200X He-Man & 200X Skeletor MOTU Origins Hands On Review
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Summary
Check out the amazing MYP translations for 200X He-Man & 200X Skeletor MOTU Origins in this double header review!
Mattel is batting a thousand with their latest 200x He-Man and 200x Skeletor sculpts that use brand new pieces in a reimagining of the Mike Young Productions figures in Origins form! Featuring brand new head sculpts, armor, weapons, and accessories, Mattel paid homage to the these iconic characters in a major way as we get to look at what the 200x figures could have looked like IF they were made for the vintage line! If you want to see what other 200x figures could look like in the line, check out our Masters of the Universe Origins 200x WHAT IF article to see some amazing customs and dream a little. We typically split up these reviews into individual figures but we felt it was apropos to throw the Evil Lord of Destruction and the Most Powerful Man in the universe together for this review plus epic photos by the one and only @toysorceress!!!
With 200x power swords in hand, you too can recreate battles between He-Man and Skeletor and I am sure you can hear the clink of the weapons together as they duke it out!
Overview
He-Man features a new head sculpt, chest armor, new belt design but we will go into WAY more detail below!
Skeletor also features a new head sculpt, chest armor, loin armor (which is very important!!!), and beautifully sculpted knee armor!
Packaging
He-Man comes in the 40th Anniversary branded Masters of the Universe single carded package with the 200x branding on it! on the back of the card, you can see the transformation of Prince Adam to He-Man in this amazing sequence and we describe this in more detail in the Card Art Teases section below as Axel Gimenez released this art before the figures it the shelves! He-Man does not have any action features so the extra illustrations on the back show how you can fit the sword in his hand (yes you really can!) and pose him!
Skeletor also comes in the 40th Anniversary branded Masters of the Universe single carded package with the 200x branding on it! On the back of the card, it features a very cool illustration of Skeletor trying to take down the [insert wall] with the Evil Warriors looking on! Like the He-Man card art, Skeletor’s card art was released before these figures it the shelves so you an see what figures (if any) are teased below.
Card Art
200x He-Man Card Art Teases
As this version of He-Man comes from the Mike Young Productions (MYP) animated series and toy line from 2002, we can see a younger version of Prince Adam wielding the 200x style sword of power as he transforms into He-Man! In 2002, Mattel launched a new Masters of the Universe toy line most commonly referred to today as the MOTU 200x or the MOTU Modern Series. The figure sculpts featured the talented designs by the Four Horsemen who remained faithful to the original Masters of the Universe toy line. Accompanying the toy line was a new animated series that featured only 39 episodes in total from August 2002 to January 2004. This reimagined version of the Masters of the Universe featured a young Prince Adam that was physically smaller in stature, height, and appearance and was part of a group called the protectors known as “The Masters.”
Source: Axel Gimenez Facebook page
200x Skeletor Card Art Teases
Interestingly, there does not seem to be any card art teases on this card although it features the Origins illustrations of Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops, Whiplash, LoP Beast Man, and the 200x version of Evil-Lyn. Funny enough, all of these figures were featured in the MYP series in their newly animated forms but it does not look like they are stylized as they appeared in the series in the card art but that does not stop us from playing the what if game!
Source: Axel Gimenez Facebook page
200X He-Man
Head Sculpt
With a brand new head sculpt and expression, this version of He-Man features yellow hair that is sculpted like it is blowing in the wind. The hair hangs down over his eyebrows and is sculpted to look very natural, with lots of layers in the back. His hair is also shoulder length and hangs down above his trapezius muscles. He has an open, gritting teeth facial feature and they gave him really high apple looking cheekbones that go well with the MYP style. Another aspect to point out is He-Man has ears in this sculpt where the previous versions do not as his hair hides his ears.
Chest / Back
The chest armor is amazing as it features the symbol from the MYP cartoon and the 200x figure line! In a hexagonal piece that connects the brown straps together, the symbol is painted a nice red and a textured gold background setting it off! The chest straps feature rectangular sculpted parts that mirror real life straps, which are not present on the back of the harness. There is one contact point where the harness secures for easy access if you want take it off and you can even stow his iconic power sword in the back!
Arms / Waist / Legs
The arms feature the same standard MOTU Origins arms we have become accustomed to and, to change it up, they added silver paint to the wrist cuffs that match his belt and weapons that tie everything in so nicely!
The belt design is stunning and it features the same red and gold paint app we saw in his chest armor, with the cross design smack dab in the middle! It also has a more angular design to it than the standard MOTU belt pieces we are used to! What hasn’t changed in the furry loin cloth in the front below the belt that has a brown color that ties in with the rest of the figure. In the back of the loin cloth, they sculpted what looks like a pocket in the back, which was a nice surprise as this was not a feature on the original He-Man 200x MYP figure! The belt also features smaller rivet detail that goes all the way around to the back!
200X Skeletor
Head Sculpt
Skeletor features a brand new hood design that covers his head and leaves his face exposed. The hood comes to point around the top of his in the back and you can see some folded detail, mimicking how cloths lay on a head. As with the 200x sculpt of the original Skeletor, his jaw is much more pushed out and he has exposed fangs where his K9’s are. There is some black paint to separate his lower and bottom teeth as well as some in the nose cavity to define that part of his face. He also has dark blue/black tear drop eye cavities that show off his red beady eyes!
Chest / Back
Skeletor’s chest armor is a direct translation from the 200x MYP version. It weaves in the purple and blacks but in Origins style. For example, the armor that hangs off his right and left shoulders is black with rivets on each end. The red jewel in the middle of the armor ties in nicely with the unique shin armor that is also a new piece for this figure. Although it is more detailed than the original armor that the first version of Skeletor came with, it is a repaint of the v1 armor.
