I was gifted Terror Claws Skeletor…a version of Skeletor I never had as a kid. (I didn’t care for the generation that was Flying Fist He-Man and Terror Claws Skeletor, and I believe this was He-Man’s fault). But I remember the Terror Claws from the mini comics, and I really like mini comics. (Versions of Skeletor I had were OG, Battle Armor, and Dragon Blaster).
Keep reading to find out my opinion on this Masterverse re-imagined version.
PACKAGING
Terror Claws Skeletor comes in the typical Masterverse package. It has a nice window where you can see the figure inside with some accessories…in this case part of his claw. You can see that he is wearing a helmet with a visor also, which looks kind of Judge Dredd-ish. The art is very nice, showing Terror Claws Skeletor fighting the fully transformed King Hiss.
If you angle the box to the side you can see a continuation of the main image…Cobra Kahn is standing in the background, with Viper Tower looming overhead.
The other side of the box has the library image for those who keep the packaging. I will be cutting this up and adding it to my YouTube video backdrops. But you can see him full on battle posed, and his profile picture at the top.
The back features a photoshopped image of the toy. This bio says that he invented the Terror Claws to go Mano-e-mano with He-Man. (I paraphrased that!). You get some images of the figure with the claws, a back of armor shot where we can see the Dr. Octopus arms, and a mugshot of the helmet with the visor.
There is cross sell on the bottom, showing Terror Claws for one thing, Ninjor…a character that I wasn’t aware of as a child and honestly one of my least favorite Masters characters, and then the newest version of She-Ra.
FIGURE REVIEW
What do you get in the package?
Terror Claws Skeletor figure
Pair of Terror Claws
Pair of alternate hands
Not much to list here. Normally I would complain, but this is Terror Claws Skeletor…his whole jam IS accessories.
This Skeletor has all of the articulation of any Masterverse figure. But this one has a posable jaw, which not every Skeletor gets.
His sculpt and paint are very good. There are dragon details at the top of each terror claw, as well as the classic skull on his armor, but this time kind of cybernetic looking. The armor is what some people like to compare to a crop-top or sports bra…and I agree with joking about that! But it looks like the vintage design. The helmet is kind of a football helmet with spikes running up the mohawk. His feet have metal boots covering monster feet. There is this glossy blue, purple, and silver paint all over the figure, with the same pale blue that BA Skeletor has. I think the paint is one of the best features of this figure. The red belt also compliments red evil eyes that always work for Skeletor.
The visor on the helmet is removable (the helmet is not). This is kind of a sunglasses design…your best bet is to wedge your fingernail at the seam between the helmet and glasses at the top. You can then use the glasses on other figures.
Like I said…that is what this figure is about. Those gigantic claws. This time we have mechanical arms attached to them. These run from the same kind of sockets that we have on the back of New Etheria Hordak (they are for wings). I don’t believe that was a part of the vintage design. What Mattel is doing is updating this Skeletor to have a more techno look, which also tracks well with the old Mini Comics, where the dinosaurs had a “techno virus,” an idea that also was kind of used in the most recent Kevin Smith cartoon series.
PICTURED: New Eternia Battle Armor He-Man vs. New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. Skeletor is meant to go up against Flying Fist He-Man…a figure I do not want.PICTURED: New Eternia Clawful and New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. You can see some shared design aesthetics, for instance Clawful’s new shell on his back and metal boots over monster feet are similar updates to what is going on with Terror Claws Skeletor.PICTURED: New Eternia Fisto fights New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. My complaint about Fisto is that his fist isn’t large enough. It should be as large as Terror Claws Skeletor’s mechanical hands. So Skeletor wins.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF NEW ETERNIA TERROR CLAWS SKELETOR
PICTURED: New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor and New Eternia Evil Lyn. These two look like they belong together, sharing somewhat of a color scheme. I have Skeletor showing Evil Lyn the Star Seed, which he is able to hold no problem with his metal hands. (It is a spherical polished blue quartz from a rock store at a mall somewhere)
I don’t see any reason to downgrade this figure. His paint is especially good, but his terror claws gimmick has been generously updated, and we also have an articulated jaw and sunglasses style visor that we can use on other figures…this is a home run. Plus, I haven’t had any trouble getting him to stand, and you know these claws would normally present a challenge of balance. But not this time. I think it is because the Masterverse line of figures has reached a point where stupid problems like that just don’t come up as much.
Near the end of the line last year, I had a lot of complaints because it seemed that Mattel was cutting paint. They didn’t on this, and I appreciate it very much. Sculpt, Paint, Accessories, Articulation…all points that I am awarding. And I am giving this the feels point because I am very grateful for it as a gift. I didn’t have him as a kid and wouldn’t have gotten him, but I’m glad to have it now…so I award him a 5/5! Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
Who? I kept getting e-mails from Mattel Creations about this “exclusive” Club Grayskull figure. But then I was like…”Why would I get this? Who even is Sharella?”
