Tag Archives: toys

San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Scareglow

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Follow this link to see video of the SpartanNerd talking about this package. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vypm_1GfnJPw5OGGSxXQHT4gJBCdpj6a/view?usp=sharing

I was in Columbia South Carolina (GO GAMECOCKS) and decided to shop for some toys at the local collector store, LT Toys and Stuff. This is a nice place with a good selection of things that interest me. (It was my first time of going there). A good selection of MASTERVERSE figures. On the top shelf I saw the box for Scareglow, but didn’t know what it was, so when I asked for help and the worker opened the box, I was pretty much immediately sold.

Now, before anyone says anything about me paying this price, I know that this figure has been “reprinted” at a lower price point. But do you get the box with that? NOPE. You see, this box is very under appreciated. Think about it, Hub City Geeks…this is the only toy representation of Subternia we will probably ever have. Let that sink in… Do you think they are making a setpiece for Subternia? Some kind of castle? Nope. This cardboard cave is it. Likely all we will ever have. So I am going to take full advantage of this admittedly limited item until it is totally worn out.

Speaking of worn out, I bought this used. Sealed and new is going for $120 ish. The sleeve thing on the front is the only piece that really shows any wear.

After opening it up, I decided I didn’t want the blister so I just tossed that. Here is what you get in the box. Scareglow, who has a cloth cape with a wire in it for posability and features a rubber collar, two alternate hands (one fist and the other opened,) a scythe, and a power sword that features two separable parts.

You can see that this sword is ridiculously oversized. My big question is “why?” I know this story…who doesn’t if you are a MOTU fan? Yes, the sword is separated and must be united…blah blah blah. Why. Is. It. So. Stupidly. Big?

I mean, in the Revelation show, Evil Lyn and Orko (and others) go and ask for the dark half of the Power Sword from Scareglow. You can see that even Scareglow holding the purple half himself looks better than that massive one that looks like some kind of Burger King toy.

These two pieces have a peg to help them stick together, and they go into the hilt by snapping in. You can cross-color it, with yellow on the purple side and purple on the yellow side. These don’t appear to glow, sadly.

OK. So what else besides the sword.

The scythe looks pretty good, and the end of it does glow. So what about the glowing? I am photographing this with a blue light filter, to help make the glowing “pop.” The head glows, apparently molded in glowing plastic. The rest of the glowing is paint. BUT…this isn’t the classic Scareglow look is it? Check the image below for a little comparison.

MEGA Scareglow IS using the correct glowing effect. (The black and white filter helps highlight what I am saying.). Most of his body…maybe all of it is molded in glowing plastic, and then there are black shadows painted on. The MASTERVERSE figure mostly reverses this effect. So there are more dark pieces than glowing pieces. The only reason I can figure for the change is to try and match with the animation. Revelation is the first time we saw Scareglow in cartoon form, so maybe they just tried to make it faithful to that version. I wonder if there might be a New Eternia Scareglow eventually, and maybe even one that can get the spider legs like we saw in the recent Revolution show.

How does the head look on other figures? Skeletor is fine. This head, with the paint job…it reminds me of something from the Eternia War comics…or the DC Comic series that led into it. I am not sure which. But it seems that Skeletor had some kind of skull that he used to communicate with the Horde or something, and eventually he gets mad and kicks it away. I will have to go back through those books and investigate that story. But the skull does remind me of that.

If you put it on a generic Mythic Legion skeleton, it looks ok, but not much neck. The Mythic Legion peg system doesn’t work well with the ball and socket MASTERVERSE joint. I tried to remedy this with the wrist bracer from another figure, and then with the forearm joint. They just don’t work. But he does look creepy with it just sitting on the collar like that.

If you want him to be more generic, I highly suggest it. Just remove the cape and put some kind of helmet on him. Now Liliana of the Veil is his boss.

My rating of the San Diego Comic Con Scareglow is 4/5. Here is my reasoning. That sword just stinks. I mean, the glow effect could be different. But is it wrong? I believe there will be another more classic looking release eventually. And as a glowing paint job on a figure, this is just fine. His articulation is fine, and that cape has a wire in it, making that more posable. The packaging is its own toy and carries over any other flaws I can find.

I mean, with glowing filters added on, you can make other figures really pop. Here is the 200x Zodak figure with MOTUC Faceless One’s Havoc Staff…they look like they should look in Subternia. (Please, Mattel, give us this version of Zodac again. He was the best!)

