Hello, Hub City Geeks, and here is the SpartanNerd coming to you this time from Summerville, South Carolina. You say, why are you at Summerville, SpartanNerd? Well, it’s a teacher conference, and you know I’m at Summerville, the birthplace of sweet tea. And while I’ve been here, I have drank no coffee and no Monster Energy because so much sweet tea just everywhere every day. And besides…it is WAY hot. (Heat Dome effecting half of the country).
The Sweet Tea monument in Summerville SCWhat’s happening???…Super7 Ultimates! Figures, TMNT Metalhead and G.I. Joe Cobra B.A.T. Are about to battle out for this giant jar of Sweet Tea!
So anyway, I did a little shopping with this money I saved at Target over here in Summerville. Walmart actually has some MASTERVERSE figures. Flying Fist He-Man…No, thank you. That thing does not look right (same head sculpt as Thunder Punch, which looked wrong and also I just don’t care for him). They also had New Eternia Evil-Lyn. She always looks right, but I didn’t want to buy another one. So, I’m reviewing something I picked up at Target in Summerville, and that would be MASTERVERSE Revolution Man-Of-War. The Man-Of-War is the same person as Man-At-Arms, but from the Netflix Masters of the Universe Revolutions cartoon. It is an updated Man-At-Arms. A 2.0 if you will. If you watch the Netflix show, then you know that Andra becomes Man-At-Arms. Duncan becomes Man-Of-War, and he has this mech suit and that’s terrific. I thought about picking this up when I got The Green Goddess (OK, Sorceress Teela). I’m pretty sure this was in the same wave and I was on the fence of getting it or not. I decided ultimately not to get it, and then I said…I think I even remember stating out loud, “Hey if I see it in a store someday somewhere, I’ll pick it up.” So here we are. Man-Of-War is now in my possession.
PACKAGING
The packaging is our basic, usual MASTERVERSE figure packaging. I call this the Transformer-style packaging because it has where you can see the figure inside, but it has mostly artwork. This minimizes the amount of plastic they’re using, which is good. It gives us more artwork, and artwork is always great, aways better than photos of stuff. They like to do this tilted picture on the side of the box, so with this picture you can see some more details. It looks to me like we have Man-Of-War fighting near the Wind Raider. If we get a vehicle in MASTERVERSE, the Wind Raider is a possibility, I’m sure it’d be pretty big. You could use Masters of the Universe Classics Wind Raider. But anyways, these are Horde ships, I believe. So he’s fighting against the Evil Horde.
The other side has the general library picture, that shows us the two ways to display his face…with and without the mask. If you happen to be a mint-in-box collector or just store your figures library style, this side image is very useful. I recently visited a store with lots of GI Joe classified figures done like this.
The back s a photoshop picture of the toy with some illustrations. I am not a fan of these, but you can see that we have artwork here of The Fright Zone or at least the inside of a Horde ship. And we’re seeing what Man-Of-War can do with mask and his weapon arm. And we can see a Horde Trooper here, which is a figure you can get from Mattel Creations. He’s really big. I never had one as a child, but I think he’s cool. And I like the Warhammer 40,000 vibe they’re bringing to it also. Making him oversized and you take that helmet off and see the goblin underneath. But it’s just not really for me, so I’m not getting that (I don’t think!)
We are given a new bio for Man-Of-War. Though he’s not the royal Man-At-Arms anymore, Duncan is still ready to protect Eternia at all costs in his plussed up battle suit as the powerful Man-Of-War. I like that they used the word plussed up. That’s for the D&D types. You know…people don’t talk about it much, but the DC Masters comics that came out going on ten years ago featured an evil version of Duncan called War Wraith. And he was indeed very cool.
Then we have cross sell images for other figures in the wave.
All right, so I have the figure out to get photos, sorry about my setup. But I am in a hotel room!
That hotel room desk lamp can’t be moved, but it looks just like something Duncan would hang out around!
Man-Of-War comes with…
Man-Of-War figure
mask
alternate fist hand
alternate weapon
blast effect
The packaging has the accessories inside of one of those little baggies, and printed on the inside are the package contents. So you can see everything is supposed to be there. I checked to make sure everything was here. It was all here. Didn’t get done wrong this time. Didn’t get burned this time. So, there we are. We have a blaster, a hand, a mask, and a fist weapon.