The story continues. In December I went to some different nerdy stores, and one of them had Sharella for sale to a good cause. (The overpriced-ness caught me first, until I saw the tiny words “for charity”). Anyway, this was my actual first in-person look at Sharella, and I was like “NOPE, she’s wayyy to small.” To be fair, all of Mattel’s photos don’t give us references for how big she actually is. Then, for Christmas I was gifted some Origins figures, including Cartoon Collection Catra, and my attitude about Origins began to shift a little. And then after Christmas, the end-of-the-year sales…Sharella was only $12. I was ordering Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder anyway, (to go with Stealth Ninja He-Man,) so I tacked on the purchase of Sharella.
Sharella came in this excellent window box, where you can see her prominently. It has a stiff bubble, surrounded by a sort-of crystal skull motif. Her byline, which I just now noticed all this time later, is “Heroic Tribal Chieftress!” The words Masters of the Universe The Powers of Grayskull are a prominent title feature. For anyone who doesn’t know (most of my readers and viewers probably will,) Powers of Grayskull was the failed-to-launch sequel series to the original vintage He-Man and She-Ra lines. You might remember dinosaur vehicles (as a kid I had Tyrantisaurus and Bionatops, these were to be part of that line)…There was a whole plan to make a new He-Man line based around the most powerful wizard in the universe, He-Ro. This line was far enough along for promotional material to be published in catalogs, and ever since people have been asking about it. Mattel has milked this demand, making a few He-Ro figures as well as his mentor Eldor. Sharella seems to be entirely new, however. So now Mattel is leaning into creating a new story for apparently adult collectors. (Club Grayskull is a subscription…you won’t find Sharella on the shelf at Walmart or Target.)
The back shows an awesome scene.
Now this is a great piece of art by Axel Giminez, one of those Masters of the Universe Classics era artists. Sharella looks muscular and powerful. She is aiming at a moving target, The Great Black Wizard. This, as well as the snake boss on the ground level, is a completely new character. So Sharella is kind of like Teela, The Great Black Wizard is kind of like Skeletor, and the snake pharaoh guy is kind of like King Hiss. The setting here appears to be either Snake Mountain or the Fright Zone.
Right now as I type this, The Great Black Wizard is on sale at Club Grayskull. He looks awesome! But I believe he serves the same purpose as Skele-Shredder, so I won’t be picking him up.
The sides of the box also feature beautiful illustrations.
FIGURE REVIEW
What do you get in the box?
Mini Comic “She-Warrior”
Sharella figure
belt with attached quiver
bow
arrow
Right away I had a problem. The mini comic was packed in plastic, of course. Nonetheless, the corner was stuck in the little slot you can see on the energy burst in the photo of Sharella below. It is permanently bent…I have had it under weight to try and fix it. Nope. Such is the way of comics. If I was a Mint-on-card collector, this wouldn’t matter though would it? I would never know. But as someone who opens up his stuff, this gets to be a downside for me.
As soon as I removed the figure from the blister I dropped the arrow and actually wasn’t even aware. After posing her for a little while that was when I realized it had fallen in the floor.
Upon trying to take her head off and swap it with Catra for the first time, her torso came apart, and so I went ahead and set her out like this for the “what do you get in the box” photo. She comes apart very easily, but not too easily. I am not complaining.
Sharella can be posed any way you would like that a typical Origins female can do…in other words exactly the same as Catra. Ball joint head, swivel shoulders, bicep cuts, elbow hinges, swivel wrists, torso twist, ball-on-peg hips, hinged knees (which are unsightly), boot cut, rocker ankles.
Her sculpt is nice, and as a a mostly bare female figure you can see her lack of ab muscles (as opposed to her artwork.). Just a regular skinny belly. I know someone is wondering… is the top removable? Yes 🙂 (She is more modest than the above Teela…it says ages 8+ people). It is hard to get the rubbery piece off, and even harder to get back on. You have to remove her head and her arms, as well as have the torso off of the waist.
Vikor has really big bicep muscles, and this keeps him from gripping her good. He has a horned helmet also mucking up the image. I had the most trouble catching this shot before he fell over.The Legendary Barbarian isn’t quite as Arnold-ish. He can’t hold her as high up as she needs to be, and do you notice that I have wedged her foot against his boot? I wonder if there is a barefoot Origins female out there to swap Sharella’s legs with.
ACCESSORIES
Oh boy. Here is the big problem.
The bow looks good, but just like every other archer character I have, she can’t look right knocking an arrow.
PICTURED: Origins Sharella, Mythic Legions Xylernian Guard, and Super7 Ultimates! Thulsa Doom. I have a few others, but none of can pose with a bow and arrow correctly. I took a box cutter to Xylerian guard’s fingers, but his arrow isn’t long enough. Thulsa Doom is the same body sculpt as Vikor underneath that costume. (Super7 Ultimates! are actually MOTUC 5.0 figures). So his biceps keep it from happening.
I already mentioned how I just about lost that arrow. It is very thin…think about that thin plastic they use to strap figures into packages. The kind of stuff you hand a price tag on a piece of clothes with. Super thin stuff. As such, it is bent and there won’t be any repairing that. It came out of the box that way, and using a hair dryer won’t do anything but make it gummy and even more floppy.