So do you agree with my rating of 4/5? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE Revlations Evil-Lyn

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Many years ago, at about 5th-6th grade (I’m on the older side, so I might have been 11 turning 12,) I got some of the final Masters of the Universe Toys I would ever have for Christmas. These were Tyrantisaurus, Rio Blast, Extendar, and Evil Lyn. So I took Tyrantisaurus and Evil Lyn with me to my grandma’s party, where I was promptly made fun of. (That’s a doll! You have a girls toy with a purple dinosaur!) Didn’t matter to me. I loved those toys! 

I haven’t owned an Evil Lyn since, (if you disregard the many MEGA ones I have.) So I didn’t even feel bad about picking up two at the same time. I got MASTERVERSE Movie inspired Evil Lyn, and MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn. (See the review of Movie Evil Lyn Here.)

Revelation Evil-Lyn came in this basic style of packaging that all of the first wave of MASTERVERSE figures used. You can see everything you get clearly. Unlike other figures I have opened in the line, this one had a “double blister”. And if I was keeping it MIB that would have been very nice. The top images, you can see that my crop tool hasn’t been working right, but you get the essence of the rest of the packaging. There is a nice artwork of Evil-Lyn on the side. I heard somewhere that Eamon O’Donahue was doing this artwork? I don’t think there has been a piece of MASTERVERSE artwork that I haven’t liked. I might not care for some of the Revelation designs, but this artwork is very good. Evil-Lyn has the tag “Evil Warrior Goddess,” which I am pretty sure was the vintage toy description. (I am saying it one final time, I don’t like this blue window box.)

I was tempted to get the “Bat Sorceress” version, which was SO Eternity War. Maybe I still will someday. But I got this one because she fits with the style of the rest of the bad guys that were dear to my heart. Now I am only waiting on Whiplash and Clawful! Then I will have the whole of MY bad guys. (I place Modulok in with the Horde. Never had Webstor, Ninjor, or Jitsu. Cobra Kahn and Tongue Lasher go with Snake Men, and that will be another collection for me when they ever come out.)

Here’s what you get. Evil-Lyn with an alternate, not helmeted head, a short staff and a long staff, a pocketbook, a pair of punching hands, another gripping hand, and another spellcasting hand. This is a lot of stuff, considering Movie Evil-Lyn came with basically nothing. I am especially fond of the un-helmeted head with white hair. In Filmation we only saw this a couple of times…maybe even only once. 200x and Revelation did this right. In fact, this updated Revelation design has absolutely nothing wrong with it. Nothing to complain about. The sculpt is great! Not sure if it was intentional, but the white haired head also has two-toned eyebrows, giving the appearance of some age. Notable that the other head doesn’t have this detail. (I don’t like God-Lyn. But I do really like the reformed Evil-Lyn (just Lyn?) design. Beautiful and princess-like.)

You can tell that the same designer did these two hairstyles. I in fact double checked to see if this was a re-used part. (It isn’t). The short staff and the long staff. I believe they are the same weapon…she can extend it to use more as a bo staff, and for general magic casting she uses the short staff.

Notice that these 6 to 7 inch scale figures with staffs like to be posed in this way. I have already posted a few pictures of mythic legions, Savage He-Man, and also of Mer-Man doing this pose. Probably even more characters. I will say that the joints are much looser than I would like, and also I was afraid I was going to break the right hand thumb on the gripping hand trying to get her to hold this.

And because Movie Evil-Lyn came with basically nothing, one of the staves is a good weapon for her. Either one only needs one magic staff at a time anyway. Despara here is taller, but doesn’t she seem more stiff? It isn’t an accident. The more recent figures are more posable. Movie Evil-Lyn has no problem standing or being posed. But Revelation Evil-Lyn has looser joints.

Let’s talk pocketbook. If I remember the Revelation Part 1 series, Evil-Lyn carried something around in her pouch. It contained some of the last magic left in Eternia. But no one would have to know that, would they? This is a fine purse, for any female figure actually. I couldn’t resist making this photo!

The alternate head goes nicely on Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela’s body to make basically an entirely different character. I’ll concede that Evil-Lyn has less of a tan, but if she is wearing makeup then this is a fine shade of skin for her face. At least we don’t usually see Evil-Lyn in barbarian armor. See how nice of an added detail the purse is?

These two finally reunited! (The 200x story presented The Faceless One as Evil-Lyn’s father. He was the original protector of the Havoc Staff, and that green face in his off hand is the Ram Stone…magic that can take down any wall.)

That these two bonded in Revelation was quite a surprise. We got more backstories for both characters from that!

