I was gifted Terror Claws Skeletor…a version of Skeletor I never had as a kid. (I didn’t care for the generation that was Flying Fist He-Man and Terror Claws Skeletor, and I believe this was He-Man’s fault). But I remember the Terror Claws from the mini comics, and I really like mini comics. (Versions of Skeletor I had were OG, Battle Armor, and Dragon Blaster).
Keep reading to find out my opinion on this Masterverse re-imagined version.
PACKAGING
Terror Claws Skeletor comes in the typical Masterverse package. It has a nice window where you can see the figure inside with some accessories…in this case part of his claw. You can see that he is wearing a helmet with a visor also, which looks kind of Judge Dredd-ish. The art is very nice, showing Terror Claws Skeletor fighting the fully transformed King Hiss.
If you angle the box to the side you can see a continuation of the main image…Cobra Kahn is standing in the background, with Viper Tower looming overhead.
The other side of the box has the library image for those who keep the packaging. I will be cutting this up and adding it to my YouTube video backdrops. But you can see him full on battle posed, and his profile picture at the top.
The back features a photoshopped image of the toy. This bio says that he invented the Terror Claws to go Mano-e-mano with He-Man. (I paraphrased that!). You get some images of the figure with the claws, a back of armor shot where we can see the Dr. Octopus arms, and a mugshot of the helmet with the visor.
There is cross sell on the bottom, showing Terror Claws for one thing, Ninjor…a character that I wasn’t aware of as a child and honestly one of my least favorite Masters characters, and then the newest version of She-Ra.
FIGURE REVIEW
What do you get in the package?
Terror Claws Skeletor figure
Pair of Terror Claws
Pair of alternate hands
Not much to list here. Normally I would complain, but this is Terror Claws Skeletor…his whole jam IS accessories.
This Skeletor has all of the articulation of any Masterverse figure. But this one has a posable jaw, which not every Skeletor gets.
His sculpt and paint are very good. There are dragon details at the top of each terror claw, as well as the classic skull on his armor, but this time kind of cybernetic looking. The armor is what some people like to compare to a crop-top or sports bra…and I agree with joking about that! But it looks like the vintage design. The helmet is kind of a football helmet with spikes running up the mohawk. His feet have metal boots covering monster feet. There is this glossy blue, purple, and silver paint all over the figure, with the same pale blue that BA Skeletor has. I think the paint is one of the best features of this figure. The red belt also compliments red evil eyes that always work for Skeletor.
The visor on the helmet is removable (the helmet is not). This is kind of a sunglasses design…your best bet is to wedge your fingernail at the seam between the helmet and glasses at the top. You can then use the glasses on other figures.
Like I said…that is what this figure is about. Those gigantic claws. This time we have mechanical arms attached to them. These run from the same kind of sockets that we have on the back of New Etheria Hordak (they are for wings). I don’t believe that was a part of the vintage design. What Mattel is doing is updating this Skeletor to have a more techno look, which also tracks well with the old Mini Comics, where the dinosaurs had a “techno virus,” an idea that also was kind of used in the most recent Kevin Smith cartoon series.
PICTURED: New Eternia Battle Armor He-Man vs. New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. Skeletor is meant to go up against Flying Fist He-Man…a figure I do not want.PICTURED: New Eternia Clawful and New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. You can see some shared design aesthetics, for instance Clawful’s new shell on his back and metal boots over monster feet are similar updates to what is going on with Terror Claws Skeletor.PICTURED: New Eternia Fisto fights New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. My complaint about Fisto is that his fist isn’t large enough. It should be as large as Terror Claws Skeletor’s mechanical hands. So Skeletor wins.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF NEW ETERNIA TERROR CLAWS SKELETOR
PICTURED: New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor and New Eternia Evil Lyn. These two look like they belong together, sharing somewhat of a color scheme. I have Skeletor showing Evil Lyn the Star Seed, which he is able to hold no problem with his metal hands. (It is a spherical polished blue quartz from a rock store at a mall somewhere)
I don’t see any reason to downgrade this figure. His paint is especially good, but his terror claws gimmick has been generously updated, and we also have an articulated jaw and sunglasses style visor that we can use on other figures…this is a home run. Plus, I haven’t had any trouble getting him to stand, and you know these claws would normally present a challenge of balance. But not this time. I think it is because the Masterverse line of figures has reached a point where stupid problems like that just don’t come up as much.