He is as articulated as any MASTERVERSE figure, with the 30 points of articulation they brag about. He has double jointed elbows and knees, and also cuts at the thighs. Like most MASTERVERSE figures he feels kind of lanky, and wants to be stood up with a wide gait.
This Duncan feels like a dress-up kind of figure, so let’s start with the helmet. The head pops right off, but here we have our first stupid problem AND first complaints. The stupid problem is that the helmet is warped in the package. So it looks like it is on crooked all the time. The complaint is the paint job on the mustache and beard. The reason why I ultimately passed on this when I ordered the Green Goddess was because the image they had posted on Big Bad Toy Store seemed to look very wrong. I’m sure it is a painted plaster prototype or something, but it was off-putting enough for me to actually remove it from my cart before pulling the trigger on the other figure. This face doesn’t look that bad…but as a guy who cares about keeping his own beard straight, it is kind of unforgivable for Mattel.
This beard and mustache…kind of derp. And that bent helmet is what the SpartanNerd has come to call a “stupid problem.”
Anyway, you can use a hairdryer or just “force” and bend the helmet out of the way and slide on the mask. It looks great with the mask on!
While I am at it, I am going to go ahead and take off his armor. And it comes right off. Underneath is a silver colored body all over, reminiscent of New Eternia Mekanek (who has a shiny blue body). The weapon hand pops off and the oversized shoulder pad just slides right off. That shoulder pad is very 200x, anyone else think so?
Nothing to hide…(I also picked up the Turtle Van at Target)
What I wish we had was an alternate head. Or maybe the helmet should come off. But an alternate head with a ponytail or something would increase the appeal of this figure to fans of the 200x show. And let’s say the Man-Of-War head has the mask and helmet on permanently. But Mattel is saving money this way maybe…just the same. It wouldn’t take a new sculpt…we already have a Revelations Duncan AND a New Eternia Man-At-Arms they could have borrowed the head from. (I don’t have Revelations version…but I do have New Eternia. Remember April Fools Day?
SpartanNerd Nintendo Switch 2 Preview. April Fools (again)!
Now the armor and everything goes back on easily, let’s address the weapon hand. That shoulder pad takes some force to get in on the bicep tightly. And then the weapon arm…it really only loosely fits. (With some force, you can get it to stick). There is a hole for hands to peg in, but you don’t usually want to use that because it is a mace on the end.
This pays homage to the vintage weapon that Man-At-Arms always had, but it is morphed to his hand…the net effect however is something that goes over a stump arm. Which is cool and sad at the same time. (Barret Wallace comes to mind).
COMPARISONS
It turns out the SpartanNerd thought he might pick up something while he was here, so he came prepared with some figures that needed some attention. So I have with me Trapjaw. Now comparing Man of War with Trapjaw just ain’t fair. Trapjaw is maybe one of the best figures in all of Masterverse. But it tells us that for the same price, the same exact cost, we could have had that much more. Trapjaw here, better sculpted. I mean, yes, New Eternia, yes, a different line. So we could say artistically that Man-Of-War looks like the Revolution cartoon. But that doesn’t mean it has to be this bland. We could have better paint. I mean, there is a gold detail on some of the armor painted on, and it looks good. But most of the gold just looks like yellow plastic.
(You can easily put Trap Jaw’s weapons in Man-Of-War’s wrist).
Let’s compare him to the Mythic Legions Gold Knight.
Yep. I brought Easter basket Donatello with me also!
(The Gold Knight has not been doing his job. What job is that, SpartanNerd? Watching my funds. That’s what. He sits where I set my wallet. He’s a Gold Knight. Debit card got lost. He’s fired). Anyways, you can see the difference in the gold. This is clearly Mythic Legions, but it is a more gold-looking gold. The gold details of the paint on the armor here match pretty good with the gold knight, but a lot of this other, for instance the left boot, that’s just like yellow plastic is what that is. It’s not gold at all. So bland and boo. We are comparing the gourmet caramel apple with peanuts to the general red-delicious apple here. Not apples to oranges because similar scale, similar everything.
