New MOTU Origins reveals from Mattel!

[Mechanizor]

Well, I hope these new reveals will excite you for awhile, at least until better ones get announced (or leaked). The official reveals in no particular order are:

200X He-Man, King Randor, Teela & Zoar 2 Pack, Digtino, Pig Head and Sumo:

[Mechanizor]

Sumo:



And probably a leaked Kobra Khan?:

[Mathius]

That 200x He-Man looks better than I anticipated. Not really excited about a bunch of Sun Man figures I have no investment in. At this point I will probably buy them to complete my Origins collection, but honestly this is the type of thing that makes me want to quit the line.

[Mathius]

People CAN do what they want, but I also have the right to dislike it.

I mean evidently the guy who wrote the original "bible" was heavily involved with the 200x series, but (and I know I'm repeating myself) I didn't need all the blanks filled in with who Skeletor is related to, and where did He-Man's power come from, etc. etc.

And honestly, now that a lot of the information is heavily available on the creation of he-man, interviews with Mark Taylor, several shows like Toys who Made us, and that whatnot, as well as a number of books that I'm just now getting into, the more I see very little actual originality from the writers.

He-Man's origins is he has an ancestor who looked like He-Man. Of course King Grayskulls wife looks like the Sorceress. Of course she does.

There's also a huge leap in logic here. King Grayskull's power was used to create the Elders and his sword was left for He-Man, and the Sorceress mentions that she vowed never to tamper with the power, but "tamper with it I must, in order to protect it!" she says when she uses it to create a force shield, revealing the power to Skeletor, and yet..... now that they went to create this massive backstory about King Grayskull and the power of the Elders residing in Grayskull, did anyone bother to ask just what the power was supposed to be used for?

I mean I could literally do a whole youtube video comparing the two shows. The Filmation versions are highly disrespected in this day and age for all the wrong reasons and I'm a little baffled why you would be upset about moral messages.

Also, making the Snake Men such a big deal was its death knell, IMO, the same as the original toy line. What made He-Man special, was he had a comic book cast of characters that were all different, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Introducing a whole line of characters that were all snake puns, was just about as bad as adding dinosaurs for He-Man to ride.

I'm surprised you compare it to the Mini Comics, honestly. I'm reading minicomics book right now. I'm about 450 pages into it. I remember some of the details from when I was a kid, but not all.

Teela was depicted first as a warrior goddess in print, but often in practice was nothing more than a damsel in distress. The 200x version was just an arrogant teenager with very little compassion who used that exact line saying she wasn't a damsel in distress. He-Man was super nerfed in the mini comics compared to the cartoon version from either era.

In fact a number of episodes from the 200x series were just rehashes of Filmation episodes done edgy-er. I'm not seeing a lot of mini comic spirit there.

[Mechanizor]

Where did I say that I dislike the moral messages?!... I was only mentioning the main differences between the two shows!

The mini comics and the 200X show had different canons, but the sense of adventures and action was very close. Edgy and a little dark in some of the stories, but nothing over the top... At the end of the day, it's about the toys and how they convey the stories that you'd like to experience in your head or play!

[Mathius]

I dunno. There's a difference between someone who pushes boundaries and someone who wears dark clothing and eyeliner and walks around trying to say shocking things. I see the 200x leaning towards the second one.

But enough out of me. This is off topic anyways and like I said, I could go on for an hour and I'm not trying to offend anyone.

[Mathius]

I just got an e-mail notification from BBTS, btw saying they have the Teela 2-pack up for pre-order:

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/199354

[Mechanizor]

Thanks, I've pre-order one for now...

[Mathius]

Does anyone know off hand which major retailers charge you up front for pre-orders? I'd much rather pay for them than have to remember to keep x amount of dollars in my checking account for when they show up.

[Mechanizor]

AFAIK, most major retailers don't charge you up front until the product is ready to ship simply because the pre-orders could change or get cancelled for any reason, thus they don't have to go through the process of paying you back which can be a headache for both parties if the initial payment option is no longer valid or got deleted!

Just keep a note to yourself somewhere of the estimated release dates of those orders you've placed. Usually the confirmation emails can be pinned as a reminder!

