Ripped right from the Masters of the Universe movie from 1987 comes the Masterverse movie version of Skeletor in this hands on review!

Revealed as part of MOTUesday back on August 30, 2022, Movie Skeletor is very reminiscent of Frank Langella’s look on the Motion Picture. His face has that melted skeleton look and his is wearing a black cloak and a longer armor looking over coat. He also includes dark purple shoulder armor and a matching-colored soft goods cape as well. He is wearing burgundy chest armor with a lot of detailed patterns in it and silver colored ankle guards. He has a ton of silver accents on his fingers, wrists and waist apron. His havoc staff is also designed to look like the Motion Picture version as well.

Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture

Masters of the Universe the Movie came put in 1987 and instantly became a cult classic. He-Man was played by the great Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella as Skeletor. Somewhat of a departure from the classic He-Man story, Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture has is place in cinema history and is still a fan favorite.

According to: Masters of the Universe (film) – Wikipedia

Masters of the Universe (stylized as Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture) is a 1987 American superhero film directed by Gary Goddard, produced by Yoram Globus and by Menahem Golan and written by David Odell. The film stars Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Jon Cypher, Chelsea Field, Billy Barty, Courteney Cox, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Meg Foster. It is based on the Mattel toy line of the same name and tells the story of two teenagers who meet He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, and his friends, who arrive on Earth by chance from their home planet Eternia and go on a mission to save the universe from He-Man’s archenemy, Skeletor.

Masters of the Universe was released theatrically in the United States on August 7, 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $17 million worldwide against a budget of $22 million, but is now regarded as a classic cult film.

Masters of the Universe (film) – Wikipedia

Box and Art

Skeletor comes backed in the extra wide Masterverse window display box with a generic Masters of the Universe logo on it.

Box Art Revealed

Thanks to Manuel Caritas for revealing the box art for the forthcoming Masters of the Universe 1987 Movie figures! Here is what he wrote in his post:

People of Eternia! As revealed yesterday on @masters #MOTUesday Masterverse welcomes in ‘87 Masters of the Universe film inspired He-Man and Skeletor! Here’s a special preview of some of the artwork the Heroic Artist Eamon O’Donoghue painted for the upcoming Masterverse packaging.

Manuel Caritas

Put the two pieces of art together can you get a really amazing cosmic scene that immortalizes the struggle between He-Man and Skeletor that was portrayed on the silver screen in 1987.

Figure Details

The head sculpt really captures the likeness of how Skeletor was portrayed in the movie. Looking less like a skull, his movie appearance took more of a fleshy vibe where Skeletor looked like he was in an in between stage of forming his true skull and bone look! It’s a simple white head sculpt with a very pronounced and defined bone nose with frown lines and flesh on the cheekbones. His mouth is slightly opened and you can also see his fangs peeking out, which is a nice touch. His head is surrounded by a simple black hood that is sculpted around the skull so you only see the front half of his head.

He also comes with a soft goods cape that has a hard plastic collar piece attached to it, that makes it appear that his hood is flowing into it. This piece has quite a bit of overhang on the back and it has an intricate gold medallion that provides an extra level of detail!

He also has sash piece, which mimics how a scarf would fit around the neck. This piece fits under his robe that hangs down on either side of his figure to create a flowing look. There are purple and silver tones to this sash, further tying the costume together. If you look closely, you will animal faces and skulls moulded on to the plastic.

You can also display him without his cape, sash, and collar price but the figure was not designed for this but you can get a better look at the armor and details this way!

The upper body armor is a nice deep purple, very regal and fitting for the character. The design is very intricate, almost resembling a rib design, which is more detailed than the actual costume in the movie.

He has very large shoulder armor that is the same on both sides of the figure. The gauntlets Skeletor is sporting are also movie accurate and very intricately detailed.

He has shoulder armor that is the same on both sides of the figure and a very intricate belt that has purple and red tones to it. The belt piece has a Samurai look and feel to it and is very ornate. It brings in the reds and purples that are present on his armor, which ties the design of the clothing and armor together. The codpiece is accurate to the movie as it has the ridges that are present in it. If you don’t know what a codpiece is, the historical consensus on the origin of the codpiece is that it was devised to fill a gap and, initially at least, preserved men’s modesty. From these practical beginnings, the codpiece (‘cod’ was slang for scrotum) became a fashion item in its own right.

Lower Body

From the waist down, he has a kama, which is a flexible leather armor accoutrement worn from the belt. It is adorned with a plethora of black squares that have animal faces, skulls, and various symbols sculpted on to the clothing. These squares have a small silver paint wash to them, which brings out the detail in the faces. The kama has a nice texture to the upper part of the piece and it has nice flowing lines to it.

The boots also feature an intricate design with a chevron pattern look to it and skulls at the top of the boot.

Weapons and Accessories

It is great to see all of the weapons and accessories for this figure! He comes with his Havoc Staff, styled after the one that appeared in the movie, a soft goods cape, an extra layer that goes under his cape, an extra set of hands, a sword, and the coolest accessory, the Cosmic Key!

Extra Hands

The extra hands that Skeletor comes packed with are a closed fist and an open chop hand. They feature silver details on the back of the gloves that are made to look like a skeleton and painted silver fingernails.

Havoc Staff

The design of the staff mirrors that of the movie and design of it was captured very well. You can see his classic ram skull that has large silver pieces emanating from it. There are also bolts or rivets that add extra detail and the staff comes to a point on the end.

The long hand of the staff features rings with a simple bolt design pattern and the shaft comes to a point at the end.

Power Sword

The power sword is also highly detailed as it has a bat looking appearance of the crossguard with a skull in the middle. The hilt has some texturing to it and the blade features a nice blood groove down the the middle.

Cosmic Key

We are very excited to see the Cosmic Key, a device that allows you to travel interdimensionally, and the design is sculpted in its closed form and it has a few colors to it. It has a purple top, a silver shaft, a gold weave design, and a nice handle so he can hold it.

Where to Buy

You can purchase the Masterverse Deluxe Movie Skeletor (and He-Man) from the following retailers below:

Be sure to check out our MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE SHOP PAGES! You can find links to your favorite retailers for all your favorite MOTU figures all in one convenient place from the vintage line all the way up to Origins and Masterverse!