Near the end of the line last year, I had a lot of complaints because it seemed that Mattel was cutting paint. They didn’t on this, and I appreciate it very much. Sculpt, Paint, Accessories, Articulation…all points that I am awarding. And I am giving this the feels point because I am very grateful for it as a gift. I didn’t have him as a kid and wouldn’t have gotten him, but I’m glad to have it now…so I award him a 5/5! Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
I was gifted both Origins Cartoon Collection Catra and Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man, both excellent figures and my “jumping on” point for Mattel’s Origins line. Originally I thought I might collect the WWEternia figures, but then I didn’t. And then the Origins line proper, but I went for Masterverse, a scale and detail I still think is more my type. When the Turtles of Grayskull line was announced, it was just wacky enough that I thought I might get them all. But then I didn’t…opting for more Masterverse and Mythic Legions figures instead. And I pretty much just ignored it after that until I was gifted He-Man.
It felt awkward though, not to have any other figures from the line…especially bad guys. But then I saw Skele-Shredder, who was also on sale as a part of the end-of-the-year sale for Club Grayskull, and I picked this up along with Sharella.
Did I make a good choice?
PACKAGING
Just so you know…it is totally worth looking at the unboxing video.
This really blurs the line between playset and packaging. Kind of like the GI Joe Classified series Cold Slither set. Just the same, here are some shots of what is just in the shipper box. It wasn’t cellophane wrapped or anything…just covered in tissue paper.
Skele-Shredder is sitting on his throne in blister plastic. you can see his two display heads and his spikes. The “skull”comes up…it is it’s own separate sliding box top, and the door (which is a jaw) comes down.
The back…This box becomes a prison cell, making it into a dungeon!
Terrific packaging…the best I have seen in the Origins line. Granted I don’t have much, but really what could be better? There are mutagen ooze details all around it as well.
FIGURE REVIEW
Not only am I showing off what you get in the package, but also my collection of Dark Horse Turtles of Grayskull comics.
What do you get in the package?
Minicomic “Havoc is Afoot”
Skele-Shredder action figure
Two alternate heads
Bone ninja claws
Ninja Havoc bladed bo staff. (Not actually sure what it’s called.)
Throne
Foot Clan flag
Havoc flag
The word is that this is the final figure for the Turtles of Grayskull line, and that Mattel wanted to “go out with a bang.” They certainly did!
The figure is painted with the black, purple, and blue “evil” palette that we expect to see for Skeletor and Shredder, with some bony weapon details. You can remove the claws, but the bony shin guards are sculpted on to the boots.
There is a cowl with a soft-goods cape, but I had a problem upon opening my figure. The paint on his shoulder wasn’t dry! And so some of that paint has rubbed off on the underside of the collar…not a big deal. And some got on my finger. I have been doing this hobby for years and years…AND I also opened up practically all of my own children’s toys when they were little kids. I have never seen wet paint on an action figure.
Skele-Shredder has two peg holes on the back of his armor, but it isn’t clear what these are for. He didn’t come with any accessory to slot into those. I thought the flags might have some way, but it just isn’t so. (After thinking about it, it is to add wings from other figures that have been released).
The most notable thing about this actual figure is the options for a head. The stock head is a metal skull mask with a samurai crown, reminiscent of the band Slipknot. Another head is similar, but has a red crown and this is intended to be Shredder, while the other head is yellow with a green crown, intended to be Skeletor. I prefer the metal “stock” head over both of the others. I find it a problem that Skeletor’s head doesn’t have an articulated jaw. He has a permanent open mouth smile.
