I jumped for joy when they leaked/announced this guy. I have waxed poetic about the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, and you can read about that here if you want.
Beast Man is the fourth MASTERVERSE figure specifically from the 1987 movie. (So far we have He-Man, Skeletor, and Evil-Lyn). Like Evil-Lyn, this figure has never been made before. Sure there have been some Beast Man figures…several variations actually. But this is the first movie-inspired design.
PACKAGING
You can see a video review of the packaging here, along with the packaging for Skeletor’s Throne (Review here)
Beast man comes in the same packaging as recent MASTERVERSE figures. This time with a darker theme and the specter of the movie design for Grayskull behind him.
I like this Transformers style packaging, where you can see the figure and the accessories clearly.
FIGURE
I would like to apply for the job of Beef Jerky salesman. Or Insurance man. One or the other.
Here’s what you get in the box
Beast Man figure
Wrist guards
Sword
Pair of open “grabbing” hands.
Not many accessories.
So my thoughts on the general design. Even as a kid, I thought he looked way too much like Chewbacca. (I pronounce that word CHOO-Bahka. I also say TAEN-ussee and Buh-JANG-uls). It was 1987. Star Wars was fresh in our minds. Plenty of other movies were made with similar ideas. Teen Wolf. Harry and the Hendersons. Even King Kong had a little revival around this time.
In the cartoon and on the figure, and in most comics Beast Man is always orange. I suppose the William Stout’s in the design studio thought that wouldn’t work. But this Sasquatch design didn’t ever do it for me. And in the movie he also doesn’t speak. Just growls a few times and grovels at Skeletor after he kills Saurod. (Sadness.)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Beast Man. I really feel like New Eternia is the ultimate design. (Review Here)PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie Skeletor and Movie Beast Man. Beast Man grovels at Skeletor, who now appears to have TWO Havoc Staff. (This is the New Eternia Skeletor throne, and somehow I didn’t put the Staff of Ka where the Havoc Staff is.). Skeletor and He-Man review here.
To me as a Masters of the Universe character, the design was a lot closer to Grizzlor. And I am going to call this my problem with what we have here. If you watch the movie, you can see that fur getting wild and tangled and matted.
No chance for that here…all of the fur is sculpted and molded. Throw in that cheesy smile, and unfortunately, like I said, he looks more like a mascot on a Geico commercial.
And one more thing. His thighs are covered in what would be called armor, but you can see what it is in the picture above. These thigh-pads are supposed to be furry matts to cover the joints and prevent breaking the sculpt. But how wrong does this actually look in any pose outside of basic standing?
ACCESSORIES
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Beast Man and He-Man, both using the movie designs. Notice that I modded He-Man’s gun. Now it has movie-accurate paint.
Here is Beast Man armed with all he came with. You just remove the hands and slide the wrist guards on. I should go back and watch the movie to see instances of Beast Man using this sword.
As a sword, anyone could use it. I do get kind of a “wooden”toy sword vibe off of it. It is a basic as a sword could be, which make He-Man’s sword seem even more better I suppose.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE BEAST MAN (1987 MOVIE)
As much as I love the movie, this figure falls short. It is definitely the weakest we have gotten of the four releases.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie figures released as of August 2024. Beast Man, Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and He-Man. Evil-Lyn review here. What could Evil-Lyn do with two cosmic keys?
However, he does represent hope that we might get more movie designs. I’m pretty sure in Masters of the Universe Classics they released a Karg figure from the William Stout Collection. So Karg will be coming, but hopefully they don’t repeat some of the mistakes they made with Beast Man here. Of Course we will get Blade and Saurod, and very likely “god” Skeletor.
And look how many “good guys” we have. Only He-Man. So bring on the Man-At-Arms movie design and the Teela, and a better Gwildor. (Could they beat the MOTUC Gwildor?)
I just can’t rate this guy very highly. The design is wonky. The paint is good, but that expression on his face just kills any vibe you could get from the rest of the figure. Why are wrist guards considered accessories? Practically he only came with alternate hands (which every MASTERVERSE figure comes with) and a bland sword which might have five seconds of movie time. (I’ll go back and check.)
So I am going to award this figure a reluctant 2/5. One of those points is really optimism for the future, because as a figure, he kind of …
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Movie Beast Man and MASTERVERSE Revelation Stinkor. Stinkor is armed with the boring shield he came with, but I painted gold details on it. He is also using the satellite dish that came with Super7 Ultimates! TMNT Metalhead. This makes a good stand-in for a gun that Stinkor didn’t come with. These two are now at the bottom of my list. Also. SPECIAL EFFECTS ALERT. Thanks to Toypixx Toy Photography
Another one of those orders that took SO LONG. I ordered the Super7 Ultimates! Conan Battle of the Mounds set in March of 2023. And I received it right at the beginning of August 2024
And now it is the last day of September. It has taken me so long because so much drama in life. And we can cap that off with a Hurricane Helene. Regardless I am blessed. Read my review to escape the gloom and doom. (But not the Thulsa Doom.)
There are four figures in all: Conan, Subotai, Valeria (Spirit), and Thulsa Doom.
The front packaging is a nice window box where you can see every figure. There is no slip cover with these, which is different from the others that I have. There is a little bio on the back.
So we didn’t get more torches as a background…instead this bonfire behind each figure. At first glance I thought this was strictly worse. Imagine lining up those torches in a row to create a “hallway.” But actually this bonfire can be pretty useful…I have already found some creative ways to use it. So … Cool!
