Tag Archives: Man-At-Arms

Masters of the Universe 2026 Movie- SpartanNerd’s Review

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This is a review with SPOILERS. You can see my video review of this movie if you click this link HERE.

First of all, I was one who for years has said that if they do a Masters of the Universe movie in the modern style of Marvel and DC, Star Wars, or Transformers, then they will certainly ruin it. I like the Michael Bay Transformers movies (at least the first two) but have some objections to things, like for instance Optimus Prime chopping peoples heads off. You see how I didn’t talk about the “insect-formers” design…I came to enjoy it. And while Marvel has mostly hit it right and DC getting it sometimes, everyone who reads this blog surely knows about all of the controversy around Star Wars starting with Disney. I figured a MOTU movie would have statements and content that rub the SpartanNerd the wrong way, like the movies Rise of the Beasts and The Last Jedi. I figured there might be “bad CGI” like in Aquaman.

But all of my fears were mostly wrong. This movie addresses Masters of the Universe in a modern style very well. The acting is top notch, and if the CGI is a little off, I feel that the producers wanted it to be like that to remind us that this is largely based on a Filmation cartoon from the 1980’s, I say mostly. It was a good move to stick to the Filmation fanbase. Watching that cartoon and playing with action figures are the things that the 40-something year-old fandom remember best. Mattel and Amazon needed to skew away from the super-nerds like me, and cater to a general audience of more casual fans. I am going to break this down.

  • Idris Elba’s Man-At-Arms is an incredible character, and Elba and the producers did something different with Duncan while maintaining the “mentor” aspect essential to who he is.
  • Jared Leto’s Skeletor was a surprise to me. I hadn’t heard his voice…it isn’t the same as Filmation or Mike Young Productions nasally voice. Instead it is a deeper voice with Shakespearean elements. Skeletor is overdramatic and retains his comedic villain self, but is also someone that everyone walks on eggshells around.
  • Allison Brie’s Evil-Lyn was kind of the exact same character that Brie plays as a wrestler on the Netflix show GLOW. In that show, she is an actor playing a wrestler with the character of “The Mad Russian” or something stereotypically grating. But when you see her go from her normal self to wrestler lady…that is where Evil-Lyn is. It is important to say that I don’t believe she was written to be as strong of a character as Meg Foster played in the 1987 movie.
  • Nick Galitzine’s Adam Glenn…that’s right…not Adam of the House of Randor. I have never seen this actor in anything before. I believe he is a little bit too small to play He-Man. He has muscles…that isn’t it…but they aren’t Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan the Barbarian muscles. Adam is a can’t-do-anything-right who becomes OP when he transforms into He-Man. Are Adam and He-Man different people? No…I think this is partially on what the movie hinges on. He-Man is inside of Adam. The movie handles this idea without hitting us over the head with it.
  • Camila Mendez’s Teela is a headstrong friend for Adam, the same as always.
  • Of the evil warriors, Trap-Jaw has at least THREE big fight scenes. Which brings up fight scenes…this movie feels like a bunch of action figures fighting against each other! Besides Skeletor, he is easily the strongest of the villains. We see the others fighting…Spikor has plenty of humorous scenes where his spikes are more of a liability. And there are scores of skeleton guys and monster men who are just fodder. Review of Chronicles Trap Jaw coming soon!
  • The Eternian Family- Randor and Marlena are indeed presented as Adam’s parents in the opening, with Randor being way too hard on Adam as he trains. Marlena doesn’t get much, but when it is time to protect Adam, she helps him get to Castle Grayskull.
  • Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain…these places don’t feel as epic or weighty as they should. They are overshadowed by the drama of the relationships between the characters.
  • Vehicles- They didn’t give us much. A bunch of Fright Fighters and Rotons, along with Teela’s Talon Fighter and a Sky Sled. The Collector gets a moment, and the good guys show up with a bunch of generic ships.
  • The good guys…do you call them the Masters? There is a lot of self-deprecating humor.
  • Cringer- Really, Battle Cat doesn’t appear until the final scene. Cringer is a reluctant scaredy cat like he is supposed to be, but he also fights pretty hard against Beast Man. (Review of Chronicles Battle Cat HERE.)

So this brings up one of the criticisms. There is a lot of humor in this movie. Like every couple of minutes there is a jab, joke, pun, or zinger. This is in line with The Guardians of the Galaxy or Deadpool. It isn’t horribly dirty humor like Deadpool, but it is on the innuendo side, and as far as language there is a GD right at the beginning of the movie that makes Reverend SpartanNerd feel like throwing up.

THE PLOT- MAJOR SPOILERS!

Adam was sent to Earth by the Sorceress at the suggestion of Marlena during the opening attack on the palace. Part of this opening attack was Man-At-Arms being defeated by Trap Jaw and Randor being captured by Skeletor. Adam was separated from the sword when he exited the portal…touching the sword was his way home! Luckily, Adam never forgot where he came from, but as an Earthling he had a hard time adjusting to the boring life of Human Resources. I believe Adam Glenn works at a staffing agency, where he is good with people and helps them find a place in the workforce that is a fit for them. But he gets roasted by his boss, Susie, who has a problem with him looking for the Power Sword on the clock. Adam gets ghosted by “Julie,” advice at the gym from Dolph Lundgren, and admonished by his roommate Hussein. He gets a text at work to find the sword at a toy store called “The Fright Zone” and on touching it, a signal was sent to Eternia, where both Teela and Beast Man received it. The Earth scene really doesn’t take long in the movie…probably less than fifteen minutes.