Man-Of-War actually gets the giant sweet tea!
I have someone else here with me: Super 7 Ultimates Metalhead (Link in the caption of the sweet tea). Metalhead reminds me of Man-Of-War here. They’re both from cartoons. They both have cartoon designs. I even say the yellow on Metalhead kind of matches some of the yellow on Man-Of-War. So the carapace here, the plastron, (ooo, use the biology words, SpartanNerd). Those are of a different kind of gold than the Mythic Legions. I’m going to say it’s still kind of similar. Maybe it feels more metallic than what is on Man-Of-War. So would Metalhead’s hand attachments work? The answer to that one is no. This peg is too big. Doesn’t work.
SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE REVOLUTION MAN-OF-WAR
This sculpt is fine. It reminds me of New Eternia Mekanek. Especially maybe because of that shiny plastic. But the face painting is a little bit derp. Like I said, the beard details, they seem a little bit off. It looks like Man-Of-War here might have had some kind of shaving accident. His eyes do not look derp, but that soul patch there does. And the mustache seems a little bit sloppy maybe. The paint on this is just kind of lackluster. So it’s got to lose a point for that.
Articulation- He is very posable. No problems here. So sculpt and articulation…that’s two points. I’m just going to have to rate Man-at-War here 3 of 5. I feel like he might be a 2 of 5. He’s not a 1. He’s not that bad. I’m just going to go for the 3 of 5. I mean, articulation is good. I wanted it bad enough to pay $22 for it. So it’s worth the $22, I’m saying. ($22 worth of feels…that’s the third point).
It’s another Man-at-Arms. If you’re a customizer, it’s a nice silver body. The paint is lacking. Accessories are okay…I wish he had more stuff with him. I think he would have been well served with another head. Maybe even a head instead of a mask. I know they’re saving money by doing the mask. But they wouldn’t have had to re-sculpt anything. If you’re like the SpartanNerd, then you probably already have another Man-at-Arms. You could pop that one on if you like better. But I’m just saying. This is the area where we could have gotten more. Mattel could have given us more and it would have been more satisfying. So I’m going to award it a 3 of 5 kind of reluctantly. And what do you think, Hub City Geeks? Do you agree or disagree with the SpartanNerd?
I will say, in person, out of the box, he looks better than the cross-sell or the Big Bad Toy Store promotional image. Be sure to read other blog entries and reviews on SpartanNerd.com, and also check out my YouTube Channel. There you will soon see a review of Final Fantasy Commander decks for Magic the Gathering, and also a review of the Mythic Legions Undead Builder set.
This blog entry has been a long time coming…I have had Roboto for about two weeks. But I have been moving. So moving, plus a real paying job, means that the SpartanNerd side-hobby has to take a back seat. But it will all pay off. I am retiring the Nerd Closet and will be updating to a Nerd Studio, with dedicated space for collecting and doing YouTube videos!
I took this photo on a blue bucket with stuff getting moved!
Roboto came in the standard MASTERVERSE Transformers style package. And this time, with Roboto, it doesn’t even feel weird typing those words. (ROBOT-OH, for the slowbees). You can see the figure very well in his window box with a purple mask and what would have been an axe on the vintage figure, now is a buzz saw thing. The artwork, by contrast shows Roboto wearing the alternate red mask, and using a cannon on his left hand and that whirly blade on the right hand. And this is a point. This version of Roboto will let you change either hand into an attachment.
He is firing on some rock warriors…not of the species of Rockon and Stonedar, but of the generic guys from the Filmation show. If you look close, you can see part of a Roton. Earl Norem gave us perhaps the most iconic Roboto picture, where he is firing on a flotilla of Rotons
Like the other MASTERVERSE figures from the past few years, you kind of turn the box to the right and you get more of the image.
Around here on the side, we see where the rock men are coming from…Skeletor of course. Now this appears to be “the Vintage Collection” Skeletor…a figure I don’t own. But he looks that way I think because the Havoc Staff has the more vintage inspired shape. And those abs also seem to be more 1982.
