Masters of the Universe Classics: Whiplash

The original vintage Masters of the Universe toys came just before I was old enough to really enjoy action figures, but my older brother and cousin both loved the toys.  I got to benefit from this by being exposed to many of the great characters and toys like Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain.  However it wasn't until I watched the Mike Young Productions (MYP) cartoon that I came to appreciate Masters of the Universe as a whole.  Skeletor had many minions and henchmen at his disposal to combat He-Man and the Masters and it was hard for me to pick a favorite.  I liked the overall look of Whiplash, but never cared for his vintage look.  The Four Horsemen re-designed the character for the MYP and Mattel's 200X toy line and thankfully they carried this over to the MOTU Classics series.

Whiplash comes packaged with 4 accessories - 2 different heads, orange club and his blade weapon.  He is packaged with his vintage head.  While the head sculpt isn't bad looking it reminds me more of a troll than a lizard type creature would have.  I know most of Skeletor's henchmen didn't have the highest level of intellect, this head just screams "I'm stoopid" to me.  Thankfully however collectors can display Whiplash with whatever head they prefer - vintage or 200X.

Ah, now this is a more menacing looking head.  I loved the re-design of Whiplash in the 200X series so I was elated to find out I could duplicate that look somewhat.  I love the huge ears and his eyes look much more sinister.  My favorite aspect of this head however is the almost squared jaw, the underbite and the large protruding teeth.

One thing about all of the MOTU figures Mattel has utilized is parts sharing.  Most of the figures have something in common with other figures (such as the over used loin cloth), but every once in awhile new parts were sculpted for certain characters.  I believe the original Whiplash just had a green tail protruding from the backside of his waist, but for the 200X series the Four Horsemen designed a larger carapace type tail for him.  I was happy to see this carried over to the new Classics figure.  The tail does have a swivel joint at it's mid-section giving some pose ability.  The tail is also cast of a more rubbery plastic giving it more movement.  I'm not schooled enough in MOTU to give a complete run down of all the re-used parts, but I do like the 4 clawed feet.  I seem to recall that Buzz-Off may have been the first Classics figure to have these feet.

As with the vintage and 200X heads, his included weapons follow suite.  Originally Whiplash just had an orange club...which I've managed to misplace at the moment.  However he was given his awesome bladed staff weapon during the 200X run.  I'm trying to imagine how he would actually use this weapon during combat, but man is it an impressive looking weapon.

Even though my interest in the Classics figures have waned some, I still believe that Whiplash stands out as one of the more impressive of Skeletor's henchmen.  No matter which head and weapon you use this is a fantastic figure and deserves some shelf real estate in your collection.