MOTU Core Wave 1 In-Hand Review

I have been looking forward to this one since the first wave of MOTU Core figures hit and we got our initial taste of what Mattel had planned for the 2026 live action movie line. Wave 1 brings us He-Man, Teela, and Beast Man, and having all three in hand now, this wave hit in a way I was not expecting. For those of us who grew up with the vintage line, seeing these characters reimagined through the lens of a new film while still carrying the DNA of what made them iconic brings me back to when I was a kid experiencing these figures for the first time. He-Man features the likeness of Nicholas Galitzine and comes with his Sword of Power, Teela carries the likeness of Camila Mendes and ships with both a sword and a blaster, and Beast Man rounds out the wave on the villain side with his classic whip accessory. At 5.5-inch scale with 14 points of articulation each, these pack a surprising amount of posability and detail for the price point. The sculpts across the board are clean, the paint apps are solid for a Core release, and lined up together they really start to fill out the movie roster in a fun way. This is a really strong entry in the line and one I am really happy to have on the shelf. Huge thanks to Big Bad Toy Store for sending over He-Man, Teela, and Beast Man for review, and if these have been on your must have list, you can still grab them now at Big Bad Toy Store.

Where to Buy

You can find the figures at BBTS:

• He-Man at Big Bad Toy Store
• Teela at Big Bad Toy Store
• Beast Man at Big Bad Toy Store

MOTU Core Wave 1

MOTU Core Wave 1 kicked things off with He-Man, Beast Man, and Teela, and seeing all three together really sets the tone for the line. A strong trio to launch with.

He-Man

Packaging

The front of the card features a purple-to-orange cosmic gradient with He-Man displayed in a blister, holding his Power Sword packed in. The back of the card shows illustrated artwork of Beast Man perched on a rocky ledge near a castle tower, with Teela posed below, and includes a character bio with stat bars for Strength, Combat, Intelligence, Magic, and Tech, with Strength and Combat maxed out while Magic and Tech sit on the lower end, which is odd because magic makes him He-Man.

Figure Details

Front and back views give a full look at He-Man, with the silver and red chest harness, dark brown loin armor, matching forearm guards, and tall boots. The boots have a layered cuff design with buckled straps and rivet studs that carry the same medieval leather aesthetic as the rest of the outfit.

The chest harness features a metallic silver breastplate with a bold red iron cross at its center, framed by darker brown shoulder straps with riveted detailing sculpted along the edges. That head sculpt is really solid, capturing Nicholas Galitzine’s likeness with a serious expression, strong brow line, and wavy blonde hair that flows just above the shoulders.

The front of the loin armor is sculpted with overlapping leather strips, each lined with stitched seam detailing and capped with small diamond-shaped rivets at the tips. The belt buckle at the center carries a silver medallion with some intricate detail, and the forearm guards have a dark brown leather finish with rivet studs running along the surface.

The back of the harness has a slot between the shoulder straps where the Sword of Power sheathes using pressure, and it holds snugly in place with the blade resting flat against the back. The loin armor wraps around with sculpted leather strips, each tipped with small diamond-shaped metal studs and a thick belt secured by a square buckle at the waist.

The Power Sword has a clean silver finish across the blade, crossguard, and pommel. The crossguard has a sculpted winged design with raised ridges, and the grip has a wrapped texture with a rounded pommel cap at the end.

He-Man grips the Sword of Power with both hands, and the pose gives the figure a solid, grounded look that works well for the character. The sword has a pale silvery finish with a distinctive crossguard, and it scales nicely against the figure’s proportions.

He-Man holds the Sword of Power high overhead in a classic summoning pose, recreating the iconic “By the Power of Grayskull” moment nicely with the figure’s articulation.

Teela

Packaging

The front of the card uses a bold split color scheme with fiery oranges and deep magentas framing the blister, while the back shifts to a warm feel with Castle Grayskull and Beast Man and He-Man alongside Teela’s bio panel, which breaks her abilities down across Strength, Combat, Intelligence, Magic, and Tech, with Combat and Intelligence rating the highest.

Figure Details

The front and back views show Teela’s full outfit, with the gold bodice featuring a crosshatch scale texture over a white undersuit, black leather-look wrist guards, black strapping and holster across the hips, and deep red knee-high boots with sculpted wrinkles at the ankles. From the back, her bright orange hair falls in thick sculpted waves past her shoulders, and the gold and white color blocking continues cleanly across the rear of the suit.

