Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull

See the video review HERE.

It makes me wonder…

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

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

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

So how did he turn out?

PACKAGING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FIGURE REVIEW

Here he is in the package

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

What do you get in the package?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ACCESSORIES

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

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

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

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

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

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHRONICLES KING GRAYSKULL

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

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

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

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

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

Maxillius the Harvester

See the video unboxing and initial review on my YouTube Channel

I ordered this guy so long ago. February 2024? Something crazy like that. This was really when I was starting to get into Mythic Legions more heavily, and they announced the Necronominus wave, and I didn’t place any orders…I missed it. But then Big Bad Toy Store had it for pre-order so I got it there, not realizing that Store Horsemen purchasers get theirs first, and also cheaper. But it was a learning experience.

I wanted him because … I mean he’s the grim reaper, right!

PACKAGING

Maxillius comes in the regular collector friendly blister. As you look at it, you might think he has huge hands sticking up beside his hood. Nope. This is a halo. (Yes. A halo of DEATH). My specific example also features the rope around his waist coming down onto the Mythic Legions logo. you can see some stuff behind him, the hard edge of a ziplock bag, and something else that isn’t clear.

On the back you see the Necronominus wave boss, Necronominus himself. (I know I am likely not spelling this correctly, and I also can’t pronounce it. Listen to me stammer on YouTube!).

The figures on the cross sell…I don’t know any of these, but I think I might have seen the blue girl or someone like her in a store. The creature on the bottom is akin to Modulok. It is an alien beast skeleton that you can swap the parts around, and I probably will eventually get that because I like stuff like that. I watched a Dork Lair review of it, which is why I know so much about it.

And the sides…one side gives us the bio from the vague Mythic Legions story. Basically, Maxillius comes before the big boss who is the gaudy skeleton thing featured in the art on the back of the box. (That is Necro-unpronouncable himself). And the other side has a spider which is probably the faction symbol.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX

Here he is, taken directly out. No posing or anything. he stands just fine

Here’s what you get.

  • Maxillius the Harvester action figure
  • Removable robe with rope belt
  • Removable halo
  • Front armor (this was what the mysterious thing in the box was…it was upside down)
  • Scythe weapon. Or should it be labeled a “tool.”
  • Hourglass
  • Pair of pointing hands
  • Alternate head that is a traditional human skull.

And just so you know, this is what he looks like if you remove the halo and the robe. (I also put the other head on)

“Specimen Room” PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Wal-Torr the Mad with Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell etched skull, and Maxillius the Harvester hanging on display using Cosmic Legions figure stand.

One of the selling points of this figure was that it is a bare skeleton, and as far as I know the first one in Mythic Legions. They have since come out with a few others, and I am definitely tempted to get those…one is a box of four glow-in-the-dark Halloween skeletons. “Graveyard Skeletons” or something.

And then the next selling point was you have a three-in-one figure. You can go with bare skeleton, traditional Grim Reaper, or Mythic Legions mini-boss. (Who am I kidding. This guy is a main boss, even if captain gaudy unpronounceable skeleton god is his boss.)

FIGURE REVIEW

This. Sculpt. Is. Amazing. WOW!

I have been seeing the Four Horsemen talk about the dragon kickstarter at recent conventions on YouTube, and one thing to point out…Eric Treadway doesn’t make symmetrical sides. The right and left dragon legs have varying details. Well, this is true here on some of the Maxillius figure. For instance, that halo is made of an upturned ribcage. Each rib has a different treatment.

Speaking of the halo. DUDE. It has MEAT! There are some bloody details around the spotwelds. And then…MEAT FEATHERS. Yep. This is a thing. Coming out the back of the halo are small angel wings made of MEAT FEATHERS.

A glimpse into the increasingly inadequate Nerd Closet. This halo…wow! What a piece. MEAT FEATHERS are a thing. They remind me of the gills on a fish kind of. And those ribs…butcher shop. This was a detail of strength I wasn’t aware of.

