Tag Archives: Moss Man

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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See the video review of this figure HERE.

I ordered MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela from BigBadToyStore when she was first released, and this time I did something different…I ordered three other things that I sent to the “Pile of Loot.” So lots of reviews coming soon! (New Etheria Hordak, New Eternia Cobra Kahn, and Mythic Legions Belualyth…I will update links as I review them)

And why did I order this Teela, when I already had three other modern Teela figures? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

In this box you can see her very well. And she is looking upwards.

Teela came in the typical “Transformers” style packaging. (I use that term in reference to the way Hasbro has been doing TF toys for awhile…it increases the artwork and minimizes the blister plastic). We have a good image of her on the front holding the Staff of Ka…but you could mistake her for rowing a boat! After all, there is a Merfolk warrior looking on. (Aquaticans, I believe in Motu lore). As the image wraps around you can see her golden horse that was depicted in the early mini comics. (OK, so if Mattel doesn’t give us such a horse, this is the Four Horsemen’s chance to capitalize on what people surely will want!) Also in that wraparound image, we have an image of Castle Grayskull, but in 200x style! And we all know, Mattel and Mondo are both going to be issuing some 200x style toys. (This is a whole blog entry itself when more details get revealed).

The other side has the library image for people who store their action figures in the box, with her having windblown hair and wearing the “warrior goddess” snake headdress. And so we have homage to four different iterations of Masters of the Universe…200x with the castle, mini comics with the golden horse, filmation with the main presentation, and vintage toy with the hooded look.

The back has kind of generic photoshop of the figure, and just like the Green Goddess and Evil-Lyn, they have “airbrushed” off the seam at the thigh cut. We all know it’s there. Come on Mattel, why lie to us? Teela has a bio indicating that she has embraced her destiny as “the avatar” of “The Goddess of New Eternia.” Underneath this bio there are three cross-sell images that in addition to this figure includes Hordak and Kobra Kahn. I suppose the other figure in this was is New Eternia Moss Man, but he was offered only through Mattel Creations, mostly to Club Grayskull members at that. (The cross-sell functions for retail store shelves).

WHAT DO WE GET IN THE BOX

I told you there were seems in the thighs!
  • New Eternia Teela figure
  • Snake headdress
  • shield
  • Staff of Ka
  • Warrior Spear
  • a pair of punching fists

We have the accessories here for two different looks: “Captain of the Guard” and “Warrior Goddess.” And this starts to get into the weeds of who even is this character. Most people will remember Teela from the Filmation Cartoon and other iterations (200x) as the Captain of the Guard. And the presentation here is clearly homage to the vintage action figure, being a repaint of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn with a different head. (In the vintage line, it was the other way around!) The whole Warrior Goddess thing comes from the early mini comics, which is basically an entirely different story from the Filmation show. When I was a kid I was confused by this, but you know…pretty much since I was in high school and began to get back into Masters of the Universe that there were different forces writing different stories has been clear. As Warrior Goddess, in the first issue she was green. (This is why I tend to call MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela “The Green Goddess.” This is a fan nickname, like Baby Yoda for instance). In subsequent issues she was colored caucasian, and sometimes blonde instead of ginger. There is this whole story about Skeletor cloning her to be his bride also, and so that is why there is a Sorceress and more of a princess Teela. (It feels so weird typing all that. The mini comics were indeed different!)

Yep. This actually happened in the mini comics story “The Tale of Teela.” Funny how Skeletor says his plan is “simple.” I didn’t imagine all of that about Dolly the Sheep in the 1990’s did I? Also, this is a creeptastic plan. And this story was meant for CHILDREN TO READ. This story kind of explains why Teela has blonde hair and the goddess has red hair and wears that headdress. I’m pretty sure after this story, they began to use the word Sorceress to soften the religious connotations.

The vintage action figure came with this hood and snake staff, as well as a sword I believe. I never had a female action figure until I was 12 years old and got Evil-Lyn for Christmas, so I only know what I have seen in vintage toy stores. But I can see how all of this can be confusing for who this character actually is. But it is just fine to think of her as “He-Man’s girlfriend”.

