Future Club Grayskull MOTU Origins and Masterverse Exclusives

With the announcement that Mattel has brought back their Masters of the Universe members only model, dubbed Club Grayskull, the possibities for new MOTU Origins and Masterverse figures are endless. With the successful run of Mattel’s former MOTU figure subscription model that ran from 2008 to 2020, we are hoping that the new Club Grayskull members only figure subscription model has an equally successful run, which is highly dependent on future releases. As the MOTU Origins vintage line is coming to an end, although we still may have years to get there, the Club Grayskull figure subscription model is coming at a great time where interest in brining deep cut MOTU characters to life in 5.5″ scale is at an ultimate high! I would argue that the MOTU Origins line is far more popular than the Masterverse line and given the resources Mattel has been putting into the figure line, we expect the Club Grayskull line to skew MOTU Origins. With the recent reveal of the Powers of Grayskull MOTU Origins He-Ro, we got a window into what Mattel is capable of as they kicked off the line in a major way! In fact, my partner in crime, The Toy Sorceress, has written articles about the possibilities of Dinos coming to the MOTU Origins line and future Powers of Grayskull figures based on He-Ro’s box art teases! With recent in-hand reviews of the figures and the reveal of the mini comic during the Mattel Creations REVEALED event, we got a peak at the He-Ro’s Journey mini comic, which featured The Great Black Wizard and Draego-Man in the story!

As a researcher for my day job, I don’t like to make these claims lightly so I put together a poll, which you can take below, that hopefully will answer the question: Would you rather see the Club Grayskull figure subscription line skew MOTU Origins or Masterverse? After you take the poll, we dive into future concepts based on Axel Gimenez’s unproduced concepts plus dive into a couple figure concepts that appeared in the recent MOTU Origins He-Ro mini comic, He-Ro’s Journey! I think we can all agree, whether the figures are MOTU Origins or Masteverse, it is an amazing time to be a MOTU Collector.

We always look to future characters that could be coming to the line in the box art, card, and mini comics and this figure subscription model really opens the door the creation of deep cut characters for the MOTU Origins and the Masterverse lines that not only pay homage to Axel Gimenez’s amazing MOTU concepts but also character concepts from the 1980’s. This is just a start but here is the line up of possible MOTU Origins or Masterverse figures that have been teased or referenced in books, mini comics, card and box art.

Draego-Man

During the Great Wars, the Dragons of Darksmoke engaged in numerous epic battles against King Grayskull and the Snake Men. Draego-Man, a magical being created by the Great Black Wizard, was a half-human, half-dragon entity. Rejected by Granamyr, he chose to ally with the Free People of Eternia. However, after the truce of the Three Towers, Draego-Man grew disillusioned with humanity and withdrew from society, choosing to live as an outcast in the Caverns of Rakash.

His bio reads, “During the Great Wars, the Dragoons of Darksmoke fought in many epic battles against King Grayskull and the Snake Men. A magical half human/half dragon creation of the Great Black Wizard, Draego-Man was shunned by Granamyr and allied himself instead with the Free People of Eternia. After the truce of the Three Towers, Draego-Man became so disgusted with the humans that he isolated himself from all civilization, living as an outcast in the Caverns of Rakash. After several millennia of bitter retreat, Draego-Man discovered Skeletor’s plans to enslave his dragon kin and use them as weapons against the Royal Palace. He returned from hiding to join Skeletor’s Evil Warriors seeking revenge against all who betrayed him. Draego-Man uses his flame breath and ability to manipulate fire to battle for the side of evil!”

Although this custom concept, by Tnemmokon, uses a Chap Mei figure, the overall look and feel of the MOTU Classics Draegio-Man is captured in MOTU Origins concept form. With Mattel making several winged figures, including Vultak from the Cartoon Collection, Ninjor and Hordak from the Turtles of Grayskull line, and New Eternia Hordak in the Masterverse line, we hope that these figures will pave the way for more winged figures in the future.