While he is wearing the robe, this halo makes it apparent that this grim reaper is a Mythic Legions. It isn’t your average Halloween prop. A casual observer might think “Oh. A doll of the death angel.” But the halo and the armor piece that hangs down front give it intense flare.

And sticking out of the robe are perfectly sculpted feet and hands. This robe has wires in the sleeves…you don’t realize how necessary this is until you think about how important it is for his bony hands to point at stuff. (Especially people that he is reaping).

Surely, you know this image Hub City Geeks…(Google Image Search)

You have two head sculpt options. I thought I would prefer the classic human head, but the more alien head is growing on me. And you can pose the hood over his eyes better with the alien head. But with the human head, it looks more Halloween classic. Now that head is the same head that some other skeletons in Mythic Legions have, but it has less paint…and it could definitely use some black eyes. But also, the alien head’s eyes need some paint. As it is, they are bulbous protrusions with the same bone color as the rest of the skull.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto and Ram Man vs. Mythic Legions Maxillius the Harvester and Skeleton Legion Builder Reinforcement. They fight MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man and Fisto. Maxillius is armed with Masters of the Universe Classics Despara sword and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon shield, while Skeleton Reinforcement is armed with Super7 Ultimates Battle of the Mounds bloody weapons short sword. I understand that in D&D, to beat skeletons you should use hammers and blunt weapons. So metal fist and rammy head…

But taking the robe off. WHOO HOO. What’s underneath!

This skeleton sculpt looks less Lego-ish than I had criticized it as being when I first ordered it. Of course, we are looking at prototypes then, so I am glad to report that the final product doesn’t feel so Ninjago-ish. True, the calves might be more thick than true human bone, but if it was thinner it wouldn’t support the figure’s weight. So we kind of have a tibia and fibula kind of sculpted together, with a patella also glued on. (SpartanNerd dropping the big words today!)

So this skeleton is so accurate! Every vertebrate is a sculpted detail. This is a new neck piece that doesn’t seem to be removable…but why would you? It feels kind of delicate, though. The spine goes down the back of the ribcage, and then the lower spine connects to a ball joint in the upper torso so that we have an “ab crunch” (without the abs.). And I almost didn’t notice at first, but the upper torso has LUNGS sculpted in, perhaps rotten, but this justifies there being some meat for the ball joint to attach.

The ribs are not removable…but they might be for a customizer. It seems like they are glued on the front.

And in this naked form, you have what must be the most articulated Mythic Legions action figure. And I haven’t disassembled him, but you could take him apart and strow bones around everywhere.

The paint on the skeleton…the bone color is a pretty close match to Skeletor’s throne. Reinforcement Skeleton is darker.

Am I Evil”. PICTURED: Mythic Legions Maxillius the Harvester on MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor’s throne. (Also called bone throne, and Havoc throne.)

ACCESSORIES

“I was hardly using it anyway”. PICTURED: Mythic Legions Maxxilius the Harvester and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn. Her soul is a ghostly skull effect from a Mythic Legions Magic effect pack, and they are at Skeletor’s throne with green fire.

Pointing fingers are a necessity for the Grim Reaper. But they gave us this hourglass to capture people’s souls. So cool. I never would have thought of this, but it is a crazy fantasy idea. And here’s one for the nerds. Master Tonberry in Final Fantasy wears a robe, has an instant death knife, and what? An hourglass. So maybe the Horsemen were thinking about this?

The Scythe. (See the picture above). This is huge and all one piece. It is beautifully painted, and has battle scar marks. The stick end is slender and sharp, but this was made for adult collectors, right…(I poked myself with it accidentally and it really hurt 😦

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS MAXILLIUS THE HARVERSTER

Maestro Maxillius”. PICTURED: Mythic Legions figures Maxillius the Harvester, Undead of Vikenfell, Skeleton Legion Builder, Demistros, and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon, and Revelation Scareglo (Comic Con exclusive). The diorama is Skeletor’s bone throne.