[man-e-faces]

Excellent reveals! I'll be getting most of these forthcoming Origins figures. Really digging the Teela in the original Vintage outfit; Zoar; and King Randor; these all bring back memories of the '80's. Fantastic!

[Mathius]

I'm not crazy about how that snake cowl seems to fit her head. They should have done something with the hair. Of course this is only one angle so maybe it doesn't look quite as bad, or maybe that's just a prototype.

[Mechanizor]

More new reveals into this awesome line:

[Mechanizor]

Some more images:

[Mathius]

Those look really good for the most part. Is it just me or are they ramping up production? I'm a little late to the line, so I'm not really sure how far ahead they've been announcing Waves, since I started with the Fisto wave.

I really like the Mantenna and the Snout Spout, particularly the design choice to give Mantena proper legs.

The 200x Skeletor doesn't look nearly as good as the 200x He-Man did.

I kinda wish they'd have done something different with Leeches face this time around, but otherwise, it's fine.

Grizzlor appears the same as vintage, which... I wish they could have given him a trim, but maybe I'll do a custom and figure it out.

That's 2 more waves without a new female entry. It's also interesting they released Stridor without Nightstalker and now the Rotor, without a counterpart (Battle Ram anyone?)

[Mechanizor]

Leech has two heads just incase you've missed it!... As for the 200X Skeletor, probably they've wanted to keep him within the Origins style as much as possible. The staff however looks lazy!

I believe Nightsalker will show up at one point because it's basically a repaint of Stridor. The same goes for Screeech (for beasts/animals). And I really hope another vehicle and another playset will get revealed soon as well! (fingers crossed)...

[man-e-faces]

Yes - these new Origins reveals are incredible! Really looking forward to all of them. WOW!!!!

Like that the Mantenna has the 4 individual separate legs - unlike the Vintage version, where the legs were one solid piece. The 4 legs make the figure look even more bizarre & grotesque - which is the whole point. Back in the day I didn't even realize that Mantenna was supposed to have more than two legs due to the inferiority of the original sculpt.

Leech looks amazing as well, and an obvious improvement on the original.

Snout Spout is fantastic - I hope it still has the feature that allows you to squirt water out of the snout

Grizzlor is nice - the fur definitely looks better than the vintage version.

The new Skeletor (inspired by the 200X version) looks good as well.

And the Roton - yes!!!!!! Wanted one of these ever since the Origins line started. This looks superb. Definitely one of my favorite vehicles in the Vintage line. I like that the 'action feature' is non-electronic. Nice!

[Mechanizor]

I believe Snout Spout has that squirting play feature looking at that tank pic. I think him and Leech are deluxe figures.

More to come in the next two day from what people are saying, and these reveals look a bit premium with all the new tooling and stuff! :-)

[Black Zodac]

All of these Origins reveals are great. I do wish they gave Skeletor his 200x staff, and I wonder if the staff we see in this picture is just a placeholder for now.

[Mechanizor]

I truly hope so...
I'm just dreaming now to see all the major 200X designs will make an appearance in this line. New head molds, accessories and armors with extra attachments might be the way without investing in new bucks. Maybe a few limbs here and there for certain character like Trap-Jaw and such, but that's all to it.
Of course the 200X vehicles might be the only major exception, but I doubt that it'll happen!

[man-e-faces]

Agree completely that it would be great for most of the overall fantastic 200X sculpts to be re-made as figures in either the Origins or Masterverse lines; among these, I also count the "Staction" statue sculpts - which were a de-facto 'sequel' to the 200X line, but never actually came out as action figures. Though I tried to collect these when they were originally out in the 2002/2003 time-frame, I never found many of them. And, they're very expensive on the secondary market now. So, for those of us who couldn't get these the first time around and/or for newer collectors, it would be fantastic to see these 200X designs resurrected in these new line(s).

I'd also like to get many of the 200X vehicles re-made in this line, but only after the main Vintage '80's vehicles are re-done

[Mechanizor]

Yep, the stactions were amazing but weren't easily obtained (And I sadly missed out on them), but they're still a true part of the 200X line.

The 200X vehicles could find their way into the line eventually if the other vintage ones sell well by Mattel's standards.