(In the newest Netflix cartoon, Revolution, Teela and He-Man are practically married by the power of Grayskull at the end! If they make figures of this, I am the first in line! The designs were so pretty!)

FIGURE REVIEW

Well, I am at the point of wondering what the greatest action figure of the year is, and I was starting to think they couldn’t be better than MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, but Teela has proven me wrong!

Teela jumped right into the den of zombies and skeletons! Notice Skeletor’s Staff of Ka being very large and unpainted BOO!

She has the same body as Evil-Lyn, only painted with lighter colors as Teela. The same boots, arm bracers, everything. She has a different skirt piece, and this is a point to bring up because in my figure, this was flattened down far too much, and also askew from the position it should be in. I was able to fix it, but if you are a mint in box collector, look out!

So this sculpt and paint are brilliant. Maybe the best part is that she looks like a real woman with maybe legs that are only slightly too long…(Mattel Barbie dolls famously have this too, so…) In other words, no hyper-sexualized design like something from Street Fighter. The upper body is tastefully presented, and that is kind of refreshing.

Her face sculpt and paint. The image on the back makes her look like the face is more round than it is. She has her hair pulled back in a ponytail, which I guess gives her a high forehead look. But her eyes…They are done very pretty. But I asked the SpartanWife if she thought the same thing as I do. I think she is looking upwards? So for Force Captain, this looks kind of strange if she is just standing there, but not if she is stabbing something with that spear. For the hooded goddess look, this looking up looks more spiritually powered up and otherworldly appropriate.

ACCESSORIES

This Teela proves that Evil-Lyn didn’t come with enough stuff. Sure, you could argue that cape was something, but really it was inexcusable. Teela’s accessory count is very welcome in the MASTERVERSE line. They are bronzy-gold in the same color as the highlights painted on the main figure. BUT…this means the Green Goddess’ Staff of Ka remains the best of the three we have been given. (Skeletor’s throne came with one also)

The Green Goddess’ Staff of Ka is still the best one we’ve been given in MASTERVERSE.

This shield looks very royal and feminine at the same time, and has that barbarian spike in the middle. The spear as well looks like it belongs in the throne room. The only paint of the accessories that I see is the spot of green on the eyes of the snake mask and a brighter colored ring around the “neck” on the Staff of Ka.

The headdress fits loosely to her face, and yet feels snug. How did they do that? I managed to get the Masters of the Unvierse Classics Weapons Pack snake armor on the earlier MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela figure only with a hairdryer. (Granted, it was for a different line…) Teela’s tiara is hidden perfectly by the mask when she has it on, and it really kind of is that she is presented as a different character. A person could be justified in having two of these! (I won’t. I’ll wait on Sorceress of Havoc to come out…that will be AWESOME if they do that!)

Four Teela figures. From top left clockwise. MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela, MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela, Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela (with Revelation alternate head), and MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela kitbash, with Classics weapons and Super7 Ultimates! Conan the Barbarian ceremonial snake dagger.

In the above picture I have kitbashed some MOTUC with MASTERVERSE. Ultimately, the earlier MASTERVERSE Teela seems a lot more “babyish.” You can also see the improvements they have made in the knee joints so they look less lumpy. I heard another reviewer complain about having single jointed elbows, but I think that is the best choice…the arms just look better this way.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA TEELA

I can’t say enough good stuff about the sculpt. (1 point). The paint is very good even if the choice to have her looking upwards is questionable…but she isn’t derp. (1 point). Very good articulation and she stands very well with no stupid problems. (1 point). Her accessory count is very good also. (1 point).

And OK. This is my new “go-to” Teela. I am retiring the kitbash that I have used forever. I’ll keep using MOTUC Battleground Teela for that even more barbarian “skimpy” look, but this figure is downright beautiful, and fun to play with to boot. So with the “feels point” I award MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

Super7 Ultimates! Conan Battle of the Mounds Valeria (Spirit) and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela. Valeria is a spiritual descendant of the Masters of the Universe Classics.