Well it was worth the wait!

Maxillius delivers everything I would have wanted, and also MEAT FEATHERS, that I didn’t know I wanted until I had them.

Sculpt- Great. Paint- Great. Accessories- Great. Articulation- Great with no stupid problems.

And what does he add? He adds a bare skeleton, a classic Grim Reaper, and a Mythic Legions Skeleton boss.

Maxillius is a solid 5/5. And I suppose you have to agree with me, Hub City Geeks. What argument is there against this figure being a 5/5? No one ever comments, so LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and COMMENT! Let me know your opinion of Maxillius the Harvester!7

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

I have fond memories of Clawful as a kid. A crab guy with a lobster claw that car really pinch you…that’s the good stuff right there! So this is the first Clawful figure I have owned in maybe 40 years. (I never had the 200x or the Classics version). So for me an important thing will be, “how does it stack up to my memories of the vintage figure?” Keep reading for my review and rating!

PACKAGING

You can see the main window box in the top picture. Once again this is the older style “boring” package. BUT…you can see everything in the box clearly, and I keep finding uses for that rock background in taking photos.

The back of the package has a terrific illustration that really captures the fantasy world of Eternia. Is this the Sea of Rakash? The swamplands? Clawful belongs in this landscape, and as a bonus we can see the Battle Bones parked on an island in the back! Strangely, we don’t get any bio or other story blurb.

The figures below…I don’t have any of them. They are listed as “on backorder” at Entertainment Earth, and I signed up to be notified when they came in. The only one I REALLY want is Faker. I have a Mer-Man (from Revelation), I prefer a hairy Grizzlor (rather than sculpted), and this Buzz-Off looks weird. BUT, I signed up to be notified. I wan’t Faker bad enough. That is an upgraded Mer-Man, and I need a Buzz-Off. so…

There is one more image.

The image on the back shows him fully decked in “New Eternia” mode. This side image is of the vintage appearance, which is actually what you see in the window box.

FIGURE REVIEW

Here he is, completely decked out.

Here is what you get:

  • Clawful Figure (with default vintage-aligned appearance)
  • back armor with horns
  • Bicep bracer
  • power harness with a blue gem.
  • The same orange shield that came with Teela (and Stinkor, but his was blue.)
  • a green mace

This figure is very articulated! The vintage Clawful had a spring-loaded fiddler crab claw. But this one doesn’t have the spring…instead you can pose it how you like and it will stay. The left hand also has articulated parts.

I think this is some of the best paint on a $25 action figure. Nice shading on the claws. The torso and loin cloth were obviously “washed” first, and then details applied. This head sculpt doesn’t look like a muppet, but it doesn’t look like the 200x sculpt either. And yet this is clearly Clawful. Dare I say they nailed Clawful much better than any of the He-Man figures they have done. The blue belt, boots, and horns are metallic and shiny, and you can also see that nice shading on the back shell with the blue into red. Every line of chitin is sculpted evenly. The ugly bumps add a delicious grotesqueness. It is terrific!

There is nothing restricting his articulation at all, either. AND he is one of the tallest MASTERVERSE figures. Here is a pic for some reference. Still shorter than Two-Bad at his tallest point.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Clawful and Two-Bad, as well as Marvel Legends Thanos (comics appearance)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Clawful and Ram Man. Ram Man is armed with MASTERVERSE New Eternia Beast Man’s spiked club.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful vs. Man-At-Arms.

The articulation of these figures makes for some dynamic combat poses.

ACCESSORIES

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful and Revelation Mer-Man. Mer-Man is also armed with a sword from the Mythic Legions Skeleton Legion Builder.

The big shell adds so much to the character. And I’m pretty sure the green mace was the weapon that came with the vintage figure, so Mattel probably figured that an auto-include. BUT. Just like the old days, Clawful has a hard time holding it.

