Masters of the Universe Classics: Skeletor

It's been awhile since I've owned any of the Masters of the Universe Classics figures, however recently I've discovered some old photos I took of many of the figures I once had. I had a horrible set up for photos and an old camera so many of the photos were terrible. While many of them were deleted, I did salvage a few and instead of letting them go to waste I decided to use a few.

Even though I really didn't grow up with the Masters of the Universe toys, I do have memories of watching the old cartoon. I'm not sure what the appeal was for me when Mattel relaunched these classic characters in new action figure form, but I gobbled up every monthly Matty Collector MOTU Classics figure. Mattel knew what they were doing by introducing Skeletor as the second figure in the line.

The Four Horsemen, who previously worked with NECA on their line of "staction figures" based on the designs of the Mike Young animated series, sculpted these figures for Mattel. They did a phenomenal job, especially with old Skeletor here. They managed to not only capture his animated likeness, but translate it into a great modern 8 inch action figure.

From the sculpted skull, to the hoodie and breast plate armor...ever detail was spot on. While body of the figure was sculpted in blue plastic, the head was painted and what a great job they did...blending the yellow and green hues together. The eyes were finished off with red for the pupils...wow what a great looking figure this is!

Like a lot of toy collectors, it's easy to get distracted from your core collection and pick up awesome toys. That's what happened with me with the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Eventually I realized that I didn't have the same love and passion for MOTU that I had for Transformers, so I pieced out the figures and sold them all. In retrospect I kind of wish I had held onto Skeletor (and He-Man) just because of the characters and the fact that they are great toys. I don't know what Mattel is up to these days with the MOTU characters and toys, but if you were ever on the fence of whether or not to buy this figure...don't hesitate! Skeletor is worth every penny he costs.

Spider-Man (2010): Sewer Clash Lizard

Spider-Man has always had an excellent rogue's gallery of villians in my opinion, however these great characters haven't always been represented very well in toy form. That says a lot considering how many different lines of figures that Spider-Man and his ensemble have appeared in.

It wasn't until this 2010 series of 4 inch Spider-Man figures that many of this enemies got a good action figure. Dr. Curt Conners, better known as the Lizard was one of the villians in the series that I thought really stood out.

I can't remember if this particular figure was short packed or not, but when I first saw images of it appear online I knew I wanted it. Finding him at local retail wasn't so easy. I had to visit several Walmarts and Targets in my area before I finally found one. It was worth the hunt however as the sculpt was fantastic.

The Lizard's appearance is pretty spot on from how many artists depicted him in the comics. He is sporting is nearly trademark white lab coat (he is a doctor after all!) with a black t-shirt and purple pants. I wonder if Curt and Bruce Banner shop at the same place?

Apparently when he undergoes the transformation to the Lizard he bulks up. Look at how tight fitting the black t-shirt is. His lab coat is tattered on the sleeves and around the bottom. The sculpting of the lizard skin is great. It's hard to see in my pictures, but its got that reptil look as his skin is covered in scales. I love how they enlarged his hands as it gives him a much more menacing look, especially with that vicious, yet beautiful head sculpt. Just look at those reptilian eyes, the sharp teeth and that Venom-esque tongue hanging out of his mouth!

Smile for the camera!

Articulation is represented in the normal areas of the action figure. His head can look up and down, but the side to side is limited. His arms are on ball joints while his elbows are hinge joints. Sadly no wrist or hand articulation. Lizard does have a swivel joint at his waist allowing his upper half to be moved. His lab coat does hinder some of this motion however. The legs are attached to his waist with ball joints. These give his legs some swivel as well as great range of motion. The knees are your standard hinge joints. His tail comes seperate in the packaging and must be assembled. It's made of a softer plastic and does have it's own articulation. As you can see, the lab coat is molded around the tail so the tail is able to be posed as you see fit.

Like many collectors I've had to downsize a large part of my action figure collection so sadly this figure no longer resides in my collection. It's a great 4 inch figure and one of the best representations (in my opinion) of the sometimes villian / sometimes ally of the Amazing Spider-Man. He blends well with the current line of the smaller Marvel Legends figures. If you Spidey collection needs another member to his rogue's gallery, I can't recommend this figure enough.