The Masters of the Universe property reached forty years old in 2022. (It’s hard to believe that He-Man was only twenty-one when the original Vaults of Grayskull site was built.) It’s an impressive success story and milestone.
Mattel marked the anniversary by releasing several MOTU products on Mattel Creations. A limited-edition two-pack featuring new designs of He-Man and Skeletor was a fantastic way to celebrate four decades of MOTU.
The set included metallic versions of the characters’ weapons, an anniversary warrior’s ring and extra hands. He-Man’s shorts and boots had a furry texture. Two Series One minicomics were also reissued with the figures.
Mattel do create nice looking presentation boxes for their limited-edition products, and the special release of He-Man and Skeletor was no different. The shield design replicates the lock on Castle Grayskull.
HE-MAN
MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE UNIVERSE
The anniversary He-Man figure is impressive. The head sculpt successfully recreates the celebrated – and seldom surpassed – Vintage look. And we finally have a long sword which reflects the Series Two minicomic artwork!
The double-jointed elbows and knees come from Mattel’s Masterverse designs. I have my doubts about whether such articulation is necessary. There’s actually some redundancy with the numerous articulation points.
There is no doubt, though, that this is an apt version of He-Man for the Masters of the Universe anniversary. He captures all the brilliance and character of the Vintage toy in a neat modern interpretation. A great action figure.
SKELETOR
EVIL LORD OF DESTRUCTION
The anniversary edition of Skeletor might not quite capture the essence of the original toy, but it’s nevertheless a very good version. Skeletor face sculpts vary a lot, but this one – with its hinged jaw – is one of the better ones.
There’s a decent amount of texture on the armour and boots, although the scaly arms are not as prominent as they should be. The Havoc Staff is designed quite well, but it should have been all-metal rather than part-plastic.
Two-colour shorts would have made this a more authentic anniversary figure, but Mattel just went with plain black. I’d have been inclined to add yellow to the bat shape on the armour as well. But it’s still a decent Skeletor figure.
HE-MAN AND THE POWER SWORD
One of the main reasons for trying to get hold of the limited-edition set was the inclusion of reissues of the first two minicomics from the Vintage line. Mattel did a nice job with these reprints. Some new artwork is included too.
He-Man and the Power Sword is the story which introduces us to He-Man as he bids farewell to his tribe and sets off on adventure. It’s a pleasure to read this Donald Glut story again and appreciate Alfredo Alcala’s illustrations.
KING OF CASTLE GRAYSKULL
King of Castle Grayskull was the second minicomic to be released with the first wave of Vintage-line figures. It reinforces the iconic conflict between He-Man and Skeletor. It’s great to see the story reissued in this set.
The minicomics often featured extra pages which advertised MOTU figures or other Mattel products. The new edition of King of Castle Grayskull included new artwork which is reminiscent of those old marketing images.
The artwork shown here was created by Axel Giménez and Francisco Etchart. It might not be clear on the image, but there’s a note acknowledging MOTU artist Errol McCarthy, who provided many early illustrations.
A regular version of the anniversary He-Man figure was released at retail by Mattel. The furry shorts and metal weapons were replaced with standard plastic designs, which arguably make this edition more authentic.
And while this release was most welcome – especially for fans who did not know about, or could not acquire, the Mattel Creations edition – it’s utterly bewildering that Mattel did not release a regular version of Skeletor.
He-Man was presented in a Masterverse box that was illustrated in a style reminiscent of the Vintage card art, with a vivid red and blue colour scheme. The original MOTU logo was also included.
The figure is basically the same as the limited-edition version except for the points noted above. This is a very nice version of He-Man that is as inspiring as the Vintage toy. The harness does not fit quite right at the back though.
A lot could be written about the forty-year Masters of the Universe adventure. It’s been an inspiring journey for so many fans. Minicomics, books, cartoons and several incarnations of the action figures have all played their part.
But there’s room for that on the other pages of this website and elsewhere. I want to conclude by linking to this excellent and well-researched Battle Ram Blog article which explores the ideas of He-Man creator Mark Taylor.
Taylor’s ideas pre-date the Glut minicomics. He created a wealth of character sketches. Some became MOTU lore; others did not. The concepts were not always entirely consistent, but that’s the nature of drafting a story outline.
Make sure you read the article. It’s fascinating to see how the Masters of the Universe themes developed. The formal adoption of some ideas and not others reflects what all MOTU fans have always done in their own minds.