I have found this shield to be BORING. And I re-painted it too. (See it in my review of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man).

But now for the next big elephant in the room. The yellow power harness. Why? I mean, it looks cool. But what does this bring to the table? Is this a story element like Sir Lazer Lot’s Gem of Tamage?

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful and Masters of the Universe Classics Sir Lazer Lot. Suggested dialogue “You have a gem? I have a gem!” Also pictured are Mythic Legions Magic Effects.

This armor with gem adds more to Mer-Man in my opinion. It looks better, and Mer-Man didn’t come with any armor as this is the Revelation cartoon appearance.

I’m not complaining that we got it…I just don’t believe it is an item that carries Clawful’s story forward any without us having context. Look at the back of the armor. That clip is so that you can clip the shell on. But that is completely unnecessary. The shell stays on around the neck just fine.

Is the gem removable? I spent some time with the hair dryer, and I am going to say “no.” It seems like I could have removed it, but then not been able to get it back in. It doesn’t seem to be glued, more like attached when the plastic was still warm or something. Or maybe its glue. I just review them…I don’t make them.

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA CLAWFUL

Clawful here is akin to Beast Man. Both New Eternia figures give you options on how to display them. And this is very welcome! You feel like you have a more “grown-up” toy. Like you could see this as a modern translation in some comic or movie or something. I say bring it on!

I don’t see any reason not to award MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful every point he can get. The sculpt and paint are spot on. The accessories are good, even if the harness is a little strange. The green mace even doesn’t fit right, which might be a point off except that is exactly how the vintage was, making this even more nostalgic. And nostalgia, Hub City Geeks, people pay the big bucks for nostalgia. But this was a low cost item.

I award MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela

Boom! I found a Teela I can support. I didn’t even know they made this one.

So this is “Captain of the Guard” Teela, who is being knighted “Man-At-Arms.” The Teela that becomes angry and angsty. She throws that crown down in a tantrum of a fit in the Revelation show. Rightfully so, I suppose. But all of the Teela figures I saw before this one in the Masterverse line has had that “emo bodybuilder-bounty hunter” look. To me, Teela should be pretty. In fact, usually. Generally. Masters of the Universe females should retain a certain level of feminine attractiveness. I am a fan of the curves on the Filmation show, and as great as the animation on Revelation and Revolution is, that classic female form was abandoned probably on grounds of modern tastes.

But this Teela doesn’t appear manly at all! Keep reading to see how this figure has been one of the best figures I have gotten in a long time.

Packaging

OK. So this is the boring blue package. You can see in the window box everything she comes with. Also, the sword has come loose from her hand.

I got this figure at Toy Federation in Greer, SC. It seems like they had another there also. At $20 for a 7-inch scale A-list character, you can’t beat that.

The art on the side is outstanding, but check out the art on the back of the box.

Once again. BOOM! Whoever did this (Eamon O’Donahue?) great work. Wonderful fantasy artwork feminine beauty. You can see some Wind Raiders flying overhead and some castle to her right. The bio here is a summary of her role in the Revelations cartoon.

The bottom of the package shows off some other figures you can get. At this point I have Teela (of course), Mer-Man, and Skeletor (viking). I don’t care for that inferior Viking He-Man. (That’s no Vikor.). Notice that the Teela in the picture looks fairly different than the actual figure.

Figure Basics (with comparison)

Below is a “Two-for-one” pic. I am showing you everything you get in the box, PLUS what the alternate head looks like on Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela. So, Comparison time? There are things I like about both. But I am into that long red hair. This is the best head I have put on Battleground Teela. Yes…it is loose on that ball joint. But that doesn’t matter. MASTERVERSE Teela has knobby knees and fat elbows. But MOTUC Teela has unsightly pin joins. I have pointed out before when speaking of Despara vs Evil Lyn. The MOTUC females seem more rigid, and it’s true. They are less posable. It is a tradeoff for superior sculpting and paint, I guess. MASTERVERSE Teela also has bigger muscles, but they don’t ooze the manliness. MOTUC Teela is bustier, and I appreciate the more skin shown here. But MASTERVERSE Teela has a classic costume reminiscent of Filmation and also of the vintage figure…a figure I never had. I really never even saw on a shelf until I was an adult.

Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela with extra hands and holding the sword and shield. MOTUC Battleground Teela with alternate “hair-down” head from MASTERVERSE Teela, also holding her original sword and the Great Unrest weapons pack shield.

Action Pics

Here you can see Teela in battle against Mer-Man from the same wave. You can see how the skirt does hinder some of the posing. (You can also see that she and Mer-Man wear the same color of underwear!)

Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela vs. Mer-Man. Mer-Man is armed with not only his scimitar, but also MOTUC Sir Lazer-Lot’s shield.

Finally, I can properly display the father and daughter pair. (You can see Man-At-Arms review here.)

Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms. Teela is wielding The MOTUC Great Unrest Weapons pack sword and pistol, while Man-At-Arms is wielding MOTUC Sir Lazer-Lot’s sword and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Two-Bad’s pistol.

So here she is with a classic group of Filmation friends. I like this kind of “disarmed” picture.

Pictured: All are MASTERVERSE figures. The He-Man shown is my favorite in the line, 40th anniversary.

Why the SpartanNerd believes this is one of the greatest action figures.

At the beginning of this post, I made a bold assertion. This Teela is one of my very favorites. The next picture is going to show you why.

Pictured: MASTERVERSE Scare Glow con-exclusive with Subternia backdrop and an added plant detail, MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela, who is armed with the MOTUC Great Unrest weapons pack snake armor and Staff of Ka. Both characters are using Mythic Legions magic effects, and Scare Glow is on the Cosmic Legions figure stand.

Whoa! Alot going on here! I had to take out the hair dryer because the MOTUC armor is getting some age, but new MASTERVERSE Teela’s head fit right inside after a little blast, making this my preferred way of displaying her. She looks just like the cross-sell art I saw on the cardbacks as a kid. Yes. This is getting into serious collector territory. After all, you are looking at years of building up this figure. But I love it!

SpartanNerd’s rating of MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela

You might have guessed that I would give this figure a rating of 5/5, and you are correct. It hits all of the boxes just as it is.

The two head sculpts are beautifully crafted and painted. The sculpt of her clothes is also very nice. She has great articulation. You have options for displaying her hands. The weakest thing here is that yellow shield, which could use some paint. I threw away the box, but this is beautiful artwork worth keeping a pic of in your Apple library.

But it is the world of possibility that makes this figure fun. Right now that “hair-down” head is on Battleground Teela, who is riding Battle Cat. EPIC! Right now, MASTERVERSE Teela is doing battle with Mythic Legions Demistros wearing that MOTUC armor.

So Hub City Geeks, were you as enthused about this Teela as me? Let me know in the comments!

Animal Warriors of the Kingdom Weapons Loot (Red)

To see video of the AWOK red weapons loot box, click here.

I already reviewed the gold weapons loot, which you can read here.

This time I really wanted to catch the packaging. It was more impressive with the gold weapons, but it still rocks pretty good. (The back is the same, featuring Pale.)

In this set, you get a pair of hooked daggers, a pair of axes (possibly throwing axes), a knife or short sword with a mysterious hole, a bow, the same two-piece spear as in the gold set, and a scimitar.

I decided to get out of the light box and outdoors for these pics!

Here you can see them racked with the gold weapons on my custom weapons racks. Notice that I added that string to the bow.

Here is Savage He-Man riding on my pet potbelly, Nori. He really lends himself to the use of spears. The spear that came with him is very nice, with nice paint. But the AWOK spear is longer. I prefer the red to the gold for a character like this.