The other side panel has the reference section material for MOC collectors or people who store the boxes. (I save the boxes for a future project…don’t know what.). A picture of Roboto with his portrait at the top. As usual we see both looks you can give him.
And then the back.
So this is one of those photoshop pictures. HOLY COW. I have this diorama! It looks to be Extreme Sets “compound display pack,” and so I am going to photograph Roboto using that very thing! (some of my photos are the final shots from The Nerd Closet). Seriously…”The Compound” has always given me Technodrome vibes, or Decepticon Base vibes. But look how this purple and colorful computer scene works with Roboto.
As usual, this is just a photoshop picture of the toy. But this is the first time on the package we have seen the claw. The little instructional panels show the gun and the buzz saw. Roboto has a wheel on his back that makes the gears in his torso move.
The small portrait on the bottom tells us his New Eternia bio. He is controlled by Skeletor in this story. But not in my story!
There is cross sell at the bottom. When I ordered Roboto, I actually ordered King Randor also. But I canceled that. Maybe I will still get it. But I am moving and need to pull back a little unless I just NEED a figure…And as for Beast Man…this is the ugliest beast man I have ever seen. Already there was a terrific New Eternia Beast man. What does this one do for me? Nothing. (but I bet it is better than the movie Beast Man!)
FIGURE REVIEW
I set up Roboto a little “room” using the Extreme Sets “Compound”
Here is Roboto with all of his stuff. Mind you…I prefer the red mask, and have replaced it here after playing with the figure for a few hours.
Here’s what you get in the package.
Roboto figure
Removable face masks in purple and red.
Extra right hand
Claw attachment
Buzz saw attachment
Lazer gun attachment.
A back view of the above photo. Notice this wheel has a peg hole for one of the more recent shields, but he didn’t come with a shield.
There’s a lot here to consider. The first thing I looked for when I took him out of the package was the heart in his chest. I had the vintage toy, and to me this was a main feature of the character. Indeed how he is often portrayed. A machine with a courageous heart. The promise of a living robot. Not just a cold calculator. BUT…no heart here…so…
This doesn’t make the figure stink for me or anything. I just prefer my Roboto have a heart. Now I could go with that New Eternia story…Skeletor has it. Yeah…that must be it.
So as mentioned on the package, you turn the wheel on his back and the gears move. In the vintage figure, you twisted the waist. And this made the gears move BUT only very limited. This mechanism is an improvement. EXCEPT in the 1980s, Roboto’s mask would also open and close as if he was talking when you moved the waist. That functionality isn’t here. I will argue that this is still a better design, and what they did with the face masks is much better.
You can remove the face mask and see … mechanical skull teeth underneath. OH YEAH!
As I mentioned, you can swap between a more modern purple mask reminiscent of a villain’s color or a more vintage red mask. But that MECHANICAL SKULL IS AWESOME! And I didn’t expect this. You see…this is why New Eternia is the best current Masters of the Universe line. I feel a little jealous about the Origins line having more characters…they look cool and would be cool to collect. But the New Eternia segment of MASTERVERSE absolutely is killing it when it comes to hardcore fans.
And the more I look at this figure, the more I wish I had another one to take apart. Like…after you remove the mask, it seems like the remaining translucent plastic over the cranium should be removable. You can see the robotic “brain” in there, that actually resembles a hard drive! It also looks like he has sculpted eyes that are covered by the blue visor. Absolutely…I am thinking about getting another one to take apart! I also like that I can see the “t-joint” that holds the arms in place. It makes me wonder if this is how all MASTERVERSE figures are put together.
All of this is pretty great, but from the waist down…he is the exact same as Trap Jaw and Man-E-Faces. Boots with knee pads and all.
“We rode the bus together and got off at the same Goodwill store to shop for pants. It is part of the work uniform.” Notice Roboto has two normal hands.
ACCESSORIES
Speaking of Trap Jaw, Roboto and Trap Jaw can share accessories. This was a feature I REALLY WANTED in the 1980s. Why the toy designers didn’t let us do that I guess we won’t know.
These guys are probably arguing over who looks better in the pants. Because their pants are the exact same with different colors. Complete with “Made in China” stamped on the behungus.
