Tag Archives: 200x

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!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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

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

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

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

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

PACKAGING

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

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

Let’s see the other side.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE

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

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

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

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

FIGURE REVIEW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Her face. Who is this?

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn

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

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA EVIL-LYN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto-SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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Fisto…Total FOMO.

I didn’t have Fisto as a kid. BUT, the character has always resonated with me. A guy with a huge prosthetic fist. That is a cool power! And that it is a metal tank of a weapon.

Back to the FOMO. When they released the Masters of the Universe Classics version, he was one of the first that you had to order online only, and like no one got him. Matty Collector crashed, and just like that. Bots or something snatched them all up when the site came back online, and just like that, all of them were sold.

The MOTUC version was REALLY COOL. He looked awesome, with some 200x flare, which was unusual for the time in the life of the MOTUC line, and also he came with this huge Final Fantasy VII kind of sword….Just an extra incredible detail. And I think that sword was designed for 200x but didn’t ship or something?

And so after-market MOTUC Fisto is a very high priced toy. Then they came out with a kind of lame version for Masterverse Revelation. What a letdown.

When they showed off this new Fisto, I was shocked and completely knew I would be getting it. No regrets this time.

Or are there? Keep reading, Hub City Geeks!

PACKAGING

Fisto comes in this awesome package, this time showing off some cartoon baddies not often seen. These are the orcs from the mini comic “Masks of Power,” where these little monster guys put on the masks and turn into big monsters. This mini comic was the pack-in with Fisto, and so it is a nice homage on the box. It would be TOTALLY AWESOME if they gave us these orcs sometime in the future. And why not? They are doing Skelcons.

The sides also show some of this action, with one panel featuring He-Man throwing one of the bad guys. There are also some notable flying enemies.

The back of course features a photoshop of the toy.

It is a cool addition to the story that he has bonded with the “mystical Iron Fist” in his bio. The three images on the cross sell art…I am passing on Flying Fists He-Man. Never been a fan. And this is the same bad face treatment as Thunder Punch He-Man had. Big Bad Toy Store has charged me for Evil-Lyn, but she hasn’t shipped yet. I expect she might be here before the end of the week. (What is it with me and Evil-Lyn? This will be number 3.)

One more thing. Inside the package is a little bag for his accessories, and I think this is the first time we have this specific style of baggie.

It features the modern font for Masters of the Universe in black over blue.

FISTO FIGURE REVIEW

Here’s what you get in the box

  • Fisto figure
  • Alternate vintage-style head
  • Alternate left hand (fist)
  • Curved sword (cutless?)
  • Battle hammer

The head that comes on him out of the box is an older, more wizened portrait with gray details on his beard, especially coming down from the “soul patch” to the goatee. There is also a mask that reminds me of something from She-Ra. That mask is not removable. He also has a top-knot ponytail.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Fisto.

The second head is the classic Fisto portrait. Younger and what you expect.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress, New Eternia Fisto, and their daughter Teela (this is a mash-up Teela) I am following the 200x story here, where Fisto and Sorceress are deadbeat parents and Man-At-Arms has to raise her.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto rides on Mythic Legions Boreus. It just seems right to have Fisto ride on a horse. This is because he is often pictured riding Stridor, who we don’t have a proper MASTERVERSE version of yet.

This arm is also what is different. Fisto not only has a metal fist, but now for New Eternia has a whole robotic arm. This reminds me of the whole “techno-virus” story angle from the pre-ternia mini comics and more recently from the Revolution cartoon. In other words, watch out. Perhaps Fisto can be easily controlled by the likes of Motherboard and Skeletek.

ACCESSORIES

This is a character where the accessories and the figure kind of run together. The battle hammer has modular business ends. That spike looks like it could do some damage, or at least bust up some ice. The other “dome” end is similar to Man-At-Arms weapon. Now these two pieces can be swapped out. You could just have half a hammer, or you could remove Fisto’s metal fist and swap it with one of the hammer heads.