I read the Revelation comic book that detailed Skeletor’s origin story. (Spoiler…he is like the Joker. You can’t tell if he is being truthful). My point is…I don’t think Evil-Lyn could be attracted to Skeletor. Not as a bare skull face. She is too beautiful herself for that. True, she lusts for power and Skeletor provides that for her as something to admire as well as gives her an ambition to overthrow. 200x was more believable, that she thought Keldor was handsome, but then the transformation “hideous.” January 25, 2024 UPDATE- Watch Revolution! See how this turned out!

There is a loyalty of Beast Man to Evil-Lyn. Why? I don’t know. She treats him bad. And in Revelation Part 2 she turns him into a gigantic attack dog, that gets thrown into the abyss. AND that is a loose end for the next installment I suppose.

So my rating for this figure. I only have one complaint, and it is that the joints are a bit loose. She can stand just fine, and hold her weapons (but be careful of the thumb). But it isn’t as tight as I would like. I am surprised at how small she is compared to the male figures. (Trust me. Most of the camera shots I took has her standing more in the front, skewing the effect of this). Beast Man pictured above kneeling really makes her look small. But I appreciate her femininity, especially in comparison with the design of Teela. Loose joints, but lots of accessories, another head sculpt that can be used on almost any other female figure with a removable head, a great sculpt and terrific paint job. A versatile pocketbook accessory. Two wand staffs. Nice artwork on the package. I am giving this a 5/5. I mean…maybe 4.5/5 if that is allowed. (Why not. It’s my rating system).

So what do you think, Hub City Geeks? Am I right? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE Trap Jaw

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I already mentioned that I picked up two MASTERVERSE figures on my birthday. Then came Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales which were wrapping up near the end of December. But I missed Trap Jaw from Mattel Creations. This led me to looking around somewhere else to purchase figures, and turns out that this was BigBadToyStore. They had a huge Cyber Monday sale, and I went looking for Super7 Ultimates actually. There was a huge and controversial sale on those. I wound up instead seeing how inexpensive the MASTERVERSE figures were. So I purchased Trap Jaw and Beast Man. Both of them are New Eternia. A video of the packaging below, with me giving commentary.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

So I am pretty tired of using the MASTERVERSE packaging as photo backgrounds. Trap Jaw here is giving us a nice new red background. I am going to use that this time, but next time, something different entirely. You’ll just have to wait on my review of Movie Evil Lyn! 

What they have done with the packaging is more like modern Transformers of similar size. There is a small window in, with wraparound artwork. I like it…it is a departure from what we have had so far. But I was surprised to find something else when I opened the box!

There was a contents graphic on the inside. Furthermore, instead of displaying all of the accessories, they put them in this black box piece of packaging. (Actually packed in a little paper bag). I know this is a concession to cut down on the waste plastic. And I don’t dislike it. It is like a compromise between the windowless Hasbro boxes and classic packaging.

So what do we have?

This is everything you get. The figure, a hook hand attachment, a lazer gun hand attachment, and a claw-mouth hand attachment. And a short sword or dagger, which was a real surprise to me.

Looking a Trap Jaw reminds me of all those re-uses of the leg sculpt in Masters of the Universe Classics. I didn’t have many MOTUC figures, but it seems like several had his legs. Which isn’t a bad thing. They look good. Let’s turn him around. They are more science fiction-y.

You can see that behind him we have the expected clips for the hand attachments, and also a strap for the sword. Once again, what a nice new addition! Trap Jaw to me is the kind of guy who never needed a weapon…I mean, his arm does the trick. Mattel really gave us a nice update here.

As you look around the packaging, sometimes the jaw appears silver and sometimes red. So this begged the question…could we swap the classic “stock” jaw with the one on his arm. YES!

This is a bigger jaw, but looks even more “heavy metal.”

Just for fun, here is a comparison pic. (MEGA Masters…Mattel needs to give us more of this. Soon.)

Here’s another comparison. That is Eternia Mini Trap Jaw from the Snake Mountain exclusive set.

So how long is that machine arm? It almost extends his body twice as tall.

So here is a question. How compatible is he with other figures of a similar gimmick? It always bothered me as a kid that Roboto and Trap Jaw couldn’t swap parts. (I don’t have MASTERVERSE Roboto. Going to wait on a New Eternia version).

New Eternia Trap Jaw does not work with Super7 Ultimates Metal Head. You can see that the pegs are a way different design.

How about Super7 Ultimate Cobra BAT (Comics colors)? I really wanted this one to work. NOPE. You can see I have BAT’s gun arm on there, but it is very loose and holding there by gravity/balancing. There is a little ring on Trap Jaw’s peg that keeps it from working. BAT’s design is like a “straight plug.”

Trap Jaw is the perfect addition to the bad guys. Just like Beast Man, this New Eternia Trap Jaw is a real update. I love it and give it a solid 5/5. 