The three accessories that came with Roboto…the claw is huge and has closing motion. The buzz saw has windmill spinning action. But the lazer gun…that looks like a paint sprayer or something. And all of the accessories, especially the gun, need some paint.
We also have the option to display Roboto with two normal hands. Which I think is a first time. (I don’t know about MOTUC…unlikely.)
Clawful: “I use mine to attract mates.” Roboto: “I use mine to crack shellfish”Roboto can clamp someone’s leg AND get the buzz-saw ready! PICTURED: all New Eternia toys. Roboto, Man-At-Arms, Battle Armor Skeletor, the Havoc Throne, and Panthor.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA ROBOTO
This is once again one of those 5/5 ratings. Just WOW!
The sculpt…while these are the same legs as some other people, I should say…the design of the mechanism and the delivery. Absolutely awesome.
It’s true that the accessories need some paint, but the paint of the figure is great on the legs and arms. The translucent plastic design looks spectacular.
And he came with a lot of accessories. And he has a peg hole on his back to store a shield. AND he can use Trap Jaw’s accessories and vice versa.
And no stupid problems. He can stand just fine. Hands swap out no problem. Mask swaps no problem. If anything, the stupid problem is that I can’t take his body apart easily. (Not a real problem!). But wouldn’t that be cool functionality.
And what does he add to the SpartanNerd’s collection? I complained that I didn’t have enough “good guys.” So this is what Roboto adds. I needed him. Notice that is the second time I used that phrase in reference to a MASTERVERSE figure. I needed the ones I had as a child. And while King Randor does look cool, I kicked the can on that one because I didn’t have it as a kid and didn’t want it really either. As an adult, I think it would be great offered with Queen Marlena as a two pack.
If someone was going to get iced by a Mythic Legion, it probably should have been Sy-Clone. But Roboto is ready to avenge him anyway. PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat, New Eternia figures Roboto, Fisto, Man-At-Arms, Mekanek, Man-E-Faces, Snout Spout, and Sy-Clone. And you can see the pistol from Mythic Legions T.U.5.C.C. Pilot right in front of Snout Spout. See all these reviews at my YouTube or at SpartanNerd.com. Kind of lazy to cross link all of those.
My point is, Roboto adds to the good guys. The only bad guys I need are Screech and Modulok. I could use some snake men, and they are coming apparently. But of heroic characters, I still don’t have Stratos, Prince Adam, Zoar, Buzz Off, Moss Man, or Zodak. And I could get some of these now, for instance Zodak continues to be on sale but I prefer to wait on the more more modern “Zodaq” design. I have ordered Androphilees from Mythic Legions. etc. Of other good guys I would like to have Rio Blast, Extendar, Movie accurate Gwildor, a proper New Eternia Orko, and a New Eternia Moss Man. See what I mean…lots of holes to fill in the heroic characters set.
So the SpartanNerd rates MASTERVERSE New Eternia Roboto a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, oh Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
This is the final post about these two. And it’s about time.
Both of these figures are 5/5. So which is better? After thinking about it and posting a video review, the way I can do this is just exactly the way I did Mythic Legions Demistros vs. Super7 Ultimates! Black Falcon. Compare specs to specs.
FIRST OF ALL, A WORD ON THE RATING SYSTEM
I award up to five points. These are based on qualities of the product.
Sculpt
Paint
Articulation (noting “stupid problems”)
Accessories (quality and quantity)
And something intangible. “What does this add to the collection” is a common question. Another, “What does this figure represent?”
Each of the above figures is a 5/5. (Note: I retro-actively upgraded 40th Anniversary He-Man to 5/5. I’m allowed!). Each has a great sculpt, good paint, articulation without stupid problems, a good amount of accessories that are also excellent in sculpt, paint, etc, and finally they each represent something intangibly awesome. Rev. SpartanNerd might even say “spiritual.”
He-Man is the OG He-Man, made into MASTERVERSE scale. Like I said, I upgraded him eventually, realizing that he was the best He-Man we would be getting in MASTERVERSE and is the ceiling of “epic” for that line. Trap Jaw is the greatest Trap Jaw figure ever made. Mekaneck represented the addition of new and indispensable heroic characters, and look at how great they made him (I have added five neck joints). And Snout Spout always seems to be some kind of “wimp” to make fun of, but they made him an awesome firefighter who is fighting Snake Men on the package. Plus, he’s huge!