[Mechanizor]

According to leaked sources the Snakemen are coming to Origins in 2023? No images yet, but here's a Toy Habits video talking about it:

[Mechanizor]

Well, that doesn't mean it was a "death knell" for the franchise as you've stated, maybe the execution on some of the figures were below standards like King Hisss's transformation, but the idea was still intact; each SM figure was unique in "powers" and features. It was a faction like any other faction in the line for kids to collect or pass on!

In all honesty, your opinion (or mine) on Classic doesn't really reflect on how the line was received by the online collectors. I loved most of what the Four Horsemen did with 200X and Classics, but how the lines were handled by Mattel and "Neitlch" was kinda pitiful to say the least. I honestly hated myself collecting that line because it was painful for about a decade, and still it wasn't even complete (lack of vehicles, playsets, NA etc).
200X was a lot worse where many of us gave up on it even before Mattel pulled the plug!... I really hope Origins doesn't meet similar fate of either line.

The bottom line is, collect whatever appeals to you from Origins, and dismiss the things you don't like. Don't be swayed by opinions or trends, or gollop everything thrown at you by the company unless you see value in it!

[Mathius]

I mean, like you said, we each have our opinions, but the Snake Men were at the tail end of the original 1980s figures and didn't save the line, and again in 200x they devoted almost a whole season of the cartoon to it (or at least it felt like it) and a whole figure line to them and that was the end of that one as well.

I didn't follow Classics closely because of the bs with the line that you pretty much sumarized in your own post.

[Mechanizor]

So you see the Snake Men as a curse jinxing the MOTU brand! Fair enough... LOL

Different opinions are good the way I see it, so long as we all respect each others' of course. At the end of the day, each one of us has his/her own unique experience with everything we deal with in life, collecting toys isn't any different.

[Mechanizor]

Another leak/rumor; stating that Mechaneck/Road Ripper two pack is coming into Origins:

[man-e-faces]

Incredible news! I recently saw this on the MOTU Redditt site as well. Really pumped for both the Origins Road Ripper & Mekanek. This is one of my favorite Vintage figures & one of my top-five Vintage vehicles. Really looking forward to both of these. If this news is accurate, it looks like it'll come as a set, which will be even better - since we won't need to search for the figure & vehicle separately. Also, the higher cost of this set may make it easier for collectors to get this, since non-collectors/casual fans may not want to shell out the $ for both the figure & the vehicle - unless they really want both. That all being said, I suspect this will be an exclusive and therefore extremely HTF.

I've speculated on a possible Origins Mekanek in the past. I wonder if this figure will have the same feature the Vintage one did - i.e., when you turned the Vintage figure's waist, the mechanical neck went up - but the head/neck were also attached to the figure itself. If they don't go this route, the other possibility is that the figure may come with two removable heads - one with the mechanical neck attached so you can just put it on the figure that way, and another head without the mechanical neck. We'll see.

Hopefully the Origins Road Ripper will have the same cool Vintage feature of being able to 'rev' up with the plastic ripcord - which resulted in the toy racing across the floor. This really brings back memories. I always wondered how long the functionality of this feature lasted, but since I never had the toy for that long back in the day - I never knew. That being said, I've read online that some collectors/fans still have the Vintage RR, and it still works. I suspect the functionality may have to do with how much the toy is used/played with.

Hopefully official pics. will be released in the near future. Looking forward to seeing them.

[Mechanizor]

Whiplash BTW is happening according to a leaked merchant list, but he might get pushed back a little just like that minicomic Trap-Jaw. Sometimes manufacturing errors in the mold or in the engineering department or in the materials push back products until they're resolved. There are also other managerial factors that could change the direction of any release.

But I hear you, I was very disappointed yesterday about not revealing any type pf playset, or even a repainted vehicle or a mechanical beast (Evil Wind Raider, Night Stalker)... But I'm not losing hope just yet. Patience is a virtue after all.

[Mathius]

The collector would be amazing. Or you'd think Point Dread would be an obvious one after releasing the "goddess" and Castle Grayskull.

[Mechanizor]

Either one would be awesome. But I think the Point Dread/Talon Fighter set is more recognizable at least by the fans world wide.

