First Appearance Mini Comic Tri-Klops Masters of the Universe Origins Review
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Hey guys and gals, Collector-In-Crime and Toy Habiteur Larry here with a review of the Mattel Creations exclusive – Masters of the Universe Origins Fan’s Choice First Appearance Tri-Klops!
Background
Let’s start with a little background on this version of our favorite tri-eyed henchman, shall we? This figure is based on Tri-Klops as he first appeared in “The Terror of Tri-Klops!” mini-comic, which was first released along with the original Tri-Klops figure as part of the vintage Masters of the Universe line back in 1982. First Appearance Tri-Klops was part of the first and, so far, only Masters of the Universe Origins Fan-Vote that took place last year. He was challenged in the contest by Anti-Eternia Man-At-Arms, Anti-Eternia Keldor, and Wun-Dar, and good ol’ Tri-Klops emerged victorious. As a side note, Wun-Dar has already been announced for an Origins 2022 release and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see the Anti-Eternia figures themselves released over the next few waves.
The Details
The figure itself is similar to any other Origins release with all of the standard articulation and swappable parts that we’ve grown accustomed to over the last year or so. The overall look of the figure is similar to the original Tri-Klops, but there are several differences. FA Tri-Klops features a different color scheme that is made up of olive-green, orange, white, and red. His armor has a new design that is not open to expose his rib cage and sides like the standard Tri-Klops armor that we are used to seeing.
The armor also has a white baldric with alternating orange and olive-green oval accents on the front and three rectangular olive-green accents along the back. Additionally, it has some raised lines which help to give it some further detail and texture. There are green bands running across his chest and abdomen which also include the triangular pattern seen in the mini comic. While I don’t dislike the look of the armor, I think the upper portion could have been done to match the comic design a little more closely. The paint application on mine is not great in some areas, especially noticeable around the white detailing on the chest and along the edges of the baldric. The baldric is actually one of my small complaints about this figure. The oval accents make me think of jelly beans, and while I love jelly beans, they sort of distract me every time I look at the figure.
The head sculpt is the same as the standard Origins Tri-Klops except that the visor is olive-green in color and the eyes (one blue, one green, and one red) are smaller and less detailed to more closely match what was seen in the mini comic. He still has the same black “helmet” piece that comes down over his ears and his black hair can still be seen in the back.
The boots are done in red with a white trim along the top and a white stripe running from the top front of the boot all the way down to the toe. The boot design is unique to this figure and rather than the soft-cloth, wrapped boot style we usually see for the Masters line, this pair comes out to a point at the top just below the knee and does not have a fur component.
Accessories
As far as accessories, this release includes a sword, ring, and reprint of “The Terror of Tri-Klops!” mini comic.
The sword is the same as the original Tri-Klops weapon but rather than the black grip and green guard and blade, this sword is done with a yellow handle/guard and silver blade. I do like the look of the sword in more standard colors like this. A nice change to the regular release Tri-Klops and Fisto swords in the same sculpt.
Also included is a Glow-In-The-Dark Warriors Ring. It has the familiar skull design and the top opens up just like the vintage ring that was included with Tri-Klops in the ‘80’s. The glow-in-the-dark plastic is, of course, awesome!
The mini-comic itself looks to be an exact reprint of the original.
Art/Packaging
The presentation of this figure is really well done. It comes in a brown mailer box with an illustration of the First Appearance Tri-Klops on the front with a familiar starburst with “Fan Vote Winner” written inside. The back of the mailer features a recreation of the cover of the mini comic itself.
The card front includes many familiar Masters of the Universe Origins packaging elements. The Masters logo with the figure name and tag line featured prominently below it. The now standard “New For 21” text is also present in its usual location at the top left of the card. There are some differences here though. The “Fan Vote Winner” tab on the top right corner and illustration of First Appearance Tri-Klops help this package to stand out from the rest of the line. One other large change is another starburst, this time with text that says “GLOW IN THE DARK WARRIORS RING!” that sits atop the small plastic bubble packaging that contains the ring.
The card back is a full size, updated recreation of the vintage mini comic cover, and was done by Axel Gimenez and Francisco Etchart.
My Take
Overall, I’m really happy with this release. I purchased one to open and an extra to hang on my wall as part of my carded figure display. My loose figure, when my 5 year-old son is not playing with it, is currently displayed with Keldor, Kronis, first release Evil-Lyn, and first release Mer-Man as a sort of Origins “origins” group. They will be joined soon by LOP Beast Man and mini-comic Trap Jaw down the road. I know that some of these don’t necessarily go together as the origin version of the characters, but I like it this way.
It’s cool to have new versions of characters that we haven’t seen in toy form before and I hope that they continue with more figures like this in addition to the standard lineup.