On Eternia, Adam is worthless as a fighter. The good guys disbelieve Teela enough to throw her in jail along with Adam. Fisto seems to be the leader, with Ram Man second in charge. Mekanek and Moss Man are around also. In jail, Man-At-Arms is passed out drunk, and Roboto is a maid. I believe this scene takes place at Point Dread? Skeletor’s army attacks the base, and Roboto helps them bust out. Once again Adam is useless, and as Trap Jaw comes out, Man-At-Arms begins to have a panic attack. But Adam raises the sword and becomes He-Man, having a brutal fight with Trap Jaw and ripping off his arm, then using it to shoot down Skeletor’s army. There is a vehicle chase as Teela, Man-At-Arms, Adam, and Roboto escape in the Talon Fighter, only to be shot down. Skeletor stands there wondering who the new barbarian is that took out his men. Skeletor has all of the Masters taken to prison at Snake Mountain.

At the crash sight of the Talon Fighter, Adam and Teela have a tender moment as he picks up the ship with one arm, (but he does complain that it is heavy). Man-At-Arms breaks out his foot locker and puts on his armor, that has a flask hidden in the front of the chest plate that as kids we always wanted to know what that was. He says he would rather be a drunk than a failure. Skeletor appears in a hologram just like in the 1987 movie telling the new barbarian to come to Snake Mountain and surrender the sword to see his parents. Apparently they had crashed near the secret passageway to Snake Mountain…

Goat Man is guarding the entranceway, but Adam gets by him. At Snake Mountain’s iconic mouth, Skeletor has Randor. He-Man decides to fight, and another huge battle takes place, but Evil-Lyn traps him with a force field. He-Man breaks the spell with his incredible strength, but the shock causes the roof to collapse on everyone except for him. He rushes to save his dad, but his father dies. During the drama, Skeletor comes up behind He-Man and clocks him on the head with the Havoc Staff.

When Adam wakes up… yes…he was hit hard enough to revert back…he is in the Snake Mountain prison with all of the Masters. His Mother and Cringer are also there. Adam uses his Human Resources skills to rally the Masters to work together with their powers to break out.

Skeletor can’t make the power sword work. Evil-Lyn suggests taking it to Castle Grayskull to perform a ritual. The final battle takes place at Grayskull. Adam manages to get the sword from Skeletor, but before he can change, Skeletor blasts him with the Havoc Staff. Adam uses the sword to block, but the force breaks the sword. Skeletor uses the hilt with the shard-end of the sword to stab Adam in the chest. Then proceeds to read his mind.

As Skeletor reads his mind, he is dreaming about the gym, but instead of Dolph, it is Skeletor lifting weights, wearing an athletic hoodie! Next he is on the date with Julie, and Julie asks about Eternia. When Adam looks up, it is Skeletor wearing a dressy suit. he drags him out of the restaurant. Adam finds himself in Susie’s office, where she says something about having a performance review with Doug…when Adam looks over to where Doug was earlier in the movie, it is Skeletor drinking a thermos of coffee! (This was my favorite part of the whole movie!). Finally, Adam is passed out in his room, where Hussein comes in and places a drawing of the Sorcerss on his chest. Next Zoar flys in, and encourages him that He has the power…it isn’t really the sword!

This is enough to wake Adam wake up in the real world and remove the sword from his chest. As he begins to transform, the sword comes back together. And then instead of fighting, he tells Skeletor he just wants to talk. But Skeletor declines, saying that he is always going to be the villain. Adam actually punches Skeletor out like a boxing warmup, then turns on the Thunder Punches complete with lightning. Finally he palms the Havoc Staff like Michael Jordan, and then shatters it. The explosion is extremely powerful and appears to kill Skeletor as his skull bounces around on the floor.

The next scene is six months later. There is a celebration as Eternia has been rebuilt, which also includes Hussein. Adam gives everyone a pep talk. He also expresses his name as He-Man…the first time it appears in the movie. Then there is news of a problem at Avion. Adam and Cringer then run off to Grayskull to transform where nobody can see them, (but the characters question why?).

Three Credits scenes. The first is Orko presenting a moral that is something like “Muscle Guys are probably heroes and skull-faced guys are probably villains) as Mer-Man is arrested in the background. The second is a reveal of She-Ra about to attack the Fright Zone (Filmation design). And the final scene is Evil-Lyn returning to pick up Skeletor’s skull, and we hear him laughing maniacally.

MY THOUGHTS

You could take the first Thor movie and follow the plot…they are pretty identical, with Randor taking Odin’s place. There is also a little bit of Lion King in there. There’s just no doubt that Skeletor really takes this show. We saw more of Adam/He-Man, and it was good, but a reason to watch this is to watch Skeletor! I like how they started with the Man-At-Arms we expect, then deconstructed him and built him back up. Teela is also different in a way because this time she is compensating for her father giving up rather than the typical path to becoming the captain of the guard.

One thing…there is no origin story for Skeletor. There is no reason why he is evil. We get that he is greedy and power-hungry. Evil-Lyn serves as someone who can talk to him…the only person who CAN talk to him. And he is toxic to her, burning her skin with his hand in two scenes. But I question…do we really NEED to know why Skeletor is evil? Do we NEED a Keldor story? Do we NEED to know things like how old is Castle Grayskull? Where did the henchmen come from? Not really in my opinion. We didn’t know any of that in the Filmation show…we just took it for granted that Skeletor was evil and Castle Grayskull had to be protected. There was some canon to this story, like Marlena being from Earth and the Sorceress secretly being Teela’s mother (not directly addressed, but there). But for the most part, it was about seeing our favorite characters on the screen, probably fighting.

Some things that I appreciate…Roboto is a GIRL! Two of the Credits scenes are setups for sequels…We have references to the 1987 movie including Dolph Lundgren, The Great Eye of the Galaxy (did you catch it?), Pigboy, and Karg.

What did this movie add to the story of Masters of the Universe?