Same here. Each of the above is a 5/5. They hit all of those boxes. PLUS Sir Godfrey is fully chrome (I have swapped Father Christmas alternate head). Demistros is a Skeletor homage, but more of the horned head comic version, and SSKUR’GE is a Whiplash homage.
Once again, but from different lines. These guys are 5/5. In this case they both have so many awesome accessories.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN WHEN PITTING TWO 5/5 AGAINST ONE ANOTHER
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE News Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor. The SpartanNerd took this photo with the head from the Skeletor that came with the Bone Throne. The helmet fits just as well.PICTURED: Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell. This head is the SpartanNerd’s favorite skull head now.
Back to what I said. Lining up the two side by side and measuring the qualities. Mythic Legions sculpt is already better than MASTERVERSE, but there is a price difference.
Vikenfell’s paint is intricate and masterful, while Battle Armor Skeletor’s is basic and lacking on the body of the figure. (The armor is well done.) But then there is that price difference.
Both have great articulation., with Undead of Vikenfell being slightly better, but Mythic Legions are more expensive and just have a different M.O. with the parts swappability.
Accessories…Vikenfell has more. Skeletor wins the axe battle because of the size, but only barely because Vikenfell’s axe is so much more detailed. Vikenfell’s scimitar is better. He has a shield, three different heads, two hands, and a cape. Hello! This is the winner.
But in the abstract fifth category, they both tie. Battle Armor Skeletor’s needed to be released for MASTERVERSE…and you could say it was inevitable. But who saw Mattel doing as awesome a job as they did? Undead of Vikenfell is just one of many Mythic Legions skeleton warriors, BUT he is so unique.
I believe the clear winner this time is Undead of Vikenfell. More and better accessories including alternate AWESOME heads. Just a better product all around.
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and also to subscribe to my YouTube channel, where this review exists in a different form as well as many other reviews including the stats-trouncing Con-exclusive Loyal Subjects CheeBee Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection!
I didn’t have Fisto as a kid. BUT, the character has always resonated with me. A guy with a huge prosthetic fist. That is a cool power! And that it is a metal tank of a weapon.
Back to the FOMO. When they released the Masters of the Universe Classics version, he was one of the first that you had to order online only, and like no one got him. Matty Collector crashed, and just like that. Bots or something snatched them all up when the site came back online, and just like that, all of them were sold.
The MOTUC version was REALLY COOL. He looked awesome, with some 200x flare, which was unusual for the time in the life of the MOTUC line, and also he came with this huge Final Fantasy VII kind of sword….Just an extra incredible detail. And I think that sword was designed for 200x but didn’t ship or something?
And so after-market MOTUC Fisto is a very high priced toy. Then they came out with a kind of lame version for Masterverse Revelation. What a letdown.
When they showed off this new Fisto, I was shocked and completely knew I would be getting it. No regrets this time.
Or are there? Keep reading, Hub City Geeks!
PACKAGING
Fisto comes in this awesome package, this time showing off some cartoon baddies not often seen. These are the orcs from the mini comic “Masks of Power,” where these little monster guys put on the masks and turn into big monsters. This mini comic was the pack-in with Fisto, and so it is a nice homage on the box. It would be TOTALLY AWESOME if they gave us these orcs sometime in the future. And why not? They are doing Skelcons.
The sides also show some of this action, with one panel featuring He-Man throwing one of the bad guys. There are also some notable flying enemies.
The back of course features a photoshop of the toy.
It is a cool addition to the story that he has bonded with the “mystical Iron Fist” in his bio. The three images on the cross sell art…I am passing on Flying Fists He-Man. Never been a fan. And this is the same bad face treatment as Thunder Punch He-Man had. Big Bad Toy Store has charged me for Evil-Lyn, but she hasn’t shipped yet. I expect she might be here before the end of the week. (What is it with me and Evil-Lyn? This will be number 3.)
