Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day, from Toy Remix

Masters of the Universe Classics: Captain Glenn

When I saw the Black Friday sale going on at Matty Collector, the first figure I looked for was this one. Captain Marlena Glenn was an adventurer and space pilot from Earth who crash landed on a distant planet, became its queen, and was later the mother of that world's greatest hero, He-Man.

Yeah, she's freaking awesome. And this is easily one of the best toys I bought this year.

This is her shut-the-fuck-up gun. I suggest you shut the fuck up.

She actually comes with everything you need to turn her into either Captain Glenn or Queen Marlena. What really impresses me is how well that works. Take a look at what's actually included:

You get an underlying body with two sets of clothes and accessories, two heads, and Cringer thrown in as a bonus. She'd still be the coolest MotU Classics toy I've seen even without Cringer, but it's nice getting something extra.

The dress and vest are both made of very thin plastic, with tabs in back. There is a noticeable line where the edges meet, but it's no worse than the molding lines on most action figures.

Technically, her pilot uniform looks nothing like it did in the original series: that one looked lame; this one looks awesome. She's clearly got a Buck Rogers, pulp SF serial adventurer-vibe going on here, and  I absolutely love it. They have retained the "Rainbow" symbol she was wearing in the episode featuring her, which is a nice throwback. My guess is that they updated and streamlined her outfit, so the underlying color scheme would match her queen outfit. Whatever the reason, it looks fantastic.

Hey Mattel, I hear you're having trouble getting a new He-Man movie green lit. Ever consider starting with a prequel in the vein of John Carter? Just think about it.

The giant laser rifle comes out better in photos, but the hand laser is the standout in person. It's wonderfully evocative of old science fiction movies. The holster is just as fantastic.

Here she is in royal dress. I love both the crown and outfit. If I remember right, the sword is actually intended for her husband. Screw that: she can cut down snake-men on her own. The scepter is fine, but probably the weakest accessory.

Cringer's fun, and as an extra he adds a lot of value to this toy. But, on his own, he's nothing spectacular. Not that he necessarily should be, mind you.

He's got cut joints on his neck and tail, but his legs are sculpted in place.

I will say this: seeing him standing next to Battle Cat explains why everyone doesn't realize they're the same creature. I mean, these toys are in scale, so, markings aside, there's not a lot of similarity.

I love both versions of Marlena, and I'm honestly torn as to which I want to display. I got her for $22.50 on Matty Collector's Black Friday Sale, which I think is a few dollars under retail. All things considered, this set may start out with a hefty price tag, but it more than delivers the value.

I consider this photo definitive proof that she could single-handedly defend Eternia against the forces of Skeletor at least as efficiently as He-Man. She probably just sits it out so she doesn't steal the spotlight from her son.

Picture: Beast Boy's Been Working Out

Masters of the Universe Classics: Battle Cat

Yeah. Okay. So I'm ridiculously late to this party. I could never justify racing to Matty Collector's website on their sale dates just to fight for a chance to maybe buy an overpriced toy then get gouged on shipping (since there's usually not much opportunity to combine).

But then Black Friday rolled around, and Mattel made a massive number of exclusives available, many at discounted prices (Battle Cat, for example, was marked down to $27). Add that to the fact I could combine shipping with a couple other toys I wanted, and the math suddenly looked a lot better.

As every other toy collector on Earth learned more than a year ago, this is pretty amazing toy. The Four Horsemen did a phenomenal job sculpting something that was simultaneously true to the original concept, while looking completely modern. Not to mention intimidating.

I love the work on the head, both with and without the removable armor. This guy's extremely scary - if I were Skeletor, I'd think twice before making trouble.

I will admit to having mixed feelings about the headpiece. It's amazingly well done, given the design of the original, but it looks equal parts cool and, well... silly. Then again, there's something realistic about that: real world armor doesn't always look as frightening as it's intended to.

The articulation is good, though I do have a gripe. The shoulders and hind legs are all joined with swivels instead of ball joints, which limits your options. The knees and ankles, on the other hand, are ball-joints, which mostly makes up for it. Mostly.

There are quite a few other joints, giving you quite a bit of movement. I also love the mouth, which looks fantastic open or closed.

He-Man looks good riding, but not great. The limitations in the Masters of the Universe Classics' leg articulation become apparent.

He works quite a bit better standing in front of Battle Cat: this is a good vehicle, but an amazing backdrop.

I'm thrilled to have finally gotten my hands on one of these. Truth be told, I was awfully jealous of my fellow collectors last year when pictures of these started showing up online, but I couldn't justify the price until now.

