Category Archives: The Mouse King

No Data Centers in Spartanburg County-SpartanNerd Protest!

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PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Whiplash, Super7 Ultimates Battle of the Mounds Conan the Barbarian, Figura Obscura The Mouse King, Masterverse New Eternia Evil Lyn, Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat, Masterverse Battle Armor He-Man (kitbash) , and Masterverse New Eternia Snout Spout. All will be featured protesting in this entry. (If I have a posted link, you can click to see the review of the figure!)

The SpartanNerd hasn’t been one to protest historically. But when they are building a hyper-scale AI Data Center a mile from his house…a data center that the community didn’t approve of and didn’t want…but the county council allowed to pass in under the radar…here is a reason to protest. I have attended two of these outdoor walk-around-with-a-sign events and also a “town hall” that seemed to be lip service only…voices were not heard. I have found a real mix of political differences, etc. But none of us want this. It is truly bipartisan…actually multi-partisan when you talk to these people. Everyone is concerned about multiple problems that will come up. So with a little help from my friends…

He-Man and Battle Cat lead this protest at the Nerd Fortress.

NO DATA CENTER IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY

We didn’t ask for it or want it. The old “Kohler” plant…yes it has been a useless empty building for awhile, and that is bad. BUT permits to put a large AI Data Center here were all approved behind closed doors in county council meetings. They have not been transparent and are obviously receiving kickbacks. People did not know about it…and it seems to have been designed that way. They have clear-cut the trees all around the property, have tons of earth moving equipment there doing things…and other large equipment. Everyday an army of workers are there, including some that arrive in a retired school bus. And the police are out there directing traffic on Pine Street for this giant nuisance of an eyesore. One of my children asks a question…”Did they think about the wildlife in the nearby Croft State Park?” NOPE. It’s all about the money. (The SpartanChildren are actually adults now with VALID OPINIONS!)

COUNTY COUNCIL LIED

The Mouse King (I actually see more of a rat than a mouse) is reminding us about sins of COMMISSION and sins of OMMISSION. There is some of both going on here.

If you are not transparent to your constituents and your community, you are in fact lying. If you stand up and tell people it isn’t a data center, and behold…it is a data center…then you are an abject liar.

There is a feeling among the community members actively moving against this data center that the “elite” in Spartanburg don’t really care about us in the county. They are “detached” from it because they don’t live in the suburban/rural area we live in, and so they don’t even care about how bad it will be for our community.

AI IS EVIL

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan the Barbarian. Yelling like a crazy man. Because he’s pretty mad. (I wonder if the actual Govenator would be against this?)

AI…not to insult your intelligence, reader…but Artificial Intelligence is showing up everywhere. I have seen these tools and been told to use them at work. It is showing up in search results without me asking…in things like Microsoft Word and even WordPress that I write this blog on. But I am frankly a lot scared about it. It turns out that basically all of us are using it whether we agree with it or not. You can’t just “turn it off” if it is baked into something like Windows or MacOS. (Have you tried a Google search lately? It feeds you an AI answer before showing you the search results.)

These convenience issues aren’t the real issue in my opinion besides the fact that it is a “tool” that is everywhere. It is that AI “regurgitates” stuff that was actually created by humans. I work in the arts. When I studied for my Masters in Music Education, I took a class about experimental music. One of the things actually invented in the 1980s was a computer that had every measure of Mozart programmed into it. It could then create new music by Mozart. This was done for several other composers like Vivaldi also. As a part of the class, I played some fake Vivaldi and some real Vivaldi for my wife to see if she could tell which was real…she couldn’t…

Nowadays we have Johnny Cash singing Barbie Girl through the power of AI. Does anyone think He would be OK with that? I’m not. BUT…It is the future we have to think of. Are our children ever going to know what real rock, country, rap, gospel, or really any kind of music is? Something like Gorillaz or K-POP Demon Hunters is already a fictitious band. AI is just another step towards removing the soul from what used to be creative activities that were exclusively human.

One of my children has another contention with AI. It is PLAGIARISM. AI could listen to SpartanNerd’s album PREACH! And then someone else could virtually use my chops. I would never know!

KNOW MORE (No Data Centers)

Evil-Lyn reminds us that in order to have power, we have to know more. We need to be informed about how bad the AI data center will be for our community.

I haven’t heard a single positive thing about this data center. From the beginning of it happening to last weekend’s march. Do the people behind it not have anything positive to contribute? Do they know that the points I am about to make are TRUE?

Power consumption– It was said that the AI Data Center would only use 48 Megawatts. Last month the company applied for hundreds more.

Snout Spout and Brainy Smurf (on a vintage glass!) remind us that water is a finite resource.

Wasting water- The data center will have to be cooled using water. At one of the “town hall” meetings it was insisted that the data center would use a “closed system”…something like a car radiator uses. It was also said to use the same amount of water as a large Home Depot. This was a complete and utter lie! Already it is apparent that the area they are digging out, etc is much larger than a Home Depot or similar big box store.

This turns out to be another lie!

Noise pollution- There are going to be massive TURBINES running this data center! At first it was said to be something like 4 turbines. Now it is something like 14. Running 24/7. There is a train overpass about a mile up the road. I can hear it pretty clearly some days and times. I guess it depends on the weather, the train, and other variables. This data center is going to be pumping out noise pollution like that CONSTANTLY.