All of Mattel’s promotional material show her aiming the bow and arrow and looking good doing it. I would rather have a bow-and-arrow sculpted and painted together, pre-posed, out of stiffer plastic than this. That is what I would rather have. They could have given us that AND a non-posed bow. But this is what we got.
Besides this, Sharella could really use a spear. How hard would that have been to include?
Sharella looks great, and this is her main job. She is a good bit shorter than any of my other female barbarians…actually even shorter than GI Joe Classified Shooter. But as a female figure in Origins scale, she does this job well.
I wish she came with more accessories, but she comes with what is apparently “on par” with other Origins figures. Her packaging looks great and kind of offsets her low accessory count. (But how hard would it have been to give her a spear?)
BUT…the difficulty of getting her into archery poses is a problem. I mean…this is WHO SHE IS. All of Mattel’s promotional photos show her knocking an arrow and aiming. Sadly, this doesn’t really work. The bow is sculpted and painted well, but the action doesn’t work, and this is where a point has to be taken off.
The SpartanNerd rates Mattel Creations Origins Sharella 4/5. I expect one day we might have a Masterverse figure of this, and I will definitely get that if they release it. Hopefully they learn from their missteps about the bow and arrow system.
I wasn’t collecting Origins. But I have been gifted several recently. And they are honestly great. Perfect upgrades over the vintage figures actually. And that is really saying something. But at generally $20 each, you really feel the pain since the 1980s, when they were worth $5.00 each. (That means, in 40 something years, $20 now is what $5 was worth. Makes you think…Maybe Back to the Future 2 was correct in their predictions about the future!)
But before all of this new stuff that I have, I thought about getting this as my first Origins figures. The reason…Cringer is a rare figure. Mattel hasn’t made many figures of him. He is a Filmation property, and I think in the 1980’s there was a feeling that taking the saddle and the helmet off of the Battle Cat was close enough to having Cringer.
It became apparent during the Masters of the Universe Classics line that adults really DID want an actual Cringer. So they made him the pack-in with Queen Marlena/Captain Glenn. (There is a visual guide on the internet). This was a non-articulated figure. But it was the first one! (I didn’t get it, but knew about it).
Anyways, the Origins Cringer that was released last year as a Target Exclusive (I think) was readily available. But I hesitated. I really just wanted to put my money into more Mythic Legions or Masterverse figures. But then…I was gifted some for Christmas and they are so nice I wanted it again…only to find…them NOWHERE! Not online. Sold Out. I visited Target, where they still had Moss Man on the shelf. No Cringer and Prince Adam. But at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC, I found one. Keep reading to see my feelings about this figure set.
PACKAGING
Adam and Cringer came in a nice window box with artwork all around (See the top image). You can see the figures and accessories inside with no problem. The top features Adam reclining on a rock with Cringer as his pillow. Classic! Looking on are some evil warriors, Evil-Lyn, Skeletor, and Tri-Klops. There is Eternia jungle swag all around the window.
The side features Imp also spying.
The He-Man and the Masters of the Universe logo is prominent. This was the Filmation Cartoon’s title, so does Imp belong here?
The other side features Pookie, the little creature from the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special that Teela takes up with.
All of this is very cartoon-retro, as it claims to be. Very nice. But the back is where this package really shines.
Oh yeah! Now this doesn’t look like the animation…I mean the castle and the lightning does, but Adam and Cringer are more detailed and shaded, and Adam is stoic and serious unlike the toy.
What I wish they would do is just give us the image of the castle…that would be the perfect size to pose Origins or any other figures in front of. Just think…if a casual collector picked this up on a whim, then they would get a lot of mileage out of that package if they would do that.
I really like the back of this package, and love the new art. But I think there is potential for more here that Mattel missed out on.
FIGURE REVIEW
What do you get in the package???
Prince Adam figure
Cringer figure
Power Sword
Alternate head for Cringer
Alternate head for Prince Adam
Is this $30 worth of paint and plastic?
Sometimes I think Mattel believes that Prince Adam won’t sell unless he has some other incentive. But I think this is a very good Prince Adam figure. The alternate head we get is more of the “laughing Prince Adam” head that was a meme a few years ago.
Like I mentioned above, Cringer doesn’t have many figures, and I feel like this Cringer will work great with Masterverse. What we don’t have in Masterverse is a good Prince Adam. My thought is that this Cringer is in scale with the Cartoon Collection…and this is also in scale with Masterverse because Cringer is a little wimp kitty, but Battle Cat is huge and fierce. Anybody agree with this logic?
Origins figures start at around $20, so at $30 for this set that seems like a good value.
PICTURED: Origins Cartoon Collection Faker attacks Cartoon Collection Prince Adam while Cringer covers his eyes. If anyone saw this…would they put two-and-two together to discover Adam’s secret?
