape, MASTERVERSE NE Battle Armor Skeletor, and Mythic Legions Demistros. All on the Extreme Sets Compound backdrop.

ACCESSORIES

The armor is well sculpted, but the best sculpts are on the head and the weapons. The bone motif is very strong, with a consistent yellowed, aged hue.

Attack the usurper! PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon and Super7 Ultimates! Black Falcon. You can see the bone paint job here in comparison to what is on the throne.

Once again, I have to complain about this shield. It is the same dumb shield we have had several times. This time even more boring because it is just flat dark gray. I sense some paint in the future. (It might snow on Wednesday and Thursday, so…). (It did not. And I did not paint.)

He really does come with a lot of accessories. He was the same price as New Eternia Evil-Lyn, who practically had no accessories. (I guess they spent the budget on this guy instead). These accessories are very useful and add a good bit to the rest of the collection.

PICTURED: Kitbash Conan the Barbarian fighting MASTERVERSE NE Skelcon. (Conan is Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Conan alternate Schwarzenegger head, Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell cape, GI Joe Classified Gnawgahyde necklace. Notice the comparison of the two shield here…Skelcon’s shield vs. the same kind of shield in Mythic Legions.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA SKELCON

Once again…Who?

I would have rather had Stratos, or even his sister. I would have rather had the more recognizable Eternian Guard…which I probably would have bought a few more of to army build.

The head sculpt is great, but most of the body feels so much like the other lanky figures, especially Mer-Man because of the three toed feet. But he doesn’t have that great paint that Mer-Man has, does he? BUT the accessories are well sculpted…among the best in MASTERVERSE.

He came with lots of accessories, and his articulation is very good with really no stupid problems. That knife sheath came off when I removed him from the blister, but it is designed to come off. Sometimes he is hard to get to stand, and he always feels lanky and leggy.

I am going to rate Skelcon a 3/5. He adds another skeleton to my collection, and one with a horned helmet no less. I like that Mattel is digging deep to give us a character like this…I just don’t know who he is. (I am looking it up after I publish this blog entry). But it is good to see Mattel bringing up Infinita again, remixing it into New Eternia, which has a story that I am not even sure is coherent.

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!