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Gold Knight Legion Builder (Review coming soon,) Sir Godfrey, and Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE. This little scene is made of different packaging pieces…the fire adds some chaos. I’ll use these figures again later in the review.
I have taken some spicy pics, but for this review I am using very basic props, so you can have a fair look. In some of my prettier pictures, I am using the alternate “bloody” weapons from the exclusive super pack that you received when you ordered all of these as a set.
CONAN
First, Conan. Here is the figure with all you get in the box.
Conan comes with:
Conan figure
Scabbard for Atlantean Sword
Atlantean Sword
Battle Axe, as seen in the movie
Alternate, unhelmeted, neutral head sculpt.
Alternate hands..gripping and open.
Eye of the Serpent necklace
I have King Conan to compare him to. This is a classic, less costumed design as it was of the 20-something year old Arnold Schwarzenegger with his natural face. And it does indeed capture the likeness. As presented, they are two different characters. Obviously the king is old, wise, grizzled, and wizened. This is youthful arena champion-turned adventurer Conan. He is out for revenge against the cult of Set.
PICTURED: Super7 Ulimates! King Conan with Throne of Acquilonia, Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Conan, and Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor with the alternate Battle of the Mounds head. All three are armed with a different version of The Atlantean Sword.
There is a little problem with the armor…See that button on the right shoulder? That is a rubber plug that connects the shoulder pauldron to the tunic. It might have supposed to have been glued…unsure. But it comes out, and it is difficult to get it to stay in. I’ve had to use the hairdryer.
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates Battle of the Mounds Conan with bloodied axe, and Super7 Ultimates! “Timber” from Snake Eyes. You can see that berserker Conan here has a hole in his armor where that pauldron plugs in. In the movie, a pack of wolves attack him. Next scene, he has fur all over his armor…
The berserker/maurauder head is insane, but I prefer the more relaxed unhelmeted head.
All of the articulation is what you would expect, and furthermore if you could remove the armor, I am certain you would just have Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor’s torso buck underneath. The hair does hinder the head movement some.
Though the Atlantean Sword is huge in the movie, I believe this rendition with all of these figures is just too big to be an accurate recreation. You can see that there is better paint on this version than the version that came with the king. I haven’t had any paint chip off of the hilts in this set (yet)
THULSA DOOM
I am writing this just one week after James Earl Jones passed away. Sad stuff. He was a great actor…he contributed so much to everything he did, from Thulsa Doom to Mufasa to Darth Vader to The Sandlot. And in this movie he was a very terrifying villain if you like Conan the Barbarian at all. All of these worshippers…he had them completely hypnotized. And that he could change into a snake was a cool power. I know it was the 1980’s, but this was an underused power in the movie.
Here is what you get with Thulsa Doom:
Thulsa Doom figure with removable cape.
Alternate head sculpt capturing Thulsa’s awesome battle helmet
Twin daggers
The ceremonial snake “Fangs of the Serpent” Dagger
A bow with a snake arrow.
Alternate hands…fists and praying hands.
This sculpt looks just like James Earl Jones. Really, the likeness to the look of the character in the movie is remarkable. Just like Conan, you have identical articulation that is restricted by the head sculpt only. Very likely also Vikor’s buck with some armor sculped and glued over. This cape is an improvement on what we saw on King Conan. It has Velcro straps that reach around.
I think the helmeted head is over-the-top. I wish we had a curly snake. In the movie he takes the normal snake and stretches it into this arrow with the instructions “seek.” It becomes a homing arrow. Unfortunately, you can’t get him into a proper archery pose. Like most figures nowadays that have bows and arrows, he can’t properly “knock” the arrow. Check out the back of the cape.
The Fangs of the Serpent knife is very detailed and welcome, though I am uncertain he ever actually uses it in the movie. If I remember right, it is the king who hires them to save his daughter that has it.
SUBOTAI
If you ever read any Conan the Barbarian comics, he is usually paired with someone weaker but smarter. In this movie that is Subotai.
Here’s what Subotai comes with:
Subotai figure
Alternate head with a different expression
Spear
Short sword with a scabbard
Bow with arrow
Alternate hands with…wait for it…separations in the fingers so you can “attempt” a proper arrow pose.
This buck is different, and I looked to see who I have that might share it. I believe Ultimates! Snake Eyes from GI Joe has this same torso. It is smaller, skinnier as to be expected with no ab crunch.
Once again, this head sculpt looks like the actor and the character. (Gerry Lopez-he is also a professional surfer!)
Perhaps of the four, this is my least favorite. But it is good variety, and I wish I had the monk guy, and also Thorgrim, (this figure costs a ton at this point). And now an admission from the SpartanNerd. I got so frustrated trying to get Subotai into an arrow pose, I didn’t even try with Thulsa Doom. 😦
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mouinds Conan and Subotai with MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout. There is a classic Robert E. Howard story, the Tower of the Elephant, or something like that. So here is a remix of that.
VALERIA (Spirit)
Valeria isn’t even named in the movie, only the credits. But she is truly the driver of this story about a slave who finds freedom. She has her own type of slavery to be free of.
This is the perfect portrait of Sandahl Bergman. I’m sure Arnold and the estate of James Earl Jones don’t need this NIL money so much, but I hope this figure bankrolls Sandahl and Gerry. Especially Sandahl, who was such an underused actress after this terrific performance. Enough glowing…get to it SpartanNerd! Of these four figures, Valeria is my favorite to photograph!
But we don’t get much with this figure. And readers of the blog know that this really bothers the SpartanNerd.
With Valeria we get…
A slender, curved sword, like she wields in her final scene.