Articulation…this is a big draw, especially for Cringer. The first thing I did was have him hide his eyes, and he can do this classic cartoon move very well. He has the same exact articulation as Masterverse Panther and Classics Battle Cat, only in a smaller Origins format. (Hips, knees, ankles, paws, shoulders, tail, torso, neck, and head. No articulated mouth)
Prince Adam’s articulation is hindered by his vest…he can’t move his arms as much as he could. BUT he has one thing going on that neither Faker (pictured above) nor Stealth Ninja He-Man has, and that is the ability to raise the magic sword aloft. In other words, Adam’s wrist can swing out forward to hold the sword up. (Or to chop down also)
PICTURED: Origins Cartoon Colleciton Cringer and Prince Adam transforming into Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat and Masterverse 40th Anniversary He-Man.
ACCESSORIES:
The only thing we really have is the Power Sword. All of Adam’s joints are swappable as expected. I’m not sure about Cringer’s. The heads interchange easily.
I discovered that the vest has a nifty design. There is a hidden “buckle” imprinted on the inside, where you can snap it together at the belt. My vintage Prince Adam always has problems with his vest, up until the point that I put a hair tie around him to secure it.
PICTURED: Origins Cartoon Collection Prince Adam and vintage Prince Adam. Also vintage Battle Cat.
You can see in the picture above what I am talking about.
So the colors match pretty good except for the vest. The other obvious difference is the head sculpt of the vintage toy is actually the same as vintage He-Man’s sculpt.
SPARTANNERD RATING
As a set this is a 5/5. Especially because of Cringer. If it was only Prince Adam, I would take off for there not being more accessories. But he comes as a set, and I love it!
Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
In toys, companies push the limit. There are dozens…maybe hundreds of Transformers KO figures that outclass anything Hasbro is doing. How do they get away with it? One thing is change the name of the thing. Megatron becomes “Makkron.” Optimus becomes “Ray of Light” or something like that. AND, these KOs (knockoffs) get a snappy brand name that resembles “Masterpiece” somehow.
The Four Horsemen Studios have had a special relationship with Mattel…they sculpted the 200x line of Masters of the Universe toys, and kept pushing to create “stactions” to kind of complete the basic lineup of characters. Then they sculpted a prototype Classics He-Man when “Teh Lien” was officially dead, and put it in a display case for fans to begin demanding it get made. This scored them the Masters of the Universe Classics designs for what became the greatest action figure line of all time. AND helped galvanize the fanbase so that Masters of the Universe has become a reliable brand again for Mattel, even if it is mostly for adults.
Only to get dropped, evidently. After Neitlich left, the line changed hands, and then the brand was liscenced out to Super7, who also apparently purchased all of the tools to kickstart their own Ultmates! line. The Horsemen kept doing some work, however with their final Masters of the Universe contribution being Super7’s massive Classics Snake Mountain. (Which I don’t have!)
Now the Four Horsemen Studios makes a competing fantasy toyline for adults, “Mythic Legions,” which stands on faith from their fans pretty much alone. The characters feel generic enough for anyone to like, but they fit right along with 6-7 inch scale figures designed for adult collectors. And while they obviously can’t make straight up copies of existing figures they don’t have a license for, they CAN recolor what they already have. (My Whiplash figure is actually Sskur’ge from Cosmic Legions.)
“The Legendary Barbarian” is one such figure. Keep reading to see how it works!
PACKAGING
The package is exactly what you would expect. It is a nice collector-friendly blister card, but has that D&D style of art behind the figure that we have seen so many times. You can see the figure inside and most of what he comes with. Conspicuously, the helmet has empty holes where horns are supposed to attach. The back however has the chrome foil Four Horsemen Studios brand symbol and a bio for the character that essentially references all the different barbarians that this could be. There is a bio on the side, and on the other side a map of Mythos. (Mythic Legions fantasy setting.)
The Map of Mythos
It is all around average packaging for Mythic Legions, but the foil details are welcome as we don’t see those that often. Earlier this year I unboxed and reviewed the “Red Leather Knight” Legions Builder figure, and it had these details. Speaking of that specific figure, this figure also has the “pee plastic” smell when you opened it up. (It goes away after a few minutes).
FIGURE REVIEW
What do we get in the package?
The Legendary Barbarian figure. (Actually, the “The” is only on the website.)
A pair of horns.
An alternate head
A blonde hairpiece
A black hairpiece
A brown hairpiece
Lots of extra hands with varying grips
Two wrist shackles
One larger shackle
A weapons strap
Two shoulder pauldrons
A sword
A shield with two handle options
A battle axe
So alot here!
First of all, the head that is on the figure in the package is their way of flying under the copyright radar. This is a bearded Viking head with reddish brown braids on the beard. No one would ever believe this was He-Man or Conan. You can swap this head with the alternate, which has slots in the top so that the hairpieces can be changed. This head looks tough and weathered. It isn’t the kind face of He-Man, but more the grizzled face of Conan from especially the Dark Horse comics. Basically the hairpieces serve as different wigs to make him a different character. AND they included a brownish red piece also, just letting everyone know that it is up to the fans to use whichever option they would like.