Bandwidth

According to Bandwidth’s unofficial bio, he is the Robot Guardian of Preternia. A native of the machine planet Robotica, Bandwidth answered the Ancient’s summons to join the war to protect the Universe against evil on the front lines of Preternia. Himself a living machine with technology far beyond the primitive Eternians, he became a teacher as well as a defender. But Hordak learned his secrets as well and used them to infect creatures of Preternia and pervert them for his own domination. Bandwidth regretted his failure to present such corruption and sacrificed himself in the final battle with Hordak. His sentience called upon his spirit to merge with the possessed warrior Perkaedo, acting as a harmonizing balance between his monster and human sides and thus turning him into Man-E-Faces.

You can see an amazing custom that is made in MOTU Classics form to see what a concept of a MOTU Origins figure could look like. This 3D printed Bandwidth figure sculpt is from lovelyevilhorde and is on his Cults3D page if you want to print it.

The chest and armor pieces are two separate files you will need to print as the mode detailed armor is meant to be placed over the torso buck. The chest keeps the conceptual radio dial and gears and cogs, which make the figure very unique.

The head sculpt is very angular and reminds me a little of how Man-E-Faces robot face looks and the general shape of the sculpt also reminds me of Man-E-Faces helmet.

You can also see some images of a custom by Orsogranito Granitebear!

Great Black Wizard Concept

The Great Black Wizard was a skull-faced sorcerer and evil warlord from Eternia’s distant past. His magic gave Snake Face the power to turn victims into stone. He also created the dragon-human hybrid Draego-Man and took part in the Second and Third Ultimate Battlegrounds, fighting alongside the Horde, the Snake Men, Skeleteen, and the Unnamed One. Here is the concept that was meant for the Masters of the Universe Classics line.

Here is a more updated version that Axel Gimenez illustrated and Diana Egea inked.

Mega Customx knocked his version of the Black Wizard out of the park and brought him to life like no one else can! He captured the spirit of Axel’s concept in MOTU Origins scale with stunning detail!

The paint app is really interesting as it’s more of a speckled gray, which brings a lot of life to the figure. Although this is not a 1 to 1 translation of the MOTU Classics concept, this is what we are likely to see if the figure were to made for the Origins line but with far less detail. The chest armor also contains some sculpted on parts that look like they are bolted to this abdomen, which look awesome!

The facial detail in the skull is outstanding and the helmet wraps around his head and fits like a glove. The open spell casting hand is a great choice and adds so such to the figures personality. The fluffy cape should look familiar as it is “borrowed” from someone but I would not want to be on the receiving end of anything the Black Wizard wants to get his hands on.

Gladiator

Gladiator was another one of Axel’s concepts that never saw the light of day. Gladiator served King Grayskull’s Masters of the Universe in Preternia. He met a disguised, time traveling He-Man and fought along side him with others in the First Ultimate Battle ground.

Strettch Nek

Strettch Nek is a concept based on an early Roger Sweet design and he would have a bendy neck, similar to how Squeeeze’s arms bend and stay in place. He would resuse arms, loin cloth, and legs from Whiplash and the torso could be formed from the bottom piece of Tung Lashor combined with the top piece of Ceratus, who has not been hinted at or teased in the MOTU Origins line. He would need new armor and a head but this figure could be done using existing parts that Mattel has created for the Origins line.

Here is a custom concept of Strettch Nek, from the MOTU Classics line, created by the talented Orsogranito Granitebear Shop! It looks like a direct translation from the Axel concept art and would make a very unique addition to the Origins line.

High Priest Pythonus

Nepthu first appeared as an articulated action figure in August 2013 as part of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics toyline. He is also referred to as High Priest Pythonus on many MOTU forums. His Classics Bio makes him the first known member of the Snake Men Faction who is not part of the Snake Men species. This concept builds off of the Nepthu character from MOTU Classics who pledged his life to King Hiss during the 2nd Ultimate Battle Ground

This figure is amazing from head to toe! First, the headwear mirrors the more recent card art teases and Mega Customx nailed the exact color orange we would expect from the concept illustrations. Around the back of the piece, there is a red and blue paint app that looks meticulously applied! The blue snake collar, also referenced in the concept art and illustrations, is spot on!

In this photo, we can see the up close and personal attention to detail Mega Customx poured into this figure! The snake texturing on the face is sculpted to perfection and the blending of darker green to light green ads depth and dimension to the face sculpt. The black outline on the lips compliments the appearance of real snake skin with his closed mouse sculpt. The bone scepter came out amazing and the way it was painted looks like it was created from an actual living being! The color of the scepter is also the exact color of bone, adding to the realism of the figure.