Alternate hands. There are gripping and fists. (She came with princess wave hands displayed).
And that’s it. 😦
We could have got The Eye of the Serpent necklace that she and Conan stole. (But Conan from this same set came with that…)
We could have got…really all kinds of accessories. But we got just the basics. To be fair, this is what she used in the scene where she returns as a Valkyrie to save Conan, and this is what she was wearing.
So…some sort-of uncomfortable things to talk about…
To preserve her side hip profile, which is obviously a panty-less lady barbarian, there is a ”split” in the skirt piece on her leotard. This is left unpainted, but you can see the joint seams, and that isn’t very flattering.
(OK…she has silver-painted under there. I know someone was wondering. Reverend SpartanNerd condemns thee!) But on the side profile, what could be the most attractive curve on the figure…the way this breaks up the sculpt doesn’t do it for me.
The articulation is very good, and she can turn her head but you have to move her locks over. These shoulder pauldrons are glued on, and her straps are painted details. That she is chrome silver is very nice.
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates Valeria (Spirit) and Mythic Legions Sir Godfrey. Both have brilliant chrome paint.
I think Sandahl is actually taller than this figure portrays. Probably to accommodate those ridiculous wings on top of the helmet (AWESOME!), they made the figure just a tad shorter. Below I am showing off the Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela along with Valeria (Spirit,) and I think they have made her shorter. Wouldn’t this figure technically be the 5.0 MOTUC figure?
The Snake Dagger is perfect with the Teela, Warrior Goddess outfit.
Actually, I think they are the same basic body. So maybe not. Maybe just the MOTUC scale is actually too small to properly capture Sandahl’s height. (I am using the MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela’s alternate hair’s-down head, as I usually do. No, it doesn’t fit snugly)
BATTLE OF THE MOUNDS BLOODY WEAPONS SUPER PACK
Here’s what you get with this exclusive pack:
Conan Broken Father Sword
Conan Atlantean Sword (Bloody)
Subotai Spear (Bloody)
Subotai Arrow (Bloody)
Thulsa Doom Fangs of the Serpent Dagger (Bloody)
Subotai Sword (Bloody)
Valeria Sword (bloody)
Conan Axe (Bloody)
Conan Father Sword
Don’t these guys just look better armed with these weapons!
Conan’s father’s sword, along with the father’s half-sword he uses when he defeats Thulsa Doom at the end of the movie… I believe this is the only way to get these two weapons. Conan’s father’s sword is even bigger than the Atlantean sword.
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Thulsa Doom armed with Conan’s Father Sword. he is on the MASTERVERSE New Eternia Bone Throne. If someone besides Skeletor would sit there, it would be Thulsa Doom or King Hiss.SPOILER ALERT. This is how the movie ends.
SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF THE BATTLE OF THE MOUNDS SET
How should I even do this? As a set, it is a perfect 5/5…it leaves me wanting more, like Thorgrim and the monk guy. Isn’t there another barbarian thug on Thulsa’s team? I think so. I want those guys. As a set, 5/5.
Here is my rating of each part of the set.
Conan– 4/5. The armor strap button is a problem. You can see how loose it is even in these pictures.
Thulsa Doom– 5/5. James Earl Jones is honored very well with this figure.
Subotai– 4/5. even though he has that notched finger, it is still pretty hard to get him to pull off an archers pose.
Valeria (Spirit)– The sculpt and the paint carries this one. 5/5…my favorite to photograph. Though there are some unsightly seams on the hips and not many accessories.
Bloodied Weapons Super Pack– 5/5. How useful are these?! See above…the snake witches knife goes perfect with Teela in her cobra snake armor. As far as I know, we never had Conan’s father’s sword. The other weapons are the same that came with the other figures, but with blood. How can that be worse than plain?
So do you agree, or disagree, Hub City Geeks? This time Super7 didn’t ask me to apply for their affiliate program. Either way, these figures are excellent, and I highly recommend them if you like Conan the Barbarian or just barbarians in general.
Whiplash is the only villain in modern form for Masters of the Universe that I feel I am really missing, besides maybe Modulok and Screech. That MASTERVERSE figures are very affordable and generally excellent, and plentiful unlike the superior Masters of the Universe Classics figures has allowed me to have a goal and complete that goal. Reclaim all of the figures I had as a kid. So to me Webstor isn’t important. Jitsu and Ninjor, not important. I didn’t have these. I like the Evil Horde, and will get some of them, but I don’t have the same connection to them as I do Skeletor’s friends. I’m ready for them to release some MASTERVERSE Snake Men. There are also a lot of holes to fill in the Heroic slot for me.
The MASTERVERSE Whiplash figure Mattel has put out just isn’t that great. I haven’t seen it in person, but the pictures I have seen of it just don’t do it for me. Like most MASTERVERSE figures he is too lanky, and I believe Whiplash should be bulkier if anything. The head seems too small and kind of wrong. And the weapons and stuff seem off too. The secondary market price is around $40, and I just figure eventually they will come out with a better one. (I have seen a sealed Classics Whiplash for $200. PASS!)
But then there is this…I saw it at Toy Federation in Greer, SC. (Maybe that is more like Taylors or Simpsonville?). (Excellent store. I can spend hours in there and would if I lived closer!)
So this is SSKUR’GE. A Cosmic Legions figure (and my first one!). In case you didn’t figure out from the context clues, Cosmic Legions is the science fiction version of Mythic Legions. You can see a cross sell from the back of the packaging below.
