Tag Archives: Teela

Mythic Legions Mysteries of Mythos box- SpartanNerd Action Figure Showdown

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I am going to wait until the next post to talk about King Conan…in the meantime, let’s talk about what I pulled from the Four Horsemen “Mysteries of Mythos” blind box!

As you can see, I got two figures. The deal with these was purchase the Myteries of Mythos box, and you received a newer figure and an older “out of production” figure that they had in stock at the storehorsemen. The cost was $70 per box, and there was $10 shipping on all orders (flat rate shipping). This still seemed agreeable to me, and I made my order on the final day. Wouldn’t it be great to get “Eagalus?” Here was my chance! I wasn’t allergic to any of the potential older figures, and the hope of picking up that American Eagle Mythic Legion made this worth it. Furthermore, if I purchased either one at a store, I would pay more than $40. I figure this was a new type of “clearance” sale for Four Horsemen Studios.

You can see above that I got “Sir Godfrey” and “Xylernian Guard” Legion Builder. Eagalus was definitely too much of a long shot!

I thought I might do a little comparison…a showdown if you will, sort of like I did with Black Falcon and Demistros. Which figure will win?

OPENING THE XYLERNIAN GUARD LEGION BUILDER

Nothing special here, but I haven’t seen this cardback. It features a Shiva-type of figure. Here is the front and the side with description

I know there is a description, and I read it, but I don’t care one bit. Where can I find this story to read? Maybe I would care more? I am aware of a big “moose” steed that is out of production…I can assume this guy is on his team.

But for me, I see a toy soldier. We have a green “elf” look, and a caucasian look.

Here is everything in the box. Notice that the face shield on the different heads has a different design. One has a cross, while the other is plain. (You are going to see alot of pictures with the parts of “The Throne of Aquilonia.” This is the platform he is standing on and the torches in the background.

So what do we get? Two heads as mentioned above with interchangable facemasks, but non-removable helmets. Two pauldrons, a nice ornamented sword. A huge shield. A belt. A bow. A quiver. And an arrow. This shield features a three-part design. The handle comes off, and the deer figure can separate from the standard piece of the shield. However, I don’t have anything else that can replace the deer, so this is a useless idea for me until my collection gets bigger I guess.

Here is a more “archer” look, fitting for the green elf face.

The sculpt is incredible as always…this is the work of the Four Horsemen after all! There is a soft goods front skirt piece, which is backed by a plastic one. It makes it look busier, but I wonder why they did this? It looks good though. Once again, just like with the skeleton legion builder that I have which came with this same bow and arrow, it is not easy to get a good bow and arrow pose. The skeleton’s arrows were only one color…Xylernian Guard has green on the feathers and the quiver is painted brown. The arrow shafts are silver. So more went into the deco, but there needs to be a way to “knock” the arrow.

Pictured: Super7 Ultimates Black Falcon and Mythic Legions Xylernian Guard figures. Black Falcon is armed with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom gold weapons pack axe. This is a more “heavy duty” build of the legions builder figure.

In the above assassination attempt, you can see that the Super7 Black Falcon looks much more “cartoony” than the Mythic Legions figure.

Pictured: Mythic Legions Xylernian Guard legions builder with un-helmeted MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms head. Note that this head is just sitting there…it doesn’t peg in.

So besides these guys, Demistros, the two ML skeletons I have, and the Tower Ogre, I don’t have many alternate heads. But I found that the unhelmeted Duncan head works very well with this green color scheme.

OPENING SIR GODFREY

Crickets…(I lost the photos of the box!) Trust me. This box was exactly the same as the Skeleton Legions Builder. But it DID have a bio for Sir Godfrey. I suppose it is a shame, as this IS a named character and not really a legion builder. Or is he?

Here is everything you get in the box. Two pauldrons. A sharp mace. A sword. a large shield. A belt. and some pieces that I eventually figured out were back adapters so you can add wings. Also notable, the plume is removable from the helmet.