The complexion is one of the most striking things about the figure. Typically He-Man is caucasian and tan, and Conan the Barbarian is either the same or just of a darker complexion. Somehow I didn’t expect this…but even more than this there is a black wash of paint over all of the hair and skin that makes him appear dirty. And this is perfect and what the Horsemen were going for.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE 40 Anniversary He-Man and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. Furry boots>cuffed boots for barbarians in my opinion.
My only complaint about the design of the figure is the boots. I would prefer the figure to have furry boots rather than cuffs. These cuffed boots are the same from the “Warrior Beasts Head Hunter” and other figures. These boots look way too civilized. I would have especially liked to see strapped sandals in this case instead of any boots at all.
Of course the figure is entirely modular. You can pop-and-swap with other Mythic Legions, Cosmic Legions, or Figura Obscura figures easily, though you probably need to use a hairdryer or hot water on some parts like the hands and feet.
ACCESSORIES
I am just going to go over these one at a time, as usual.
First of all, the shackles and chains. I don’t believe these can be opened. It took me a few days to realize that I could take the wrist bracers off and then slide these on. I STILL don’t know what the large cuff is for. At first I thought if was for his feet, but it doesn’t fit over the end of the ankle when you remove the foot. You CAN slide it over the wrist bracer, and maybe that is the intention, so you can have a quick wrist chain without removing the hand.
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Thulsa Doom, Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian, Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry army builders, and Mythic Legions kitbash Gamecocks Knight. This fight in the woods is a good way to see the chains on Legendary Barbarian’s wrists.
The weapon strap is the same that comes with most Mythic Legions figures, but this time it has painted buckles on it. You can criss-cross it over his default strap, and make this appear more like the X-shaped armor that He-Man has. You of course can also just swap them out, or even make this into a belt piece.
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! King Conan and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian. You can see how you can cross the weapon strap over the default. Also note the shoulder pauldrons and the sword.
The shoulder pauldrons work the same way as most Mythic Legions work, pegging into holes on the back of his shoulders. There is also a useless slot on his back. The pauldrons DO hinder his arm articulation, and they don’t fit tightly. But some Mythic Legions pauldrons like this are such a tight fit they don’t even work well. They look great, with sculpted cloth details underneath the metal details.
The sword…this sword doesn’t look anything like He-Man OR Conan’s sword. It looks like a sword from Zelda Breath of the Wild, or maybe a Transformers sword. It doesn’t look bad, though. But it isn’t quite as barbaric as I would like. It is oversized and more anime.
The battle axe resembles the one from Masters of the Universe Classics Vykron, and a few other viking axes I have seen. This is a cool piece that is analogous to the size of He-Man’s axes.
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian both in an iconic He-Man pose. The battle axe is reminiscent of several other barbarian battle axes, and is analogous in size to most of He-Man’s.
The shield is the same that we got with the Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell figure, only in a different color. This time we have two options for attaching it to the figure. The typical way of attaching a handle that fits in the gripping hand like a weapon. But this time we also have a clip that is reminiscent of vintage Masters of the Universe figures. Unfortunately, it fits loosely.
IT’S COMPARISON TIME…(Pixel Dan reference)
Only one of you is an actual soldier! Notice that I swapped Gamecock Knight’s horns with legendary Barbarian’s. This makes Gamecock Knight look like Shovel Knight. Oh Yeah. PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man, Mythic Legions Kitbash Gamecocks Knight, Mythic Legions Gold Knight Legion Builder, and another kitbash gamecock. Legendary Barbarian is about to supervise some training. You can find reviews of all of these figures at SpartanNerd.com.
My favorite barbarian figure has been Masters of the Universe Classics Vykor. At this point, that is a ten-year or older figure. I have acquired MASTERVERSE Vykron, King Grayskull, Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre, Super7 Ultimates Conan the Barbarian figures, etc. But Vykor has remained my favorite. Vykor was my favorite Classics figure, and I made a point to keep him when I sold off my collection. Yes…I let go He-Man, Skeletor, Battle Cat, Panthor…everyone that I had. Even the Sky Sled and Battle Ram. Vykor stayed with me. But like I said, he is kind of dated. He was the first MOTUC figure with hidden ankle joints. But you can see the pins on his knees and his elbows. The plastic cape that he came with is heavy and weighs him down, and so I have replaced it with the one from the Undead of Vikenfell. (It fits Vykor better anyway). His sword, axe, and shield remain great, but the plastic loin cloth is also a problem. Vykor has never been able to ride Battle Cat, for instance.
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Classics Vykor and Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian.
The Legendary Barbarian doesn’t have the weaknesses of Vykor, as it is a modern figure. But his accessories aren’t quite as good. On the other hand, the ability to swap out the heads is incredible. Someone out there with deeper pockets than the SpartanNerd has bought several of these to display each one. I don’t kneed to do that, as I think changing the head/hair is great and also genius. AND he can sit on Battle Cat.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS LEGENDARY BARBARIAN
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Faker on Panthor using the Cosmic Legions snake head, MASTERVERSE Movie He-Man, MASTERVERSE 40th Anniversary He-Man (retail version) armed with Mythic Legions battle axe, MASTERVERSE Kitbash Battle Armor He-Man on Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat, and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man. Each has their own strengths in their way. But Legendary Barbarian is better than the average of the others.