His articulation is exactly what you would expect…it is the same as Stealth Ninja He-Man and Cartoon Collection Faker. Here’s the list anyway: ball-joint head, rotating shoulders that are ball-on-a-peg, swivel wrists, waist twist, ball-on-peg legs, hinged knees, rotation at the boot cut, and rocker ankles.
“Our articulation is the same, and our parts are swappable. But that’s all we have in common!” PICTURED: Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man and Skele-Shredder, both from the Origins line.
The overall effect of the figure is a perfect combination of Skeletor and Shredder, exactly like his name implies.
ACCESSORIES
The throne. So this is a big draw, and one of the reasons I wanted to get the figure. This is a perfect combination of bony details and metal details. (The toys is made of plastic…references to metal and bone are referring to how the materials look). Most of the chair is made of metal, with a brass or gold outline and a large helmet sitting on top. (This helmet can also be an alternate head for the figure!). The rib cage behind the chair is made of metal blades, and these are all on a movable joint so that you can move them to fit your taste. The armrests of the chair are bone, and there are also two stands for the alternate hands or for storing the ninja spikes. The seat of the chair is sculpted like it is covered in fur, and there is a platform with peg holes for action figure feet beneath the chair.
There are two flags, and these peg in to octagonal holes on either side of the chair. The flag poles are cylindrical, so…(This is a puzzling design.). The only “problem” with this chair is that it is made of thin plastic. I had a hard time getting that helmet attached…I was afraid I would break something by applying too much pressure. Likewise the flags are also flimsy stuff.
For weapons, the claws are removable. These are bent, but don’t look too bad. The main weapon here is the combination ninja spear and Havoc staff. It looks like a cool asian medieval weapon, but with large green skull embedded. There is a mace sculpted to the bottom of the pole, giving it a second business end. Unfortunately, it is kind of loose in Skele-Shredder’s hands.
This box is by itself an awesome accessory. Who is throwing this away or mutilating it? I cut up a lot of packages lately to make backdrops, but not this one.
The Minicomic…here is a picture of the cover along with Sharella’s comic. The story…a follow up to Stealth-Ninja He-Man’s comic that kind of ends on a cliffhanger. An odd choice if indeed this is the end of the Turtles of Grayskull line. (You can find my review of Sharella here).
PHOTOS
“I already took out one robotic turtle, now it’s your turn!” PICTURED: Heatboys Donatello fighting Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder. He has already defeated Super7 Ultimates! Metal Head. I thought Grayskull and New York might as well be together…it already happened in Los Angeles! My review of Heatboys Donatello is very in-depth.
He looks so wacky. That’s why I love this line! And he is a great villain for just about anybody.
“Tonight I dine on Monkey King soup!” PICTURED: Figura Obscura Monkey Kingvs. Skele-Shredder. I said back when I reviewed the Monkey King that I thought he would work well with Ninja Turtles. But I wasn’t thinking about this.“I should pay someone to invent robots to deal with your kind! Or maybe just bully them.” PICTURED: Figura Obscura Mouse Kingvs Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder. I don’t have a Master Splinter figure, but this can work. I expect a re-color of the Mouse King will be released that might be more Splinter-esque.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF TURTLES OF GRAYSKULL SKELE-SHREDDER
Skele-Shredder isn’t that recognizable. If you didn’t know his name…try it. Who is he?
He is heads above the other Origins figures I have, which aren’t many. (Cartoon Collection Prince Adam and Cringer, Faker, and Catra. Powers of Grayskull Sharella. Turtles of Grayskull Stealth Ninja He-Man. These are all I have.). Cringer and Adam might beat him for the “feels” points in my grading system. BUT. I got him to be a villain for exposed toes He-Man. But if he was found at a flea market with no package…would you know who he is?