Light Pollution– I remember standing in my yard a couple of Thanksgivings ago with my brother discussing the world. It was a new moon or at least it seemed to be moonless…and the stars were so clear. You don’t have to get much closer to the city to lose that. But the data center is bringing the light pollution to us. I would like my pretty sky back, please!

What’s in a name- This company has changed the name of the project several times evidently. (It was called project Spero at one time). And these data centers are popping up all over the county, and one that the community fought has moved just down a little ways to Union county. Why do we need these things? Are they adding anything to anyone’s life? Someone might say “It is creating jobs.” Evidently not. Somewhere between 20 and 50 jobs. And the nature of what it is means that it might start with a larger number, but it will definitely streamline as AI becomes stronger so that there will be less workers needed to keep the servers and drives running. If there were good things for our communities, why aren’t the companies aggressively sharing that? I tell you why…they know it is bad. Did you know that they store spent nuclear fuel in South Carolina? It is like we aren’t valuable or something and politicians and companies just use us as a dumping ground. The brand new and sudden AI data center problem in South Carolina is the latest example.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Go to the protests. Write your congressmen or county council person. Or even better talk to them face-to-face. Show up at the marches. Go to the “town halls” and hope they aren’t just empty pageantry. VOTE! It looks like almost every County Council officeholder has voted for this thing to happen, and the community doesn’t want it. So we will vote them out! There’s also money pulling the strings if you look hard at the issues. I have made it a point not to name any real names (and I am using action figures!). But they are on Facebook. It is a large presence in the group “No AI Data Centers in Spartanburg County.” You should go there and get involved!

Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull

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See the video review HERE.

It makes me wonder…

Mostly I haven’t been too pleased with Mattel Creations “Club Grayskull” subscription. It is $10 a year with the promise of exclusive pre-release access of products. But most of this has been Origins figures that pretty much nostalgia fans aren’t that interested in. I mean, Geldor, and He-Ro. And even more obscure that I did get, Sharella. What Masterverse figures did they offer this year? Panthor, Moss Man, and … Dragstor? Well they offered Blade but even I, a club member, missed that one.

So they announced the club at the beginning of April last year, and behold they knew they would get most of their renewals in April this year IF THEY OFFERED SOMETHING GOOD. Well here he is. Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull.

There has been a few leaked Chronicles Scare Glow figures out there, but King Grayskull is the first official Chronicles release. So all members surely ordered one to you know, have, a Chronicles figure, but also King Grayskull is pretty cool of a character anyway. It is still a mystery if he will make an appearance in the film, but there seems to be a possibility, possibly played by Dolph Lundgren. It seems like an odd choice to undo the race-swap they gave him for the Kevin Smith show. (That was an excellent rendition, and has been my favorite King Grayskull…no I think favorite KING figure. And that is saying something for a guy who has a few figures of kings.)

So how did he turn out?

PACKAGING

This packaging is similar to other offerings from Mattel Creations in that it doesn’t have a blister bubble or window box. it is all artwork, and the figure is tied into the box using paper strings. A great way to give us non-retail figures in appealing packaging that we will want to keep using.

The front features a great illustration showing us the Pharaoh King Hiss, Lady Slither, Sqquueeeze, a REMCO DRAGON (or similar, cool!), the Turbodactyl, Battle Lion, and of course the king himself on top of some skull cave stuff channeling lightning between not only his power sword, but also the battle axe. And that is AWESOME! The Mattel guy at Toy Fair told Pixel Dan that the red Masters logo means movie focus, and the blue logo means cartoon. But this figure wasn’t revealed there, and it is a black Masters logo. Just interesting.

Some of the things I wondered going into this was how much this figure would share with the previous King Grayskull. This package gives is in illustrated form much of the same details. KG has the 200x asterisk symbol on his chest, and also sports a cape with comfy pauldrons. The previous King Grayskull had a problem with those pauldrons being soft goods…

The back shows us some of that photoshop artwork I am not too fond of. We can see King Graskull decked out with the shield in the side window, and in action with the battle axe on the other.

The side has another barbarian illustration. And it invites you to look inside to see any changes to the character.

As you open the box, you can see this same illustration covering the figure. But you now have a logo-free poster if you want. Also notice that you can see King Hiss. Flipping this over lets us have this scene also.

This is the Snake Lair. All of this about the Snake Men kind of burns, because in MASTERVERSE, the only Snake Man we got was Kobra Kahn, and he was a pitiful figure. Maybe this is all a hint that Snake Men will be coming out soon. But we have seen them repeatedly on Masterverse packaging, but have really none to show for it. (See Snout Spout’s packaging, as well as Terror Claws Skeletor)

FIGURE REVIEW

Here he is in the package

Right between Revelation King Grayskull and King Conan. On the YouTube version of this video, I actually play the Palace Theme on this piano, in case you were wondering. I wanted to do something different!

What do you get in the package?

  • Chronicles King Grayskull Figure
  • Power Sword
  • Battle Axe
  • Shield
  • pair of punching fists.
  • You could count the gauntlets on his wrists as well.