I mean…he is better than any of the MASTERVERSE He-Man figures except for the 40th Anniversary figure. His sculpt, paint, articulation, and accessories are really good. You have so many options for displaying this figure…I venture to say for the value you have basically four options for heads. I’ve come to think about the default head as the extra head actually.
Do I even have to mention the “feels point?” Of course this figure gets the SpartanNerd’s point for that. It is coming to the end of 2025, and I am thinking about what I think might be the best figure of the year. Legendary Barbarian is certainly a candidate!
So this figure is a 5/5! Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
I know a guy has the market cornered on Mosquitor (Pixel Dan), but I also have fond memories of the mosquito member of the Horde. Mosquitor was one of the final MOTU figures I ever had. The last few I had were Rio Blast, Extendar, Evil-Lyn, Tyrantisaurus, and Mosquitor.
I am CONVINCED I saw Laser Power He-Man and Laser Light Skeletor on some clearance sale at a discount store, but didn’t get them. Maybe this is a Mandela effect thing? (The SpartanNerd is from Spartanburg SC, not Sparta, Greece. Not from Europe…)
I remember getting Mosquitor as an Easter present of all things. I loved the blood sucking gore effect, unique to this figure in the whole of Vintage Masters of the Universe. So how did he turn out for Masterverse?
PACKAGING
Mosquitor comes in the usual MASTERVERSE packaging. There is nice art on the front showing him with wings up and a long curly nosepiece. You can see the figure clearly in the window, which unfortunately for MOC collectors (not me) doesn’t have a full nose piece on. So it looks like his nose is sawed off.
As you look around the side you can see Imp, Hordak’s pet, sitting on the top of a cannon. This is definitely not safe for the little guy! Of note and interest…this figure is labeled “New Eternia” not “New Etheria.” The pet that came with the NE Hordak was not Imp. So it is odd that they used Imp in the art on Mosquitor’s packaging.
The other side shows the library image for easy storing, sorting, or otherwise alphabetizing your figures. (Just joking.). It is nice to have this as a feature, and showing off additional looks for the figure.
The back of the figure features a photoshop of Mosquitor with an animated style background featuring a large skull. We are given windows into how the “action features” of the figure works.
There are cross sell images on the bottom that show us Anti-Eternia He-Man, Mosquitor, and Hordak. I don’t know if I will get get Anti-Eternia He-Man or not. I don’t have a strong connection to him, and I have some other problems with the figure. For instance, we already have Faker. He-Man doesn’t need another doppelgänger. Especially not one more frightening. I have more rant about this offering, but this is a review of Mosquitor, so I will keep it at that. However, if someone gifts me Anti-Eternia He-Man, then…
FIGURE REVIEW
Mosquitor comes with everything you see here in the package.
MASTERVERSE Mosquitor Figure
Three alternate nose pieces
An alternate chest plate “dripping blood”
A laser gun
A hose
Should I count the wings as accessories?
The hose is the same hose that came with New Eternia Snout Spout. It plugs into the back of his head and connects to his armor. What would have been cool would have been the “blood tanks” on Emiliano Santalucia’s design…and then this hose would have been more logical and epic.
The paint. Well, there isn’t much. He is molded in the colors he is supposed to be. There are paint hits on his boots, and he has these red spikes on his shoulder armor which are one of the best details of the new design. After spending some time with the figure, I have noticed some paint slop.
There are two options for displaying Mosquitor. You can have a full tank on his chest, or a partially bloody “dripping” chest. This isn’t a pumping action feature, but instead a chest plate similar to what Battle Armor Skeletor has. The bat shape just pops off and can be replaced. Some of the paint slop mentioned above is on the full tank chest piece. At the same time, I wonder if in that case it was purposeful? It adds to the effect of “blood tank.” But I suspect this was accidental, by the same factory worker who did the other red paint on the figure.
Mosquitor has the same eye effect that some other recent MASTERVERSE figures have had (NE Panthor’s is the best). A 3-d effect where it is like a translucent cover that gives the illusion of a real eye. Except that in the case of Mosquitor, his eye doesn’t look realistic because it looks like the vintage toy’s eye.
All of his articulation is what you would expect from a MASTERVERSE figure, “30 points of articulation.” But it brings up a tired complaint. These figures are lanky, and yeah, they have good articulation, but the net effect is that they are not that posable. Most of them are standing on the shelf in a similar pose. Balancing well on their feet with their arms forward holding something. Maybe this is me not being creative? Don’t get me wrong…I prefer the option to pose as opposed to a statue. I just think it a little bit ironic.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor attacks New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man. NE Snout Spout takes on New Etheria Hordak. And Panthor is just there.