You can see that there are some other Masters of the Universe tributes in this line. Slush Head and Man-E-Faces.Because this is my first Cosmic Legions figure, I wanted to show off the packaging a little more. Check out the font of SSKUR’GE’s name below.
This little story lets us know that SSKUR’GE is a bounty hunter, and as I read this and the story online about him, I get the feeling that he is kind of like The Skuxxoid from The Transformers.
Outpost Zaxxius is apparently the name of the set that SSKUR’GE was released in.
So what the Four Horsemen studios are doing is kind of one-upping Mattel. They have their own IP, but are doing their figures in tribute colors to the Masters of the Universe. Case in point, I ordered Anthophilees immediately when I saw him. (Maybe get him by Christmas next year. (Sigh.). Anthophilees is the strongest example of them all (Buzz-Off tribute), but here SSKUR’GE is very strong in the Whiplash hole. He really only has one weakness…neither head looks like Whiplash.
(If you want to see another example I have of the Four Horsemen tributing a figure, check out my review of Demistros, the Skeletor tribute.)
When you get him out of the box, this is what you get. You have to attach the tail…
So to accomplish this, you have to take your brand new $75 giant figure and separate the torso from the waist. This was not easy. And then you have some soft goods for furry shorts (not furry shorts), which complicates getting it back together correctly. I am never removing this tail again, or swapping the parts of this figure, so at least I won’t have to do it again. (In case you don’t know, Mythic Legions and Cosmic Legions are entirely parts swappable in their own scale. The scale of this figure is Ogre scale.) I made good use of the hair dryer.
If you watch these little turntable clips, you can hear my birds chirping in the background!
Here I am showing you the figure assembled and everything you get in the box, and also including the inside of the box as the diorama. (He is standing on the box for Skeletor’s Throne)
In the box, you get
SSKUR’GE figure, who is “ogre scale” and of the apparently new “dragon” buck.
Two heads, one dragon “default” and the other alien.
Four alternate hands, two of which are fists
A large spear with a mace head
A scythe and trident intended to combine into one weapon.
THE SCULPT
The Four Horsemen are just the gold standard. That’s it. They have built these lines on this quality pop-art form. Think about it, did you need Mythic Legions or Cosmic Legions in your life until you saw them? There is no cartoon or comic book. No video game. Just the toys. They have created a line of generic fantasy that is positively KILLING IT. They made it for the Elden Ring fans and Dungeons and Dragons crowd. They made it so it goes with Masters of the Universe, or in this case also Star Wars or Transformers.
We have seen elements of this sculpt before in MOTUC Draego Man. I don’t have that figure any more, but I went back and looked at some pictures. They have truly advanced their ideas. Draego Man as a figure appears to be much stiffer and have less character. You don’t see the joints right off like you did in the old MOTUC days, and that has something to do with it.Here SSKUR’GE (I really like typing that name) has similar scales and toothy, horned elements. (This exact same sculpt with different paint is available as Mythic Legions Araccagor.)
I don’t know if you can tell, but I don’t care too much for that alien head. To me it looks like some kind of sad duck. The reason I almost punted on this figure is that neither head really looks like Whiplash…But…
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre, armed with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom’s gold axe. And SSKUR’GE armed with the scythe and trident spear.PICTURED: Same as above, but this time Balthor is throwing a Skeleton Legion Builder figure at SSKUR’GE, who is ready to to use the Whiplash tail. Notice the plugs on the back of the harness…I haven’t removed it, but likely one day we will get some wings.
PAINT
(Continued from …But…). The green and blue paint apps on this just overrides the weakness of the head sculpt when you put him with the other MASTERVERSE villains.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Two-Bad and Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE. Don’t these two just “seem” to go together?
The green is intentially two-tone Whiplash colored. The lighter green highlights his face and underside parts like hands, and the darker represents armor on his back. Not only do I get Whiplash vibes, but also Killer Croc vibes.
The armor pieces like the bracers and the waist pieces have a metallic sheen that I really like. That soft goods loin cloth is a kind of felt with fancy stripes. I can’t tell if the metal ring on his back is actually metal or plastic, but it is painted in the same color as the shiny parts of green on the harness. There is a pop of gold on his belt.
ACCESSORIES
Oh boy. Here is a weak part.
So the long pole mace that he comes with has the same handle as the weapon that came with my other ogre scale figure. Can’t the Horsemen give us something different? This time it is painted in gold or brass. And what even is a mace like this?
The other two weapons are designed to fit together in tribute to what Whiplash came with in the 200x line. The problem is, the handles are for a different scale of a figure.
PICTURED: Comparison Time! I don’t’ have a vintage Whiplash, but I picked up a loose 200x Whiplash the day before I decided to go back to Toy Federation. To me, everything is similar except the head sculpt.PICTURED: SSKUR’GE fights against a Legion Builder gold knight (review coming soon) and also Mythic Legions Sir Godfrey (I think I have the name correct.) My point is that the trident and scythe don’t fit on the other pole.
But wait…there’s more…(facepalm)
These weapon pieces would be better if they could fit together on the pole pieces that came with the mace. But they don’t. I tried jamming them together…it just wasn’t really meant to happen. And it would be far cooler if it would work.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LEGIONS SSKUR’GE
I’ve said it before and want to re-iterate. As an adult collector, I have a job. Sometimes I have two. I have real life responsibilities, and this side hobby is pure escapism. It is escapism from the constant bad news. The constant political news. The constant culture wars. Getting this was an alternative to buying new Magic the Gathering cards, or a new video game, or going out to eat somewhere, or going to the movies. The nostalgia factor here is a key part of it. But also, like I said above, the Four Horsemen have created things that you didn’t know you wanted until you saw it. Kind of like Steve Jobs/Apple did with the iPad I am typing on right now. I happened to be going through the area where the Toy Federation is two days in a row. I walked around with the box on the first day, but then bought the 200x version instead. When I went home, it was nagging at me. So the next day when I was in town I went ahead and grabbed it.