MASTERVERSE Moss Man- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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Check out this review on my YouTube channel!

I saw Moss Man’s reveal online at SDCC, and thought, “I better jump on that or I will miss it like I missed Blade.” (Yes. Still belly-aching about that). What I didn’t expect was for it to be offered FIRST to the people who subscribed to Club Grayskull last year.

All year long I have thought “What a waste of $10. All they have released are Origins figures.” I haven’t been collecting Origins Masters of the Universe figures, mainly because the first couple of waves had colors that pushed against my sensibilities. I mean, the vintage form factor is obviously cool, but the colors they chose just looked like…Play-Doh. And I couldn’t bear it. And even now, the Origins figures still have an off-putting quality. I do feel like what is up ahead in that scale for Mattel looks better, with the MOTU/Thundercats mashup. And then there is the 200x figures that they previewed kind of in the same form as the Thundercats thing.

But back to MASTERVERSE. The line aimed at the Classics collectors. Club Grayskull hasn’t put anything out for us until Moss Man. Now that he is out, I will be looking for more stuff.

Moss Man- This is a figure I remember playing with a lot as a child. That flocking…You know…I thought I imagined that piney fresh scent. I played with him a lot outside in actual moss. We had Stinkor, who definitely smelled “bad.” But Moss Man’s smell was at least not overpowering the actual smell of the pine trees, pecan trees, maple trees, oak trees in Spartanburg. I specifically remember having a large pecan trees on top of a hill behind our house, and there being moss on this tree and hill. It was a good place to play with Moss Man, and also freak out my mother! (“Moss is poisonous.” She might have been right…I looked it up.)

I would eventually get the Masters of the Universe Classics version, which was also flocked. There was controversy at the time…something about “flocked ears.” Mine didn’t have flocked ears.

This was my Classics Moss Man…I sold him off as part of my post-Covid purge. I am regretful.

So how did he turn out? And was he worth the extra $10 paid a year ago? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

Moss Man came in a plastic-free box that contained no blister, and no photography. All artwork. This is in line with Vykron and Snout Spout. This is a great box to keep for storage, or in my case to beef up the forest scenery in my diorama. It has a large picture of Moss Man’s face with energized eyes, reminding us that in recent versions Moss Man is considered a nature god. This is a wraparound image, that has more plants on both sides and some Eternian animals.

The back has an artwork rendition of Moss Man, rather than a photoshop. So this is very welcome in my book. More Art=More Better. If you watched my YouTube video already, you know I missed the faint images of the Roton flying in the background.

So Roton has been on several MASTERVERSE packages. Is this a hint, Hub City Geeks?

Inside there is yet another figure cover. What is disappointing here is that because the words Moss Man are so prevalent, this isn’t that usable as a diorama piece.

I’m complaining about it not being usable, but it really is. You could cut it up or photoshop it or whatever. They gave you something to work with.

Sorry for the blurry photo. This Moss Man title reminds me of a student at the school where I work’s t-shirt for the musical “Wicked”

The other side has an opening in the forest revealing the three Eternia towers. It also features a tree resembling Skytree…the oldest living thing in Eternia according to the filmation cartoon series.

This is a nice picture. But Moss Man is so large it looks strange behind him.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX?

A new use for Mekaneck. Moss Man is ten neck segments tall. (8 inches at the tip of the horn on his back.
  • Moss Man figure
  • Alternate “plant” hand
  • Knife (dagger or machete?)
  • Belt with knife sheath
  • Club (or magic wand/staff?)

So not many accessories here. Notably, he didn’t come with any alternate hands. “The plant hand” thing is also usable in other ways around or on the figure.

FIGURE REVIEW

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Moss Man is very large. The horn on his back makes him slightly taller than Snout Spout, and this is saying something! But if you dig a little deeper, you can see what is really going on here.

Moss Man stands even taller than Snout Spout.

You basically have New Eternia Beast Man’s buck with an armor piece over the top of it. It is clear that the torso, the biceps and elbows, and the thighs are all the same parts that were on NE Beast Man. And this is kind of fitting, considering that the vintage figure was a repaint of Beast Man with flocking.