ACCESSORIES
The wings attach to the back of the armor, and are interchangeable with Hordak’s wings. These wings are opaque muted pink, the same size as Hordak’s, and are just as posable. It is important that they remove or are easily hidden because some collectors might prefer to display him without this.
The gun…this is NOT a Horde crossbow. Instead it looks a little bit like the gun on Emiliano Santalucia’s 200x He-Man.org Christmas wallpaper artwork from like 20 years ago. (Once again, I wish this figure had those bloody tanks for his back more than I like the wings.)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor takes on Four Horsemen Studios Figura Obscura Monkey King. In the background you can see McFarlane Mortal Kombat Khotal Khan and Masters of the Universe Classics Sir Lazer Lot
The nose pieces can go on either the end of his nose or on the end of the gun…in fact on both ends of the gun. (This gives you the option of fashioning the gun into a melee weapon. One looks like the vintage mosquito nose. One looks like a curved dagger, and the other is a tentacle, which anatomically is a “proboscis” I believe.
RATING
I awarded MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mosquitor a 5/5 when I filmed the video two weeks ago, and I am going to stick to that notwithstanding the paint slop I began to notice. ***He has an asterisk :)***. I feel like he fits right in with NE Hordak and Mantenna.
He is one of my “need to have” figures, and he does it well. My “need to have list of” members of the Horde now only has Grizzlor, Modulok, and Multibot left to go. I didn’t have that many of them around when I was a kid. (I know there is a Grizzlor, but that molded plastic hair sucks.)
Do you agree or disagree with my 5/5* rating? Let me know in the comments!
The SpartanNerd has a ton of action figures…so much so that I no longer can comfortably display them all. And I have a lot of lady action figures also, with several Teela and Evil-Lyn figures among them. But until now I have had no Mythic Legions or Cosmic Legions ladies. Belualyth is my first one. So how did she turn out? Keep reading!
PACKAGING
Belualyth comes in the typical Mythic Legions box, but she is a deluxe figure, so this box is larger than the general standard figures. Think the same size as the box that the Ogre Scale Accessories came in. It is a large window that you can see the figure in very well.
On the side we get a little bio. Evidently Belualyth is big daddy evil skeleton god guy’s daughter. It also mentions the Turpiculi, a figure that I know I will get before the end of the year very likely. (Maybe more than one?)
On the back you can see that Turpiculi as well as other figures in this “wave.” You also see the big bads on the back. I don’t know enough about Mythic Legions Lore to tell you much more about them other than the skeleton god is “Necronominus,” who this wave is named after.
Don’t know who all these characters are. The guy with wings is definitely Poxxus…I saw his figure in a store. Necronominus is the flying skeleton god. I don’t know the other two. The cross sell is Necronominus, Belualyth, Turpiculi, and Undead Legion Builder.
WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX?
Rather than take her out, I decided to get the top blister off. First of all, a little baggie came off of the backing card (that features the sort of generic D&D artwork that includes a dragon, some flames, and a demon). That baggie contained the additional hairpiece)
So going around the box clockwise
Birdcage with snake skeleton inside
Bird skeleton, probably a vulture
Alternate undead head with rotten nose
Belualyth figure
Shoulder pauldron with strap
Cage hanger
Bone saw
Alternate hands…gloved fist and ungloved fist for the other hands
Chimera skeleton pet
Witchy alternate hands
And also, alternate hairpiece
So Belualyth comes with a lot of pieces, and this was one of the big draws for me to get her. I have a ton of SpartanPets, and so I can relate well with her. If she is a good pet owner, then she is good people. (Maybe…)
Stop and think about all this. She didn’t cost that much! So WOW!
FIGURE REVIEW
Fully loaded!
Her sculpt and paint…we are talking about the Four Horsemen Studios. You know it is among the best in the business! There is a cloth skirt piece, and that belt hangs loosely there. Speaking of, that belt is one of the best pieces, featuring different animal skulls and a skelly hand. There is also a chain and a whip, and a pouch on the back for us to wonder what is in it. (The Four Horsemen are known to add these as details).
She is what is termed a “Mythic Legions 2.0” build, meaning she consists of smaller skinnier parts than say, Demistros, or the Gold Knight Legion Builder. The SpartanNerd has two such other figures…Undead of Vikenfell and Father Christmas. The addition to my collection then is the upper torso, which is obvious female.
She has very good articulation, with no real stupid problems. She stands well, even overnight on what I term to be a difficult surface to accomplish that on (Magic the Gathering playmat). Everything moves like you would expect, and the pieces are also modular like basically all mythic legions. (You can swap them with parts from other figures…be careful though. Use a hairdryer to soften the plastic).
I have never successfully removed the “normal” head from the neck to use the noseless head. Just saying…my example is on tight! I could do it if I really wanted to, but I don’t like that head. I prefer my ladies to have a nose, thank you! There are two hair pieces if you want to give her a different look. And I haven’t done it, but I can’t wait to try using the alternate wig on other action figures. (Maybe in October)
ACCESSORIES
It seems the pets are such an ingrained piece of the character I almost reviewed them in the above section!