So Sir Godfrey is obviously a Knight Templar, and I have seen this figure on a peg at Toy Federation in Greer, South Carolina. But I never bought it, being more interested in skeletons. I have also seen a black version with white accents, but don’t know if that is the same character name or a rival or something. Notable, the head of the mace is removable for parts swapping if you have them, and also the front skirt piece is removable if you want to sit him on a ride.

The most striking thing about Sir Godfrey is this silver paint job. WOW! No photo I make could do this justice. It is almost Chrome!

Pictured: Mythic Legions Sir Godfrew and Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela with MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela alternate head. Teela is armed with Sir Godfrey’s sword and her own sword for comparison.

So basically Teela has a new sword! I prefer this to the one she came with. The gold on the hilt matches her armor very well as opposed to that drab brown on her personal sword. Also Godfrey’s sword is thinner, and I appreciate that for such a character as Teela.

Pictured: Mythic Legions Xylernian Guard, Mythic Legions Sir Godfrey, and MASTERVERSE 40th Anniversary He-Man.

I find there to be beautiful congruence in this photo. The crosses on the shields and armor. The swords. That they all stand with the same pose.

Yes, they would probably be on the same team. Maybe they are training here?

ACTION FIGURE SHOWDOWN. WHO WILL WIN?

While Sir Godfrey has striking paint, he is basically a walking suit of armor. He swings down hard on the guard’s parrying sword.

Xylernian Guard has so many options for display. He is basically four characters in one! (Caucasion archer, Caucasian heavy armor, Green Face archer, Green Face heavy armor). So yeah. He knocks down Sir Godfrey and then uses that sword for what it’s for! Hope it is sharp enough to get through that armor, though.

SPARTANNERD’S RATINGS

The SpartanWife said “Well if you get characters you don’t like in this mystery box, you could just sell them.” And she was correct. I could sell these and at least recoup my losses. What losses? I don’t want to! They are terrific additions to my collection. Sir Godfrey’s head makes a great helmet for anyone to hold. All the display options of really both characters.

Scultping is equally good. Paint is wonderfully done. Xylernian Guard is more colorful, but Sir Godfrey is a heavy armored Knight Templar, and should look like this charicature of medieval knights armor. I don’t have any wings for the figures, but those back adapters will come in handy one day no doubt, and can be used on any of my Mythic Legions. They are both nicely articulated.

The only weakness in Xylernian Guard is the difficulty of posing the figure with the bow. The weakness of Sir Godfrey is that he only came with one head, and you don’t know what his face looks like. (I just saw on the internet that versions of him do have an alternate head where you can see his face). Xylernian Guard gets 5/5 AND Sir Godfrey gets 5/5. But the winner of this competition is Xylernian Guard.

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

More on this photo in my next post!

Major and Minor- SpartanNerd Commentary and review of Mythic Legions Magic Effects

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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.

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms

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To see video of Man-At-Arms packaging, click here.

Ah. Man-At-Arms. One of the favorites! And one I picked up for Valentines Day. Yep. It’s April. Almost May. Just now getting to it. (That Disturbed concert really did a number on me!)

Mattel has really done a good job of cutting the blister plastic down. Inside the box you not only get Man-At-Arms, but also a box that contains the other accessories. I said it before, but this is similar to GI Joe Classified.

Here’s what was in the box. Two fists. A non-mustached head. An alternate helmet. And a ball-and chain alternate mace head.

The head sculpts…neither looks very Duncan-ish to me. The mustache is my preference, but it looks too much like the guy who might tie someone to the railroad tracks. The mustacheless one looks like it could be a generic guard, especially with the helmet off. I get that it is supposed to be the two main looks for Man-At-Arms, but this is a miss.

Man-At-Arms has a huge removable pauldron and arm protector, and I really love that. The alternate helmet is welcome…in fact, that we can even remove the helmet and swap it out is cool. Unfortunately, the leg armor is hard-sculpted on.

Pictured: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms and MOTUC Battleground Teela with customized head. She is wearing the alternate helmet that came with Man-At-Arms, and is armed with weapons from The Great Unrest weapons pack.