[Mechanizor]

Whiplash teaser image:

[Mechanizor]

The Toy Habits guys talk about it in this video: link

[Mathius]

Reddit had a teaser of King Randor, which looked to me as identical to the 80's version. If it wasn't for the elbow joints I couldn't have told if it was different or not. Which I guess is the point?

I'm not really sure how I feel about this line going forward. They're moving into Sun Man territory now and 200x variants, and I only want the vintage stuff. I was glad to see them apparently re-releasing the She-Ra Wave, but I'd really rather see more PoP than this other stuff. Anything Filmation really.

[Mechanizor]

- King Randor was already revealed by Mattel not long ago with the wave 9 and 10 figures.
- This line is expanding beyond the vintage figures which is a mixed bag for a lot of folks so it would appeal to more collectors. Just get the things you’d really want from this line and pass on the things that don’t appeal to you, and you’d be a lot happier that way, trust me…

[Mathius]

King Randor from reddit.com (no idea the original source)

[Mechanizor]

Just look up the older posts in this thread, he’s already there! ;-)

[Mathius]

I know, I saw that, but this closeup pic was posted along with the image you showed of whiplash, so I just threw it up here. There was also the potential that there were changes from the earlier images shown that you had put in this thread, but I don't see any.

[Mechanizor]

Oh, I thought you’ve missed the older post. No biggie… BTW, the source of that Reddit pic is from a Canadian site according to the YT channel Toy Habits.
I still think a crowned King Randor in this line is puzzling without a palace or a carriage or a steed of some kind!

[Mechanizor]

More images:

[Mechanizor]

And more images:

[Mechanizor]

The Toy Habits YT channel talks about the new surfaced images in this video:

[man-e-faces]

Excellent more detailed pics. of these figures. The Mantenna is a must-have; nice more detailed view of the individual four legs. Grotesque - in a good way

The new Roton is fantastic; I didn't know the 'extra' elements on here were based on an '80's Roton model kit - nice homage. I never even knew a model of this toy existed, and I was a fan of MOTU back in the day. That being said, I've never been a fan of models because of their fragility (even the snap-together versions).

Whiplash is amazing; fantastic improvement from the original '80's version.

[Mechanizor]

Excellent more detailed pics. of these figures. The Mantenna is a must-have; nice more detailed view of the individual four legs. Grotesque - in a good way

The new Roton is fantastic; I didn't know the 'extra' elements on here were based on an '80's Roton model kit - nice homage. I never even knew a model of this toy existed, and I was a fan of MOTU back in the day. That being said, I've never been a fan of models because of their fragility (even the snap-together versions).

Whiplash is amazing; fantastic improvement from the original '80's version.

My biggest wish still, is to see all the major figures get a 200X interpritation stylistic job, plus all the vehicles, beasts and the playsets we can get!

By now, we should've gotten at least another playset and two more vehicles reveals!

[Mathius]

Several times during my life I've tossed around the idea of chasing down the model kits, but never forked over the money and they get more and more pricey. I really like that they included this adaptation to the Roton, but I have to say the new headpiece looks goofy on its own in the box, like someone left their false teeth in there.

I'm not sure how I feel about the whiplash. The original had a rubber like tail moulded onto the figure. I will have to see how this "snapable" one functions, but I doubt it will be as sturdy.

[Mechanizor]

Rulers of the Sun 3-pack?... Basically this Toy Habits video talks about the remaining revealed figures from ROS might come in a 3-Pack:

[Mechanizor]

BTW, Pig-Head is also available as a single carded figure.

[Mathius]

The more I see RoS stuff, the more disappointed I am. That first guy looks like he's wearing half a t-shirt and the other guy looks like he has a t-shirt on his head. And seriously, "Pig Head" ? And people made fun of MOTU names/designs?

I also keep hearing people trying to push the idea that these figures are nostalgic. I NEVER saw these things as a kid. There were the other MOTU KO's, like Galaxy Warriors or whatever, but I don't remember seeing, or hearing anything about these.

I believe the "nostalgia" is totally made up and being pushed by people who were never alive in the 80's. If that's when this line was actually created. We could get "online" in the 80's, but you couldn't just get on the www and search for information or keep apprised of what was going on in the rest of the country. Even now, with web pages even dedicated to the creator, there's very little information about this line (https://www.blackenterprise.com/meet...-up-by-mattel/). I can't even find out when it was created, or where it was actually sold.