  • This is the first time we have ever seen Skeletor sleep
  • Skeletor is also is a mind-reader
  • Dian- This is a strong female character from the Newspaper strips. In Kevin Smith’s show there has been a strong female lead “Andra” recycled from the Filmation show. Dian is a similar character
  • Goat Man is now officially one of the Evil Warriors in my mind

SPARTANNERD RATING

As a MOVIE, I give this a 4/5. As a Masters of the Universe movie, I give it a 5/5. Not everyone is going to “get it.” There is a lot of talk about the viral movies Backrooms and Obsession…two sleeper movies that scored big at the box office, taking some market share. And this is unfortunately true…not even a fan-excuse (I saw Backrooms…it is pretty good!). Masters of the Universe is for 40-somethings, but Scary Movie 6/7 is for a 2000’s crowd. And up ahead is Toy Story 5, Moana (live action), Supergirl, and then Spider-Man Brand New Day. I kind of think Masters of the Universe is cooked in this box office environment. HOWEVER, it won’t be lost on people streaming. I predict Amazon is going to make MINT streaming this movie.

Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Cosmic Ladies- SpartanNerd Four Horsemen “In Stock” sale haul with reviews.

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Find a YouTube video review here!

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies head pack, Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn, Cosmic Legions Zeerian Spyre, and Mythic Legions spare barbarian parts.

Four Horsemen Studios had a storehorsemen “in stock” sale…a situation where really they offer flat-rate shipping more than discounts. Still, they open the vaults, and this time they offered something a little special different. “The Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies Character Pack.” (I find this to be a genius way for them to do a clearance sale). My order took almost all of the four weeks to arrive…that hasn’t been usual for the greatest action figure makers in the 6-inch scale. I decided to pick that Cosmic Ladies Character Pack up, and went ahead and got Kalian Shunn and the Barbarian Spare Parts. So I am going to discuss the entire haul and offer a rating of the two Cosmic Legions figures. (My rating system is based on sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and the intangible “feels” point..why did I want it…and what does it represent to me).

BARBARIAN SPARE PARTS

So this is the most unceremonious thing I have bought from the Four Horsemen. They shipped them in a poly bag.

The Barbarian Spare parts on my project table. Already looks like a battlefield.

It is what it is. A torso, parts for an upper thigh, and parts for upper arms. I have had experience with the thigh…longtime readers will know that Kannox Vull’s stump leg broke immediately out of the package, and I had the Horsemen send me a replacement part. They only sent the lower thigh…not the thigh-cut joint. So I had to extract that from the old stump and that was SO DIFFICULT. Seriously…I almost cannibalized the Warrior Beast Head Hunter figure…I would have just had to paint his thigh purple.

But now I have spare parts for such mishaps. I will probably use them to customize…I might even add some red sharpie for…you know…blood! (These are of the same complexion as the Legendary Barbarian).

COSMIC LADIES CHARACTER PACK and KALIAN SHUNN

This came as two packages…I expected that because I have purchased head-packs before when they did a similar thing earlier in the year. (I got the blue snake heads and the alien heads, but I didn’t get the character packs that are actually still available). Basically, I would have never picked up the Zeerian Spyre (Zeeri) as she is such a plain character. Actually, I thought, and probably many other fans also believed this to be a “legion builder,” after all, the title Zeerian Spyre kind of sounds like a race name followed by an occupation. Which is probably why she has wound up in this kind of clearance sale. The two heads, which I apologize for the glare, these are Barbie heads in Caucasian and African-American style. With these heads I should be able to make lots of different female builds, and that is the draw of paying $40 for this set.

Kalian Shunn (Kailey) comes in a similar kind of box. This is one that appeals to me because of the colors. I have almost picked this up at a toy store a few times, but never felt it was worth a $70 price tag. So I always put it back…if I am going to spend $70, it better be something substantially good for certain. Usually I was looking for something else that they didn’t have. But during this sale she was only $34, and so I went ahead and got it, taking advantage of that lower shipping cost as well.

I won’t bore you with photos of the backs and sides…basically they both have bio information and a description of the “wave” of figures, in font that I can’t read. It is best to just go to the Horsemen’s website. The backs of the packages show off a cross-sell of other Cosmic legions, and I believe Zeeri was from wave 1, while Kailey was from a later wave. (You can tell because all of the available Cosmic Legions are on the back. My photos were all burry 😦 … I really need a new iPhone)

What do you get in the packages?

Zeerian Spyre

  • Zeerian Spyre (Zeeri) figure
  • four translucent peg pieces
  • a pair of alternate hands.
  • a hologram
  • a pair of pistols
  • a sniper rifle
  • a cloak
  • a re-breather
  • an alternate head with a different hairstyle

I can’t go any further without discussing the alternate heads. I think a couple of photos will tell the story.

PICTURED: Ne’ve’ with the Cosmic Ladies blonde head on the Masters of the Universe Chronicles movie Battle Cat. Notice the 1987 Movie Masterverse figures I have in the background with my vintage storybook collection…AND…that popcorn bag I bought at the Mandalorian and Grogu last week!
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions T.U.5.C.C. Pilot with the Cosmic Ladies alternate head. With the terrible 1987 Movie Beast Man figure partially shown, Dolph Lundgren-ish He-Man, and Frank Langella Skeletor. She fights Meg Foster’s Evil-lyn over the Cosmic Key.

In case you can’t tell, I’m ultra excited about the movie coming out next week! And I DID get a preview ticket! So I will see it Wednesday, and have a review ready for Friday!

So these alternate heads just add a lot of value, and they look great on Zeeri…more photos ahead.

Kalian Shunn

  • Kalian Shunn (Kailey) figure
  • four translucent peg pieces
  • a pair of alternate hands
  • a shoulder pauldron
  • a weapons strap or belt
  • a high-powered laser rifle
  • a rocket
  • a pistol
  • a bo staff
  • a cloak
  • an alternate helmeted head

It seems kind of humble after that above showing of what is included, doesn’t it. But really, as a basic figure, Kailey has more stuff than Zeeri…I just paid out for an upgrade.

Figure Reviews

One big thing to say…these are almost identical figures as far as sculpt and articulation. Kailey is a later repaint of Zeeri. And that tells this story.

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Zeerian Spyre with a basic setup. Of all the photos I took today, I think this is my favorite.
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn with a basic setup.