Moss Man IS taller than NE Beast Man. And yet they share the same basic parts. It is the feet and the head that pushes him over.

Sometimes I think big companies (like Mattel) want US to forget about stuff that came before. For instance, we had a Moss Man in MASTERVERSE already…it was based on the Kevin Smith show. I never picked it up because it didn’t look like MY Moss Man. And they probably want us to forget about the New Eternia Beast Man shown here. (They have two more recent Beast Man figures…the movie version and the ugly version with the articulated jaw. BUT THE SPARTANNERD REMEMBERS! And so Moss Man is using Beast Man’s parts.

I haven’t removed the armor, but that armor is what makes him so tall…it has the spikes on the back similar to Clawful’s armor.

In turning Moss Man’s head, he has so much Michael Bolton hair that his head can’t turn without popping off when his beard rubs against that armor. This is an articulation point worth mentioning, but it is a common problem so I won’t mark off for it. Just the same, don’t be disturbed if your Moss Man loses his head…it goes right back on.

He stands very well, with big feet. But he is kind of stiff in the articulation department. He doesn’t’ seem to be “lanky” like Two-Bad, but he is such a chunk at least I kind of want him to stand there and flex on my diorama.

THE FLOCKING DEBATE

I don’t know how I feel about this not having flocking. The flocking is such an embedded characteristic of the character.

I have two vintage Moss Man figures. One of these was definitely mine as a child. I don’t know why I have two. That flocking is NASTY after all these years.

The sculpt on NE Moss Man is undeniably good. But by removing that fuzzy texture (and piney scent,) it is like removing the soul of the character.

Now if he was flocked, we would lose those sculpted details.

By not releasing him with flocking, they increase their artistic opportunities. But I wonder if there might be a compromise somewhere. Also…maybe one day this will be releases with flocking. OK…one more thing. NE Beast Man and a few others have SOFT GOODS. It just seems like somehow that fuzzy furry quality could have been represented somehow. Maybe make that plastic armor piece cloth goods or something. Or the arm wraps cloth goods.

On the other hand, you can clearly see that my two vintage toys have taken a beating. And that flocking has rubbed off around the joints.

I don’t have to have a totally flocked Moss Man, but that part of his legacy needed to be honored here.

Check out this Earl Norem image from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Magazine, May 1985 issue. (I haven’t removed the poster, so I can only show the bottom corner)

Over and over in old media, Moss Man is presented as a fuzzy-wuzzy.

Check out this DC comic, He-Man and the Eternia War Issue 10 (this one has Skeletor transforming on the front)

Moss Man kamikazes the Fright Zone in this story.

DC New 52 designed him with these horns, but just the same he is a hairy beast. He also wears the gold armor that they seemed to favor.

SPARTANNERD RATING

Sculpt- 1 point. My only complaint about the sculpt is that Mattel doesn’t take efforts to hide the joints. But this is across the board in this line. And at large the figures are under $25. So they aren’t Mythic Legions sculpted and engineered by the Four Horsemen studios.

Paint- 1 point. This is a good paint job. Maybe something could have been done to make his face “pop” a little better in a green context, however.

Articulation- 1 point, with no real “stupid problems”. He stands very well, AND in this picture where he is throwing Stinkor at Two-Bad, I left the room for awhile and returned and he was still standing there holding him all stable!

I did this photo as an homage to the minicomic “The Stench of Evil”. What…your Two-Bad didn’t come with a helmet?

Accessories- Why didn’t this come with more stuff? Why no left gripping hand? BOO! I would even be ok with paying more money for more appropriate accessories.

The feels- Well he’s Moss Man. I have so many fond memories! Playing with him outside in the moss and getting fussed at! On the heroic team, we have needed a Moss Man.

I am not marking Moss Man down for not being flocked. But I am marking him down for not having more accessories. I used that craft moss I got from Hobby Lobby. Mattel should have given us some plants and trees and such. In fact…I had this complaint about the Classics version. (That flower in the photo was in the wild when I took the photo.)