That package is terrific! The paint is still wet (I’m typing this three weeks after opening it). But he looks great fighting people that aren’t necessarily He-Man or TMNT. He has plenty of accessories and lots of display options. In fact, he is everything that Sharella is not as far as an action figure, and I awarded her only 4/5.
PICTURED: My new Origins and Vintage diorama has Skele-Shredder in the center between the good guys and the bad guys. (Not pictured, Sharella, who is too far over beside the armor-less Man-At-Arms…)
So I award Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
NOTE: There is a secret item in this box that I review here. I placed that part of the review at the very bottom after the rating to prevent anyone from getting this spoiled.
This is my third item from this Four Horsemen Studios line after Figura Obscura Father Christmas, and Figura Obscura Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King. The FH just keep cranking out the hits. I thought for sure we would get a Ghost of Christmas Present, which would probably be an Ogre sized Santa. BUT…two years ago when the Father Christmas just came out, I’m pretty sure I heard Eric Treadaway saying something about the Mouse King. Looks like that came true!
I got an e-mail, of course, that featured some Christmas ornaments and presents on Black Friday. I mentioned it to the Spartan Wife. I spoke with the kids about it. I wondered what it would be, and would I get it. I passed on the Ghost of Christmas Past last year. She’s a pretty figure, and very Christmas. But there just isn’t much use for her in my collection in any alternate way besides some kind of bride. She is an unnaturally pale female under that dress, so I don’t have any further use for her parts. (Turns out the FH re-used the body for a figure of Nymph/Churl that hasn’t been released yet. This mixes parts of Ghost of Christmas Past with parts of Belualyth.)
But when I saw the Mouse King, I knew I had to get it. And it was a small window. In fact, the “All In” Package, that I got for an additional $15 that contains a coffee cup, a Christmas card, and a Fig-pin did sell out by 10:30. So I made the best call.
It’s true I have seen the Nutcracker ballet as well as experienced this as concert music several times. But I am not a Nutcracker Super fan. I like it OK, but Ballet isn’t my jam. I usually use the Sugar Plum Fairies theme when I play NES Tetris. And truly, besides some Trans Siberian Orchestra, that is my fandom for this work. Romantic Era Russian Nationalist classical music isn’t really my preference. (I say Beethoven was the greatest, you know 30-50 years earlier and German). But this figure…the presentation of the Mouse King as a seven-headed villain. This was too good to pass up.
I unboxed this on film, so please watch the video to see the rundown of this terrific box. But here are some more details.
PACKAGING
The packaging works very similar to what we got with Father Christmas and The Monkey King. There is an enclosing “book” capping over the box. This makes for collector friendly packaging and adds worth the the figure for displaying.
The front outside image on the capper gives us a good comic image of the figure, with gold foil details. As you wrap around the box you can see a whole Christmas setting where the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker would take place.
The capper has a backdrop on the other side, giving us a scene inside a grandfather clock. Apparently the Mouse King’s lair. He has a little throne made from a compact mirror and some makeup items. There are books, some kind of snake or cat skull, giving us some context of some of the king’s past victories maybe, and an oil lamp.
Removing the capper from the box reveals the inside box.
On the inside box you have a picture of the Nutcracker and some lady I don’t remember. I’m pretty sure she isn’t the girl having the dream, as that is a child. So I don’t know who this is. One thing about the Four Horsemen showing us this picture…it is taking away some of the mystery of how they might design a Nutcracker to pit against the Mouse King in the future. On the other hand, Nutcrackers are easy to come by, especially in this size and scale, while Mouse Kings are usually missing in action. (Other fantasy villains for Christmas, right? Krampus. The Grinch. Jack Skellington.)
The back has information about the Mouse King. I haven’t read it, I confess. (There is also a booklet inside that I only glanced at. It appears to be a re-telling of the Nutcracker story.