The other accessory is the purple “cutless.” Not a giant buster sword. BOO! This was a missed opportunity, Mattel! As a weapon on its own without that context, it is just fine. I think it might be a copy of the one that comes with New Eternia Jitsu, (which I don’t have…Maybe I should get?)

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF NEW ETERNIA FISTO

The sculpt looks good. The paint looks great, with two heads for different looks taking that piece beyond the expected. I DO think the fist might be just a little bit too small (Beast Man, Snout Spout, and Ram Man have similar sized hands.) The accessories are fine even though I wish it came with an anime sword…but this can’t figure in to the rating. It is novel that you can swap the hammer heads with the fist, and as a bonus, Trap Jaw’s parts (and Roboto’s?) can also go with Fisto. And already the pirate hook looks cool, if just a little bit rustier of a finish.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto and Trap Jaw

And also importantly, he represents another good guy to go with the inferior force that the SpartanNerd has. (Still missing, Stratos, Buzz-Off, Extendar, Rio Blast, Roboto, Moss Man, Prince Adam, King Randor, and Queen Marlena. Yes, some of these exist but not in a proper form. OK, Zoar also.) As a contrast, I have every important bad guy represented except for Modulok and Cobra Kahn. OK, Screech. The Snake Men should be coming out soon in MASTERVERSE, at least there have been hints.

So with great sculpt, paint, accessories, no problems along the QC area or with articulation, and that he represents something special to the SpartanNerd, he gets a 5/5. We start the new year off with a bang of a punch.

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Valeria (Spirit), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck, and Fisto. We all know that Mekaneck had it coming…

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! Also check out the SpartanNerd’s new video content on YouTube.

SpartanNerd Blog- Best (and worst) of 2024

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

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

FIGURA OBSCURA Father Christmas (review link)

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

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

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

Super7 ULTIMATES! King Conan (review link)

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout (review link)

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck (review link)

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

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

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

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor’s Throne (review link)

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

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

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Sy-Clone

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

MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man (review link)

Ugh.

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

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia SY-CLONE unboxing and review

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I picked up New Eternia Sy-Clone at the end of July at Target in Greer, SC. It was a new display, that had Sy-Clone and Thunder Punch He-Man, and maybe Emperor Hordak and Leech. I already had Thunder Punch, and I am waiting on a better Hordak. Never been a fan of Leech. Sy-Clone is kind of a B-List character, but there have been recent comics of him. I figured he might get snatched up.

I remember having this guy as a child. He had a little dial on the back in his waistband that you would turn it it would make his whole torso spin. I remember getting a little blister on my thumb because of that!

Another thing I enjoyed about the vintage figure was the lenticular sticker on his chest that showed a star system. The blue and yellow wacky design plus the star system and the “human tornado” feature made him extra fun.

The front package gives us a view of the figure like all recent MASTERVERSE figures. This is a window box where you can see the figure inside and maybe an accessory. Here we see Sy-Clone with his yellow shield. There is also artwork of him wearing a red mask, and those planets from the old sticker floating behind him.

The back of the package shows a photoshop of the figure in action. We also get panel views of him wearing the mask, using the shield, and using his energy effects. Also a little selfie pic in the circle by his bio…which is minimal, by the way.

There is some art on the sides also. All of this art is excellent. I just wish they wouldn’t do that “this is a photo of the toy” art on the back of the box. They should return to the full-on portraits like so many of the earlier MASTERVERSE figures had.

You might have to click these pictures to see the full art. One shows a Skel-con, which is an upcoming army builder figure, and the other depicts Sy-Clone looking like a menace. We also see the Fright Fighter, and also another spinning Gar warrior.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX

Here we go…

  • Sy-Clone figure.
  • Yellow translucent shield
  • Alternate fists.
  • Red energy effects
  • RED MASK….WAIT-A-MINUTE!!!!!!!

Let’s check the contents next to the content list….