SSKUR’GE here checks every box. Can I chalk up the head sculpt not being like Whiplash as a weakness? Not for this product. Both head sculpt options are sculpted and painted terrifically, just neither looks like Whiplash, which at a certain point the Horsemen probably aren’t allowed to do anyway.
I do think the accessories are the weakest point, and believe the Horsemen could have given us a proper scaled trident but cut the corners here. On the other hand, both parts of the weapon have good paint. Still not sure how practical a mace on a long pole would be. But it does look cool, and will be modular with other weapons in ogre scale for the line. And it isn’t like he can’t hold the trident…it is very loose. But this weapon is in scale for the other Mythic Legions that I have so it has additional use.
I couldn’t be happier with this figure. It is one of the best that I purchased over the summer. 5/5. I MIGHT look into getting a proper Whiplash head sculpt on the customizers market. Or maybe I will wait and see if Mattel comes out with a better MASTERVERSE Whiplash. But if they do, it won’t be as awesome as SSKUR’GE. And when assembled with all the bad guys, he really completes the picture.
My “bad guy” collection. Everyone’s here (Except Modulok and Screech). One Day I might update this to be a better pic with a proper diorama backdrop.
So SpartanNerd’s rating of Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE Whiplash is 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, oh Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
I remember watching the Filmation show as a kid, and wondering why we didn’t get this throne with Snake Mountain. It was clearly awesome, and Grayskull came with a chair. What was the deal? I didn’t ponder too much, though. I was just a kid!
As an adult fan, who was watching the 200x Mike Young production show, I noticed Skeletor’s throne was massive. Ridiculous, actually. Such were the times of the early 2000’s, when Dragon Ball Z and similar were the flavor.
With Masters of the Universe Classics, people were making custom bone-thrones for their figures to sit on. These looked so cool, but the ones for sale required a wait time, and you talk about something pricey too.
And then…and OFFICIAL Classics throne for Skeletor came with the Super7 Snake Mountain. The very final MOTUC product. And at that price tag ($700?) no way did it feel the SpartanNerd was ever going to have this thing. And people weren’t selling the pieces off of the gigantic Super7 thing.
So to actually have this MASTERVERSE Skeletor with a throne is pretty incredible. Watch the video below to see my unboxing and packaging commentary.
UNBOXING (Also includes Movie Beast Man, review soon)
I took the box cutter to that top box and got the art pieces off to take pictures. This is great stuff!
REVIEW OF SKELETOR
Here is everything you get in the box
Skeletor figure
Alternate hands…one punching the other open.
The Havoc Staff
Armor with cape attachment
Removable hood
Maybe this next photo will explain this a little more
Skeletor getting ready for…church…
This is exactly the same figure we got with New Eternia Skeletor (Viking). It just has different, arguably better paint. But this head is different. And as far as I know, this is the first non-hooded, bare-boned Skeletor head. The New Adventures design had techno parts. There is also an articulated jaw.
I hear a prominent fan criticizing this head sculpt as appearing to be a chimpanzee skull. And then taking a hair dryer to it. DON’T DO IT! This is by design. Go back and read some of those early Alcala mini comics. I always felt that some of those Skeletor designs of his had that protruding top mouth part, and it looks very chimp-y. But that was how he drew it.
The only criticism I have here then is the one I have gradually gotten from the other New Eternia Skeletor. His left leg is loose at the boot cut and thigh cut. And they didn’t fix it for this offering…his is already loose and he has some trouble standing on two feet.
INTERLUDE
Mattel seemed to celebrate this product just a little bit. Check out the covers of this month’s comic!
So I decided to make a photo of the green cover using the figure. I had the SpartanWife paint his nails. I am not showing this, but when I removed his battle harness, there was purple “bleed” left on his back. It was faint, but it looks like I am seeing some of these kinds of issues recently.
The photo turned out pretty good. I took off the armor and hood, laid the figure on some “green glass”. And placed a green gel in front. I shone a flashlight on it and the surprise imperfections in the gel plastic film made the image extra good.
REVIEW OF SKELETOR’S THRONE.
It didn’t take long for me to assemble it. The diorama card was the hardest part…I had to cut some of the tabs off of the bottom. They come with a design that isn’t supposed to disassemble once put together. But that didn’t suit my storage needs.
But as I stepped back and took a look at it…Then back at the instructions and some promo images…The skull head on top is TOO TALL. We are led to believe the back wall is taller than the chair. NOPE.
So you can see, I had to put some black cardstock from other packaging up behind the head to get proper photos.
You can see the furry seat cushion, and this is a solution to a problem. If you have been following the SpartanNerd blog, then you know that King Conan’s throne can’t be properly sat in by MASTERVERSE figures, making me worry about this. That seat cushion disguises the awkwardness of their butt not being perpendicular to the chair. Cool solution, Mattel! There are also foot pegs on the platform under the chair, so you can peg him in for even more stability.
Here is some more description. Look near He-Man’s feet. Two alien insect skulls with antennae. There are these mandibular halves with teeth coming up beside the throne…this must be the jawbones of wyvyrns. And no way around it…that is a demon skull on top.