The loin cloth is also highly detailed and resembles the illustrations from the most recent card art teases. The figure looks amazing clutching the bone scepter and the snake staff. The additional spell casting hand adds so much displayability to the figure and you can change up the look for your shelf!

Light Hope

Light Hope is a mystical character from the She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon, produced by Filmation in the 1980s. He serves as the guardian and guiding force of the Crystal Castle, which is located on the planet Etheria. Light Hope is a being made of pure energy and light, often appearing as a column or figure of light. His role is to assist and guide Adora (She-Ra) in her fight against the evil Horde, offering wisdom and advice whenever she visits the Crystal Castle.

Here is an unproduced Light Hope toy from an abandoned Whispering Woods playset concept,.

Bug Eye

We think the new character on the cliff in this part of the scene could be one of Axel Gimenez’s MOTU Classics concepts called Bug-Eye, which uses parts from Modulok.

Here is the illustration of Bug Eye done by the great Axel Gimenez!

Scorpius

We see a cool new Scorpion character, which could be a deep cut reference to a concept from the MOTU 200x line!

According to The Retro Toy Princess, the scorpion character could be a concept held over from the 200x line called Scorpius!

Granita

Descending from the sky we can see two Comet Warriors Granita and Stonedar!

With Rokkon being the first MOTU Origins Mattel Creations exclusive, we get to see new teases from the amazing card art and the mini comic. In addition to the amazing stories penned by the talented MOTU mini comic writer, @joshuaskywriter, we also get to see more future MOTU Origins eye candy! As we get more information from the Rokkon MOTU Origins release, there is a very special someone featured on the front page of the MOTU Origins mini comic. Granita, Rokkon’s sister, is featured on The Spear of Eternity MOTU Origins mini comic! We also discovered that Stonedar was teased on Rokkon’s card art in a very cool way and it will be great to see them both in the Origins line!

On the inside of the mini comic, you can se Granita hurling from space and how she looks with Rokkon and Stonedar

Granita

According to the Wiki Grayskull, “Granita and her brother Rokkon were raised by their wise mentor and leader Stonedar on the planet Geolon until it was destroyed by Horde Prime. Although the Comet Warriors were scattered in space, Granita followed Stonedar, who had saved their precious Sun Stone and with it led them to the safety of another planet: Eternia. Upon landing, Granita was horrified to learn the Horde were in the process of invading. While Rokkon was eager to fight as always, Granita believed that higher powers had intended them to help spare Eternia from the same fate as Geolon.

Her faith persuaded the pacifist Stonedar to choose to fight alongside the Eternians. After the Second Ultimate Battleground, Glimmer invited Granita and many of the Comet Warriors’ youth to Etheria where they could access Crystal World and develop new forms and powers. Alongside the Star Sisters and Queen Zal of Zal-Kron, Granita defended the barrier from Shadow Weaver and others seeking to steal Crystal World’s magic. Later, Stonedar named Granita as his successor to lead their people.”

MOTU Classics Granita

Released in 2018 as part of the Masters of the Universe Classics line, Granita is a Heroic Comet Combatant from the She-Ra and the Princess of Power Filmation cartoon from the 1980’s.

Granita’s bio reads: “Granita and her brother Rokkon were raised by their wise mentor and leader Stonedar on the planet Geolon until it was destroyed by Horde Prime. Although the Comet Warriors were scattered in space, Granita followed Stonedar, who had saved their precious Sun Stone and with it led them to the safety of another planet: Eternia. Upon landing, Granita was horrified to learn the Horde were in the process of invading. While Rokkon was eager to fight as always, Granita believed that higher powers had intended them to help spare Eternia from the same fate as Geolon. Her faith persuaded the pacifist Stonedar to choose to fight alongside the Eternians. After the Second Ultimate Battleground, Glimmer invited Granita and many of the Comet Warriors’ youth to Etheria where they could access Crystal World and develop new forms and powers. Alongside the Star Sisters and Queen Zal of Zal-Kron, Granita defended the barrier from Shadow Weaver and others seeking to steal Crystal World’s magic. Later, Stonedar named Granita as his successor to lead their people.”

He transforms into a comet, like Rokkon and Stonedar, but the figure can be displayed as a standalone with out the rock peices.