One more thing. Inside the package is a little bag for his accessories, and I think this is the first time we have this specific style of baggie.
It features the modern font for Masters of the Universe in black over blue.
FISTO FIGURE REVIEW
Here’s what you get in the box
Fisto figure
Alternate vintage-style head
Alternate left hand (fist)
Curved sword (cutless?)
Battle hammer
The head that comes on him out of the box is an older, more wizened portrait with gray details on his beard, especially coming down from the “soul patch” to the goatee. There is also a mask that reminds me of something from She-Ra. That mask is not removable. He also has a top-knot ponytail.
The second head is the classic Fisto portrait. Younger and what you expect.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress, New Eternia Fisto, and their daughter Teela (this is a mash-up Teela) I am following the 200x story here, where Fisto and Sorceress are deadbeat parents and Man-At-Arms has to raise her.PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto rides on Mythic Legions Boreus. It just seems right to have Fisto ride on a horse. This is because he is often pictured riding Stridor, who we don’t have a proper MASTERVERSE version of yet.
This arm is also what is different. Fisto not only has a metal fist, but now for New Eternia has a whole robotic arm. This reminds me of the whole “techno-virus” story angle from the pre-ternia mini comics and more recently from the Revolution cartoon. In other words, watch out. Perhaps Fisto can be easily controlled by the likes of Motherboard and Skeletek.
ACCESSORIES
This is a character where the accessories and the figure kind of run together. The battle hammer has modular business ends. That spike looks like it could do some damage, or at least bust up some ice. The other “dome” end is similar to Man-At-Arms weapon. Now these two pieces can be swapped out. You could just have half a hammer, or you could remove Fisto’s metal fist and swap it with one of the hammer heads.
The other accessory is the purple “cutless.” Not a giant buster sword. BOO! This was a missed opportunity, Mattel! As a weapon on its own without that context, it is just fine. I think it might be a copy of the one that comes with New Eternia Jitsu, (which I don’t have…Maybe I should get?)
SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF NEW ETERNIA FISTO
The sculpt looks good. The paint looks great, with two heads for different looks taking that piece beyond the expected. I DO think the fist might be just a little bit too small (Beast Man, Snout Spout, and Ram Man have similar sized hands.) The accessories are fine even though I wish it came with an anime sword…but this can’t figure in to the rating. It is novel that you can swap the hammer heads with the fist, and as a bonus, Trap Jaw’s parts (and Roboto’s?) can also go with Fisto. And already the pirate hook looks cool, if just a little bit rustier of a finish.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto and Trap Jaw
And also importantly, he represents another good guy to go with the inferior force that the SpartanNerd has. (Still missing, Stratos, Buzz-Off, Extendar, Rio Blast, Roboto, Moss Man, Prince Adam, King Randor, and Queen Marlena. Yes, some of these exist but not in a proper form. OK, Zoar also.) As a contrast, I have every important bad guy represented except for Modulok and Cobra Kahn. OK, Screech. The Snake Men should be coming out soon in MASTERVERSE, at least there have been hints.
So with great sculpt, paint, accessories, no problems along the QC area or with articulation, and that he represents something special to the SpartanNerd, he gets a 5/5. We start the new year off with a bang of a punch.
I picked up Faker on Prime Day, the same day I ordered New Eternia Battle Armor He-Man. There is a long and convoluted story about me finally getting Faker, but it began when I realized I wanted to complete the “my” collection…that is, the Masters of the Universe toys I had as a kid. On looking into it, Faker was recently sold out pretty much everywhere. But they had that MASTERVERSE Revelation version, that wasn’t blue. It wasn’t “classic” or “nostalgic.” That one can be had even now for really inexpensive…like as cheap as Bounty Hunters Teela and Andra. Eventually I settled that I would look in “diverse markets.” Those outside of BigBadToyStore, Eternainment Earth, or Amazon. And I found one! For the reasonable price of $13. I got my order right in. And it was delivered by UPS. TO SOMEONE ELSE’S HOUSE!!!
What even happened? I got the Shopify notification, went to the tracking page, and saw where it was delivered to the “correct address,” only the picture posted of the delivery wasn’t the right place.