One more thing…
Behind the figure we have yet another backdrop piece which is a clock face, featuring two swans. I don’t know the significance of these two swans, but it made me think of the Swan theatre or something like that Wagner was famous for putting on performances for King Ludwig (Is my history right about this? And if so, does it have anything to do with the Nutcracker?). I already imagine I will use this to remake some Earl Norem photos from the Golden Book “Time Trouble.”
Normally I talk about how you can see the figure inside. Nope. Not this time. They put opaque plastic over the figure so you can’t see him in the blister. Maybe the FH studios thought this one might just be too creepy to see on a store shelf?
FIGURE REVIEW.
What do we get in the package? It is a double blister, and this feels like more stuff than either Father Christmas or Monkey King. Like, more plastic and paint straight up. It weighs more.
The Mouse King Figure
Alternate neck
Alternate frilled collar
Pair of alternate clawing hands
a scepter
a sword
a reversible cape
a flight stand (what?)
and a mystery trash bag. (See the end of the blog entry to know what you get here. NO SPOILERS!)
How does the Mouse King work
I was very cautious this time. I have had a recent spat of problems with Mythic Legions figures. The Monkey King had a lot of problems. Last month, though, I broke Maxillius the Harvesters neck. There has been another recent Cosmic Legion that I will be blogging about soon…and so…I didn’t take any chances. I got the hairdryer out first before I removed any parts.. And thankfully nothing has broken or been too difficult to manage.
He has all of the articulation you expect, but this time he has a huge harness with seven mouse heads on it. Five of these heads are the same. There is one savage rat head with bared teeth, and then there is the king head with a crown of seven bones. This piece by itself weighs as much as the rest of the figure. Luckily, they gave him big feet, but this time with reversed knees, which are anatomically true for a rat I’m pretty sure, but the more I pose him and mess with him, the looser this has become. He also has a tail that works exactly like the Monkey King’s tail as well as the Ninian Infantry tail. In other words…it is bendy and very posable, BUT it doesn’t want to stay in the hole. It did better after I hairdryered it, but it still isn’t reliable. Which is a shame because like real rats, that tail would help him balance.
But…stop SpartanNerd. You are getting ahead of yourself! This sculpt is AMAZING! Of course it is the Four Horsemen Studios work. There are so many details here that just show tremendous love for the subject here, and so much care for their fans. This harness has a gruesome SPINE on the back, and tipped with a violent spike. Where have we seen this before? This is a throwback design from Todd McFarlane’s Spawn…the Violator and similar characters had these spikes.
The Mouse King and the Monkey King do battle at the good-guys office Christmas party. You can see the harness very well, with the five regular heads and the two other heads: Savage and King. Also, you can see how large the cape is. AND the tail.You can find reviews of most figures pictured on the SpartanNerd blog and the SpartanNerd YouTube page.PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Beast Man and Mythic Legions Belualyth. Both are beast masters who control animals.
You can easily remove the harness like any other Mythic Legions head, and this gives you the option to make just a generic mouse or rat warrior. And so…the Mouse King can be used all year long, not only just at Christmas! (Well…a Mouse King can be used anyway all year I suppose.)
You can see in the photo above, I believe the only re-used parts on this figure is the chain mail loin cloth. Maybe the sword is also re-used from a previous figure. Maybe the hands are the same as the Monkey King’s?
Something new to point out about the torso. This figure has new butterfly joints in his shoulders, giving us the ability to make even more dynamic poses with our Mythic Legions. The Mouse King is the first, but evidently all new releases going forward will have this! I have found them to be really tight, and was sure to use the hairdryer. But I had no problems.
PICTURED: Figuara Obscura The Mouse King and Super7 Ultimates! King Conan. Both are doing battle to see who the real king is. If you look close, you can see the Mouse King has a stripe of blood on his face. And King Conan’s gigantic sword is dripping with blood.
Maybe they can just get along.
PICTURED: Figura Obscura Mouse King and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.