My feelings on what they’ve done with the mace…I get that this was inspired by an early prototype. But this is faulty execution of a good idea. We should have had a real metal chain instead of this sculpted plastic “stick”.

Pictured: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Man-E-Faces.

I like how they are messing around with the accessories in this line. Man-At-Arms has a little clip on his back to put weapons. But that clip can come off, and it looks like he is holding some kind of Filmation device. Looks like Man-E-Keldor is going to try and steal it. No one will ever notice with that blaster on his head…

Pictured: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Man-E-Faces. Also MASTERVERSE Revelation Orko, who came with Savage He-Man.

Now for some fun!

Pictured: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Trap Jaw. Notice that Man-At-Arms is using the 200x gun from the MOTUC Great Unrest weapons pack.

The caption says it all! He holds this weapon just fine and looks great doing it.

SpartanNerd’s rating is 4/5. Why? The head sculpt isn’t quite right. And that is a key thing to me. I used to have the MOTUC Man-At-Arms, and he was spot on. However, this figure comes with so many options that it is truly outstanding otherwise.

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

MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela

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

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

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

Packaging

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

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

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

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

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

Figure Basics (with comparison)

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

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

Action Pics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SpartanNerd’s rating of MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela

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

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

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

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man

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You can see my video of the package here!

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

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

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

Here is what New Eternia Ram Man comes with.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SpartanNerd thoughts…He-Man and the Eternity War Issues #10 and #11

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I said way back in my 250th blog post that I would be posting a review of Issue #10.  My apologies, readers…life has kept me away from the blog.  And that is going to continue, it seems.  I find blogging to be a relaxing thing, so, I will do it when I can relax.

I think I’ll start with this photo…

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What….These two comics inspired me to produce and take this photo.  (Never realized how hard it is to put an alternate head on King Hsss….)

The events leading up to issue #10 and #11…

Basically, the Horde conquered Eternia.  Hordak had the Fright Zone infect the land, as he acquired the power of Grayskull and seemed to be bringing about the “Age of Horokoth”.  (He used the blood of Grayskull to resurrect his body…previously his spirit was trapped inside a robot life-support casket.)  He forged his own sword of power, etc.

The masters made allies with the Snake Men, who worship the Green Goddess (Teela) as the Sorceress of Serpos.  He-Man decided to eschew the power of Grayskull and only use the power of Adam…bad move, because apparently King Hsss…devoured him off-panel.  (So the main character of He-Man and the Eternity War has been killed….????)

Basically, Skeletor double crosses She-Ra into healing him from his missing jaw, and then uses the power of the Havoc Staff and the Well of Darkness to break into Hordak’s chamber of souls on Despondos.  He steals the souls and leaves She-Ra there stranded with the souls of those she executed as Despara.  Skeletor then teleports back to Eternia, unleashes those souls, which happen to re-possess their physical bodies (which are Horde Troopers,) and they mutiny.  He uses this moment of distraction to kill Hordak with his Horokoth Sword of Power.  (The moment I shouted for joy!  I’ve never been a big fan of the Horde.)  Also along the way, Evil-Lynn became the Sorceress of Horokoth.  Meaning now there are two sorceresses.

Which brings us to Issue 10.

The front cover…

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It has been hinted for quite some time that Skeletor was going to acquire the power of Grayskull.  This is why it seemed so odd that Hordak acquired it first.  And he acquired it in a very backhanded way…

I have this theory…I believe the writers are playing with the toys.  In fact, I think they might be basing their stories on their old childhood versions of the stories, or similar.

Skeletor holding a power sword wearing He-Man’s armor.  This is a strong hint.  I went and tried to duplicate this photo.  But I didn’t get a picture.  It totally works, especially if you give him the pink Prince Adam sword. (However, I don’t have a blue body with gold bracers and a gold belt.)

It was hinted back in the art book…some of the images they released showed Skeletor transformed, and also had his transformation words, “Cry Havoc!  I am Skeletor!”