Hub City Geeks, I just joined the ForEternia.com website. I discovered that He-Man.org is no more. So there you have it. It isn’t like I posted there much since they took everything down except for the forum. I actually lost my log in. I got some feedback from Val Staples a couple of times when I e-mailed him questions, so that was cool. And best of all, one of my songs was on the Roast Gooble Dinner CD they took around to PowerCon, San Diego Comic Con, etc. Not that anybody is beating down the door to listen to my music. Just the same, it is an end of an era in my mind. I started with Adam Tyner’s page all the way back in high school, and that morphed into the org. It was the driving media for MOTUC it seemed. There were toxic elements of it for sure also. Fans seem to want a forum divorced from the industry, and I get that. So I am going to try ForEternia. You might see me on there sometime as the username SPARTANNERD, of course!

MASTERVERSE Revelations Tri-Klops

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What is on December 21? The darkest day of the year? The Winter Solstice?

Nope. The SpartanNerd’s birthday!

So I went to the Toy Federation in Greer. I intended to pick up a Mythic Legion or two. Instead, I picked up two MASTERVERSE figures, and one Mythic Legion. So here is my review of Tri-Klops.

This figure is of the Revelations design for the figure. I got him for $20, specifically because I had a lonely Trap Jaw at the house that seemed to need a Tri-Klops.

[VIDEO OF THE PACKAGE]

Tri-Klops came in the package you would expect. It is blue and boring around the window. There is artwork of the character on the side, and some information and art on the back.

I think it worthy to mention that they have the figure in the vintage style armor…with the priest of the techno cult clothes and armor beside him. Mattel knew they couldn’t sell this toy if he was in that robe.

Here he is out of the package…

As you could see in the box clearly, he came with this armor and sword, an alternate “pope hat” head, alternate “praying” hands, armor with a cape, and a robe. The cape and robe are soft goods.

I almost lost my temper, though. It took me awhile to get the visor on both heads to spin. I thought, “surely they didn’t sculpt this without that specific action feature!” It seemed like it, but then, with enough force, I got the visor to move. And I feel better about it now. The eyes should turn more freely than they do. But at least they DO move.

This sword…

It is the only accessory besides the alternate hands and costume. I am underwhelmed. I prefer this extra sword from the MOTUC weapons pack. What do you think, Hub City Geeks?

Tri-Klops’ sword…the thing about this sword was that as a kid, when I rarely lost He-Man’s sword, I gave Tri-Klop’s sword up to him. While traditionally it was green, it was bigger and perhaps cooler designed.

Check out this little comparison…just for fun!

This is a Super-Deformed, a Mega Bloks (Ok, MEGA,) and the MASTERVERSE Tri-Klops.

As just this…the MASTERVERSE figure is in fact just fine. He is is a bounty hunter, after all.

And he fits right in with this lot…(The only characters I am missing are Whiplash and Evil-Lyn.)

But there is this…

Yep. Tri-Klops has been ordained to the ministry! ”Reverend T.E. Scope,” I presume! We hope he turned over a new leaf…

So this was actually Kevin Smith’s doing. Both Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw are devoted to a goddess they call “Motherboard.” There is a figure for sale of Motherboard, but I probably won’t be picking that up. Essentially, it is a giant robotic woman with techno-angel wings. And she is apparently the herald of the Evil Horde. We saw this in the final scene of the Revelations cartoon, and this figure is set up to prominently drive the “Revolutions” sequal season. 

Am I a fan of this story? I never figured Tri-Klops to be a religious kind of guy. Kevin Smith has lined it up so that it is team magic vs. team technology. Which is different, I guess.

I guess I wish there was another accessory here. Maybe the chalice from the cartoon?

To me, this is the bonus character. I would trade this dumb head sculpt and costume for 200x drones, or a maybe a Grayskull ring accessory, or something else. A shield. A ray gun. 

As a costume, it is OK. The robe covers the whole figure, even if you keep the green armor on underneath. The rubber of the ribbons on the vestment wants to curl. If you pay close attention, you can see that the shapes on the ribbons are the same ones from Tri-Klops’ eyes. Just this Pastor ‘Klops don’t do it for me. 

I am rating this figure 3/5. It loses a point because of how tight it is to turn the visor. THE ACTION FEATURE for Tri-Klops. The other point because of the priest costume. Maybe I am looking at it wrong…now I have the robe to put on someone else. For instance the inner robe reminds me of what “Hamburgler” He-Man might wear. Couldn’t they have made the Pope hat into an accessory somehow? Then it could maybe go on anyone’s head! 

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