You can reverse the cape also, which gives us a different look. I find that in the photo above, some kind of nerve for “The Secret of NIMH”, a movie from the 80’s/
SPARTANNERD RATING OF FIGURA OBSCURA THE MOUSE KING
He earns a 5/5 hands down. Definitely one of the greatest figures of the year!
Here is my metric.
A point for sculpt
A point for paint
A point for articulation, especially with no stupid problems. (OK. The tail)
A point for accessories
A point for what he stands for as a unique action figure
No QC problems this time. AMEN! says Reverend SpartanNerd. (The hair dryer really improves the tail). And you can use this figure year round as a generic rat warrior creature.
Do I wish anything was different? Well, I think they will offer this in a different color some time in the future, probably brown. You might be able to do an homage to Master Splinter in this way. I also wish the seven-headed harness could be used on other figures. The way they did it, they sculpted the frilly collar onto the harness. Additionally, there is a small piece of mouse neck on every hole of the harness. So this head really only can be used for the Mouse King. And one more thing…mind you that these are not complaints…only some things that could improve it even more. We could have been given a mouse rear end. What I mean is…a regular rat body that you could put a head on. Surely in some future we will have this, but if we were given even only one, that would have been something else awesome.
But the Mouse King is awesome as he is! 5/5!
NOW IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET ACCESSORY…KEEP SCROLLING. OTHERWISE
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YOU WERE WARNED!
A Nutcracker head! Here I have placed it on the Kitbash Bros. Gamecocks Knight. There is no Nutcracker body, so you can put him on whoever you want. You could also have it as a severed head beside the Mouse King, which was my first instinct. This head looks battle scarred and beaten, with an eye missing and just some busted up details!
Just something else that pushes this figure over the top! Thanks for reading! Like, subscribe, comment…check out my YouTube channel! Merry Christmas!
It’s that time of year again…and I received my very first Christmas present from a student. General Mills Count Chocula Action Figure by Jada toys.
Now I have eaten this cereal, and if you read the SpartanNerd blog, you also probably have also. It is WAY too chocolate…more like a dessert really. Chocolate cereal pieces with marshmallows. So much nutrition! And if you haven’t eaten it (plenty of international readers it seems,) check out this article, that when I read I learned a lot myself.
I am going to review this figure, but not offer a rating as it is a Christmas gift, and I am very appreciative! (Check out my review of the San Diego Comic Con Ninja Turtles from last year)
PACKAGING
The packaging looks like a more squat and fat version of the cereal box.
You have an image Count Chocula and the General Mills branding featured prominently.
As you turn it around, you can find the nutrition labels, which aren’t that at all, are they? Instead more like a contents list.
On the back you have some Jim Lee DC Comics featuring the Monster Cereal characters up to the point of the early 2020’s. (Carmella Creeper has been added to the family in the past couple of years.). But there is Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Berry Boo, Frute Brute, and Yummy Mummy all featured in this comic, which actually doesn’t seem to pull together a coherent story. But it does kind of show off the personality of each character.
There is a flap that you open to see the figure on the inside. And a large “groovy” image of Count Chocula on the back of the flap. (It turns out that this was a mask to cut out on vintage cereal boxes. I didn’t know! Keep reading!)
You can see Count Chocula inside the window, stuck in his blister card. He has an alternate head with a more surprised expression, and a box of Count Chocula cereal.
FIGURE REVIEW
Normally I would give a photo about what is in the package, but this time the above items are it.
Jada toys made this, and as far as I know the only thing I have with Jada toys is a carded set of micro-machine style GI Joe vehicles.
If Jada would make more of these, I would buy them.
But I know that Jada has been putting out high-level Street Fighter figures for awhile. This action figure is supposedly 1/12 scale, so in scale with vintage Masters of the Universe figures for a small comparison, but kind of in scale with Mythic Legions for a large comparison.