I am going to go about this two ways. First I want to know about this new format. How is he different than a Masterverse Figure? And then I want to talk about this specific figure an offer a rating at the end like I do always.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. I am showing them in the same basic pose. Notice the 200x sword I have is from the 200x Castle Grayskull set that belonged to my brother. (I never owned this myself, but only wound up with pieces of it somehow. I am not a fan of the design.)

When you compare the Revelation KG to the new Chronicles KG, the scale is very slightly smaller. Where the size difference makes its appearance is in the knees and elbows. It is like there might be a slight “shave” off all around the figure for this new scale. It is something you notice if you look for it, but you probably wouldn’t at a glance. But it is enough to make black King Grayskull feel just a little bit more beefy and muscular than caucasian King Grayskull. (Just so you know, I believe the OG Masters of the Universe Classics figure would be shorter but still appear more muscular than either of them. I don’t have that figure, so…)

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto riding Mythic Legions Boreus, and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull riding Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat. I title this one “Sunday Ride.” You can see a good size difference in these two, even though it isn’t as drastic when comparing to Revelation King Grayskull.

Revelation King Grayskull had stunted articulation at the knees, but the new knees on the Chronicles King Grayskull are perfect to hinge all the way back to where he can kick himself in the butt. The forearms on the new figure are also new and skinnier, and no longer is there a hole at the end for a fist to peg in…now the fore-arm is a peg, and the hand is a double-jointed wrist. Nice improvements! As a consequence, the new hands are even smaller than before and could get lost easier. (But I haven’t lost these…yet). So what I am saying, you kind of feel the difference in scale around the wrists, knees, and feet most of all.

The only soft goods on the new figure is the cape. The pauldrons are thankfully sculpted in plastic. And I thought this power harness might be 1-to-1 the same, but it is a new sculpt.

So what about this figure specifically. I like the new thing they are doing with his hair. The 200x version had these long viking ponytails coming down, like a barbarian Wendy’s mascot. The Revelations version had Native American-type of braids. This figure has a sloppy top-knot with long locks, and so it is different. The face sculpt is passable for He-Man, but obviously a different character. Dare I say more “American” looking (as opposed to European). I mean, I am trying to see Nick Galitzine here, but he doesn’t look like him. He also doesn’t look like Dolph Lundgren. I think he kind of resembles Vanilla Ice.

PICTURED: “Mammals vs. Reptiles.” MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress Teela, Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry X2, Figura Obscura Monkey King, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Whiplash, Masters of the Universe Origins Sharella, and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull.

His muscles are chiseled very nicely why the same ab-crunch that most MASTERVERSE figures have. He wears a girdle over his furry shorts making a more royal look. This new figure doesn’t have a thigh-cut, something I don’t think we will miss. I already mentioned the knees, but the elbows are also double-jointed. He has the furry boots you expect, with a leather strap look to them. The power harness has a ring on the back that allows the sword to be displayed outside of the cape. This cape is not removable without removing the harness as far as I can tell. (I haven’t done this). It does appear that the pauldrons have pegs that might make them swappable in the future. He doesn’t have trouble with articulation…he stands very well, but his lower legs…like at the boot cut is slightly loose, he can go pigeon toed pretty easily. Still I am giving him the full point for articulation. No real problems! He even has decent head articulation considering the sculpted hair that he has. And Mattel made a lot of that this figure can grab the sword while it is in the holster on his back…that no other figure could do that. But I think 1987 Movie He-Man might have something to say about that.

PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull and MASTERVERSE 1987 Movie He-Man. Contrary to what Mattel asserted at Toy Fair, King Grayskull is not the first figure that can grab the sword on his back.

ACCESSORIES

PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Origins Cartoon Collection Faker and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. Seriously, Faker’s sword is slightly bigger than King Grayskull’s, and this is wrong. KG’s sword does feel like it has more finesse somehow, though. Here is also a chance for you to compare an Origins figure to the new Chronicles figure.

We have the three main accessories that every He-Man needs. I even think they should include them with all the variants, but they don’t unless your company name is MONDO. I wondered if at least the shield would be the same as Revelation King Grayskull, but no it is a different sculpt. Larger and less cartoony, with gold highlights and fancy, barbaric texture.

The battle axe is pretty nice, with some color on its inner texture and the cap (don’t know what it is actually called) a circle with the 200x asterisk symbol.

But here is the big problem…maybe I should say small problem…This Power Sword is shorter than all of The Masterverse swords. It is a step backwards. Honestly, it almost feels like an Origins Power Sword as far as its size. Why did they do this to the most iconic weapon outside of a lightsaber?

For what it’s worth, I also think it is a missed opportunity to give us a new version of the 200x Power Sword.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHRONICLES KING GRAYSKULL

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor vs. Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. They are battling in Skeletor’s throne room (Also a New Eternia piece)

If I separate my feelings about differences in this and MASTERVERSE figures, it is a solid 5/5. He checks every box I ask for. Sculpt looks good, and paint also, if it isn’t conservative. He is better articulated than the MASTERVERSE KG. His accessories are what you expect, but the sword is too small. But he gets the Feels Point also…mostly because I generally like the character and also am excited to be one of the early reviewers.

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Anthophilees (Buzz-Off KO), Mythic Legions Ne’Ve’ (Review coming soon), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Panthor, and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. Also notice there are sculls scattered around, these are from the Mythic Legions skull head pack.