Arms / Waist / Legs
The loin armor also extends down the sides of his exposed thighs, giving him protection from side attacks. The side thigh armor has a nice web design to it and it is a very angular piece that is just the right length. The wrist guards are standard for this figure as well as the arms, which are reused from other figures.
Loin Armor
Skeletor is no stranger to custom loin armor for that down there protection and there are several aspects to his armor that make it stand out. First, the middle piece protecting the goods hangs to his knees and his thighs are flanked with armored protection that have a very cool design to it, like we mentioned earlier. The center of the loin armor appears to have Hordak’s face built into it, which a cool nod to his mentor. It also could be Horde Prime the way the horns look like they are flaring out but either way it is a cool piece. The only that does not have protection is his boney hiney that is covered by the standard furry loin cloth. His feet are also exposed and not painted like the original Origins Skeletor. The way the knee is disconnected from the armor gives it a really unique look!
Accessories
200X He-Man accessories
He-Man comes with an Axe, Shield, and his trusty Power Sword.
Sword
The Power Sword is one of coolest designs. The cross-guard, or quillons have almost a claw-like appearance and seem to cradle the base of the blade. It also has the cross symbol that is found on He-Man’s belt in the middle of the cross-guard.
Axe
The axe is a scaled down version that has a lot of the ornate detail that was found on the original MYP version. There is a lot of intricate detail but one change from the MYP version is that they not add paint detail, which is expected for an Origins accessory.
Shield
The shield is the most detailed out of any in the Origins line. It has a lot of rivets surrounding the outer part of the shield and the inner parts. The red texture on the shield is a very nice touch too!
Here are more close up shots of the Power Sword, Shield detail, and Axe!
200x Skeletor Accessories
Skeletor comes with a purple Power Sword and the standard Havoc Staff.
Sword
Like He-Man’s sword, Skeletor’s sword is uniquely designed with a cool split handle that comes together at the base. The guard looks like ram horns and the paint app is a metallic purple that gives off a shimmer if the light hits it the right way.
Havoc Staff
Unfortunately, they did not pour any detail into Skelly’s Havoc staff as it is a reuse of the original piece that came with the first of Skeletor.
Here are some more up close and personal shots of Skeletor and his weapons. As you can see, the metallic purple coloring shows on the sword.
Mini Comic
The mini-comic that comes packed with all the Wave 9 figures is “The Horrors of Pig Head”. The cover features Pig Head trying to obtain the Sun Stone and 200X Skeletor by his side, with Sun-Man and 200X He-Man ready for battle. We will cover a summary of the mini-comic below, so if you don’t want to know what happens and what to read it for yourself, skip this section and keep going.
In this issue, 200X He-Man battles an evil green monster, when suddenly darkness falls onto Eternia. He-Man confers with the Sorceress at Castle Grayskull to see what is going on, and she says that the sun has disappeared from the Solar System all together. She calls on Sun-Man to help answer what has happened to the sun. Sun-Man tells He-Man and the Sorceress that his greatest enemy is behind the disappearance of the sun.
Back at the Cavern of the Defiled ones. Skeletor and Pig Head both exiled from society plot their next evil scheme to take over Castle Grayskull. Pig Head says he knows how Skeletor can gain control over Castle Grayskull but first Skeletor must do him a favor, the sun must die!
Back at Castle Grayskull, Sun-Man explains that Pig Head was banished and now he wants to harvest Eternia’s sun. Sun-Man tracked down Skeletor’s spy and pulls out Mantenna from a bag! They force Mantenna to tell them where Skeletor and Pig Head are hiding!
Sun-Man and He-Man head to the Temple of the Sun in (spoiler alert,…. can this be a tease??) the Talon fighter. Pig Head get’s a hold of the powerful Sun Stone, an ancient Eternian artifact that generates incredible power by absorbing the energy of the sun. Amplified by Skeletor’s magic, the Sun Stone has absorbed nearly all of the sun’s energy, of which they can use to take down Castle Grayskull. But at that moment, He-Man and Sun Man appear at the Temple of the sun. Skeletor declares that with the combined power of himself, Pig-Head and the Sun Stone that He-Man and Sun-Man are no match for them. But Pig-Head, greedy as he is, tries to take off with the Sun Stone for himself and escapes to Castle Grayskull with the Sun Stone in his grasp.
Suddenly Sun-Man appears and with all the Power of the Sun reins down his might on Pig Head, knocking the Sun Stone out of his grip and knocking out Pig-Head in the process! Finally, Eternia is safe and the warmth and light of the sun return as the evil warriors were conquered.
Photography Fun!
If any of you follow our Toy Habits Instagram page and The Toy Sorceress Instagram page, you will see the Toy Sorceress loves Toy Photography, so here are some photographs for your enjoyment and inspiration! The rest of the Wave 9 gang have decided to graciously make an appearance as well!
Rating
Michael
Toy Sorceress
These versions of Skeletor and He-Man are some of the best and, although not the classic vintage versions, it was so amazing that Mattel decided to make new sculpts for these figures so they earn extra points (or stars) from us for that! They could have given He-Man the repaint treatment they gave Evil-Lyn but they didn’t and we hope they make more of these 200x figures in the Origins buck. Given that the weapons look unfinished without the 200x paint apps on them, we did have to ding them 1/2 star as they would have looked amazing with that attention to detail. All in all, both He-Man and Skeletor are unique enough where you can start a new 200x part of your shelf and now you have a place to put Evil-Lyn!
Where to buy Wave 9:
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