This is Figura Obscura Monkey King, with MASTERVERSE New Eternia Moss Man. Also MOTUC Temple of Darkness Zoar.

I rate MASTERVERSE New Eternia Moss Man a 4/5, losing a point for not having many accessories. I also feel that there should have been some way to present flocking on this figure, if not having him totally flocked. And it isn’t like the technology doesn’t exist…go check out the Mythic Legions “Bryophytis” (I don’t own this one)…he looks just like Moss Man should with a different head.

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

SpartanNerd Review…MOTU Little People

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The SpartanWife said…”I ordered something for you!” I wondered what it was?

This was about…the beginning of May maybe. Then it arrived. So I opened it up and was surprised to see these cuties!

I suppose as a child I had some of these. I’m pretty sure my own children did too. AND…I think we might have a manger scene of them…or maybe my mom did?

The SpartanWife said she just absolutely loved these and the way they were marketed. And so she had to get them for me. I’m glad she did!

The front of the package (shown above) is a nice window box showing you the figures inside. It also has the classic Masters of the Universe exploding rocks theme. There is a Snake Mountain motif. The figures are on a blister that gradients from transparent to solid purple. This box is foil. I mean…absolutely premium foil! See those little round stickers that say “Adventure” “Fantasy” “Ages 1-101.” These are not stickers…they are in fact printed on the box to make it look like it has those. As if they were in the discount bin or you were buying them somewhere cheap. (I looked it up. Not to break etiquette for getting a present, but these sold on Mattel Creations for $29.99). There is also a “Little People Collector” blurb up there on the left corner. Is that a thing? It seems like something that would go well today, with Funko Pops and such everywhere.

The figures you can see are (from top to bottom) He-Man, Skeletor, Moss Man, and Faker. He-Man is holding his non-removable sword. Skeletor has both arms up. Moss Man is an obvious re-paint of a Beast Man…and it is notable that they painted the armor yellow. This is for the SpartanNerd and others like him…we all had the MOTU weapons packs as children, and the Beast Man armor in yellow was a feature of that. You could put it on whoever you want. In this case it is perfect for Moss Man, because he is just a re-deco of Beast Man anyway.). I don’t know if I realized this as a child, however. I’m pretty sure I didn’t realize Stinkor and Mer-Man were the same until I was an adult.

Faker is a re-paint of He-Man. This is notable here because he has He-Man’s armor painted orange. Vintage fans will realize Faker’s original armor was actually Skeletor’s armor in orange. (Or is that yellow?)

What else about the packaging?

The back of the box has some drawings of the characters in this toddler-esque style. Notable that the art features Skeletor holding the Havoc Staff, but the toy does not. The little blurb uses the word “Foil.” Kabaam! Perfect wording! See that price sticker on the bottom…it’s fake!

More stickers on the side.

And another pic of the toys on the other side.

It is collector-friendly packaging…the front cover just slips up over the top. There is a little transparent sticker holding it together. I used a plastic disposable knife even. Then you remove the blister tray. But…

The bottom of the blister was sliced. BOO! The value of this set kind of is in displaying it…(If you aren’t giving it to a toddler.). Now why did this happen? How did this happen? Who knows. But it did.

Here are some pics using the background of the box.

The back of this inner box features the fearsome snake. (This image was previously covered up.). It makes for a nice display.

If the package hadn’t given us enough awesome already…we get some bios! I placed the figures here beside their bio.

So what are these figures…Well. They are basically non-articulated chunks of plastic. They have a hole on the bottom of their shoes so you can make them into finger puppets or maybe put them on some Little People playset pieces. (I believe this was what worked on the aforementioned nativity scene.). I am unaware of any MOTU specific playsets for these figures to use.

Chunks of plastic they be, they are still stinkin’ cute!

Here are some comparison shots.

I enjoy these figures alot! Rev. SpartanNerd has placed them prominently in box in his church office. I thought about taking them out of package and placing them on the dash of my truck, like people are doing with rubber ducks nowadays on Jeeps. But I don’t want them sliding around…

They are terrific office pieces. And maybe I will play with them sometime when I take a break from studying for a sermon?!