Two months later, on Prime Day, I got it for $35. And I am happy with it. This left me with a need to get Whiplash…(My solution coming soon!)
PACKAGING
You can see the packaging for New Eternia Faker above. It is that boring blue “sporty” packaging on the front. But you can clearly see what you are getting. This version of Faker is NOT my version exactly. The version from the vintage days had orange armor, not pink. I almost didn’t notice, however! The reason being, I have the MEGA version of the Battle Bones, and it comes with this color scheme of Faker. It made it work for me, and I don’t dislike the pink. On research, the pink colored armor was what was on some Faker toys from outside of America. (Link to Battleramblog.com)
The back has more incredible artwork. I don’t know who this artist is, but it looks really beautiful. Notable that Faker’s hair is more reddish pink rather than natural brown as shown on the artwork. In the background you can see New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor in the shadows, sending Faker out. The little story helps us see the plot of New Eternia seems to revolve around Skeletor stealing the power of Grayskull and harnessing it through Faker, which is an awesome idea!
The cross-sell images show off New Eternia Mer-Man, which I have reviewed already. Grizzlor…who isn’t actually furry, Buzz-Off, and Faker of course. Buzz-Off…I ordered the new Cosmic Legions figure just a few days ago…The Four Horsemen’s “KO” Buzz-Off looks to be incredible! This is what Mattel gets for not giving us enough available product. Would I have bought Buzz-Off and Faker at Wal-Mart? You bet! But I have never seen them.
One more little comment. We are getting YET ANOTHER Mer-Man. (Revealed at the SD COMIC CON 2024). This will be the third one.
The back of the packaging is its redeeming quality. Let’s have a look at the figure.
FIGURE REVIEW
Here’s what you get.
Faker Figure with pink “Skeletor” armor
Two alternate hands, one punching and the other slapping.
A battle axe with unusual orange “slime.” Even as I type this, I don’t know what that is about.
A purple power sword.
Not much to this set. But have a look at the design. The paint is beautiful Smurf blue. The boots and furry shorts are a deep purple with black straps and a black belt with silver details. There are gunmetal colored bracers on his wrists. That pink armor really pops in contrast to this color scheme.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Faker and Thunder Punch He-Man. Part of my logic on this picture is the thunder punch is melting the axe. What is your reason for the orange on the axe?
Faker’s head sculpt is exactly the same as Thunder Punch He-Man’s. Only he has blue skin and reddish brown hair and blank techno-eyes. I don’t much like this sculpt on He-Man, but it looks great on Faker. It brings out some kind of Frankenstein vibe.
You can see that there is a strap on the back of the harness that can hold the purple power sword. (Wasn’t purple power some kind of cleaning product?)
ACCESSORIES
Once again…what’s up with that axe?
But the purple techno power sword…here is something awesome!
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Faker and Skeletor. Skeletor is holding the sword from the 1987 movie.
I didn’t know about this detail until I opened the box. I didn’t realize how much I would like this thing. Having Faker stand beside Skeletor like this reminds me of…Robot Chicken!
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Trap Jaw and Faker. MASTERVERSE Revelation Tri-Klops, wearing Mattel Creations Vikor “tank” armor. I’ve had this Soundwave for awhile. Not sure of the model.
If you remove Faker’s pink armor, you can see another sculpted detail. That’s right…not a sticker! Faker’s robotic insides can be seen and worked on by Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops! (Maybe this is his problem?). Notice in the picture above, I have a small Soundwave transformer in Tri-Klops hand, while Trap Jaw attempts to put a cassette tape in Faker’s chest. But we all know…(That’s Lazer Beak or somebody like that!)
SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA FAKER
The only thing I wish about this figure is that it had more accessories. It seems like a lot of the New Eternia designs take some risks in tastefully updating a character…case in point Beast Man. But here, they played it pretty safe.
The sculpt is good. The paint is excellent. Of course his articulation works very well, and his joints are tight…no trouble standing.
I am rating MASTERVERSE New Eternia Faker 4/5. He is great looking and fun. What’s up with that wierd battle axe, and why couldn’t we have more accessories?
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
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!
spartannerd 