Besides the obvious difference in the heads, they have different lower legs and shoes. And really that is about it. It is notable, and perhaps unforgivable, that Kailey has to wear a dress. She has a socket on the front of her waist that the Horsemen did not give us a part for. This is the only time I have seen this…for instance even the Figura Obscura Father Christmas, who has a similar body underneath all of that Christmas robe, has a loin-cloth piece to plug in there. You can see why I wanted this figure…she looks great, with a cool color scheme. But the more I messed with it, the more I realized that this was the Horsemen geniusly maximizing their value out of the already percolating on-the-shelf Zeerian sculpt.

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn vs. GI Joe Classified Series Jinx. Both with their bo staves. BUT…Jinx has a “naginata” or bladed staff, while Kailey’s is probably some kind of energy weapon.

Even that belt…it is the same. I was almost fooled! About an hour of taking pictures and video, and I started to realize it. Something else…in the photo above, you can see the alternate masked head. (You can remove that orange part on the crown, but underneath isn’t much to look at). Without the cape, you have a bare orange neck that just seems wrong. There should have been a blue neck peg or some kind of collar piece to hide the neck peg. Instead they gave us this hood that doesn’t work with the default head. Furthermore, she has a bare orange arm, limiting the head-swapping action to other orange or at least alien heads.

Because of this parts re-use, they have identical articulation…except for one thing. Kailey’s hair is so stiff that her head can’t move. AND, because of the shoulder pauldron and that hair, her right arm is limited range too! Big issues with Kalian Shunn. Otherwise, the articulation is at every joint. Mythic Legions, Cosmic Legions, and related lines use pop-and-swap to where getting new parts is actually a point of collection for some people, especially customizers. For what it’s worth, I find the parts collection of Horsemen figures to be WAY COOLER than Legos.

Accessories

Both of these figures really shine in the accessory department. And you know the SpartanNerd hates it when figures don’t come with much. (Evil-Lyn is notorious for coming with nothing…Why Mattel)?!

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Shooter and Cosmic Legions Zeerian Spyre with one of the Cosmic Ladies alternate heads.

The sniper rifle that Zeeri came with is really great! Notice that I have slotted one of those pegs in the side as a power source or ammo source. With that head and the sniper rifle, we now have a comparable Legions figure to GI Joe Classified Series Shooter. And now I have some guidance on how to paint Shooter’s rifle in my Summer Break free time.

PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms, armed with MOTUC 200x arm cannon.

I have this Kailey’s high-powered laser in other colors…this time it is painted terrifically, giving me ideas on how to improve my others. I didn’t even realize that she came with a wrist-rocket. You can attach this piece to the side of the gun as well.

These people are so fun to photograph it is hard not to just “run rabbits.” So here is some fun.

PICTURED: Left to right…Cosmic Legions Walthor the Mad with Cosmic Legions Greyborn alternate head from another character pack, Cosmic Legions T.U.5.C.C. Pilot, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor, Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn, Cosmic Legions Anthophilees, and Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn.
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Kannox Vull and Cosmic Legions Zeerian Spire with one of the Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies character pack heads. I also didn’t realize until late in the photographing that the blonde head is the exact same as Kalian Shunn’s head, making it even more frustrating that she has a bare orange arm. Dialogue for this photo “Baby Yoda is MY quarry!”
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Anthophilees and Cosmic Legions Kalian Shunn discuss how to disarm the trap meant for Heatboys Donatello’s pet turtle drone. See how those heads are the same?

This is the same photo as earlier, take away the non-legions figures. The space men are 1.0 figures, while the ladies are considered 2.0 figures. I am not an expert on this, but basically in the past two years the Four Horsemen have added this 2.0 design for smaller figures like elves, but also ladies. But notice one of the first pictures I have…Ne’ve’ is a recent lady figure, and she is a 1.0. A heavier build than these two. One of the most obvious improvements with 2.0 is the neck peg, as opposed to a ball joint that is permanently attached to the torso. (See the barbarian parts above)

SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LADIES CHARACTER PACK AND KALIAN SHUNN

Well, both of these basic figures are 85% the same sculpt. And this is a good sculpt and design. However the cutting of corners that the Four Horsemen used to make Kalian Shunn…she is mostly a repaint with a different head. This feels like a strike against that figure. On the other hand, Zeerian Spyre is a humble paint job. That figure by itself feels a little less spectacular than Kalian Shunn. But that isn’t the full story, is it. The two additional heads that can make two completely different feeling figures, and that is where the strength is found in the Zeerian Spyre. But the fact that the Cosmic Legions/Mythic Legions/Figura Obscura/Infinite Legions build system is so modular and poppable-swappable means that the selection of character heads offered as a character pack with Zeeri makes it something extra special. Zeeri wouldn’t have the feels point if it weren’t for the option of the character pack…I would have never bought that figure. I considered getting Kailey several times before…(I only paid $37 during the “in Stock” sales event at store horsemen…not $70 at a local brick-and-mortar store). I guess I consider Kalie’s paint more awesome, even if that orange-ish skin-tone limits the swappability somewhat. Still…that hood covering up this problem is kind of a janky solution. And this is the only figure out of all of the legions that I own that has to wear a dress…she wasn’t given a piece to cover her front waist. You have no head articulation using the default head, and her right shoulder is also very limited, especially with the pauldron attached.

Breaking down the points, The Cosmic Legions Ladies set with Zeerian Spyre gets 5/5, while Kalian Shunn gets 3/5.

Cosmic Ladies/ Zeerian SpyreKalian Shunn
Sculpt- 1
Paint- 1
Articulation-1
Accessories-1
Feels point-1
Sculpt- 0
Paint- 1
Articulation-0
Accessories-1
Feels point-1

It’s just too hard for even a “legendary creature” kind of figure like Kalian Shuun to overcome the additional power of what is really three alternate heads. You have so many options. Kalian Shunn isn’t a bad figure…she just doesn’t measure up to what she is cracked up to be. Kind of like Kannox Vull turned out. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE “On Pause”- SpartanNerd Rant

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To actually see and hear me ranting, click here!

