MASTERVERSE Revlations Evil-Lyn

Many years ago, at about 5th-6th grade (I’m on the older side, so I might have been 11 turning 12,) I got some of the final Masters of the Universe Toys I would ever have for Christmas. These were Tyrantisaurus, Rio Blast, Extendar, and Evil Lyn. So I took Tyrantisaurus and Evil Lyn with me to my grandma’s party, where I was promptly made fun of. (That’s a doll! You have a girls toy with a purple dinosaur!) Didn’t matter to me. I loved those toys! 

I haven’t owned an Evil Lyn since, (if you disregard the many MEGA ones I have.) So I didn’t even feel bad about picking up two at the same time. I got MASTERVERSE Movie inspired Evil Lyn, and MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn. (See the review of Movie Evil Lyn Here.)

Revelation Evil-Lyn came in this basic style of packaging that all of the first wave of MASTERVERSE figures used. You can see everything you get clearly. Unlike other figures I have opened in the line, this one had a “double blister”. And if I was keeping it MIB that would have been very nice. The top images, you can see that my crop tool hasn’t been working right, but you get the essence of the rest of the packaging. There is a nice artwork of Evil-Lyn on the side. I heard somewhere that Eamon O’Donahue was doing this artwork? I don’t think there has been a piece of MASTERVERSE artwork that I haven’t liked. I might not care for some of the Revelation designs, but this artwork is very good. Evil-Lyn has the tag “Evil Warrior Goddess,” which I am pretty sure was the vintage toy description. (I am saying it one final time, I don’t like this blue window box.)

I was tempted to get the “Bat Sorceress” version, which was SO Eternity War. Maybe I still will someday. But I got this one because she fits with the style of the rest of the bad guys that were dear to my heart. Now I am only waiting on Whiplash and Clawful! Then I will have the whole of MY bad guys. (I place Modulok in with the Horde. Never had Webstor, Ninjor, or Jitsu. Cobra Kahn and Tongue Lasher go with Snake Men, and that will be another collection for me when they ever come out.)

Here’s what you get. Evil-Lyn with an alternate, not helmeted head, a short staff and a long staff, a pocketbook, a pair of punching hands, another gripping hand, and another spellcasting hand. This is a lot of stuff, considering Movie Evil-Lyn came with basically nothing. I am especially fond of the un-helmeted head with white hair. In Filmation we only saw this a couple of times…maybe even only once. 200x and Revelation did this right. In fact, this updated Revelation design has absolutely nothing wrong with it. Nothing to complain about. The sculpt is great! Not sure if it was intentional, but the white haired head also has two-toned eyebrows, giving the appearance of some age. Notable that the other head doesn’t have this detail. (I don’t like God-Lyn. But I do really like the reformed Evil-Lyn (just Lyn?) design. Beautiful and princess-like.)

You can tell that the same designer did these two hairstyles. I in fact double checked to see if this was a re-used part. (It isn’t). The short staff and the long staff. I believe they are the same weapon…she can extend it to use more as a bo staff, and for general magic casting she uses the short staff.

Notice that these 6 to 7 inch scale figures with staffs like to be posed in this way. I have already posted a few pictures of mythic legions, Savage He-Man, and also of Mer-Man doing this pose. Probably even more characters. I will say that the joints are much looser than I would like, and also I was afraid I was going to break the right hand thumb on the gripping hand trying to get her to hold this.

And because Movie Evil-Lyn came with basically nothing, one of the staves is a good weapon for her. Either one only needs one magic staff at a time anyway. Despara here is taller, but doesn’t she seem more stiff? It isn’t an accident. The more recent figures are more posable. Movie Evil-Lyn has no problem standing or being posed. But Revelation Evil-Lyn has looser joints.

Let’s talk pocketbook. If I remember the Revelation Part 1 series, Evil-Lyn carried something around in her pouch. It contained some of the last magic left in Eternia. But no one would have to know that, would they? This is a fine purse, for any female figure actually. I couldn’t resist making this photo!

The alternate head goes nicely on Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela’s body to make basically an entirely different character. I’ll concede that Evil-Lyn has less of a tan, but if she is wearing makeup then this is a fine shade of skin for her face. At least we don’t usually see Evil-Lyn in barbarian armor. See how nice of an added detail the purse is?

These two finally reunited! (The 200x story presented The Faceless One as Evil-Lyn’s father. He was the original protector of the Havoc Staff, and that green face in his off hand is the Ram Stone…magic that can take down any wall.)

That these two bonded in Revelation was quite a surprise. We got more backstories for both characters from that!

I read the Revelation comic book that detailed Skeletor’s origin story. (Spoiler…he is like the Joker. You can’t tell if he is being truthful). My point is…I don’t think Evil-Lyn could be attracted to Skeletor. Not as a bare skull face. She is too beautiful herself for that. True, she lusts for power and Skeletor provides that for her as something to admire as well as gives her an ambition to overthrow. 200x was more believable, that she thought Keldor was handsome, but then the transformation “hideous.” January 25, 2024 UPDATE- Watch Revolution! See how this turned out!