…Let’s be real for a minute. Why did Bob Jones University types protest He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as being demonic back in the 1980’s?…
On the back side of the throne there are two stands made of cobra snakes where you can place the Havoc Staff and the Staff of Ka. These are rubbery, and press down and spring back to shape when you load the weapons for display.
Skeletor SHOULD HAVE come with a Staff of Zoar. That has to be what Mattel was going for with the lighting effect. Orange for Zoar, green for Ka, and blue for Havoc. Each a type of magic presented on the Revolution cartoon. But you can give him the Sorceress’s staff. It is too small, but it works.
I swapped the head for this New Eternia (Viking) alternate head. This has been my main Skeletor head, until now…
At first I thought the lighting effect was broken on mine. I put some batteries from the junk drawer in, so I swapped them with new ones from the store, and it still wasn’t working right. I would hit the switch, and it would turn on orange. But it wouldn’t change colors. I walked away for a day to think about it.
I recently had a QC issue with Mattel regarding Sy-Klone. (Review yet to come!) Essentially, they listened to my complaint and offered me a Mekanek to replace him (complimentary) or my money back. I didn’t want to go through this again with the much larger and more expensive Havoc Throne. I didn’t want them to say I was defrauding them or something. I thought…”I can fix this. And if I can’t, I’ll call them then.” So I got to work. I removed the bottom screws, and that was it…it worked! I put them back in loosely and haven’t had any trouble since. Evidently the screws were too tight or something. If you have trouble with yours, try my fix.
You can watch the lighting effect by clicking this link
You can see I went ahead and cut up the box so I could make a larger display. Evil Lyn, Beast Man, Mer-Man, Panthor, and Screech look on as Skeletor charges his Havoc magic.Here is Mythic Legions (NOT!) Demistros sitting on the bone throne, energizing the Staff of Ka. His giant devil head looks like it might be a brother to the one on the top of the chair.And here’s Black Falcon, holding the Staff of Zoar which would surely be his weapon of choice.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF NEW ETERNIA SKELETOR AND HAVOC THRONE
I have to take this objectively. Subjectively, I am really, really happy to have this thing. I have basically all of the bad guys now, and this throne pulls them together on display. (I don’t have Screech or Panthor. My Whiplash is a compromise. Review coming soon!)
Anyway. Objectively.
Skeletor’s new head with an articulated jaw and removable hood is excellent. His new purple and gold paint details are also very good on the battle harness and cape armor. This is also metallic purple paint on the Havoc Staff that matches his armor. This figure didn’t come with any other new accessories, and is in fact exactly like the New Eternia (Viking) Skeletor that we already had, take away the Viking skull and classic head. The packaging is nice, and is slightly different than what is on the cover box, featuring the battle harness instead of the cape armor (I didn’t point that out in the video.)
I gave the original New Eternia Skeletor a 4/5, taking off a point for loose leg joints. It is the same here with this “new” New Eternia Skeletor. 4/5. He has the same leg problems. The new paint and the head with removable hood are very good upgrades, however.
Objectively, about the Havoc Throne. I have to set aside my love for this item and instead point out the strengths and weaknesses.
It is very well done. Easy to assemble. Nice packaging that falls short in the tallness category (see what I did there!) But the artwork on it is wonderful. The furry seat cushion is a novel design that solves the problem of figures sitting awkward, and really any 6-inch figure sits nice on it. Super7 Ultimates!. Mythic Legions. Very nice! The Staff of Ka is a little bit thick, and we are used to seeing it smaller, say for instance in Teela’s hand.
If I am messing with this, I never leave the LED fire lights off. I mean, clear fire is fine. But the colors add much depth, and if you turn off the lights, a real evil atmosphere can be created.
I am giving this throne a 5/5. Sure, I did have to take a screwdriver to it, but I can’t say if that will be everyone’s experience. Maybe mine was an exception. I DO wish the diorama was taller than the skull head. But the packaging is so nice otherwise that it kind of cancels that out. The throne can be stored in that box, or you can use it to display the throne with Skeletor kind of as a statue.
So 4/5 for Skeletor and 5/5 for the throne. What do you think, Hub City Geeks? Am I justified in this rating? Let me know in the comments!
I kept putting this purchase off, but didn’t want another faker situation. I caught Mekaneck on sale on BigBadToyStore, and boom, here was my chance
Here was a character that I owned and played with everyday as a child..not only was he cool to imagine a spy, you could also use the action feature to head butt other characters and knock them down. Another memory about this character. The armor was stiff plastic, which was better than the typical rubber armor. But the tabs broke and so my Mekaneck went shirtless a lot. Stinkor’s armor was the same but orange, so you could mix and match
Who is featured on the bottom? Battle Armor He-Man. This makes the second version in the MASTERVERSE line. Tri-Klops. This makes the second version in the MASTERVERSE line. I concede that each version has its strengths, but don’t feel the need for another Tri-Klops. I predict a big clearance on Battle Armor He-Man eventually because of the glut of product out there. Then I will pick up both version. I actually have King Keldor now, and will be posting a review soon.
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PACKAGING NOTES
You can see the packaging art is very nice, and you can see that the blue Road Ripper is featured heavily. Also, whatever species that Clawful is, there are lots of those guys around, so the illustration makes it seem that Mekaneck is spying on their camp. If you read the little bio story, you can see that New Eternia Mekaneck is part of a submarine squadron, a very cool new spin. (This makes the Road Ripper an aquatic vehicle too! Maybe…maybe!!! We can get a MASTERVERSE Road Ripper! How hard could it be?) You can see in the illustration some classic pieces of Castle Grayskull, namely the weapons, and that chest has the same design as the classic trap door.