The NY Toy Fair was this past week, and the big news about Masters of the Universe…most everything is ON PAUSE for 2026, deferred to marketing for the movie. MASTERVERSE is “On Pause”, and almost all of Origins is also…some of them just started like the 200x Cartoon Collection. “On Pause”. Transformers Origins Crossover. “On Pause”. Turtles of Grayskull just ended anyway, but there is a Thundercats thing. “On Pause.”

I found this image at ToyTales.ca.

I really hope the movie does well. The toys they have revealed look cool. They are more in the scale of GI Joe Classified, and they are proportioned similarly as they are based on real human actors. It is a whole new system of articulation also. And there is a kids line coming out called “core” or something like that, not “the first ones” as was going around about a week ago. Both lines look pretty good. There are some things, like Tri-Klops not having a sword and Battle Cat’s armor looking stupid. There are a lot of really cool things like Trap Jaw and Idris Elba Man-At-Arms.

But putting MASTERVERSE “on pause” is a mistake.

We don’t have:

  • a non-Kevin Smith Orko
  • a non=Kevin Smith Battle Cat
  • Tri-Sorceress and He-Man husband and wife 2-pack
  • Sorceress of Havoc (she would be awesome!)
  • Rio Blast
  • Extendar
  • Rokkon
  • Stonedar
  • Zoar
  • Screech
  • King Hiss
  • Tongue Lasher
  • Sssqueeeze
  • Rattlor

Yeah there’s a lot more I could add here. AND I can complain. Why did we get Anti-Eternia He-Man instead of one of the above-listed figures? Why do we have four versions of Beast Man and Mer-Man but no re-issues of Buzz Off or Stratos? Why do we have Motherboard and not a vehicle? Or for that matter the other giant figures? MASTERVERSE had all of this to accomplish, but now it is “on pause.” What about the 1987 movie figures? There was only one short window where we could get Blade, and I missed him. There was a lot more they could have done here.

The SpartanNerd’s collector display shelf.

And there are two competing outcomes.

  • If the movie does well, everything becomes some shade of the Chronicles line. More He-Man and Skeletor variants. More Beast Man and Man-At-Arms variants. More Teela and Evil-Lyn. And some of the characters I listed above…ignored. And the MASTERVERSE style of toy, which was kind of serving in my mind as something evergreen like Hot Wheels or Barbie, is just outright replaced. (This is the best outcome I think. I hope the movie does well.)
  • If the movie tanks. (A very likely scenerio). Masters of the Universe goes back underground like it did after the failure of the 1987 movie. Mattel will not support it…they have a lot invested in the success of the film. As awesome as it looks to me , an enthusiastic fan, the moviegoing regular sheeple will probably not see this so much as better than a Star Wars or Marvel movie, (both of which have been suffering for a while).

Maybe this movie will find some of that Super Mario Bros. movie or Barbie movie magic from recent years, and will knock us all out with its awesome story and special effects. Maybe it will be what the fans have always wanted and the moviegoers didn’t know they needed in their lives. But I am 60% expecting “Rise of the Beasts” or “The Last Jedi.”

“On Pause”

I believe “On Pause” is a soft way of telling us they are killing the line. Someone might say, “They wouldn’t do that! Not with so much more stuff to cover!” But they would…they already have done this…look no further than Masters of the Universe Mega Books, (or Mega Constructs, or just MEGA.). Whatever. That brick shop that was promised has given us some Hot Wheels models. They haven’t done anything with Masters of the Universe in years, and that line was VERY incomplete…they even released the Central Eternia Tower, but never the Viper Tower of the Grayskull Tower. If they can leave ends like that loose, you can bet we won’t get any MASTERVERSE Snake Men.

MASTERVERSE Revolution Man-Of- War…SpartanNerd Review

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Watch this review on the SpartanNerd’s YouTube channel!

Hello, Hub City Geeks, and here is the SpartanNerd coming to you this time from Summerville, South Carolina. You say, why are you at Summerville, SpartanNerd? Well, it’s a teacher conference, and you know I’m at Summerville, the birthplace of sweet tea. And while I’ve been here, I have drank no coffee and no Monster Energy because so much sweet tea just everywhere every day. And besides…it is WAY hot. (Heat Dome effecting half of the country).

The Sweet Tea monument in Summerville SC
What’s happening???…
Super7 Ultimates! Figures, TMNT Metalhead and G.I. Joe Cobra B.A.T. Are about to battle out for this giant jar of Sweet Tea!

So anyway, I did a little shopping with this money I saved at Target over here in Summerville. Walmart actually has some MASTERVERSE figures. Flying Fist He-Man…No, thank you. That thing does not look right (same head sculpt as Thunder Punch, which looked wrong and also I just don’t care for him). They also had New Eternia Evil-Lyn. She always looks right, but I didn’t want to buy another one. So, I’m reviewing something I picked up at Target in Summerville, and that would be MASTERVERSE Revolution Man-Of-War. The Man-Of-War is the same person as Man-At-Arms, but from the Netflix Masters of the Universe Revolutions cartoon. It is an updated Man-At-Arms. A 2.0 if you will. If you watch the Netflix show, then you know that Andra becomes Man-At-Arms. Duncan becomes Man-Of-War, and he has this mech suit and that’s terrific. I thought about picking this up when I got The Green Goddess (OK, Sorceress Teela). I’m pretty sure this was in the same wave and I was on the fence of getting it or not. I decided ultimately not to get it, and then I said…I think I even remember stating out loud, “Hey if I see it in a store someday somewhere, I’ll pick it up.” So here we are. Man-Of-War is now in my possession.