Clearly Trap Jaw wins this exchange. Man-E-Robot has successfully parried the short sword attack with the scimitar, however Trap Jaw is swinging with his own dagger arm to cut the hoses. (It could be that Man-E could “ripost” and stab Trap Jaw.)

Least impressive are the curved daggers. I thought they would look good with Beast Man, but they are underwhelming. This is the final picture of the Mythic Legions arrow. After I moved Man-At-Arms from outsided to indoors, I dropped it somewhere.

I want to know why we didn’t get a proper string and arrow with this bow? Even a plastic molded string would have been sufficient compared to no string. I fashioned this bow string out of a piece from a party hat. Notice that the Mythic Legions quiver fits nicely on Man-At-Arms armor, and also notice the figure stand he is on. This is the Mythic Legions figure stand, and I planned on reviewing it in the future, but…spoiler ahead. It is terrible.

Finally, Ram Man with the two hand axes. Because he is an axe wielder naturally, I knew he would look good holding them both. Imagine this dynamo ramming in and swinging those axes!

Rating. Well, I mean they are different enough from the gold weapons…But female figures or figures with smaller hands can’t hold these weapons. I was very tempted to try the bow with Teela for instance, but I am not risking stretching those fingers out or breaking a thumb.

I feel like these want added paint more than the gold ones. The gold weapons have dark handles and wraps, with additional paint on the jewel in the sword. But these weapons are all the same sort of drab color. I have to mark down for the bizarre exclusion of a string or arrows for the bow (We could of at least had a molded quiver, like the Mythic Legions). The packaging is really good however, and these weapons add alot to what you can do with the figures. But they feel less glamorous. In fact, there is another blue and gold set that I have been tempted to pick up…I decided on this instead and kind of feel burned. (There is this shield with a face on it that looks too “smiley” for me). But at least that set had more color

So my rating? 3/5. They aren’t terrible. But I had to improve the bow, and I feel the need to improve the paint. What do you think, Hub City Geeks? Do you think a 3/5 is a fair rating? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man

You can see my video of the package here!

Here I am back to Ram Man. The last Ram Man I had was the Super7 Ultimates MOTUC “re-issue,” that had that orange color scheme on his armor instead of the classic red. The orange was from the “cross sell” art on the back of the vintage figures. It was cool. Very detailed sculpt, with even the boots having skull details.

(Surely people reading the SpartanNerd blog are familiar with vintage Ram Man. But just in case…) The vintage Ram Man toy was so iconic…so incredibly cool and everywhere. Everyone had one. I always felt like his plastic was a little different than the other figures…it felt like some Christmas ornaments my grandmother put on her tree. And it had that springy leg action feature. You locked him down first by pressing his legs up through his armor skirt into his hollow body. Then you pressed this button on the back of the boot, and he would pop up. Only his arms were articulated, and he had this axe that really no one else could hold, and likewise he couldn’t hardly hold anyone else’s weapon. He was featured heavily on the Filmation cartoon, and was portrayed as kind of stupid. And he was shorter than everyone else as well.

But since 200x, Ram Man has been portrayed as larger. And more of a “Juggernaut” type who has powerful strength to smash things with his head. No version of Ram Man has had the spring loaded legs. (I don’t think the 200x toy had them.). I suppose the requirements of modern sculpting just keeps it from happening. But today, I am going to show what I think is a terrific attempt at giving us some of the feel of the vintage Ram Man’s action feature.

Here is what New Eternia Ram Man comes with.

Check out this pose! I know I already talked about what was in the box, so lets talk about these legs. What we have are evidently standard MASTERVERSE legs encased in a hollow rubber tube. It is bendy stuff, and you can see it kinking up behind the left knee. But this is a fine attempt to do something that calls back to that original idea. Just be careful when bending the knees. That green covering prevents you from seeing which direction the knees are facing. I had to feel around for awhile before attempting to pose the legs. I really, really didn’t want to break anything.