NOPE. NO RED MASK!!!!!

I looked and looked at the box. Maybe it was stuck in there? NOPE. I checked the floor of my kitchen to see if I might have dropped it. NOPE. It just wasn’t in the box. SIGH.

So I called up Mattel quality control, right…

OK. Do you know what you see on their website? Every kind of product except for anything Masters of the Universe. No Origins. No MASTERVERSE. NOPE! Fisher Price has a huge quality control/technical support page, which makes sense. Also Power Wheels. There are pages that address pieces of missing clothes from Barbies. There are pages about Hot Wheels sets. Not a single thing about Masters.

So I used the chatbot feature and rang up the Hot Wheels page. I figured getting someone to address my problem might not be that hard. I was given a number to call.

I had to find some numbers. One was on the bottom of the package, and the other was on the foot of the figure. This one was extra hard for me to see…I used the magnifier on my cell phone.

Only to be told they could not send me the red mask in the mail. They could not send me a replacement Sy-Clone either. They offered Mekanek. (I already owned Mekanek…I had bought him in June). And so…I accepted this. I wanted to add more pieces to his neck feature anyway.

But not having this mask takes some of the “oomph” out of the “New Eternia” branding. Without it, this might as well be strictly worse than the Masters of the Universe Classics version. The mask was something that made this unique. And I got shortchanged.

ACCESSORIES

The accessories that he DID come with are OK. I do wish the shield was bigger. The red energy effects are cool, and they can be placed on the shield to give it a spinning illusion, or on his wrists to emulate (kind of ) the vintage action feature.

ARTICULATION

He moves just fine. DANG IT! I WANT THE RED MASK!

One other complaint. Instead of the lenticular sticker, we have a clear bubble with a sticker that is NOT LENTICULAR behind it. This doesn’t light up or anything.

Speaking of Lenticular stickers…we rarely see these anymore. Have they gone the way of the buffalo?

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA SY-CLONE

“F.” No mask. No satisfaction. No lenticular sticker…no fun. No weapons besides a shield…and that is underwhelming too. The 200x and MOTUC version had this big ring that fit on his back. No ring here.

I kept putting this review off for a reason. I don’t like writing negative reviews. But with MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man and now Sy-Clone, that’s two in a row.

This sculpt is OK. I appreciate the fins. The paint is maybe more matte than I remember the vintage one being, but perhaps my memory fails me. His face sculpt and paint makes him appear menacing.

It seems to me they could have pulled the original action feature off. Maybe not with a gear, but with a looser torso-to-waist joint.

I rate New Eternia Sy-Clone at 1/5. Too many issues that could be improved, but probably won’t be. Sy-Clone might get another release in a future. Maybe Mondo will make a 200x version that is amazing.

But at least now I can give Mekanek more of a 200x vibe!

I rate MASTERVERSE New Eternia Sy-Clone at 1/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

SSKUR’GE (Cosmic Legions Whiplash Tribute figure)

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Whiplash is the only villain in modern form for Masters of the Universe that I feel I am really missing, besides maybe Modulok and Screech. That MASTERVERSE figures are very affordable and generally excellent, and plentiful unlike the superior Masters of the Universe Classics figures has allowed me to have a goal and complete that goal. Reclaim all of the figures I had as a kid. So to me Webstor isn’t important. Jitsu and Ninjor, not important. I didn’t have these. I like the Evil Horde, and will get some of them, but I don’t have the same connection to them as I do Skeletor’s friends. I’m ready for them to release some MASTERVERSE Snake Men. There are also a lot of holes to fill in the Heroic slot for me.

The MASTERVERSE Whiplash figure Mattel has put out just isn’t that great. I haven’t seen it in person, but the pictures I have seen of it just don’t do it for me. Like most MASTERVERSE figures he is too lanky, and I believe Whiplash should be bulkier if anything. The head seems too small and kind of wrong. And the weapons and stuff seem off too. The secondary market price is around $40, and I just figure eventually they will come out with a better one. (I have seen a sealed Classics Whiplash for $200. PASS!)