There is a loyalty of Beast Man to Evil-Lyn. Why? I don’t know. She treats him bad. And in Revelation Part 2 she turns him into a gigantic attack dog, that gets thrown into the abyss. AND that is a loose end for the next installment I suppose.

So my rating for this figure. I only have one complaint, and it is that the joints are a bit loose. She can stand just fine, and hold her weapons (but be careful of the thumb). But it isn’t as tight as I would like. I am surprised at how small she is compared to the male figures. (Trust me. Most of the camera shots I took has her standing more in the front, skewing the effect of this). Beast Man pictured above kneeling really makes her look small. But I appreciate her femininity, especially in comparison with the design of Teela. Loose joints, but lots of accessories, another head sculpt that can be used on almost any other female figure with a removable head, a great sculpt and terrific paint job. A versatile pocketbook accessory. Two wand staffs. Nice artwork on the package. I am giving this a 5/5. I mean…maybe 4.5/5 if that is allowed. (Why not. It’s my rating system).

So what do you think, Hub City Geeks? Am I right? Let me know in the comments!

SpartanNerd…Follow up on “He-Man: The Eternity War”

I have been very impressed with the current run of DC masters of the Universe.  “He-Man: The Eternity War” has really been developed.  And we are seeing the characters presented in ways we have never seen before.

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Here is a pic of all six issues I have.  I have two of the covers from Issue 1.

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The version with the toys came only to subscribers, if I am correct.

What is so impressive?  Here are issue by issue thoughts.

Issue 1.  Hordak returns to flesh, using He-Man’s blood, drawn unintentionally by She-Ra in the preceding story arc.  And then he becomes a super charged version of himself by tapping into the power of Grayskull.  See what I mean…We’ve never seen Hordak presented like this.

Issue 2.  Man-At-Arms converts Roboto into a flight suit to take out the Horde’s orbital disruptor.  (This weapon wiped out most of the Masters of the Universe and the Eternian army in prior issues.  Kind of a mini-death star.)

Issue 3.  The deal with the Eyes of Grayskull returns from the digital-only books that began DC’s current run on Masters of the Universe.  She-Ra finds the Eye of Chrono and unintentionally leads Hordak to it.

Issue 4.  She-Ra takes a beating, but Skeletor rescues her using the eye of Chaos, which he had in his possession.  (Now Skeletor has both eyes!)

Issue 5. Skeletor witnesses She-Ra use her sword to heal herself, and asks her to heal him.  Then he explains that he has had a change of heart and doesn’t wish to be constantly defeated, as he has seen over and over in different versions of himself as he traveled the Multiverse.  The Green Goddess (or Sorceress, or Teela, what should we call her now?) lets He-Man know that “The Goddess” (adding to the confusion) has three faces, Serpos, Zoar, and Horokoth.  Eternia has witnessed the age of Zoar, but she fears the Age of Horokoth is inevitable.  He-Man chooses to look at the future behind a door with the Horde symbol on it, (which means Horokoth, the destroyer now.)  He sees himself as King He-Man, with the normal skinned (and naked) Teela as his queen.  A military state is evident.

Issue 6.  “The Problem with Power.”  He-Man sees a vision of the future.  DC uses King He-Man…an impressive draw to this story…the cover is magnificent.  We see more of the kingdom that King He-Man will bring about.  Notably, Skeletor’s allies are now his allies, while the “Good Guys” are now “The Great Rebellion!”  At the end, He-Man breaks the sword in half, destroying it and relinquishing the power to return to the form of Prince Adam.

I can’t wait for issue 7!

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Skeletor’s romp through the Multiverse let him see many versions of himself, each one ending in defeat.  He never acquires the power of Grayskull.  Check out my Skitch below…

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“The Problem With Power” was the title of perhaps the greatest Filmation episode, where He-Man changes into Adam…a reverse transformation rarely seen, and then throws the sword into the abyss.  He decided in that episode that being He-man wasn’t worth taking the life of someone.  In this issue, there are echoes of the same, but all of Eternia is the victim as King He-Man is a despotic leader.

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This page kind of captures the state of things.  Beast Man is wearing Battle Cat’s hide as a cape!  He-Man is riding Panthor, and the Eternal Guard are riding Nightstalkers!  Also, notice the weaponry all over castle Grayskull.  In this issue, He-Man also orders an insurgent’s head on a spike…exactly the the thing Mattel told the moviemakers to avoid in the 1980s.  (I recall seeing the the Art Book instructions for “No Heads!  No Spikes!”

Finally….

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He-Man destroying “The Sword of Eternity.”  (A new name for “The Power Sword.”  Christened thus for only a few panels.)  a moving panel…Prince Adam appears so weak in the next few panels walking away, and I wonder how this is going to work.

“He-Man: The Eternity War” is a terrific read, and keen fans will see little allusions and nods.  I see it as the comic writers have a box full of toys, and are constantly playing with them in new ways.  Shaping a story the way little kids would have, and then making modern comics meant for an adult audience.

I hope DC keeps making MOTU comics.  I don’t ever want that dry spell that seemed to happen for so long to ever return.  I want to see toy versions of these comics characters.  The work is certainly deserving….