We are seeing how that story unfolds.

Onto the plot.

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Basically, Prince Adam (actually King Hssss) is inspiring the masters and the Snake Men to attack the Horde.

King Hsss/Adam is wearing the traditional battle armor of the Snake Men, a supposed way to inspire them.  But we, as readers see King Hsss really flaunting who he secretly is.

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Next we see an exchange between Skeletor and Evil-Lynn.  Doesn’t she look cool!

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And now for something random.  Who is this mysterious soldier?  “War Wraith.”  And from my picture earlier, you see why I was inspired to do what I did!  The War Wraith looks incredibly like Evil-Seed.  And I thought he was until Skeletor used his name.

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And then something else we’ve never seen.  Evil-Lynn weeping.  A very spiritual thing this time.  Evidently as a manifestation of the Goddess, she reacts to things happening in the universe.  I’m reading a parallel here to what the Green Goddess (Teela) did when guiding Despara to the point of drawing He-Man’s blood, an act that would ultimately result in the resurrection of Hordak.  This seems out of character.  But it is the way her newfound power is effecting her.  Skeletor isn’t moved, of course.  Except for in the same way the SpartanNerd is moved when the females are crying.  Angry.  I know it isn’t normal, but its true.

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Next, the action cuts to the Masters using the Dragon Walkers to attack Grayskull.  A ridiculous idea.  If Dragon Walkers were real, they would be the clumsiest, stupidest kind of tank ever invented.  They were fun toys, though!  It is interesting that the details of the story mention the gear that makes them work.  More evidence that the writers have been playing with the toys…that gear was a highly noticeable part of the toy.

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And then we see the War Wraith flying on a Roton sniping snake men.  Very cool.  Who was this guy, I asked myself while reading.  He never appeared in any lore previous to now?

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A couple of pages over, and we see the Green Goddess Teela rescue She-Ra.  Divine intervention was basically the only way that could happen.  Deus Ex Machina, right?

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The Dragon Walkers (predictable) couldn’t do the job on the Fright Zone, so Moss Man does it.  He jumps out of the Wind Raider, and face-plants in a “Wrath of God” moment, sacrificing himself.  More Divine Intervention!

(At this point, the comic has a steep death toll.  I think I’ll do a death count on main characters the writers have killed off so far.  We can add Moss Man, again.)

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In the moments after while everyone is celebrating their victory, King Hss/Adam is experiencing pain.  Lots of pain, so he sneaks off for a moment of privacy.  But Rattlor follows him and lets on that he knows the secret, so King Hsss. blasts him with energy, killing him.  (Another main character killed off.)

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After this moment of pain and killing Rattlor, King Hiss/Adam is kicked in the head from behind by the War Wraith, who arrived just barely too late to discover the truth evidently.  He then takes off his mask to reveal his identity as …. Duncan!  (Man-At-Arms)!

Before moving on to Issue 11, which just came out this week, and I just read, let me tell you Hub City Geeks.  I read this book OVER AND OVER.  You might recall that I thought Issue 8 was terrible.  That was a low point.  This issue is a high point however, and Issue 11 is even greater!  (Issue 9 had the Skeletor killing Hordak moment.)

Man-At-Arms has often been made into a bad guy.  But not for Skeletor.  Usually it is a Snake Man.  The only thing that I don’t get is why did they make him look so much like Evil Seed?  This is where I think they were playing around with the toys and maybe head swapping or something, and decided Evil Seed’s armor was pretty cool for Duncan.  In my picture at the beginning, you see I only have the classic Man-At-Arms with a mustache.  (Yes, I have the non mustache head.)  But I don’t have the 200x head without the helmet, so that is as close as I could get.

Onto Issue 11.  The best one yet!  And I can tell I will likely read this one over and over as well.

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The cover shows Man-At-Arms coming out of the shell that was Roboto.  He is holding a blaster as well as his classic mace.