But then there is this…I saw it at Toy Federation in Greer, SC. (Maybe that is more like Taylors or Simpsonville?). (Excellent store. I can spend hours in there and would if I lived closer!)

So this is SSKUR’GE. A Cosmic Legions figure (and my first one!). In case you didn’t figure out from the context clues, Cosmic Legions is the science fiction version of Mythic Legions. You can see a cross sell from the back of the packaging below.

You can see that there are some other Masters of the Universe tributes in this line. Slush Head and Man-E-Faces.
Because this is my first Cosmic Legions figure, I wanted to show off the packaging a little more. Check out the font of SSKUR’GE’s name below.

This little story lets us know that SSKUR’GE is a bounty hunter, and as I read this and the story online about him, I get the feeling that he is kind of like The Skuxxoid from The Transformers.

Outpost Zaxxius is apparently the name of the set that SSKUR’GE was released in.

So what the Four Horsemen studios are doing is kind of one-upping Mattel. They have their own IP, but are doing their figures in tribute colors to the Masters of the Universe. Case in point, I ordered Anthophilees immediately when I saw him. (Maybe get him by Christmas next year. (Sigh.). Anthophilees is the strongest example of them all (Buzz-Off tribute), but here SSKUR’GE is very strong in the Whiplash hole. He really only has one weakness…neither head looks like Whiplash.

(If you want to see another example I have of the Four Horsemen tributing a figure, check out my review of Demistros, the Skeletor tribute.)

When you get him out of the box, this is what you get. You have to attach the tail…

So to accomplish this, you have to take your brand new $75 giant figure and separate the torso from the waist. This was not easy. And then you have some soft goods for furry shorts (not furry shorts), which complicates getting it back together correctly. I am never removing this tail again, or swapping the parts of this figure, so at least I won’t have to do it again. (In case you don’t know, Mythic Legions and Cosmic Legions are entirely parts swappable in their own scale. The scale of this figure is Ogre scale.) I made good use of the hair dryer.

If you watch these little turntable clips, you can hear my birds chirping in the background!

Here I am showing you the figure assembled and everything you get in the box, and also including the inside of the box as the diorama. (He is standing on the box for Skeletor’s Throne)

In the box, you get

  • SSKUR’GE figure, who is “ogre scale” and of the apparently new “dragon” buck.
  • Two heads, one dragon “default” and the other alien.
  • Four alternate hands, two of which are fists
  • A large spear with a mace head
  • A scythe and trident intended to combine into one weapon.

THE SCULPT

The Four Horsemen are just the gold standard. That’s it. They have built these lines on this quality pop-art form. Think about it, did you need Mythic Legions or Cosmic Legions in your life until you saw them? There is no cartoon or comic book. No video game. Just the toys. They have created a line of generic fantasy that is positively KILLING IT. They made it for the Elden Ring fans and Dungeons and Dragons crowd. They made it so it goes with Masters of the Universe, or in this case also Star Wars or Transformers.

We have seen elements of this sculpt before in MOTUC Draego Man. I don’t have that figure any more, but I went back and looked at some pictures. They have truly advanced their ideas. Draego Man as a figure appears to be much stiffer and have less character. You don’t see the joints right off like you did in the old MOTUC days, and that has something to do with it.Here SSKUR’GE (I really like typing that name) has similar scales and toothy, horned elements. (This exact same sculpt with different paint is available as Mythic Legions Araccagor.)

I don’t know if you can tell, but I don’t care too much for that alien head. To me it looks like some kind of sad duck. The reason I almost punted on this figure is that neither head really looks like Whiplash…But…

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre, armed with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom’s gold axe. And SSKUR’GE armed with the scythe and trident spear.
PICTURED: Same as above, but this time Balthor is throwing a Skeleton Legion Builder figure at SSKUR’GE, who is ready to to use the Whiplash tail. Notice the plugs on the back of the harness…I haven’t removed it, but likely one day we will get some wings.