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Origins TMNT Stealth Ninja He-Man, Jada Toys General Mills Count Chocula action figure, and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Showing off the 1/12 scale of Count Chocula with the variance of sizes in that scale.
The box says 21 points of articulation on the nutrition panel. So here they are…
Rotating head on a ball joint that can also look up
shoulders that can swivel up and down and out
swivel-hinged elbows
Rotating wrists
waist twist
Upper-thigh joints
thigh cuts
double-jointed knees
Vertical up-and-down ankle
Rocker feet on a swivel at the ankle
So I only count 20 points. BUT, they could be counting the cape. By the way, it is a removable cape and probably should count as an accessory. You could put it on almost any other figure.
ACCESSORIES
Count Chocula came with an alternate head that shows an expression that he seems to make a lot in animation. It is a google-eyed surprise face…the same face a kid is making when served this food of course.
What is happening here?
There is a miniature box of cereal with images on the front and back but no side labels or nutrition facts. One side basically is the same image from vintage boxes. The back is the same mask from the inside of the package, but this time with the instructions “Cut out mask! Fool your friends! Play monsters!” And that is how I knew this mask was a feature.
PICTURED: Figura Obscura Father Christmas brings joy to the orphanage, while MASTERVERSE Revelation Orko babysits. Looks like Count Chocula is donating some cereal! (Last year’s gift, Loyal Subjects San Diego Comic Con TMNT set is shown here)
PLAYING WITH COUNT CHOCULA
You just don’t get more 1980’s than this.DC Comics literally did the comic panels on the back of the box. It is funny…this is a different kind of Batman Off-World. Count Chocula fits right over Batman.
SPARTANNERD RATING
I am going to rate this…FUN/FUN. That’s right! Thanks for the gift! I love it, and Count Chocula isn’t anything but fun. Spending time with this action figure made me think of how actually goofy this character. Is. I mean…a vampire with no fangs…instead buck teeth. He kind of looks like a 1950’s host of a show or something, but then you see all the chocolate coloring all over him. he has an instant appeal as a cartoon character. So many vampires instantly look threatening. No fear is possible when looking at this guy. And now I am getting too philosophical!
So let me know in the comments Hub City Geeks if you eat this cereal. Do you have other action figures in this line? Let me know in the comments! Merry Christmas!
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!
I went with my Apple Cash to the Toy Federation, hoping to find Beaulythe to be my first Mythic Legions lady. (I know I didn’t spell that right!) They had a few Mythics there, but not who I came for. So then I started looking around at other stuff. Eventually I came to something I actually never heard of…”The Undead Builder Pack.” Seemed like a winner for a guy with a big collection of skeletons. Keep reading to see how it turned out!
PACKAGING
This is the same Mythic Legions package, with the same “classic” kind of art. BUT. This time it is a full oversized image in the background, meaning I can now throw away the older small ones I have around.
The card image behind the blisters
You have a double blister inside that you can see the figure very well. And all the accessories. And that is what this figure is REALLY about. The back features the art from the Necronominus wave, but zoomed out.
The big skeleton god is appears smaller in this exposed version of the image. And let’s take a second to talk about him. I have been critical of this image…that the figure looks goofy. Blah Blah Blah. But I saw it in person…Like I almost bought it instead of the undead builder pack. That headdress can’t look right in a 2d image…too goofy. In full on person, it looks amazing. It is kind of like Maxillius the Harvester, with all these intricate bone details all over the armor, etc. The cross sell also features the other figures released in this wave, including the one I came to get but they didn’t have, but also the Turpiculi, which I suppose I will eventually get. I was just really shocked at how cool Necronomius (I can’t say it or spell it) came out. And so this means…the Undead Builder Pack must have been cool enough to come away with instead of those guys! Also of interest to the readers, the skeletal horse, Conabus (spelling?) also has far more details in person than I had detected from images.