The colors evoke the split personality of Man-At-Arms.  And he is in a target.  Well, that is the First Person Shooter mode of Tri-Clops!

What you need to know is that previously, like, several issues ago, Man-At-Arms was the first Eternian is space.  He retrofitted Roboto into a space suit with life-support, and went into space to destroy Horak’s version of Supreme Verdict, the “Orbital Disrupter.”  however, by the end of the issue, Man-At-Arms and Roboto were plummeting to the surface in a ball of fire.  And until Issue 10, we hadn’t heard from either of them.  Issue 11 tells us the story.

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Robots used all of his energy to protect Man-At-Arms with a type of force field.  He said he had to sacrifice himself because his persona had the personality traits given to him by Duncan.

So basically, Roboto is another character killed off.

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And here comes Tri-Clops.  We’ve seen Tri-Clops working with Hordak recently.  He takes advantage of his new opportunity.

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So Man-At-Arms just destroyed the Orbital Disrupter, fought off an army of Horde satellite drones, re-entered the atmosphere, suffered an emotional loss of Roboto, and STILL can kick the crap out of Tri-Clops.  That’s awesome!

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Here is a total toy moment.  Every kid knows that Tri-Clop’s sword was WAY COOLER than anyone else’s.  Even He-Man’s.  Now the writers have been giving Man-At-Arms Tri-Clops’ sword.!

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And here is a big “duh” moment for Duncan.  Of COURSE Tri-Clops was blind under that visor…

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And Tri-Clops “duh” moment.  Duncan talks too much.  (He always did.)

And I get another shout for joy moment!  SLIME PIT TIME!

Skeletor says “Spare me the lecture.  I know how it works.  I helped design it!”  Duncan is getting slimed .  OH YEAH.  Into a ZOMBIE for SKELETOR.  KA BAAAMMMM!!!!

The Slime Pit was always a toy that I loved to play with.  But my mom wouldn’t let us play with the slime.

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And then we see how Skeletor is going to get the blood of Grayskull.  He is going to literally drain Hordak’s blood!  The cool thing they’ve done with Hordak is make him into a celestial vampire.  He was empowered by the souls of those he slew or led to their death for him.  Now Skeletor is becoming more of a literal vampire.  AND we get to see him without his hood.

And then back to the War Wraith.  “Skeletor sends his regards.”

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Duncan seems to be a total convert to Skeletor’s ways.  He has no mercy on who he thinks is Prince Adam.

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And he’s just about to slay him, when….

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We interrupt this murder with a message from the Goddess and She-Ra, who both are flying on Swift Wind and talking.

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So Evil-Lynn can’t have all this happiness.  She busts up in front of Swifty.

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And then transforms into a bat, the symbol of Horokoth.  It appears, however that Teela the Green Goddess can transform into Serpos, the Snake God from 200x.

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An intense elemental battle between forces of the universe.  Now if only Zoar were to appear…

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Nope.  Back to the other battle.  Of Course, King Hsss. wasn’t going to be bested by a zombified Man-At-Arms.  He transforms and then kills Duncan.  And then more of that pain happens.

And another strong hint that the writers are playing with the toys and getting inspired to write the characters after them.

As King Hsss fights to suppress Prince Adam’s essence, which is fighting inside of him, he explodes in a burst of energy and becomes…

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NAKED!

(Recently there was a figure of Oo-Lar, the Jungle He-Man, who is all nude except for his furry shorts.  He’s even barefooted.)

I can’t wait to see what happens next!

You see, it has been raining like crazy.  I don’t really have anything to do except work and read comics when I get the chance, or maybe mess around with Magic cards.

I give both of these comics a 5/5.  I believe the writers are MOTU fans.  And I believe they are trying hard to give us an adult comic.  They have tastefully set aside some of the things about MOTU that people call “silly”, and created a darker, edgier, more modern story and are doing things with the characters that haven’t been done before.  Sometimes even taking inspiration from things seldom used before.  (Like the Slime Pit.)

Hope to be back soon with a review of the new Masters of the Universe Mini Comics Collection!