Battle Lion review by Pixel Dan

[Black Zodac]

Here is the new Battle Lion review by Pixel Dan.

[barrasco]

The smaller size looks pretty bad when comparing this figure to Battle Cat. If you're going to do a character do it justice or don't do it at all... but I guess that's a lost cause at this point...

This figure would look impressive if done right.

[Battle Ram Man]

He looks cool without the armor. 200x Battle Cat armor sucks hard.

[Captain Atkin]

I'm curious to see what he would look like wearing Battle Cat's harness, while still wearing the 200x helmet.

[Mechanizor]

Oh well, as much as I like the 200X designs and the MYP cartoon, I think this beast in this classic form looks a little off to me, not just the overall scale, but also the saddle armor is somehow dwarfing the poor guy, after all it's a just quick buck for Mattel.

I hope it sells well, otherwise Neitlich just might refuse to make more beasts/creatures after 2015, if the line continues that is!
All in all, the figure looks good but not great IMO.

[Dark Angel]

...could barely understand that nasal mewl of his. Also, he really needs to stop calling his descriptions of free toys "reviews."

Also, "a bit smaller"? In the MYP cartoon, Battle Lion's head alone was the size of King Grayskull's entire body, and King Grayskull was at least half again the size the MYP He-Man. In other words, Battle Lion was HUGE. I wouldn't argue against the downsizing for the Classics line - of course he needed to be downsized, that's reasonable - but lets not mischaracterize just how drastic the downsizing really is. This figure is maybe one third the size that the character was originally portrayed as being, which is substantially more than "a bit smaller."

[Captain Atkin]

The same could be said of King Grayskull himself. In the cartoon, he appeared much larger than He-Man. In Classics, they are pretty much the same size.

[Shawn]

"...could barely understand that nasal mewl of his. Also, he really needs to stop calling his descriptions of free toys "reviews.""

I haven't watched his credit sequence in a LONG time, but I believe that it is covered as it MUST be by law IIRC.

Indeed, it is a review by dictionaries definition of the word. ;-)

[Captain Atkin]

I have mixed feelings on Battle Lion. I am happy to see him as part of the line, and overall, I think he looks good. I'm not a fan of the strap being so close to his back legs. It would look better if was centered like Battle Cat's harness. I also think that there was a missed opportunity to make the red shields on the sides of his armor removable, so that they could be used as shields for MOTUC figures. Watching the review, I felt he looked best when the armor was removed. I will probably just display him wearing Battle Cat armor.

[Shawn]

i LOVE that shield Idea.

[Draego-Man]

Absolute garbage. Easily the worst beast in the line, and close to the worst figure (Spector, Dekker, UNO and Filmation Randor are hard to beat).

I like my Filmation Randor. Why you gotta hate on Adam's dad in his all too familiar royal lounge wear?

[Draego-Man]

Garbage figure. Totally pointless. I don't like variants to begin with, and we certainly didn't need a figure as redundant as this taking up a slot.

[Mechanizor]

Absolute garbage. Easily the worst beast in the line, and close to the worst figure (Spector, Dekker, UNO and Filmation Randor are hard to beat).

IMO, Swift-Wind is the worst beast thus far! Also I think Dekker wasn't that bad as a figure although I think he wasn't necessary, he's just a little too boring as a character!
I believe characters and figures like Plundor and the Star-Sisters should share that spot with Spector.

[Shawn]

I do not my self care for the Star Sisters, but they deserve their slot as much as Eldor and He-Ro who are MY boyz!!

[Mechanizor]

IMO the Star-Sisters should have been kept for the POP/Etheria mini sub, or as a non Club Eternia item! Unlike Eldor or He-Ro, they weren't popularly demanded or even remembered by the casual POP fan!

[Draego-Man]

No, I absolutely HATE Nepthu. Also a contender for worst figure in the line.

[barrasco]

IMO, Swift-Wind is the worst beast thus far! Also I think Dekker wasn't that bad as a figure although I think he wasn't necessary, he's just a little too boring as a character!
I believe characters and figures like Plundor and the Star-Sisters should share that spot with Spector.

Hey, I like Plundor! One of the very few figures I still own. At least it wasn't designed by ***guru.

[Widukind]

Plundor should have been released after 2015, IMHO.

[barrasco]

Yeah, I can think of numerous Filmation characters which could've been released before Plundor. With that said, I would never put him in the same league as the Mighty Screw Up.

[GREP-A-TOR]

I can accept Plundor more than I care to for the Crappy Spector. At least Plundor will be coming out for Easter at my house, Spector- well I am still looking for one super cheap so can use him as a prop to make fun of Scott Neitlich.

[Anti-Guru]

LOL... Scare Glow is my official Halloween figure.

[Shawn]

we also have Santa Grayskull ;-)

[barrasco]

I can accept Plundor more than I care to for the Crappy Spector. At least Plundor will be coming out for Easter at my house, Spector- well I am still looking for one super cheap so can use him as a prop to make fun of Scott Neitlich.

Man... now I should get a Mighty Screw-Up to be my April Fool's day figure...

[Y2Greg]

This is a very boring addition to the line. How about Storm instead?

[Y2Greg]

I think Storm would be a nice addition. I didn't have any issues with Swiftwind, so I'm good with all the POP horses.

Definitely want all the ones you mentioned too. Not sure if we will get the dinos, but Gigantisaur would be tremendous.