PACKAGING

The packaging is our basic, usual MASTERVERSE figure packaging. I call this the Transformer-style packaging because it has where you can see the figure inside, but it has mostly artwork. This minimizes the amount of plastic they’re using, which is good. It gives us more artwork, and artwork is always great, aways better than photos of stuff. They like to do this tilted picture on the side of the box, so with this picture you can see some more details. It looks to me like we have Man-Of-War fighting near the Wind Raider. If we get a vehicle in MASTERVERSE, the Wind Raider is a possibility, I’m sure it’d be pretty big. You could use Masters of the Universe Classics Wind Raider. But anyways, these are Horde ships, I believe. So he’s fighting against the Evil Horde.

The other side has the general library picture, that shows us the two ways to display his face…with and without the mask. If you happen to be a mint-in-box collector or just store your figures library style, this side image is very useful. I recently visited a store with lots of GI Joe classified figures done like this.

The back s a photoshop picture of the toy with some illustrations. I am not a fan of these, but you can see that we have artwork here of The Fright Zone or at least the inside of a Horde ship. And we’re seeing what Man-Of-War can do with mask and his weapon arm. And we can see a Horde Trooper here, which is a figure you can get from Mattel Creations. He’s really big. I never had one as a child, but I think he’s cool. And I like the Warhammer 40,000 vibe they’re bringing to it also. Making him oversized and you take that helmet off and see the goblin underneath. But it’s just not really for me, so I’m not getting that (I don’t think!)

We are given a new bio for Man-Of-War. Though he’s not the royal Man-At-Arms anymore, Duncan is still ready to protect Eternia at all costs in his plussed up battle suit as the powerful Man-Of-War. I like that they used the word plussed up. That’s for the D&D types. You know…people don’t talk about it much, but the DC Masters comics that came out going on ten years ago featured an evil version of Duncan called War Wraith. And he was indeed very cool.

Then we have cross sell images for other figures in the wave.

FIGURE REVIEW

All right, so I have the figure out to get photos, sorry about my setup. But I am in a hotel room!

That hotel room desk lamp can’t be moved, but it looks just like something Duncan would hang out around!

Man-Of-War comes with…

  • Man-Of-War figure
  • mask
  • alternate fist hand
  • alternate weapon
  • blast effect

The packaging has the accessories inside of one of those little baggies, and printed on the inside are the package contents. So you can see everything is supposed to be there. I checked to make sure everything was here. It was all here. Didn’t get done wrong this time. Didn’t get burned this time. So, there we are. We have a blaster, a hand, a mask, and a fist weapon.

He is as articulated as any MASTERVERSE figure, with the 30 points of articulation they brag about. He has double jointed elbows and knees, and also cuts at the thighs. Like most MASTERVERSE figures he feels kind of lanky, and wants to be stood up with a wide gait.

This Duncan feels like a dress-up kind of figure, so let’s start with the helmet. The head pops right off, but here we have our first stupid problem AND first complaints. The stupid problem is that the helmet is warped in the package. So it looks like it is on crooked all the time. The complaint is the paint job on the mustache and beard. The reason why I ultimately passed on this when I ordered the Green Goddess was because the image they had posted on Big Bad Toy Store seemed to look very wrong. I’m sure it is a painted plaster prototype or something, but it was off-putting enough for me to actually remove it from my cart before pulling the trigger on the other figure. This face doesn’t look that bad…but as a guy who cares about keeping his own beard straight, it is kind of unforgivable for Mattel.

This beard and mustache…kind of derp. And that bent helmet is what the SpartanNerd has come to call a “stupid problem.”

Anyway, you can use a hairdryer or just “force” and bend the helmet out of the way and slide on the mask. It looks great with the mask on!

While I am at it, I am going to go ahead and take off his armor. And it comes right off. Underneath is a silver colored body all over, reminiscent of New Eternia Mekanek (who has a shiny blue body). The weapon hand pops off and the oversized shoulder pad just slides right off. That shoulder pad is very 200x, anyone else think so?

Nothing to hide…(I also picked up the Turtle Van at Target)

What I wish we had was an alternate head. Or maybe the helmet should come off. But an alternate head with a ponytail or something would increase the appeal of this figure to fans of the 200x show. And let’s say the Man-Of-War head has the mask and helmet on permanently. But Mattel is saving money this way maybe…just the same. It wouldn’t take a new sculpt…we already have a Revelations Duncan AND a New Eternia Man-At-Arms they could have borrowed the head from. (I don’t have Revelations version…but I do have New Eternia. Remember April Fools Day?

SpartanNerd Nintendo Switch 2 Preview. April Fools (again)!

Now the armor and everything goes back on easily, let’s address the weapon hand. That shoulder pad takes some force to get in on the bicep tightly. And then the weapon arm…it really only loosely fits. (With some force, you can get it to stick). There is a hole for hands to peg in, but you don’t usually want to use that because it is a mace on the end.

This pays homage to the vintage weapon that Man-At-Arms always had, but it is morphed to his hand…the net effect however is something that goes over a stump arm. Which is cool and sad at the same time. (Barret Wallace comes to mind).

COMPARISONS

It turns out the SpartanNerd thought he might pick up something while he was here, so he came prepared with some figures that needed some attention. So I have with me Trapjaw. Now comparing Man of War with Trapjaw just ain’t fair. Trapjaw is maybe one of the best figures in all of Masterverse. But it tells us that for the same price, the same exact cost, we could have had that much more. Trapjaw here, better sculpted. I mean, yes, New Eternia, yes, a different line. So we could say artistically that Man-Of-War looks like the Revolution cartoon. But that doesn’t mean it has to be this bland. We could have better paint. I mean, there is a gold detail on some of the armor painted on, and it looks good. But most of the gold just looks like yellow plastic.

(You can easily put Trap Jaw’s weapons in Man-Of-War’s wrist).

Let’s compare him to the Mythic Legions Gold Knight.

Yep. I brought Easter basket Donatello with me also!