Let’s start with the bird. It is stuck on the arm guard. If you have ever witnessed a falconer, then you know they have to use a tough piece of leather on their arm to protect themselves from razor sharp talons. It appears that Belualyth is worried about that, but unfortunately the bird doesn’t come off of that arm guard. You can’t have it stand any other way except by precariously balancing it on something like the tree in the snake cage. (We’ll get to that in a minute).
To get that bird on her arm, you don’t have to remove the forearm. At first I thought you had to, but I’m glad I came to my senses after looking at some photos of her online. Just remove the hand and slide it over the forearm bracer.
And now the snake in a birdcage. The cage comes apart, letting you get a better view of the skeletal snake and the tree perch inside. The snake is bendy, but I wouldn’t stress it too much. It seems to be a delicate piece and I would hate to break it. But you can wrap it around things or characters arms or whatever.
The pet tree can be used to prop the vulture, but it is a delicate and precarious process. It looks good in pictures though!
You can’t put the bird in the cage. And this is kind of a shame. The Four Horsemen missed an opportunity here if they had just designed the cage or the bird a little bit differently.
So about propping it on Belualyth’s back. I totally get why she would want to carry all these pets with her everywhere she goes!
PearlLoveToby
The SpartanNerd has lots of pets, and he loves them so! AND his wife has a sticker on her Jeep…”There’s like a lot of dogs in here!” She takes her pets everywhere, and so why wouldn’t Belualyth do the same? I think this is why the character appealed so much to me.
So to get the birdcage on her back, you have to use this hanger that I discussed in the above section. And it snapped right in the spot on her back like it was supposed to twice, but then it was too loose. The Horsemen thought of this, and that is why the shoulder pauldron is different for this than what we usually get with say the knight characters. The strap is necessary to hold the piece to her back.
(I couldn’t tell what the shoulder pauldron even was until looking at photos on the store horsemen. It looked like it might go with the pets or something).
This strap is a tight fit, but totally necessary. And the pauldron keeps her from having the “cold shoulder.” Remember that talk about how good her balance is? This is crucial to having the character be displayed properly.
Now onto the biggest most obvious pet. The Chimera…originally I thought it was a Cerberus. But it actually only has two heads, but also the tail of a snake. It is about the size of a German Shepherd in comparison to Belualyth. The heads are some kind of tiger skull and antelope or cow skull. Both are on ball joints and could be used on other figures. AND that’s a double neckpiece that is removable and could go on another figure.
There is a leash that is permanently attached. Its four legs are articulated only at the shoulders and hips, and there is a slight splay on the back legs, but not much. The tail is a snake head. It seems to be a little bendy, but I wouldn’t push it too hard. It does have a swivel joint so you can move it some, but if you do it looks a little awkward at the joint where it breaks up the vertebrae sculpt. And I guess I need to mention this one other thing. When I reviewed Maxillius the Harvester, you can see that they have sculpted and painted blood wings and organs, etc into that figure. They didn’t do that here…for reasons of cost I’m sure. I’m just saying that for a customizer, there are some opportunities to improve the details between the ribs and around the joints. But the paint isn’t bad at all! I’m actually comparing a full price figure to what is an accessory!
I could complain a little bit about the articulation and such on these pets in light of some other better articulated pets in competing lines, but she is an absolute Michael Jordan slam dunk of a figure. Where say the GI Joe Classified pets might be more articulated, the paint and sculpt on those isn’t as great.
OH yeah! Almost forgot about the weapon. She comes with a bone saw, which is highly detailed. It is a bone saw made of bone…not creepy at all, right?! There is a razor end and a serrated piece. There are spikes on the backside of the hilt. In other words, Belualyth could really mess somebody up with this if they got past those pets.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS BELUALYTH
I just mentioned complaints. I really don’t have any except writing the name Belualyth is hard to spell and harder to type! Let’s break these points down
Sculpt- Awesome!
Paint- No slop here. she is a drab figure, and is painted wonderfully so in sickening hues of blue and with bronze patina. Her nails are black. Her eyes stare vacant.
Articulation- Terrific! The only hindrance comes when she is wearing the hairpiece and the cage. But you can work around these problems easily for display purposes. And no real stupid problems.
Accessories- Are you kidding me? Maxillius came with a lot of accessories…the Undead of Vikenfell came with a lot. The undead builder pack basically IS accessories. But Belualyth has managed to just about outdo them because she came with three pets and a weapon.
The feels point- Well she adds a female Mythic Legions to my collection…that counts for something. But look how great she looks in my diorama of skeletons and undead guys. Yeah…she adds a lot.
THE SPARTANNERD AWARDS THE MYTHIC LEGIONS BELUALYTH 5/5.
You might think I am going easy on her, considering that my recent review of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela was also a 5/5. But there really isn’t a comparison of the two. The MASTERVERSE figure was way cheaper and still hits the same sort of boxes that a 5/5 hits. This Mythic Legions among other Mythic Legions absolutely is a solid 5/5, compared to say Warrior Beasts Head Hunter.
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
spartannerd 