By the power of Grayskull – New He-Man in the house! Mattel surprised everyone last month with the reveal that they were doing new 5 inch Masters of the Universe figures inspired by the original molds, but with more articulation. Titled Masters of the Universe Origins, He-Man and Prince Adam come in a single boxed two pack with a comic to match. They are in similar porportions to the original MOTU figures, with updated heads and articulation. They have elbows and knees now, shoulder range, a boot cut and rocker ankles. You can see the full range they offer and how it all moves in the pics after the break. He-Man also gets a boot knife and slot to stick it in.
These are not pure for vintage collectors or Classics collectors, it’s a new thing with a mix of both. These were developed in house at Mattel, and supposedly the Four Horsemen are now involved and will tweak what’s been done as the line continues. Where and how it will continue, or when, is unknown at the moment.
Bottom line, I was more impressed with the set than I was expecting. It was a blast playing around with a really old school feeling fig, but being able to pose it in ways we never could. Having his arms straight out and being able to stand straight up just gave me a chuckle after 30+ years of not being an option. If I was offering constructive feedback – a sharper vintage head would be nice, along with tighter knees. The knees were a tad loose, while the boot cuts were a tad tight, so getting exact poses were fiddly. Nothing some fine tuning can’t fix.
These guys will be available during SDCC at the Mattel booth in limited quantities, retailing for 40 bucks. Not a bad price for 2 new figs, being a con exclusive, and a serious box setup. Read on to check out over 95 HD images of the set after the break courtesy of Mattel!