Granita MOTU Origins Concept

It is not a slam dunk that Granita will make it into the MOTU Origins line but if she shares tooling with Rokkon (or Stonedar), then this would make it more likely. The figure concept pictured below is a digital render from the talented Eternal Customs! If Granita was made into a figure, we would likely see a design similar to this one but with the commet peices from Rokkon to attach to her arms and legs.

To imagine what she could like, Barbarossa Customs created a vintage Granita MOTU figure concept, which might be a likely candidate for the figure design for the MOTU Origins line. Granita has been created using the cartoon rendition as the key reference and infusing it with and modifying the style to meet the aesthetics of the vintage MOTU toy line. She fits in perfectly with her rocky compatriots, Stonedar and Rokkon and finally completes the trio of rock/comet warriors.

Resembling Stonedar and Rokkon from the Masters of the Universe vintage line, Barbarossa says, “This figure’s details, weapon, action feature and choice of colors have all been executed with vintage sensibilities keenly in mind. Granita comes sealed on a custom card with multiple pieces of original art. Uniquely-created and hand-crafted by the artist, this is a very limited run for the adult collector.”

With Rokkon (and Stonedar) coming to the MOTU Origins line, Granita would make a welcome addition!

Golden Rod

Golden Rod is the robot of the Snake Men. According to Toy Habits Crew member, Allison Troy (YouTube Channel | Instagram), “He reuses parts from Roboto and the Horde Trooper – but he also needs parts from Multi-bot. Golden Rod is a really deep dive but his parts re-use makes it possible to fill out waves that need more tooling and helps Mattel get more use out of the Multi-bot tooling. So at some point he’s not an unrealistic idea for Origins. However – if (when) we get Multi-Bot – Golden Rod is easily achievable via 100% re-use of existing parts. And let’s be honest – other than mini-comics Roboto – that head sculpt doesn’t have a lot of use. So Mattel should definitely consider Golden Rod to join the ranks of the Snake Men.

Quick Flick

Quick Flick is a Snake Man archer. According to Toy Habits Crew member Allison Troy Allison Troy (YouTube Channel | Instagram), “He’d re-use parts from Mantenna which currently exist in the line. He does reuse Lizard Man pieces – but that could be easily replaced with a more generic waist if Mattel doesn’t have any plans to include Filmations’ Lizard Man in Origins. Also he needs Modulok’s feet. Since we have no Modulok yet… although it’s another case where they could make that tooling for this figure and then just re-use it – and we do already have Frog Monger who’s chest gives us a Filmation accurate Modulok. So maybe another new bit of tooling or two for Quick Flick – and then Modulok is more easily achieved.”

Dart-Os

Axel Gimenez keeps the teases and new characaters coming with Dart-Os, a new Snake Men character that will be featured in the English version of the “Kings of the Snake Men” book. Axel announced on his Instagram page, “DART-OS, another ancient concept for Mattel that Leo and I bring to life as a new Masters of the Universe Classics custom. This and other new material will be included in the upcoming English edition of the book “Kings of the Snake Men.” Although this concept is held over from the Masters of the Universe Classics line, we have seen several un-produced MOTU Classics figures made into MOTU Origins figures.

Cham-Or

Cham-Or is a new Snake Men character and will reuse parts from Tung Lashor, Mosquitor, Skeletor, Rattlor, Keldor, Castle Grayskull Space Suit, and Frog Monger!

Axel himself responded to our Instagram post and highlighted two very cool details about Cham-Or!

Seen on the cover of Axel Gimenez and Leonardo Vega’s new book: KINGS OF THE SNAKE MEN , two new MOTU Origins Figures are being teased! There are two figures teased on the cover of the new book, they are High Priest Pythonus, yet to be named Red Snake men character with the lower body of Lady Slither, and Toxoid! These figures have a long history of being teased on the back of Kol-Dar’s card art and on the back of the MOTU Origins Moss Man package art! So let’s take a look at what’s in this magnificent masterpiece and the teases they hold within!

According to mmtoydesign on instagram:

We know you are waiting for it. But to make our KINGS OF THE SNAKE MEN book even better than we originally planned, (which is of course an almost impossible task) we decided to add some more information, photos, and art to the book. It continues to grow and improve – so the final presale date will shift to January/February 2024, followed by the fast delivery of a great book to you. Stay tuned!

mmtoydesign

Seen below is the new Kings of the Snake Men Book that teases two new MOTU Origins figures!