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

PICTURED: “Eternia Throne Room”. Mythic Legions Ne’ve’, Mythic Legions Kitbash “Gamecocks Knights” X2, Masters of the Universe Classics Sir Lazer Lot, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man, Masters of the Universe Classics Kitbash Battlefield Teela, and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. The throne is the Throne of Atlantis that goes with Super7 Ultimates! King Conan.

Mythic Legions Terpiculi- SpartanNerd Review

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To see the YouTube version of my review of this AMAZING FIGURE, click here!

Way back when the Necronominus Wave dropped, I saw a few figures that I really wanted. Maxillius and Belualyth were two, but also the Terpiculi. And I didn’t pick him up as soon as I saw him. I thought I must have missed him, but then the opportunity came to me to get him off the shelf.

Keep reading to see why he is the greatest skeleton in my collection!

PACKAGING

His packaging is the same packaging as most recent Mythic Legions. It is a big blister card window over a D&D style background featuring a demon and a dragon, with red and blue details and some fire. The back is the same that we saw with Belualyth and the Undead Legion Builder pack. But here is a picture anyway. You can see clearly everything in the package except for the oversized alternate hands hidden behind the Mythic Legions logo.

The cross sell shows Necronominus (the skeleton god who is flying in the center of the artwork,) Belualyth the Beastmaster, who was my 2025 figure of the year, the Terpiculi, and the undead legions builder. I have all of these except the over-the-top skeleton god. And in person he is really incredible, but he is also just a little bit “too much” for the SpartanNerd. The other characters in the artwork are Poxxus, Ilythia, and Arythyr. That I know all of these names means that I am out-nerding most people! I don’t know much about the lore of Mythic Legions, but I do know that these are the evil bosses.

There is a little bio on the side that says that this is truly a monster. If you read Belualyth’s bio, then you know that she led an army of these Terpiculi into battle. So this guy is a legion builder as well.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE

  • Terpiculi figure
  • Pair of angled swords
  • Bone or antler meat cleaver
  • Pair of small bird wings
  • tail
  • alternate head that doesn’t have horns
  • oversized alternate hands
  • regular alternate hands

I took it right out of the package and propped him up with the oversized arms. This is what you get right out of the box.

FIGURE REVIEW

I love how the colors match most of the other Mythic Legions skeletons. It is the best bone color…actually looking like old bones look in movies and such. Which I suppose represents real-life decay, bleaching, etc. Something else cool…like Maxillius the Harvester before him, he has “guts” molded in the ribcage.

This figure is basically a Modulok or Multibot kind of character, only based in skeletons, which is actually genius if you think about it. You can rearrange the parts in so many different ways…unlimited ways really if you are willing to combine multiple figures. Which for the SpartanNerd is an actual possibility. I wouldn’t mind owning more than one of these, and for that matter you can use these parts or the parts of other skeleton warriors to add to the fun of this figure.

I thought I might need the hairdryer, but I haven’t had to use it. To the contrary, the more I have messed with the figure, the more loose fitting the pegs are. Be careful with the tail. It is a bendy tail, and the vertebrae on it are angled by default. But if you are too rough with it no doubt your could break it. This already happened with one of the Ninian Infantry figures I have, where the tail separated from he top plug-in joint. I was able to get it back together, but it freaked me out enough so that I was extra cautious with The Mouse King and now with this Terpiculi.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Battle Armor He-Man and Skeletor, with MASTERVERSE Panthor and MOTUC Battle Cat. Does He-Man win this one? Seems he always finds a way.

And just as a default character, he is a walking battle machine. It is strange to only have three weapons for four arms. But he is so lanky and such that some of this is kicking, punching, and tail swipes.

The oversized arms. You can remove the chicken wings and the regular arms, and peg the oversized arms in where they were. Use the hornless head, and then you have a gorilla skeleton!

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Belualyth and the Terpiculi in an MTG “nightmare” configuration using Maxillius alien head.

These two photos represent a couple of nightmares. Above I have Maxillius default head put here, with the chicken wings for the arms, and the legs reverse jointed to make a chicken monster. Below I have the oversized arms and Maxillius’ blood wings halo thing.

A FANTASTIC UPGRADE

I already purchased the skeleton wings to use with my other warriors, but they are very natural for this figure.

PICTURED: Masterverse New Etheria Hordak, Revelation Scare Glow, Mythic Legions Maxxilius the Harvester, Belualyth’s chimera pet, several skull heads, and Mythic Legions Terpiculi on the worst flight stand you ever saw.

The bone wings are huge! Very impressive…there is really nothing like it. If you get the Terpiculi, you should definitely pay the extra $20 for the wings.

WHY IS THE TERPICULI THE GREATEST SKELETON FIGURE

Let’s compare the figures below. On the far left I have The Undead of Vikenfell, who is getting weaker and weaker and constantly has trouble standing. Maybe he (or she?) is too small and light for their own good. At the back we have Demistros, one of the first Mythic Legions skeletons I had, and a great boss for the skeleton tribe. I have MASTERVERSE New Eternia Viking Skeletor’s head swapped on, and you can see he really isn’t much of a skeleton warrior. Mostly a dark knight with an evil head. On the right I have the disrobed Maxillius the Harvester, who is basically a grim reaper. And he is the most anatomical of the skeletons and would be the greatest, but I broke his neck around October 2025 and have had to Gorilla Glue it a couple of times. I was able to swap his heads for this review without issue, thankfully. A big difference in the Terpiculi and Maxillius is the pelvis…Terpiculi has the regular 1.0 waist, while Maxillius has a properly designed pelvis. (There is a belt piece on the Terpiculi providing privacy for what looks like a diaper!). But that durability problem makes me worry with messing with Maxillius.