So some things I didn’t mention in the package video. The axe has a very nice “patina” on it. Some brown, rusty shading. The armor has the Battle Ram missile warhead on the front.

I haven’t complained too much about the quality of the toys in this line. The ones I have are pretty terrific. I am a very picky customer. There are a few that I am just not going to get, for instance Andra, Mercenary Teela, or any of the Virgil Abloh collection. There is no appeal to those specific offerings for me. I also am holding out for a better Gwildor than the Revolution one they are offering with Orko. I would like a movie accurate figure. Some of their products don’t appeal to me, but otherwise the quality has improved, and the New Eternia figures are giving some of the Masters of the Universe Classics figures a run for their money. Still not quite as awesome of sculpt work as the Horsemen do.

Which is why the next statement is shocking. Ram Man is the first MASTERVERSE figure I have that came with a problem.

Full disclosure. I opened and photographed this after 1:00 AM, (I went to a Disturbed concert. Very nice!) I was trying to remove this head, and I just couldn’t get a grip on it. The helmet has smooth surfaces, and my fingers kept sliding off. So my solution was to pinch it tighter. Perhaps I should have got out the hair dryer, but you see, after the Disturbed concert, I wasn’t in the mood to get that out I guess. At any rate, I heard a “crack,” and I knew something very bad was amiss. I got the head off and saw that a piece has cracked, and the neck is separating at the seam. BOO! So for the rest of the photos you will see, I am showing you the head barely on. You can’t tell it isn’t snapped down, but I just couldn’t risk it.

The armor has its own special issues. On Ram Man, I haven’t been able to get the straps to lock tight. The left side keeps bucking open. Why do we have this head? I would have rather had an unhelmeted sculpt like the MOTUC version, with the metal plate on top. This looks like Judge Dredd to me. Is it supposed to be a helmet for riding the Battle Ram? I don’t hate it and am glad to have it. This is one of the New Eternia “riffs” like Beast Man had, where he had awesome fur armor in addition to vintage style armor.

And here he is with the Samurai helmet. This one does remind me of Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I don’t have a problem with that, but I have never thought of Shredder as being so big. (This weapon is the samurai spear from Animal Warriors of the Kingdom.)

Oh yeah…I almost forgot. In the comparison of MEGA Ram Man and the back of MASTERVERSE Ram Man’s back right leg, you can see that he has a stirrup or something…this is a call back to that little switch that activated the action feature in the vintage line!

Speaking of size, Ram Man isn’t a towering Juggernaut as he has been in the past. He isn’t short. But he isn’t bigger than, for example New Eternia Beast Man.

So armor swap time. This armor looks OK on Beast Man. But there is still room. I tried it on 40th anniversary He-Man, but it was way too big. I suppose it could work on Two Bad. The issue is that Ram Man is just “fatter” than anyone else so far.

So I am a little conflicted on scoring this one. I love the character and am glad to have a new figure of him. The sculpt is very nice, and the solution they came to for the springy legs is novel. Nobody ever asked for those two heads, but they are nice additions. The helmet-less head would have been cooler. The armor that goes on top of the armor…really just, “why?” It is barely usable on anyone else, and the straps don’t want to connect. The axe is nicely done, and the paint all around is as well, though I think this Ram Man is a bit more youthful than I would prefer.

The neck joint breakage is a big problem. I am a grown-up. I am not going to cry about stuff getting broken. But what about a kid? And he comes with those alternate heads, but they are not easy to swap even for a dexterous SpartanNerd. But I feel a little burned every time something like this happens. Super7 Ultimate Cobra B.A.T. had a hand that snapped when I was swapping it, and it almost put me completely off of their stuff. But there were other hands. On Ram Man, this was the whole neck joint!

I have to give this figure a low 3/5. The armor is aggravating and the head swap resulted in a broken neck. Those are negatives outweighed by the positives of well-thought-out leg design, excellent sculpting and paint, and variety in the accessories.

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!