We do have a brief bio…it says something like “the dead do not rest in peace on Mythos.” But it says it in a verbose and over-the-top way.
WHAT DO WE GET IN THE PACKAGE?
Rather than get the figure out and put him together in some way, I figured it would better serve us all to show a picture of the items in the two blisters. There is so much here!
Undead figure, with translucent ghostly jaw-less skull, arms, hands, and thighs, and feet.
two different “smoke” effects
Three alternate head sculpts
Opaque rotten arms
Opaque Rotten thighs
translucent and opaque angle joints
Opaque Feet
Mace
short handle axe (halberd head)
curved sword (khopesh?)
belt
shoulder armor
Back adapter set
small smoke effects
handcuffs with metal chain
alternate collar piece
Six ghostly hands
eight opaque rotten hands
And this is the WINNER! I have no other action figure with this many parts. Not even Black Falcon!
BUT…
FIGURE REVIEW
As a figure with all of this, like if this was the only one you had, that would be incredible. But I think the Four Horsemen were thinking people like me would be adding the parts of this as accessories to our other existing figures.
As a figure, vanilla out of the blister, he is pretty good. These translucent ghostly parts have a “gumminess” to them that is very welcome, and makes this figure extremely versatile.
It wouldn’t have been my choice to market him with the translucent half skull as the main look. It is OK, but that screams “ghost” to me and not “zombie.” They should have put the head with the open mouth on there. But this is me nit-picking about their choice. This doesn’t have any bearing on how great this set is!
He comes apart easily and is very modular, and also highly articulated as a positive consequence. The opaque undead parts are masterfully sculpted. These feel like the classic Mythic Legions, and you might need a hair dryer. (I didn’t). And the details. Wow! We could have had two symetrical thighs, but no the Horsemen went the extra mile and gave us different decayed details on each one. And this is so throughout the character.
Yes. This can be a standalone action figure for a fan of zombies I guess. But the real magic is what it brings to everyone else. As such, I am giving you lots of examples in Mythic Legions as well as other figures.
The three weapons…we already have the axe head. The other weapons were new to the SpartanNerd.
All of those heads and hands!
And so here is my only one complaint. And the Horsemen did this on purpose I’m sure. We are a torso/waist, set of wrists and lower legs from having a second figure. In fact, I wish they had done this. Gave us TWO full figures in the package. One fully ghosted and the other fully zombified. I mean. We are literally six parts away from that.
But the nature of this set is that we will customize our other figures.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF THE MYTHIC LEGIONS UNDEAD BUILDER PACK
MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn energizes her staff while holding the spectral skull of an evil master.Thulsa Doom, a figure that woefully lacked snake themed items, can hold the little smoke effect as a magic serpent.In honor of Mattel giving us all kinds of cool origins figures in the $10 CLUB GRAYSKULL membership, I put the decayed head on Masters of the Universe Classics Despara. See the irony. The sarcasm! Why no MASTERVERSE in the Club Grayskull? They didn’t make this clear!
It can’t give anything but a 5/5.
Sculpt- The Four Horsemen bring us another incredible piece of art
Paint- The opaque parts are sickening gray, and the armor and weapons have very nice paint. The head sculpts are also painted very well. The translucent parts don’t have paint and don’t need it. (There is a dab on the face sculpts)
Articulation- The ghostly parts are very modular, and I didn’t need a hair dryer for the parts in this set.
Accessories- This figure is almost ONLY accessories, if you like to count alternate hands and feet as accessories. Otherwise the smokey energy effects and the three weapons are very nice.
Significance- I bought this so that it could add to my skeleton collection. And it does that very well!
And we are moving into the “Mega Bloks” kind of aspect of Mythic Legions. Masters of the Universe Modulok. This kind of figure. And I actually have the blue knight builder on order, so there is more like this to come eventually to the SpartanNerd. AND…Back to the Tupiculi. That guy is firmly one of my future buys.
I award the Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
spartannerd 