Terpiculi is the best because he feels like you need to mess with him…it is like he is inviting you to disassemble him and reassemble him in a different way. He is a Spooky Scary Skeletons figure, for sure!

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS TERPICULI

Sculpt- 1 point. Excellent work!

Paint- 1 point. Love the color!

Accessories- 1 point. This figure IS accessories basically. Plus there is a whole bone-wings add-on that is perfect!

Articulation- 1 point. I haven’t had to use a hairdryer. I want to say that he is getting looser and looser the more I mess with it. It hasn’t been enough of a problem to deduct a point…it isn’t a “stupid problem” yet.

Feels Point- Look at the picture below, and tell me if he gets the “Feels Point”. Of course he does! And even if a person isn’t into Mythic Legions specifically, but loves creepy monsters. Well the Terpiculi belongs in that monster fan’s collection. I can’t imagine a collector of horror figures would be unhappy with the Terpiculi!

THE SPARTANNERD RATES THE MYTHIC LEGIONS TERPICULI A 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder…SpartanNerd unboxing and review

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Note: Packaging photos on this review are from the day I recorded the YouTube video review.

I was gifted both Origins Cartoon Collection Catra and Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man, both excellent figures and my “jumping on” point for Mattel’s Origins line. Originally I thought I might collect the WWEternia figures, but then I didn’t. And then the Origins line proper, but I went for Masterverse, a scale and detail I still think is more my type. When the Turtles of Grayskull line was announced, it was just wacky enough that I thought I might get them all. But then I didn’t…opting for more Masterverse and Mythic Legions figures instead. And I pretty much just ignored it after that until I was gifted He-Man.

It felt awkward though, not to have any other figures from the line…especially bad guys. But then I saw Skele-Shredder, who was also on sale as a part of the end-of-the-year sale for Club Grayskull, and I picked this up along with Sharella.

Did I make a good choice?

PACKAGING

Just so you know…it is totally worth looking at the unboxing video.

This really blurs the line between playset and packaging. Kind of like the GI Joe Classified series Cold Slither set. Just the same, here are some shots of what is just in the shipper box. It wasn’t cellophane wrapped or anything…just covered in tissue paper.

Skele-Shredder is sitting on his throne in blister plastic. you can see his two display heads and his spikes. The “skull”comes up…it is it’s own separate sliding box top, and the door (which is a jaw) comes down.

The back…This box becomes a prison cell, making it into a dungeon!

Terrific packaging…the best I have seen in the Origins line. Granted I don’t have much, but really what could be better? There are mutagen ooze details all around it as well.

FIGURE REVIEW

Not only am I showing off what you get in the package, but also my collection of Dark Horse Turtles of Grayskull comics.

What do you get in the package?

  • Minicomic “Havoc is Afoot”
  • Skele-Shredder action figure
  • Two alternate heads
  • Bone ninja claws
  • Ninja Havoc bladed bo staff. (Not actually sure what it’s called.)
  • Throne
  • Foot Clan flag
  • Havoc flag

The word is that this is the final figure for the Turtles of Grayskull line, and that Mattel wanted to “go out with a bang.” They certainly did!

The figure is painted with the black, purple, and blue “evil” palette that we expect to see for Skeletor and Shredder, with some bony weapon details. You can remove the claws, but the bony shin guards are sculpted on to the boots.

There is a cowl with a soft-goods cape, but I had a problem upon opening my figure. The paint on his shoulder wasn’t dry! And so some of that paint has rubbed off on the underside of the collar…not a big deal. And some got on my finger. I have been doing this hobby for years and years…AND I also opened up practically all of my own children’s toys when they were little kids. I have never seen wet paint on an action figure.

Skele-Shredder has two peg holes on the back of his armor, but it isn’t clear what these are for. He didn’t come with any accessory to slot into those. I thought the flags might have some way, but it just isn’t so. (After thinking about it, it is to add wings from other figures that have been released).

The most notable thing about this actual figure is the options for a head. The stock head is a metal skull mask with a samurai crown, reminiscent of the band Slipknot. Another head is similar, but has a red crown and this is intended to be Shredder, while the other head is yellow with a green crown, intended to be Skeletor. I prefer the metal “stock” head over both of the others. I find it a problem that Skeletor’s head doesn’t have an articulated jaw. He has a permanent open mouth smile.

His articulation is exactly what you would expect…it is the same as Stealth Ninja He-Man and Cartoon Collection Faker. Here’s the list anyway: ball-joint head, rotating shoulders that are ball-on-a-peg, swivel wrists, waist twist, ball-on-peg legs, hinged knees, rotation at the boot cut, and rocker ankles.

“Our articulation is the same, and our parts are swappable. But that’s all we have in common!” PICTURED: Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man and Skele-Shredder, both from the Origins line.

