Masters of the WWE Universe: Sting

I had to admit that I was skeptical when I heard the idea of Mattel crossing over Masters of the Universe with WWE. While I'm not the biggest MOTU fan, I have bought several toys in the past. I'm also a WWE fan and while I don't really buy wrestling figures, I have liked the changes Mattel has made over the years. Once I heard they were going to be Walmart exclusives I knew my chances of finding them on local retail shelves was going to be a tough task. Originally I could only find Triple H and Fin Balor, but the figure in the first wave that I wanted the most was Sting. When I finally found one, the blister card was bent and curled...but I didn't let that stop me from buying it.

The packaging is a nice combination of the two brand, including the logo. Mattel made a backstory which is told via a small comic that is included with each figure with everything taking place in WWEternia. Corny? Clever? You be the judge.

These new figures are based of the new, upcoming Masters of the Universe Origins line. These molds look closer to the original 80's figures, but with increased articulation. The heads and hands are detachable so theoretically you could build your own original character by swapping parts if you so choose. The figures themselves stand about 5 1/2 inches tall and are full articulated. 

Sting is done in his classic "Crow" look from his days in WCW, prior to his appearance in WWE. While the upper body may be a little larger than the character it's based on, Sting's face looks fantastic and captures look of Steve Borden, the man behind the Sting character.

Sting is based on the classic Masters of the Universe villain, Clawful. He was always one of my favorite villains so I was happy with this mishmash. Sting comes with a removable claw and some stoy of claw nunchuck. I don't care too much for this weapon as it's large, heavy and hard for the figure to wield. It took me several chances to even get this photo as the figure wanted to keep falling over with this heavy weapon in his hands.

The actual claw that slips over his closed fist is pretty cool. I don't have an original Clawful figure to compare the size of the two claws, but it appears to be scaled well with the figure. The claw is articulated, allowing the bottom pincher to open and close.

The upper body will spin if you twist the upper torso. Action features were once common place in figures like this so while it's not my cup of tea, it's still a nice throw back feature. Thankfully though it doesn't take away too much from the figure itself.

While I'm not planning on going all in on this line, this is a fun novelty if nothing else...especially if you are already a fan of both brands. As of this post, wave 2 is already on store shelves with at least two more waves planned. I look forward to what else Mattel has up their sleeves while I wait for the MOTU Origins line to be released.

Masters of the Universe (NECA): Clawful

I was a huge fan of the Masters of the Universe 200X series...both the toys and the Mike Young Productions cartoon.  With the exceptions of the stupid amount of He-Man and Skeletor variants, the toy featured a lot of great characters and toys.  However some characters were never made by Mattel for the series.  I'm guessing that some of characters not produced would have appeared in subsequent waves had the series not ended earlier.

Thankfully however Mattel awarded the company NECA with a Masters of the Universe license.  The Four Horseman that had worked on the line for Mattel, were again brought on board to work on the NECA figures.  However this time around these toys, if you can call them that, weren't action figures.  I'm not 100% sure why the characters were made into what the fans call staction figures (miniature statues), but with the Four Horseman at the helm it didn't seem to matter.

The first wave consisted of three characters, Snout Spout, Hordak and Clawful.  While Hordak was the obsession of many, Clawful is the one I had to have.  In the original Filmation cartoon and the original Mattel MOTU line, Clawful was protrayed as well...pretty stupid.  I hated his look, hated the way he talked and sounded in the show...I just had zero interest in the character as a whole.  Then the Horseman worked their magic and made him look outstandingly cool.  Gone was this small, stupid looking man with a crab head and claws.  In his place was this...

Oh yeah.  Much improved.  Granted this more of a statue than an action figure, it scales and blends in great with other 200X MOTU figures.  All of NECA's staction figures came packaged with figure stands, but this guy is so heavy and well proportioned that he doesn't need a stand at all.  I'm telling you the level of design put into this thing is a true marvel.  From the claws, to the skin, to the head...amazing.

Check out the huge crab shell on his back.  How awesome is that?!  Even his loin cloth looks like real leather.  I've you've never seen one of these NECA Masters of the Universe figures in person, you really can't appreciate their beauty.

  

"Nice to pinch you!"

Clawful comes packaged with one accessory, his club.  This thing just barely fits into his small claw hand.  I urge you to use caution when placing it in his hand has the handle will break off if you apply to much force.  This is the 2nd Clawful figure I've owned as the first one fell off my desk @ work where he once stood displayed.  While the staction figure survived the short fall without much damage, the club wasn't so lucky.

This is one of those toys that if I had unlimited display space I would have kept, but ultimately he because a casualty as so many other toys of mine have become due to lack of space.  Highly recommended if you are a fan of the character or the Masters of the Universe in general.  Last I checked he is still readily available on the secondary market for a little over his original MSRP of $20.

Masters of the Universe Classics: Clawful

The Masters of the Universe Classics line has done a great job updating characters and in some cases merging the designs of the vintage and 200X toys into one.  Clawful, unfortunately, wasn't one of those.

As a whole Clawful isn't a bad looking figure at all.  I love how the red crustacean skin slowly fades into the human flesh.  The large crab shell on the back is a very nice touch as well.  The large articulated claw is very cool, but the head...the head!  When I see this version of Clawful I can't escape his lame voice from the cartoon reverberating in my head.  Too bad the Four Horsemen didn't use more of his excellent 200X design they captured in NECA's "staction figure".

picture courtesy of OFAE.com

This is my preferred look for the character.  The long arms and the hunched over look give him a much more powerful and menacing look.  He also looks more crustacean and less human.

Clawful comes packaged with a shell shield and his green mace...very similar to the accessories his vintage figure came with.  He features the standard articulation that most of the MOTUC figures have.  Unlike some of the characters that have capes or other appenditures, Clawful will stand on his own without assistance.  He makes a good shelf filler if you're building an army for Skeletor, but there are better figures in the line if you're looking to pick up another villain.