PAINT

(Continued from …But…). The green and blue paint apps on this just overrides the weakness of the head sculpt when you put him with the other MASTERVERSE villains.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Two-Bad and Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE. Don’t these two just “seem” to go together?

The green is intentially two-tone Whiplash colored. The lighter green highlights his face and underside parts like hands, and the darker represents armor on his back. Not only do I get Whiplash vibes, but also Killer Croc vibes.

The armor pieces like the bracers and the waist pieces have a metallic sheen that I really like. That soft goods loin cloth is a kind of felt with fancy stripes. I can’t tell if the metal ring on his back is actually metal or plastic, but it is painted in the same color as the shiny parts of green on the harness. There is a pop of gold on his belt.

ACCESSORIES

Oh boy. Here is a weak part.

So the long pole mace that he comes with has the same handle as the weapon that came with my other ogre scale figure. Can’t the Horsemen give us something different? This time it is painted in gold or brass. And what even is a mace like this?

The other two weapons are designed to fit together in tribute to what Whiplash came with in the 200x line. The problem is, the handles are for a different scale of a figure.

PICTURED: Comparison Time! I don’t’ have a vintage Whiplash, but I picked up a loose 200x Whiplash the day before I decided to go back to Toy Federation. To me, everything is similar except the head sculpt.
PICTURED: SSKUR’GE fights against a Legion Builder gold knight (review coming soon) and also Mythic Legions Sir Godfrey (I think I have the name correct.) My point is that the trident and scythe don’t fit on the other pole.

But wait…there’s more…(facepalm)

These weapon pieces would be better if they could fit together on the pole pieces that came with the mace. But they don’t. I tried jamming them together…it just wasn’t really meant to happen. And it would be far cooler if it would work.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LEGIONS SSKUR’GE

I’ve said it before and want to re-iterate. As an adult collector, I have a job. Sometimes I have two. I have real life responsibilities, and this side hobby is pure escapism. It is escapism from the constant bad news. The constant political news. The constant culture wars. Getting this was an alternative to buying new Magic the Gathering cards, or a new video game, or going out to eat somewhere, or going to the movies. The nostalgia factor here is a key part of it. But also, like I said above, the Four Horsemen have created things that you didn’t know you wanted until you saw it. Kind of like Steve Jobs/Apple did with the iPad I am typing on right now. I happened to be going through the area where the Toy Federation is two days in a row. I walked around with the box on the first day, but then bought the 200x version instead. When I went home, it was nagging at me. So the next day when I was in town I went ahead and grabbed it.

SSKUR’GE here checks every box. Can I chalk up the head sculpt not being like Whiplash as a weakness? Not for this product. Both head sculpt options are sculpted and painted terrifically, just neither looks like Whiplash, which at a certain point the Horsemen probably aren’t allowed to do anyway.

I do think the accessories are the weakest point, and believe the Horsemen could have given us a proper scaled trident but cut the corners here. On the other hand, both parts of the weapon have good paint. Still not sure how practical a mace on a long pole would be. But it does look cool, and will be modular with other weapons in ogre scale for the line. And it isn’t like he can’t hold the trident…it is very loose. But this weapon is in scale for the other Mythic Legions that I have so it has additional use.

I couldn’t be happier with this figure. It is one of the best that I purchased over the summer. 5/5. I MIGHT look into getting a proper Whiplash head sculpt on the customizers market. Or maybe I will wait and see if Mattel comes out with a better MASTERVERSE Whiplash. But if they do, it won’t be as awesome as SSKUR’GE. And when assembled with all the bad guys, he really completes the picture.

My “bad guy” collection. Everyone’s here (Except Modulok and Screech). One Day I might update this to be a better pic with a proper diorama backdrop.

So SpartanNerd’s rating of Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE Whiplash is 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, oh Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!