The overall effect of the figure is a perfect combination of Skeletor and Shredder, exactly like his name implies.

ACCESSORIES

The throne. So this is a big draw, and one of the reasons I wanted to get the figure. This is a perfect combination of bony details and metal details. (The toys is made of plastic…references to metal and bone are referring to how the materials look). Most of the chair is made of metal, with a brass or gold outline and a large helmet sitting on top. (This helmet can also be an alternate head for the figure!). The rib cage behind the chair is made of metal blades, and these are all on a movable joint so that you can move them to fit your taste. The armrests of the chair are bone, and there are also two stands for the alternate hands or for storing the ninja spikes. The seat of the chair is sculpted like it is covered in fur, and there is a platform with peg holes for action figure feet beneath the chair.

There are two flags, and these peg in to octagonal holes on either side of the chair. The flag poles are cylindrical, so…(This is a puzzling design.). The only “problem” with this chair is that it is made of thin plastic. I had a hard time getting that helmet attached…I was afraid I would break something by applying too much pressure. Likewise the flags are also flimsy stuff.

For weapons, the claws are removable. These are bent, but don’t look too bad. The main weapon here is the combination ninja spear and Havoc staff. It looks like a cool asian medieval weapon, but with large green skull embedded. There is a mace sculpted to the bottom of the pole, giving it a second business end. Unfortunately, it is kind of loose in Skele-Shredder’s hands.

This box is by itself an awesome accessory. Who is throwing this away or mutilating it? I cut up a lot of packages lately to make backdrops, but not this one.

The Minicomic…here is a picture of the cover along with Sharella’s comic. The story…a follow up to Stealth-Ninja He-Man’s comic that kind of ends on a cliffhanger. An odd choice if indeed this is the end of the Turtles of Grayskull line. (You can find my review of Sharella here).

PHOTOS

“I already took out one robotic turtle, now it’s your turn!” PICTURED: Heatboys Donatello fighting Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder. He has already defeated Super7 Ultimates! Metal Head. I thought Grayskull and New York might as well be together…it already happened in Los Angeles! My review of Heatboys Donatello is very in-depth.

He looks so wacky. That’s why I love this line! And he is a great villain for just about anybody.

“Tonight I dine on Monkey King soup!” PICTURED: Figura Obscura Monkey King vs. Skele-Shredder. I said back when I reviewed the Monkey King that I thought he would work well with Ninja Turtles. But I wasn’t thinking about this.
“I should pay someone to invent robots to deal with your kind! Or maybe just bully them.” PICTURED: Figura Obscura Mouse King vs Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder. I don’t have a Master Splinter figure, but this can work. I expect a re-color of the Mouse King will be released that might be more Splinter-esque.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF TURTLES OF GRAYSKULL SKELE-SHREDDER

Skele-Shredder isn’t that recognizable. If you didn’t know his name…try it. Who is he?

He is heads above the other Origins figures I have, which aren’t many. (Cartoon Collection Prince Adam and Cringer, Faker, and Catra. Powers of Grayskull Sharella. Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man. These are all I have.). Cringer and Adam might beat him for the “feels” points in my grading system. BUT. I got him to be a villain for exposed toes He-Man. But if he was found at a flea market with no package…would you know who he is?

That package is terrific! The paint is still wet (I’m typing this three weeks after opening it). But he looks great fighting people that aren’t necessarily He-Man or TMNT. He has plenty of accessories and lots of display options. In fact, he is everything that Sharella is not as far as an action figure, and I awarded her only 4/5.

PICTURED: My new Origins and Vintage diorama has Skele-Shredder in the center between the good guys and the bad guys. (Not pictured, Sharella, who is too far over beside the armor-less Man-At-Arms…)

So I award Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

SpartanNerd- Action Figure Awards- The Best Figures of 2025

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I have a long-form video review HERE. You can find links to every figure reviewed on the SpartanNerd home page, or in the description of the YouTube video linked above.

I am only awarding to figures that I got in 2025. This isn’t necessarily figures that came out in 2025, but that happens to be the case for some of these. The featured image shows Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Neither were the winners of 2025, I just wanted to use their picture!

GI JOE CLASSIFIED FIGURE OF THE YEAR

I decided that Panthor and Gnawgahyde were candidates. But it isn’t really fair to put Panthor in the pool…I might feel differently also if he was flocked. Gnawgahyde on the other hand is incredible, with that true-to-life accurate sniper rifle and his two pets, Porkbelly and Yobbo. That’s why Gnawgahyde is the GI Joe Classified Figure of the year.

MASTERVERSE FIGURE OF THE YEAR

New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor is the SpartanNerd MASTERVERSE Figure of the Year. Mattel learned their lesson from the two Battle Armor He-Man figures that we received already…they were lackluster and apparently haven’t sold very well. Skeletor is the opposite of that in every way. A true update, giving him the best axe in MASTERVERSE, a removable helmet, and spikes on his shoulders. He has a chain-mail piece sculpted on his cranium, and also hip armor. You can swap his chest plate quickly and easily…another improvement on the other two. I really considered Roboto, but for my 2025 tastes, I like barbarians and skeletons more than robots (does that make sense?).