One of the images, which we presume is from the inside of the book or the back cover clearly show that unnamed Red Snake men Character in MOTU Origins form as you can see below! He is using the Camo Khan hooded head, Cobra Khan body and lady slither tail! Also, you will notice what looks like the prototype for Tung Lashor to the right of Fang-Or but that figure is actually a new character called Toxoid.

Toxoid

Thanks to Toy Habits Crew Member Allison Troy (aka Retro Toy Princess), she alerted us to the fact that the Tung Lashor repaint seen to the right of Fang-Or is actually a character called Toxoid! Toxoid was first teased on the MOTU Origins Mattel Creations Kol-Dar card art and we have not seen him since until today! You can see Toxoid, along with Red Snake Men character with the body of Lady Slither, on the card art to the right of Kol-Dar! In fact, there are a whole host of Snake Men teases which also include Shadow Master, Reptilax, and Lady Slither (who has been released as a Mattel Creations exclusive.

The figure was intentionally blurred in the photo but you can clearly see the resemblance to the Toxoid illustration on the Kol-Dar card art. Given that the future Snake Men will be Mattel Creations exclusives, there is a very high likelihood that we’ll see him go up for preorder but the only question remains…when?

Sepentosss

There is one more red snake creature that is prominently featured on the back of the card back art work for Moss Man and you can see the actual figure in the image below. Officially known as Serpentosss, we are eagerly awaiting this figure to made Mattel could easily reuse several parts of other figures to create him.

Mr. Home Arcade has a custom red Snake Men creature that was teased on the Moss Man card and he will be making an appearance in the MOTU Origins line.

The creativity of Mr. Home Arcade astounds us as he recreated the box art scene in real like using his red Snake Man custom and a custom High Priest Pythonus from Mega Customx.

Mr. Home Arcade also did a video on the red Snake Men creature dubbed Serpentosss:

Evil Villian Version of Extendar

Further evidence of this comes from the Extendar Mini Comic, where, at the end, we see one of Hordak’s evil creations come to life, which will set the stage for an evil version of Extendar, which will reuse many of the parts from the Mattel Creations exclusive. As we see in the mini comic, cracking Extendar’s chest open to reveal the Eternium Ore matrix (which looks a lot like Optimus Prime’s from the Transformers), the source of Extendar’s powers, is revealed. Suddenly, Extendar breaks free and grabs Hordak’s face while kicking Leech back! Extendar goes back through the portal and find He-Man where he tells him that he has regrets for succumbing to Hordak’s offer many years ago. Extrendar says, “Never again will I look to others with jealously for their success, but admiration instead,” and strives to be the best version of himself. Hordak let him go and did not pursue him as Hordak’s end game is to give Extendar’s power to a new dark warrior born of pure evil.

Purple Cy-Clops

Standing next to Stinkor on the Eternia box art, you could make out the purple Cyclops character that we have seen teased several times in the past. He has been seen on the Castle Grayskull package art, Wundar’s cardback art, and on the Battlefield Warriors set package as well.

We got our first hint at Cyclops on a very early product in the Masters of the Universe Origins line, and it was very subtle. If you look closely at the front left-hand corner of the Prince Adam and the Sky Sled packaging artwork, you will notice a shadowy figure watching Beast Man and Teela fighting each other. That shadowy figure was none other than Cyclops! You could see the back of him, but his horned helmet, sword and shield were all clearly visible!

Our next hint at Cyclops was a little more visible, when we saw him locked in battle with Fisto. In this illustration we get a clear view of Cyclop’s fierce looking face, his Viking style horned helmet, battle armor and battle knee pads complete with spikes! You can kind of make out his purple-colored skin as well.

Next, we got a very clear view of Cyclops joining in battle with Two Bad, Faker on Duplicat, and Battle Armor Skeletor on Panthor against our Heroic Battle Armor He-Man riding Battle Cat and another female warrior which might be Teela, or perhaps someone else? And we also get another hint of that mysterious green frog man, just to the right of Faker and Duplicat. But that can be a discussion for another time! Cyclops again is shown is his horned Viking style helmet, is wheedling a chained mace weapon, and has purple skin and brownish orange chest and knee armor. Now this being the third time we are seeing Cyclops on package art, each time he is getting more prominent and more detailed.