(The Gold Knight has not been doing his job. What job is that, SpartanNerd? Watching my funds. That’s what. He sits where I set my wallet. He’s a Gold Knight. Debit card got lost. He’s fired). Anyways, you can see the difference in the gold. This is clearly Mythic Legions, but it is a more gold-looking gold. The gold details of the paint on the armor here match pretty good with the gold knight, but a lot of this other, for instance the left boot, that’s just like yellow plastic is what that is. It’s not gold at all. So bland and boo. We are comparing the gourmet caramel apple with peanuts to the general red-delicious apple here. Not apples to oranges because similar scale, similar everything.

Man-Of-War actually gets the giant sweet tea!

I have someone else here with me: Super 7 Ultimates Metalhead (Link in the caption of the sweet tea). Metalhead reminds me of Man-Of-War here. They’re both from cartoons. They both have cartoon designs. I even say the yellow on Metalhead kind of matches some of the yellow on Man-Of-War. So the carapace here, the plastron, (ooo, use the biology words, SpartanNerd). Those are of a different kind of gold than the Mythic Legions. I’m going to say it’s still kind of similar. Maybe it feels more metallic than what is on Man-Of-War. So would Metalhead’s hand attachments work? The answer to that one is no. This peg is too big. Doesn’t work.

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE REVOLUTION MAN-OF-WAR

This sculpt is fine. It reminds me of New Eternia Mekanek. Especially maybe because of that shiny plastic. But the face painting is a little bit derp. Like I said, the beard details, they seem a little bit off. It looks like Man-Of-War here might have had some kind of shaving accident. His eyes do not look derp, but that soul patch there does. And the mustache seems a little bit sloppy maybe. The paint on this is just kind of lackluster. So it’s got to lose a point for that.

Articulation- He is very posable. No problems here. So sculpt and articulation…that’s two points. I’m just going to have to rate Man-at-War here 3 of 5. I feel like he might be a 2 of 5. He’s not a 1. He’s not that bad. I’m just going to go for the 3 of 5. I mean, articulation is good. I wanted it bad enough to pay $22 for it. So it’s worth the $22, I’m saying. ($22 worth of feels…that’s the third point).

My Boy! (Roboto Review Here)

It’s another Man-at-Arms. If you’re a customizer, it’s a nice silver body. The paint is lacking. Accessories are okay…I wish he had more stuff with him. I think he would have been well served with another head. Maybe even a head instead of a mask. I know they’re saving money by doing the mask. But they wouldn’t have had to re-sculpt anything. If you’re like the SpartanNerd, then you probably already have another Man-at-Arms. You could pop that one on if you like better. But I’m just saying. This is the area where we could have gotten more. Mattel could have given us more and it would have been more satisfying. So I’m going to award it a 3 of 5 kind of reluctantly. And what do you think, Hub City Geeks? Do you agree or disagree with the SpartanNerd?

I will say, in person, out of the box, he looks better than the cross-sell or the Big Bad Toy Store promotional image. Be sure to read other blog entries and reviews on SpartanNerd.com, and also check out my YouTube Channel. There you will soon see a review of Final Fantasy Commander decks for Magic the Gathering, and also a review of the Mythic Legions Undead Builder set.

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.

Action Figure Showdown- SpartanNerd Review of Wal-Torr the Mad and Cosmic Legion T.U.5.C.C Pilot

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It’s Rivalry Week, and in South Carolina, this means CAROLINA vs clemson (not a typo). The Gamecocks are poised to take out the Tigers this year, by a great margin. And oh satisfying will that be! But this blog is a review of toys, so…

I picked up Wal-Torr the Mad on a special sale (the same sale I got the Ogre Scale Accessory Pack). This was an item I had my eye on but waffled…There is a traditional fantasy Mythic Legions version, and then there is this Cosmic Legions space version. So space toy vs. fantasy toy.

Ultimately, after looking at the photos awhile on the internet, I decided the space version was the best, even if it was hideous orange.

But the presentation was adorable…the skull headed spaceman looking at a flower in a setting reminiscent of Mars. It looked like some kind of familiar scene somehow.

And I already have some of the parts in the Mythic Legions version, while the only Cosmic Legion I have is the SSKUR’GE ogre scale figure. So I jumped in…and glad I did.

BUT…that isn’t all of this story, is it? I went to the Toy Federation in Greer, SC one day just for some spontaneous shopping. And behold…they had a copy of this same figure but in a glorious Garnet color scheme. The T.U.5.C.C. Pilot (that is an annoying name to type) is the same basic idea, but instead of being a named character he is an army builder. Army builders are a tad cheaper than “legendary” creatures, so I paid the same price for both of these figures (just from different sources.)

Let’s examine the packages first.

PACKAGING FACE-OFF

Both packages have a nice window box. Wal-Torr’s is more orange nebula, and Pilot’s is more space purple. (So unfortunate colors to have together.)

Both have faction symbols in the top corner, but I don’t know anything about what they mean. You can see the alternate headsculpts easily. One of the big mysteries for me when I first got Wal-Torr was…what really is going on? He has this helmeted alien head, but then he has this human skull. So many questions! But those questions were answered when I saw the alternate head sculpt of the Pilot. Wal-Torr is supposed to be an homage to a real human, and the other is what kind of alien he is. I get it (I guess). I don’t know much about it, but perhaps Walter Hagen is big into skeletons…seems like an awesome guy then! (Walter Hagen is the leader of the Mythic Legions Cabal fan group.)

Wal-Torr’s box features a nice illustration of”hologram” on the bottom. Important that it shows the collar option.
The back of Wal-Tor’s package. Perhaps this is the planet he is on or from.

The back of both boxes feature cross-sell images from the rest of their respective Cosmic Legions wave.

Both have nice art on the side, both with a bit of a Bio.

Wal-Torr’s bio
I really like this graphic.
Can anyone decipher this?
The front of T.U.5.C.C. Pilot’s package. His hologram importantly shows the hoses.
I don’t know what kind of ship he pilots. Is this it in the corner right of the package back?