LADIES CATEGORY FIGURE OF THE YEAR

I did a ladies category this year, and New Eternia Evil-Lyn was a leading candidate. But she didn’t win. I do love her paint and sculpt. Other nominees were GI Joe Classified Shooter, New Eternia Teela, and the ladies category winner of the year (keep reading!). The lack of paint on Shooter’s weapons brought her down, and the “eye roll” of Teela is what knocked her out. (The others in my comic here are Movie Evil-Lyn and Revlation Evil-Lyn, both acquisitions from previous years)
I used an app called Comic Life to make these comics.
Skeletor’s Throne has three different colors of fire in its LED set. I liked the green for the Snake Mountain throne room the best.
Belualyth the Beastmaster is the Mythic Legions figure of the year. Incredible sculpting and paint details, plus a skeletal snake, vulture, and chimera, which I think is a cow and a big cat crossed with a snake. She is my kind of character! I always play black in Magic the Gathering, I have a collection of skeleton action figures, and this year I also picked up a lot of ladies. (action figure ladies…). That’s why Belualyth is also the ladies category winner of the year.
My mom gave me that miniature Lowe’s bucket. Remember Robbies Ribs from the 1987 Masters of the Universe Movie?
If you don’t know Carolina Mustard-style Barbecue, you should look that up. Even better, try some!

So there you have it!

SPARTANNERD FIGURE OF THE YEAR!

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! What was your greatest action figure of the year?

FIGURA OBSCURA The Mouse King- SpartanNerd Review

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Check out the video version of this review here.

NOTE: There is a secret item in this box that I review here. I placed that part of the review at the very bottom after the rating to prevent anyone from getting this spoiled.

This is my third item from this Four Horsemen Studios line after Figura Obscura Father Christmas, and Figura Obscura Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King. The FH just keep cranking out the hits. I thought for sure we would get a Ghost of Christmas Present, which would probably be an Ogre sized Santa. BUT…two years ago when the Father Christmas just came out, I’m pretty sure I heard Eric Treadaway saying something about the Mouse King. Looks like that came true!

I got an e-mail, of course, that featured some Christmas ornaments and presents on Black Friday. I mentioned it to the Spartan Wife. I spoke with the kids about it. I wondered what it would be, and would I get it. I passed on the Ghost of Christmas Past last year. She’s a pretty figure, and very Christmas. But there just isn’t much use for her in my collection in any alternate way besides some kind of bride. She is an unnaturally pale female under that dress, so I don’t have any further use for her parts. (Turns out the FH re-used the body for a figure of Nymph/Churl that hasn’t been released yet. This mixes parts of Ghost of Christmas Past with parts of Belualyth.)

But when I saw the Mouse King, I knew I had to get it. And it was a small window. In fact, the “All In” Package, that I got for an additional $15 that contains a coffee cup, a Christmas card, and a Fig-pin did sell out by 10:30. So I made the best call.

It’s true I have seen the Nutcracker ballet as well as experienced this as concert music several times. But I am not a Nutcracker Super fan. I like it OK, but Ballet isn’t my jam. I usually use the Sugar Plum Fairies theme when I play NES Tetris. And truly, besides some Trans Siberian Orchestra, that is my fandom for this work. Romantic Era Russian Nationalist classical music isn’t really my preference. (I say Beethoven was the greatest, you know 30-50 years earlier and German). But this figure…the presentation of the Mouse King as a seven-headed villain. This was too good to pass up.

I unboxed this on film, so please watch the video to see the rundown of this terrific box. But here are some more details.

PACKAGING

The packaging works very similar to what we got with Father Christmas and The Monkey King. There is an enclosing “book” capping over the box. This makes for collector friendly packaging and adds worth the the figure for displaying.

The front outside image on the capper gives us a good comic image of the figure, with gold foil details. As you wrap around the box you can see a whole Christmas setting where the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker would take place.

The capper has a backdrop on the other side, giving us a scene inside a grandfather clock. Apparently the Mouse King’s lair. He has a little throne made from a compact mirror and some makeup items. There are books, some kind of snake or cat skull, giving us some context of some of the king’s past victories maybe, and an oil lamp.

Removing the capper from the box reveals the inside box.

On the inside box you have a picture of the Nutcracker and some lady I don’t remember. I’m pretty sure she isn’t the girl having the dream, as that is a child. So I don’t know who this is. One thing about the Four Horsemen showing us this picture…it is taking away some of the mystery of how they might design a Nutcracker to pit against the Mouse King in the future. On the other hand, Nutcrackers are easy to come by, especially in this size and scale, while Mouse Kings are usually missing in action. (Other fantasy villains for Christmas, right? Krampus. The Grinch. Jack Skellington.)

The back has information about the Mouse King. I haven’t read it, I confess. (There is also a booklet inside that I only glanced at. It appears to be a re-telling of the Nutcracker story.

One more thing…

Behind the figure we have yet another backdrop piece which is a clock face, featuring two swans. I don’t know the significance of these two swans, but it made me think of the Swan theatre or something like that Wagner was famous for putting on performances for King Ludwig (Is my history right about this? And if so, does it have anything to do with the Nutcracker?). I already imagine I will use this to remake some Earl Norem photos from the Golden Book “Time Trouble.”

Normally I talk about how you can see the figure inside. Nope. Not this time. They put opaque plastic over the figure so you can’t see him in the blister. Maybe the FH studios thought this one might just be too creepy to see on a store shelf?