And now the latest time we spot Cyclops, he is the featured character on the cover of the Wun-Dar packaged in mini comic “Lost Legend” ! He is a pivotal part of the mini comic story and is featured battling Wun-Dar throughout the mini comic! So is this now a huge hint, that Cyclops is coming to the Origins line? Only time will tell, but it has sure been fun to review all the times we have spotted him and to speculate!

Red Shadow

Axel Gimenez posted a custom MOTU Classics Red Shadow on Instagram, created by the talented Leonardo Vego, and said , “My beloved Red Shadow, by Leo, in a photo that I needed to send as a reference.” Since some of Axel’s deep cut Snake Men are in the works and Red Shadow was teased on the Moss Man box art, it is looking more likely that we could see Red Shadow come to the MOTU Origins line.

The following concepts are held over from Axel Gimenez’s work on the MOTU Classics line so you will see Red Shadow referenced and other concepts, as Axel explains below:

According to Axel, “One of my first projects for Mattel in 2013 was to design five figures for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. From those, Fang-Or, The Great Black Wizard, and Red Shadow are my favorites. Fang-Or was made by Super 7 when they took over the line at the time. The other two never made it to production, and that’s why a few years ago, I decided to ask @zoooorito to make a custom of Red Shadow, which would be the first he ever made for me. He decided to make two versions. A regular version, that is the one I chose, and a flocked version, which is the one Leo made for him. To complete the trio of my favorites from those early designs, Leo will be working on The Great Black Wizard.”

Missile Toe

Missile Toe was one of the Evil WArriors assembled by Skeleteen and Evil-Lyn on the Moon of Droom where he fight for them and the Unnamed One in the Third Ultimate Battleground.

Here is Axel’s original illustration for Missile-Toe as he is painted in a predominantly green color scheme with purple and black accents.

Cham-Or

Axel explains the story on how Cham-Or came to life! He said in an Instagram post, “An interesting detail about this Snake Man is that I made his design as a very rough sketch in the blank corner of a script page from a Classics minicomic. And he was rescued from oblivion thanks to the insistence and perseverance of @zoooorito who asked me once and again over the years to finish his design.”

Cham-Or is a new Snake Men character and will reuse parts from Tung Lashor, Mosquitor, Skeletor, Rattlor, Keldor, Castle Grayskull Space Suit, and Frog Monger!

Mow-Dor

Mow-Dor is based on the vintage minicomic “The Obelisk” and one of the creatures summoned by Skeletor. He is quoted as saying, “I mow down anything in my path. I fight for Evil.” The name Mow-Dor is very apropos for the character.

Among the countless characters Axel has dreamed up, one stands out: the red-horned freak, the third terrifying creature to crawl out of the magical Obelisk—the very structure that lent its name to Alcala’s last mini-comic, THE OBELISK. Axel and Leo gave this menacing brute the perfect name: Mow-Dor, a fitting title for someone who “mows down anything” in his way. Armed with the infamous flail from Alcala’s HE-MAN AND THE POWER SWORD, Mow-Dor isn’t just clearing his path—he’s obliterating everything in sight, left, right, and center!

Here is the original illustration by Axel Gimenez, which shows the parts that would be used if Mod-Dor was to be made into the a MOTU Classics figure.

Back when the MOTU Origins line was in its infancy, we were not covering box art teases because we had to see how the line was playing out. Unbenounced to us, there is a red evil warrior on the box art of Prince Adam and the Sky Sled!

Funny how easter eggs and teases make their way to box art as you can see Mow-Dor right next to Mer-Man on the box art for Prince Adam and the Sky Sled.

Mow-Dor Concept

Mr. Home Arcade really captured the essence of the figure and truly brought the concept to life! Putting his creative juices to work, he used the head of the MOTU Classics Vultak plus the horn came from Masterverse Beast Man’s armor, Cartoon Collection Clawful’s arms, torso, and top legs from an LoP Beast Man for the upper half. For the lower half, he used Skeletor’s waist and the bottom legs of Demo-Man.

The weapon came from a combination of two Turtles of Grayskull Krang figures and the end result is amazing!