This is another one of those boxes that is akin to what is going on with Transformers, and I like this very much. It gives more room for story art, and you can see the figure just fine if you wanted to keep them in box. It is also semi-collector friendly. The blister bubble inside isn’t worth much, but the character can stand in there and be seen without it, and there is a storage compartment for accessories to boot.
FIGURE REVIEW
Here is everything you get in the box:
alternate fist hands
five(!) telescoping neck pieces
classic mace, with a new twist (see below)
shield featuring the blue Road Ripper
The figure stands well and has very good paint. But something especially striking is the VAC METAL or SHINY FOIL goggles! They can do it here, why not on say…Thunder Punch He-Man? It is notable that this is only on the goggles. The other chrome details on the armor are painted. I like the contrast of the dark “furry shorts” and the green-ish belt. I like the silver straps on the boots also.
ACCESSORIES
The shield has “patina” already on the sticker as a part of the design, which is appreciable. These kinds of stickers wear and fade with age, often showing that white paper backing. So they just built it in to this shield, which is the very opposite of some of the boring shields they have given us on some figures. This shield has a peg instead of a strap, making this the second design like this I have seen. There is hole in the wrist and one on the back of the armor where the shield can go. And like I said, could we get a blue Road Ripper?
And now for the new spin on the mace. This mace is presented as a telescope. This is something that never occurred to me, and I wonder if there was a discarded design precedent in the past for the vintage or 200x line. This mace is in two pieces, so the big diamond-y part can detach just like the head or neck pieces. This will make a great new way to display alternate head sculpts. I didn’t get a photo of it, but the shorter “handle” piece is a convincing telescope by itself.
As you can see above, you can use just one of the neck joints to create a classic vintage feel. Or…
You can go more 200x with this one. And I’m not kidding, if I see Mekaneck on clearance in December or sometime, I am picking up more just to get these neck pieces to play with! So this is a big win, Mattel. Thank you for paying attention to what we probably want.
yep. You can use the neck pieces to extend the telescope!
SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA MEKANECK
Are you kidding me? This is one of the best MASTERVERSE figures. Why did I put off this purchase? I think I have been holding out for Faker or Whiplash.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck and Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre. I wanted to highlight just how tall Mekaneck can be…that is like a nine inch figure! Balthor is armed with McFarlane Toys Raven Spawn’s chain.PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck and Man-E-Faces. I am titling this one “Two Wierdos.”
Really the fun doesn’t stop. The figure is sculpted and painted well. The articulation is more than great considering the neck joints. The accessories have been riffed on in the best possible ways. And there is extended funtionality because the end of the telescope can be used to display some of the alternate heads in the future. My rating of this figure is a solid 5/5.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Orko, armed with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom magic staff, displaying Heroic and Evil Magic blast effects.
Maybe you didn’t know, but in addition to being a SpartanNerd and Reverend, he is also a chorus teacher…Yep. With a MMED in Music Education with an emphasis on sight reading music.
Now that I got that qualification (perhaps dis-qualification) out of the way, here is something they teach you at Music Teacher school. You shouldn’t tell the kids that Major sounds happy and Minor sounds sad. They can be either one. A great many country songs with sad subjects are in a Major key, and plenty of party-down rock and pop songs are in a Minor key. So…where is this going in regards to reviewing toys?
Did you catch what I might be talking about from looking at the above four images? The Four Horsemen are presenting the primarily blue and green magic effects as good, and the red and purple as evil. I have learned that the image on the back of the heroic effects depicts Aracagorr, who is a good-guy boss, and the one on the back of the evil effects depicts Poxxus, a bad-guy boss. Why are they pigeon-holing these effects? Outside of Star Wars, this kind of color-coding doesn’t happen much. I mean, it does. It seems like GI Joe might have green-blue blasts and Cobra has red-pink blasts. But some things turn this thinking on its head. The Joker looks cheery and happy, and someone who never saw him before might not think he was evil, but Batman might be construed as evil with the black cape and dark armor. Magic the Gathering flips this script also, Liliana is part of The Gatewatch and is a black-aligned character…White-aligned Heliod showed himself to be a Villain. Final Fantasy X and X-2 also have black mages on the good side. Elden Ring…is anyone good and evil?
How about this? Elemental magic. Lightning is orange or yellow. Ice is clear or white or blue. Life magic tends to show green. Fire orange, red, black. My point is that magic effects is one of the areas of the toy collecting and photography hobby where the fans can be more creative. Right off the bat I disagree with the philosophy the Four Horsemen are giving us for magic and blast effects. And I intend to prove that in the review below.
What do we get in the boxes?
Both are identical, but with different color schemes. You can see them in the packaging clearly, but here is one unpacked.
I’ll go from left to right. A long stringy swirl. 2 large discs, 2 medium discs, and 2 small discs. 2 swirling mists. (I believe the one on the left to be warped…even better then). A long lightning effect and a short lightning effect. A long magic snake effect. And a short skull effect.
Photos of the Mythic Legions Magic Effects in action
I am not going to show that many Mythic Legions toys in this review. So brace yourself. I don’t actually have that many, but I have wanted magic and blast effects for a long time for my action figures. These are the perfect size of six-inch scale. So prepare to see Masters of the Universe Classics, MASTERVERSE, Marvel Legends, and maybe some other things, as well as Mythic Legions.
Pictured: Marvel Legends comic book Thanos with Infinity Gauntlet hand. Mythic Legions Evil and Heroic magic effects skulls.