Supposedly, the mother created them because her 3 year old sun said he couldn't be a super hero because he was black. That's an awful feeling to have, and I have zero problems with the creation of the line, but it obviously wasn't popular enough to stand on its own and it's terribly un-creative. I'm not surprised it was created by someone's mom. Adding it to MOTU is something I'm struggling with. Like I said before, even the tagline doesn't make sense.

While we're on the subject of MOTU disappointments, one of my two targets still has the same 5 Naked Stratos on the peg taking up space, and I've yet to see Horde Trooper, Sun Man, etc. in stores. The other one is just getting the Naked Stratos wave, and I feel like it won't be long before it's warming the shelves there as well. They still had one green goddess, but I think I already have 4 of her.

[Mathius]

I've certainly tried googling over the years. The most information you get is from autobody sites, but they don't exactly specialize in plastic. I suppose I might have more luck with duckduckgo or such. I've tried on several occasions over the years to drop google because it's terrible, but unfortunately, the other search engines have always been worse.

I've found some interesting information on youtube regarding masking processes, but nothing so far about hardeners.

[Mechanizor]

Well from my understanding it's a liquid PVC type of chemical that bonds to the plastic and it's toxic to handle outside the manufacturing process and that's why it isn't available via the regular market, and I don't know what's the exact compound called!

Probably you can find more about it if you just dig a little deeper online or contact someone who deals with this stuff directly....

[Mathius]

Again, relating to RotS, I hate to keep sourcing things from reddit, but right now someone posted a scan from the entire issue of the Rulers of the Sun Comic. I can link to it or start a thread if anyone's interested.

I only read the first part of the comic (unfortunately the art is very poor and the colors are extremely light), but it appears as though "Sun Man" is actually "Prince Sunni" and doesn't appear to have any actual powers, but instead gets them from his wings (flight), chest piece (harnesses energy from the sun), sword (light beam), boots ("Telescopic Stars" that allow him to "see through buildings"), gauntlets ("Laser Diamonds" to cut his way out of a trap), and shield (to block "Evil Magic From Pig-Head").

[Mechanizor]

Deluxe Snout Spout and Leech carded (A little blurry for now):

[Mathius]

I was excited about these, but both of my targets are just filled with pegs of Mosquitor, Clamp Champ, and Naked Stratos. I see people posting images on reddit of their horde trooper armies and flying fists he-man's and I still don't have them available in my area, nor have I received any information on my pre-orders.

[Mathius]

Koldar release has just been posted to Mattel Creations, limit 5 per customer although you can't order quite yet. Supposedly 5-27 @ 11am central time, according to Reddit. Also rumored is that Wun-Dar is a confirmed MC upcoming release.

I'm not going to post all the pics, but you can see them here: https://creations.mattel.com/collect...n-figure-hdy26





So... I'm pretty happy with the overall figure/armor mold, but I really wish they'd have put more detail, or at least two-toned the armor. The texture is pretty disappointing.

[Mathius]

I decided to wait and now they're already sold out. If you're selling out in 24 hours, I'm not sure your "limit 5 per customer" is working. Also, how the hell do you sell out of a pre-order.

How the hell do people overseas get these things before us when Mattel claims to be an American company?

[Mechanizor]

Pre-Orders can be sold out when they have a limited quota they can produce on certain allocated budget. I think he was sold out in 30 minutes or less.

People who live overseas in next to the manufacturing country (China for example) get access to these figures sometimes a lot earlier than the US simply because the shipping time is a lot shorter.

[Mathius]

To me, it's like they don't want to make money. I can see EE, BBTS, etc. running out because they're a retailer and they're going to buy what they think they can sell, but when a manufacturer puts out a pre-order they ought to be able to make as many as they sell.

It's the perfect supply and demand scenario where you know exactly how many to make, based on how many you can sell, so it's baffling to me that they "sell out."

But then it just seems like Mattel is a horribly run company that could make a lot more money off MOTU if they just got out of their own way.

They still have Castle Grayskull up for sale on the page, and Stridor, and Target is still getting RoE and Battle Armor Battlecat exclusives, but the new figure that just came out is already sold out? WTF Mattel?