Picture: Revenge of the 80s

Define "Bargain"

I was really excited when I saw these three used figures in a lot on Ebay for $23, including shipping. I mean, that's less than $8 a figure. Sure, I've already got the Skeletor and a Powergirl, but they certainly make good custom bait. And Orion's a figure I've been after for a while. His harness is extremely cool, and even has some moving bits.

Yes sir, I was feeling pretty good about this purchase. Then, between ordering them and having them arrive, I stopped by the Super Duper Toy Box, to find that the Boy Wonder had just scored SIXTEEN DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS FIGURES FOR $6.69 EACH.

Okay, Toy Box. You win this round.

DCU/MotU Classics: Supergirl Vs. She-Ra

Part of me really wishes I'd gotten into Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line when it started. The other part of me knows there's a limit to what any action figure is worth, both in terms of money and frustration. Still, there's no denying the artistic and critical success of the line.

Nevertheless, I just don't have the patience to wrestle with Matty's online ordering system, nor am I willing to dish out the shipping fees associated with their figures. $30 is just too much to pay for a six inch figure.

But it's not necessarily too much to pay for two. Mattel's released a handful of DCU/Masters of the Universe Classics 2-packs through Toys R Us. I bought the first two packs about a year and a half ago, and I've been building custom bases and buying them additional weapons ever since.

When I heard this set had shown up on Amazon for $30 with free shipping, I turned to my wife, expecting to be reminded that we don't have enough space, it's still really expensive, and we have already have a 6 inch Supergirl. Instead, I discovered that my wife really wanted a She-Ra action figure.

So here we are.

I'll start with a few notes on the packaging. First, I find it bizarre that Mattel's still playing up the "vs" angle. Originally, this started with a classic comic where He-Man fought a magically-controlled Superman. But that's ancient history: I don't think there's ever been an issue where She-Ra and Supergirl faced off. So why play this up as a fight at all?

Moreover, why use Supergirl at all? Isn't She-Ra's opposite in the DCU Wonder Woman?

The back of the package raises some questions, as well. They've slapped on the bio from the current incarnation of Supergirl. Had She-Ra ever battled Supergirl, wouldn't she have fought the pre-Crisis version?

Of course, if you know me, you know my philosophy regarding packaging: trash goes in the trash can. I'd buy these just as quickly if they came in zip-top bags.

If you came here looking for pictures of Supergirl, you're going to be disappointed. There are one or two, but overall I'm going to be focusing on She-Ra. Frankly, I don't think anyone's buying these 2-packs for the DC figures: most collectors have plenty of those. But, for those of us unwilling to deal with Matty Collector's website or the mark-ups online, this is the only way we can get these toys.

I should mention that this re-release of She-Ra actually comes with the variant head, rather than the primary. Michael Crawford reviewed the original figure here, if you want some pictures of the other head design. In his review, he mentioned that he preferred the variant, and I agree. If we could only have one, I'm glad Mattel went with this one. They also dropped her ax/comb, and I'm not feeling too bad about that omission either.

The figure looks incredibly good (I particularly love her hair), though the articulation is lacking. Due to the skirt, her legs have only a tiny range of motion. She's also missing any articulation in her stomach or waist. Despite the hair, her head actually retains a decent amount, largely due to the fact it's loose. This isn't a criticism: it's supposed to come off.

She-Ra has two or three accessories, depending on how you're counting. She comes with her sword and shield, both of which are great. I love the translucent gems: the effect is really nice. In addition, her head pops off, allowing you to remove her cape:

She's a great figure, and I'm thrilled to be able to display her beside her brother. I'm even happier that, due to her tiara, she looks a little taller than him.

The Supergirl is a version they've released previously, as well, though they may have updated her head and hair (I can't say for sure: until now I only owned the version in the blue shirt). The hair is very soft, which keeps it from interfering with her articulation. Unfortunately, the sculpt is a long way beneath the level of quality we've come to expect from this line.

Supergirl doesn't come with any accessories of her own, though the pack does include something billed as a "mini-poster". Personally, I think "mini-poster" is a tad generous of a description. This is basically the section of the packaging that originally contained the He-Man Vs. Superman comics that came with the first two sets. Only now the comics aren't included, so all you get is a rectangle of cardboard trying to sell the concept of a Supergirl/She-Ra fight.

It's actually reversible, containing a portion of Castle Greyskull on the back:

Yeah, maybe if it were a little taller.

Seeing as how I didn't really need another Supergirl, I'm glad I got this for $30. If I'd waited for it to show up in stores around here, I'd have paid at least $35. I really like She-Ra, but that would probably have been a bit too much.

Picture: Two of a Kind