The little skulls are my favorite. The different colors highlight that Thanos is holding two different souls. Not necessarily good and evil. Because I am talking about mixing it up, why couldn’t one be Green Lantern and the other The Flash!
Pictured: Marvel Legends comic book Thor with Mythic Legions Heroic and Evil lightning effects. What we really need is that lightning in yellow, orange, or white.
Marvel Legends comic book Thor is my worst action figure. The lightning effects really add something to a character like this!
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn and Teela, both with their hair-down head scupts, and MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress. Teela is also armed with the MOTUC Great Unrest Staff of Ka. Also pictured are a variety of Mythic Legions Heroic and Evil Magic effects, and the two halves of the Power Sword from MASTERVERSE Revelation King Greyskull.
That “Pictured” caption took forever to type. Anyway, here I depict a scene where the Sorceress tells Teela and Evil Lyn about the two halves of the Power Sword. The magic effects add a lot to the scene.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull with Mythic Legions Heroic and Evil magic effects.
The back of King Grayskull’s box depicts an image that looks something like this. (I suppose I need to post a review of King Grayskull and the Sorceress soon.)
Pictured: Four Horsemen Studios Demistros, Mythic Legions Skeleton Legion Builder, who is armed with MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor’s scimitar and MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela’s shield.
Here they are with some actual Mythic Legions figures. Demistros is bringing this skeleton warrior back to life. The swirling mist adds something. It is given life by the green soul skull escaping from the red portal. If I had used the red skull, would that story be as clear? Nope.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Comic-Con exclusive Scareglow with diorama box, MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela, armed with The Great Unrest Weapons pack armor and staff of Ka. Cosmic Legions Silver Figure Stand, Mythic Legions green snake effect and green skull effect. An aquarium plant hides the stand.
I didn’t realize that the snake effect was actually a snake until I took this picture. While I am at it, notice that I have Scareglow mounted on the Cosmic Legions Action Figure Stand. So I am going to take a break for a quick review of that as a bonus under the ratings section below.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn and Teela. Evil Lyn has Mythic Legions swirling mist effect. Teela has the red snake effect.
It seems to me that the red snake effect is perfect for the Staff of Ka. Which brings up another point. The Four Horsemen sculpted the Masters of the Universe Classics, and there were a bunch of snake staves sculpted for that line especially for the Snake Men faction. Dare I assert that this magic effect calls back to that?
SpartanNerd Rating of Mythic Legions Heroic Magic Effects and Mythic Legions Evil Magic Effects
Before this review, I actually already used some of the effects in my pictures in reviews on this site. This is a new and very useful item. It adds so much to really so many toys. I only scratched the surface! We need more things like this. The Mythic Legions Magic Effects plays nice in any sandbox. You could definitely use that lightning in Star Wars. You could put those smoke effects behind a Hot Wheels car or something. Disney Barbie dolls. Maleficent. Pokémon. Zelda action figures. I don’t own any of these, but oh the potential! Multiple scales, too. And apply them to the vintage toys like you always wanted.
My hangup is the assertion that the red effects are evil and the blue effects are good. That’s like saying you could only use Metallic crayons for transformers. You can only put ketchup on french fries. You can only add rubber ducks to Jeeps, not Ford trucks (I saw one today with ducks on the dash). I am surprised that this assertion came from such a well-rounded studio.
The sculpts are nice. The product does seem a little bit brittle. I am careful, but some kid out there probably wouldn’t be. But these were made for adult collectors, so…
I bought both sets and am scoring them the same. 5/5. They add very much to all of my collection, and I know they will to yours too!
BONUS:Cosmic Legions Silver Figure Stand.
After such a glowing review…time for a not-so-glowing one, lest you assert I am some kind of loyalist…(Everyone who reads this stuff knows I am honest to a fault perhaps.).
The stand stinks!
The stand came in this polybag with a yellow sticker- (see the photo near the top of the page.)
When you assemble it, well…it seems like the vertical end of the stand should be flush with the platform, doesn’t it. And in fact I have seen pictures of other peoples stand where it is. But mine would not click in. And I used a good screwdriver and a good wife to try and tighten it up. No matter what pressure I put, no matter how tight I made the screws, this “daylight” wouldn’t go away. I was afraid I was going to break it if I kept trying to force it.
If only that was the only problem.
When I was posing my figures outdoors reviewing the Animal Warriors of the Kingdom Red Weapons Loot box, I made a picture of Man-At-Arms using the bow and arrow. (See the review with the picture here.)
I put Duncan in the stand, but realized a problem.
The business end of the stand has this metal claw. Now there were these little rubber bits that covered the metal “points” of this claw. As I was posing the figure, they came off! Luckily no damage was done, and miraculously I kept them from being lost in the grass. But they didn’t make it this review, did they? Now if I use the stand, I have to consider that it might scratch the paint or damage the figure. (You can see these rubber pieces in the Scareglow picture).
My advice, SKIP THIS ONE!
Rating of the Cosmic Legions Silver Figure Stand: 1/5. This thing is awful. I know it is for the science fiction version of Mythic Legions, and I don’t even mind the silver metallic stand. That is fine for whatever. But the assembly went wrong. The rubber things came off and have since been lost while using the stand for its intended function. I worry about damaging figures if I use it. There are better stands out there for your money.
One might argue that it is because I used MASTERVERSE figures instead of Four Horsemen figures. To that I assure you that there isn’t enough difference in the thickness of their waists. I also assert that a figure stand should be versatile. Any action figure within reason should work. Thanos wouldn’t be within reason, so I didn’t try that one. Man-At-Arms should have been fine.
spartannerd 