The side profile shows the scale texture wrapping cleanly around the torso, with the white undersuit peeking through at the midsection and the black hip strapping sitting flush against the waist. The sculpted waves of Teela’s red hair have nice separation between the individual strands.

The sword has a warm gold metallic finish with a pointed crossguard and a diamond-shaped detail etched into the blade, while the balaster is noticeably compact next to it.

Posed with her sword held across her chest and the small blaster gripped low, Teela cuts a sharp silhouette with both accessories in play and she looks great all geared up. The gold sword has a clean, warm tone that pairs well against the red boots and dark wrist guard, and the compact blaster reads nicely as a secondary weapon without getting lost. I do wish that the blaster had a peg so it could attach to her body and the sword could sheath in her back using pressure like He-Man.

The pistol gets a nice close-up here, and the molded details on the barrel and cylinder are sharper than you’d expect for an accessory this small. Teela’s grip on it is secure, with the fingers wrapping cleanly around the handle.

Teela is posed with her sword extended forward and the pistol aimed outward, both weapons deployed in a full combat stance. The dark gray wrist guards and the warm gold of her bodice catch the light nicely against the bright red hair cascading over her shoulders.

Teela and He-Man and look great together, their outfits sharing a complimentary color palette that ties the designs to the same world.

Beast Man

Packaging

The front of the Beast Man packaging features fiery card art with the character’s snarling face and red-orange fur framing the blister, where the figure is displayed alongside his whip accessory. The back of the card shows He-Man and Teela illustrated in a rocky Eternian landscape, with a photo of Beast Man below and his stat bars listing Strength, Combat, Intelligence, Magic, and Tech, with Strength and Combat rated the highest.

Figure Details

The front and back views give a full look at Beast Man’s sculpt, with the massive red fur mane covering his upper torso and studded with ivory horns that continue around to the back, where a small brown pouch sits on his teal loincloth belt. His tan fur-covered body is detailed with sculpted texture from head to toe, with spiked black shin guards up front and dark wrist cuffs on both arms, while the back view shows the loincloth panels hanging with a stitched leather texture.

The side profile shows the depth of Beast Man’s oversized red fur mane, which juts out well past his shoulders and wraps around to the back of his head, with the ivory horns protruding at sharp angles. The spiked black shin guards hug the front of each leg from this angle, and the teal loincloth panels drape with a slight outward flare at the bottom.

The front and back close-ups highlight the gold starburst medallion pinned at the center of the red fur mane, with a small blue gem at its core. The chest harness and loincloth panels have a convincing leather-like texture with embossed scroll patterning and visible stitch lines, all sculpted in plastic but selling the material illusion well.

The spiked black shin guards wrap tightly around Beast Man’s lower legs, with thick rounded studs and tapered spikes protruding outward, all sculpted in a dark plastic that contrasts well against the tan fur texture underneath. His bare feet extend below with individually sculpted toes and clawed nails, adding a feral detail that pairs well with the heavy armored shins.

The whip has a tightly braided texture that tapers to a thin tip, molded in a dark teal-black plastic.

Beast Man looks great posed with his whip arcing overhead, the braided rope texture on the whip reading really well at this scale. The massive red fur mane framing his snarling face, ivory horns, and the gold starburst medallion at his chest all pop nicely in this close-up.

Two views show the whip posed in different configurations, with the braided rope arcing high overhead on the left and held taut across the torso on the right. The flexible material holds both shapes well, giving you some real variety in how they display Beast Man on the shelf.

I had to bring int the MOTU Origins Beast Man here as the Core Beast Man and the Origins Movie Beast Man are almost like two different figures side by side. The MOTU Origins Movie version on the right towers slightly larger with a soft goods red fur collar, orange hair, a gold ornate medallion, dark leather-like skirt panels, and spiked shoulder armor, and reads more like a commander compared to the Core’s feral scrapper.

You can also see how both head sculpts are different enough to appear as different figures of the same species.

When standing up, for a height comparison, the two are closely matched in scale, with the Origins Beast Man beating out the core figure by at least an inch.

Here are some fun shots as Teela presses forward with her sword, and the size difference between the two really sells the mismatch of the encounter.

He-Man fends off a brutal attack from Beast Man, using the Sword of Power to catch the whip mid-swing as the whip wraps around the blade. The whole scene has a real scrappy energy to it and just shows how fun these figures can be.