T.U.5.C.C. Pilot Bio
Outpost Zaxxius information

I actually appreciate some of the vagueness of the bios and packaging. Maybe that’s Wal-Torr’s home planet? Maybe this is the T.U.5.C.C. Pilot’s ship? Who knows. Maybe this is all artistic technobabble. I’m good with that.

There is one new backdrop. Wal-Torr comes with a background that I haven’t had, while T.U.5.C.C. Pilot comes with a smaller version of what SSKUR’GE came with.

This is the backdrop. A space scene. I am showing you a photoshop work screen. It is stretched and there is some “spot healing.” I’ll make it super-usable yet.

One more thing about the packaging. Both contained this message, and also a little tray of pegs. At first I thought “What is this? Ammo?” They CAN stand in for ammo. But the intention is that they be mounting pegs. That they are translucent is a nice bonus…translucent works great in science fiction, right?

Somehow I didn’t get a photo of T.U.S.C.C. Pilot in his blister. But I assure you readers, it was comparable to Wal-Torr’s.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGING?

Let’s start with Wal-Torr

  • Wal-Torr figure in terrible urrnje coloring.
  • Two options for a head (alien helmet and skull)
  • Astronaut Space-Suit helmet, which is a collar and bubble
  • Backpack
  • Sci-Fi rifle
  • Sci-Fi pistol
  • Another piece of gear (can be a couple of different things)
  • Map hologram
  • Translucent pegs (that can be ammo)
  • Back adapters
  • Shield
  • Hose
  • Seven (!) pairs of hands. Notably human hands…

So much here, it takes a few photos to capture it all.

This shield comes apart…you could trade pieces if you had more than one.

What about the T.U.5.C.C. Pilot? (GO GAMECOCKS!)

You get…

  • T.U.S.C.C. Pilot figure in glorious Garnet.
  • Two head sculpt options, both aliens, one helmeted and the other weird and blue unhelmeted.
  • Space collar
  • Armor pieces
  • Backpack parts (you can see that I assembled these together.
  • Sci-Fi Rifle
  • Sci-Fi Pistol
  • Multi-purpose weapons part
  • Map hologram
  • Translucent pegs (that can be ammo)
  • pair of alternate hands, (notably three fingered alien hands)
  • Two hoses

As above, it takes more photos to show it all off.

You can remove the bubble from the helmet to get a better look at the “face” on both figures.

There are a lot of similarities here. They have the same exact guns. Wal-Torr wins the accessory battle because he comes with a shield and all those hands. WOW. I figure that they included all of these because they won’t ever issue them in this color again probably. While the pilot’s hands could go on anyone (being black gloved alien fingers).

BUT…You get a lot of options with T.U.5.C.C. Pilot also. Perhaps making the shoulder wings into a backpack was an unintended use…but it’s my toys…I get to play with them! (Thank you, Rob Base!)

Both have the same sculpt in some ways, but different in others. Pilot has sculpted slacks and upper sleeves, while Wal-Torr’s body is fully armored. Both have the same torso with a fan sculpted on the chest. Pilot’s cover’s his up when wearing that collar. Wal-Torr’s backpack was actually one of the intriguing sculpted elements that caught my attention in pictures. I didn’t realize it was a backpack until I had the figure in hand, however.

The hose with Wal-Torr creates questions. Where is it supposed to go? The two hoses with Pilot seem very purposeful. In the photo above, I only realized right before taking it that there were holes in the collar for it.

Their guns are the same with different colors. And there is that other little piece. Is it a scope sight? Is it a laser for the wrists? Is it a magazine or power supply? I guess it’s up to your imaginination…it can be all of those things.

The hologram is the same for both figures, only Wal-Torr’s is a more pleasing blue shade and Pilot’s is grayish. (If you read enough, you know this must be the five rings of the cosmerium or something like that.)

A big problem with the Wal-Torr figure…that space helmet doesn’t snap on. The collar sits loosely. The bubble snaps on to the collar just fine, but the collar is the problem.

The space helmet fits on Man-At-Arms exactly as good as it does on Wal-Torr. Not great. It looks good on him, though.

BUT…that skull head is a great thing. It is missing a tooth, providing options for me to display other skeleton warriors. And it has an articulated jaw.

This is what the New Eternia Skeletor looks like with the skull swapped out. I prefer Skeletor to have some color in his face, rather than being a boring normal skull. Notice that this head is loose on the MASTERVERSE peg.
Perhaps Black Falcon is telling his carrier pigeon to go poop on Demistros‘ limo!

SHOWDOWN…WHO WILL WIN?!

First of all, you all know I am going to be unbiased…(totally)

T.U.5.C.C. Pilot drops in, ready to spray down Wal-Tor with his awesome garnet ammunition. Wal-Torr makes good use of his shield but can’t rightly aim with his pistol in the face of heavy fire.
Quickly thinking about his high school varsity level sled training, Wal-Torr bucks up with that shield and knocks T.U.5.C.C. Pilot LaNorris Sellers back.
Far outclassing his opponent in physicality and skill, our glorious garnet Gamecock is able to chin-kick the hideously colored Clemson opponent.
The Tigers are done for as Wal-Torr is unable to recover from his nimble opponent’s reverse!

Yep. I say I believe the Cosmic Legions T.U.5.C.C. Pilot is the winner here based on his paint job. Now…It is true I don’t like that Clemson orange, but the details on the Pilot really pop with shiny metallic details. I believe mostly Wal-Torr is molded in orange plastic and then washed with a darker shade, while the Pilot has attention to detail that out does him. Now I believe Wal-Torr has better accessories and more adaptability with that skull head. But the amount of variation you can get from T.U.5.C.C. Pilot is greater. The skull head is kind of puzzling, but the blue alien head is a new sculpt that resolves some of the mystery about who these aliens are. And besides. GO GAMECOCKS.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LEGIONS WAL-TORR THE MAD AND T.U.5.C.C. PILOT

I give both figures a 5/5. Great fun! Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

NOTE: On November 30, 2024, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Clemson Tigers 17-14. My prediction came true!