FIGURE REVIEW.

What do we get in the package? It is a double blister, and this feels like more stuff than either Father Christmas or Monkey King. Like, more plastic and paint straight up. It weighs more.

  • The Mouse King Figure
  • Alternate neck
  • Alternate frilled collar
  • Pair of alternate clawing hands
  • a scepter
  • a sword
  • a reversible cape
  • a flight stand (what?)
  • and a mystery trash bag. (See the end of the blog entry to know what you get here. NO SPOILERS!)

How does the Mouse King work

I was very cautious this time. I have had a recent spat of problems with Mythic Legions figures. The Monkey King had a lot of problems. Last month, though, I broke Maxillius the Harvesters neck. There has been another recent Cosmic Legion that I will be blogging about soon…and so…I didn’t take any chances. I got the hairdryer out first before I removed any parts.. And thankfully nothing has broken or been too difficult to manage.

He has all of the articulation you expect, but this time he has a huge harness with seven mouse heads on it. Five of these heads are the same. There is one savage rat head with bared teeth, and then there is the king head with a crown of seven bones. This piece by itself weighs as much as the rest of the figure. Luckily, they gave him big feet, but this time with reversed knees, which are anatomically true for a rat I’m pretty sure, but the more I pose him and mess with him, the looser this has become. He also has a tail that works exactly like the Monkey King’s tail as well as the Ninian Infantry tail. In other words…it is bendy and very posable, BUT it doesn’t want to stay in the hole. It did better after I hairdryered it, but it still isn’t reliable. Which is a shame because like real rats, that tail would help him balance.

But…stop SpartanNerd. You are getting ahead of yourself! This sculpt is AMAZING! Of course it is the Four Horsemen Studios work. There are so many details here that just show tremendous love for the subject here, and so much care for their fans. This harness has a gruesome SPINE on the back, and tipped with a violent spike. Where have we seen this before? This is a throwback design from Todd McFarlane’s Spawn…the Violator and similar characters had these spikes.

The Mouse King and the Monkey King do battle at the good-guys office Christmas party. You can see the harness very well, with the five regular heads and the two other heads: Savage and King. Also, you can see how large the cape is. AND the tail. You can find reviews of most figures pictured on the SpartanNerd blog and the SpartanNerd YouTube page.
PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Beast Man and Mythic Legions Belualyth. Both are beast masters who control animals.

You can easily remove the harness like any other Mythic Legions head, and this gives you the option to make just a generic mouse or rat warrior. And so…the Mouse King can be used all year long, not only just at Christmas! (Well…a Mouse King can be used anyway all year I suppose.)

You can see in the photo above, I believe the only re-used parts on this figure is the chain mail loin cloth. Maybe the sword is also re-used from a previous figure. Maybe the hands are the same as the Monkey King’s?

Something new to point out about the torso. This figure has new butterfly joints in his shoulders, giving us the ability to make even more dynamic poses with our Mythic Legions. The Mouse King is the first, but evidently all new releases going forward will have this! I have found them to be really tight, and was sure to use the hairdryer. But I had no problems.

PICTURED: Figuara Obscura The Mouse King and Super7 Ultimates! King Conan. Both are doing battle to see who the real king is. If you look close, you can see the Mouse King has a stripe of blood on his face. And King Conan’s gigantic sword is dripping with blood.

Maybe they can just get along.

PICTURED: Figura Obscura Mouse King and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.

You can reverse the cape also, which gives us a different look. I find that in the photo above, some kind of nerve for “The Secret of NIMH”, a movie from the 80’s/

SPARTANNERD RATING OF FIGURA OBSCURA THE MOUSE KING

He earns a 5/5 hands down. Definitely one of the greatest figures of the year!

Here is my metric.

  • A point for sculpt
  • A point for paint
  • A point for articulation, especially with no stupid problems. (OK. The tail)
  • A point for accessories
  • A point for what he stands for as a unique action figure

No QC problems this time. AMEN! says Reverend SpartanNerd. (The hair dryer really improves the tail). And you can use this figure year round as a generic rat warrior creature.

Do I wish anything was different? Well, I think they will offer this in a different color some time in the future, probably brown. You might be able to do an homage to Master Splinter in this way. I also wish the seven-headed harness could be used on other figures. The way they did it, they sculpted the frilly collar onto the harness. Additionally, there is a small piece of mouse neck on every hole of the harness. So this head really only can be used for the Mouse King. And one more thing…mind you that these are not complaints…only some things that could improve it even more. We could have been given a mouse rear end. What I mean is…a regular rat body that you could put a head on. Surely in some future we will have this, but if we were given even only one, that would have been something else awesome.

But the Mouse King is awesome as he is! 5/5!

NOW IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET ACCESSORY…KEEP SCROLLING. OTHERWISE

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YOU WERE WARNED!

A Nutcracker head! Here I have placed it on the Kitbash Bros. Gamecocks Knight. There is no Nutcracker body, so you can put him on whoever you want. You could also have it as a severed head beside the Mouse King, which was my first instinct. This head looks battle scarred and beaten, with an eye missing and just some busted up details!

Just something else that pushes this figure over the top! Thanks for reading! Like, subscribe, comment…check out my YouTube channel! Merry Christmas!