[Anti-Guru]

The biggest problems with these figures is the packaging they come in. If not for all the tight rubber bands... which is overkill in keeping the figures from bouncing around the package, we wouldn't have bent limbs and accessories.

[Dark Angel]

Don't get me started on those blasted rubber bands. The new Spider-Man and Captain America Marvel Legends Infinite figures come in recloseable boxes and not a single rubber band to be found - they are just "seated" in the inner tray nice and tight. Seems to work just fine, and they have to stand up to being manhandled at retail!

[Shawn]

Plundor as much as people despise him, and I'll agree he is a "slot stealer" is one of my surprise favorites of 2014. I love whimsical, it is what makes MOTU unique...He is filler, inexpensive filler, but that is ok because so are Man-At-arms, Scareglow and Fisto...MOTU is all about inexpensive minimally tooled characters stretching the line out. What makes Scareglow badass and plundor stupid is entirely subjective.

I'm perplexed by the backlash of Battle Lion . We have King Grayskull. He has become the primary antagonist of Powers of Grayskull/Preternian era in MOTUC (much to my chagrin...) NO SHIT That Mattel would eventually get to his stead and use the Battle cat buck same as KG and He-man share the same body. I do agree that some design/engineering flaws seam prevalent with him, but part of that is due to non forward think in regards to King Grayskulls design. Soft goods would ONCE AGAIN have proven to be the better option.

[Jsting]

This is a horrible beast slot wasted. Only my opinion. I dont like this figure but im forced to get it. Would've been nice if the paint was better and larger in size.

[MegaGearMax]

No character has their MYP cartoon scale...King Grayskull, Battle Lion, Ram Man, Beast Man, Grizzlor, Leech, Rattlor, Whiplash and Clawful are all normal sized...just like some of those characters were in the Vintage line. Tung Lashor will be normal sized too.

[Draego-Man]

Lets be honest. The only reason this was made is not because fans asked for it, but because it was a cheap and easy reuse of parts. Disgusting.

[Captain Atkin]

Lets be honest. The only reason this was made is not because fans asked for it, but because it was a cheap and easy reuse of parts. Disgusting.

I'm not sure why you find this aspect disgusting. MOTUC is all about the sharing of parts. After all, almost every MOTU figure has the He-Man buck. We were told from the very start that if they ever made Battle Lion, it would be made with the same buck that was used for the other cats.

Personally, I'm glad that Battle Lion isn't bigger than Panthor or Battle Cat. I never liked that King Grayskull and Battle Lion were super-sized versions of He-Man and Battle Cat. I like seeing more of a balance in size between the heroes from the past and the future.

[Draego-Man]

What is disgusting is that it is a shameless reuse with virtually no new tooling. I'm all for reuse of parts, I actually think it is cool. Griffin for example is a great parts share, but Battle Lion is just such a lame character to begin with. It is the Nepthu of beasts, and I also find Nepthu a disgusting reuse of parts.

[Shawn]

The same argument could be made for King Grayskull...

[Mechanizor]

I would have preferred seeing a Manticore (from the Dragon's Gift mini-comic) for the reuse of the Battle-Cat buck, it would've been a step closer to get more Alcala goodies in this line.

Battle-Lion could've been released after 2016...

[MegaGearMax]

Nah, there were some fans who asked for Battle Lion since 2010. I'm one of them. Heck, I'm getting two so I can make a 200X Battle Cat kitbash.

At this point, not every character made is going to have overwhelming demand. But I hate this train of thought that a lack of a unanimous demand equals no demand at all. Despite some fans hating the character, I saw Plundor in many Filmation lists. I don't like Dylamug, but it doesn't mean that there aren't fans who want him.

http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...le-Lion-Thread

[Mechanizor]

I'm a big 200X advocate, yet Battle-Lion wasn't on the top of my list although I've asked for him in the past. I think there is a lot more interesting beasts to be made first, getting another BC-buck was an overkill at this stage IMO. (B-Cat, Panthor, Griffin and B-Lion!)

[Draego-Man]

I'm pissed that we got Battle Lion instead of Mantisuar. 200x throw away rather than vintage necessity. Surely THAT is disgusting.

[Shawn]

Throwaway? He was front and center of a MAJOR Episode that goes to the CORE of the modern PoG lineup. Battle Lion IS NOT insignificant to his era or faction. He is a primary character in that regard.

He reuses a lot of parts. Sure. But he also allows for 200X conversion of BattleCAT...That's something a lot of people would want.

YOU may not like him. That's fine. I'm not trying to dictate to you what your opinion should or shouldn't be. MY self? I MUCH prefer He-Ro/Gray and the ORIGINAL PoG...But Bionotops and Turbodactyle wasn't in the cards. Mantisuar would rock (so would Arrow, Storm and about a dozen other horses roboic and organic...) but I'll take what I can get.

[Draego-Man]

I speak from my perspective. Throw away. Never wanted him, and am upset that he came before Mantisaur, Stridor, and Night Stalker.

[Shawn]

I'll be getting a 2nd BL as part of my 2 subscription...I think I want to make He-Ro/Dare's "blue battle cat" and try to tie it in with more of a Central Tower theme. I have this idea of making Battle Bird a bit of a transformer combiner. He could be like that 200X Flight pack and come apart to form armor for Battle Lion. I'm just unsure of what to use for Battle Bird?