Mer-Man MOTU Cartoon Collection Card Art Teases Battle Cat and Shelandor

The MOTU Origins Cartoon Collection Mer-Man Card Art teases Battle Cat and Shelandor from the City Beneath the Sea Filmation episode

We have an early look at the card art for the Cartoon Collection Mer-Man and there are some amazing teases and the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Filmation episode is revealed! As suspected, Mer-Man’s episode homage and pack-in come from the episode, City Beneath the Sea, which is the 51st episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The basic premise of the show, which we will deep dive into, was that He-Man, while searching for ships that mysteriously vanished, is captured along with Man-At-Arms and Battle Cat by the legendary underwater City of Aquatica, which has come under the control of Mer-Man. Along with the homage to the episode, we also see some very interesting teases on Mer-Man’s card art! He-Man’s feline companion and steed, Battle Cat, and Shelandor, a deep cut reference from the City Beneath the sea episode are teased as future figures.

Mer-Man on Card

Mer-Man looks amazing on card and his colors really pop off of the Cartoon Collection cards! You can see the his pack in includes the Pearl of Power and his trident from the episode, “City Beneath the Sea.”

Official Hi-Res Card Art

Today Roy Juarez and his incredibly talented team released the Hi-Res Card art for Mer-Man

As Seen On ‘City Beneath the Sea’
MOTU Origins Cartoon Collection Mer-Man – here’s a closer look at the Ocean Warlord’s packaging and artwork.

The usual suspects for Origins:
Packaging Design & Art Direction @manuel_eduardo_caritas
Artwork @fetch.franciscoetchart
Toy Design @katanarama333
Packaging Engineer @lpukhrambam
Story @joshuaskywriter

? As Seen On ‘City Beneath the Sea’ MOTU Origins Cartoon Collection Mer-Man – here’s a closer look at the Ocean Warlord’s packaging and… | Instagram

The card art for Mer-Man pays homage to the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode, “City Beneath the Sea.” The teases, which we hope will turn into future Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection figures and (dare I say) creatures include the mighty Battle Cat and Sherlandor!

Mer-Man close up!

A Hi-Res look at Mer-Man’s package front and back.

Mer-Man Card Art

Here we can see the actual Card Back art from the package below.

Battle Cat Filmation History

For Filmation’s animated series Cringer and Battle Cat are one and the same. While Prince Adam holds aloft his sword and calls upon the power of Grayskull to turn himself into He-Man in a burst of energy, he turns the energy toward Cringer, directing some of the power to his friend until he grows and changes him into the mighty Battle Cat.

Cringer

Cringer is a green and orange tiger-like creature who hails from the planet Eternia. He is known for his timid and fearful nature, often displaying cowardly behavior. Cringer is depicted as Prince Adam’s pet and best friend, accompanying him on his adventures. In the animated series produced by Filmation, Cringer played a significant role as Prince Adam’s trusted confidant. He often provided comedic relief with his fearful antics, contrasting with the bravery of He-Man. Cringer was typically seen lounging around or hiding during dangerous situations until Prince Adam transformed into He-Man.

Battle Cat Cartoon Collection Concept

As the original Masters of the Universe vintage and MOTU Origins Battle Cat did not have the painted eyes we see on the Filmation still below, this would be a very easy thing for Mattel to do to pay homage to He-Man’s fearless friend!

Introduced very early on in the MOTU Origins lines, the Cartoon Collection is about to get its first creature in plastic form! While it’s not a guarantee that Battle Cat will be made for the Cartoon Collection line, he is featured on the card art so we can have a blast speculating! Since Cringer is the alter ego of Battle Cat, it would be amazing to see both feline head sculpts make it into the Cartoon Collection line, similarly to how Mondo handled the sculpts for Battle Cat but on a much smaller scale. Also, a very easy repaint to Battle Cat’s MOTU Origins armor where the eyes are colored in will recreate the look from the Filmation cartoon!

Shelandor Tease

Shelandor is a minor character who appeared in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He is a blue-skinned Aquatican, who served as an advisor to Princess Nami, of the City of Aquatica. When Mer-Man kidnapped the princess and put the people of Aquatica under his spell using the Pearl of Power, Shelandor was the only one who was able to remember the truth.

After He-Man, Battle Cat and Man-At-Arms were brought to the city, Shelandor realized they could help him to free the princess. He rescued them from Aquatican guards and led them to the Coral Caverns where the Princess was kept. Together, they managed to overthrown Mer-Man and return Nami to her rightful throne.

City Beneath The Sea Filmation Episode

With ships disappearing beneath the sea with no explanation, Prince Adam, Man At Arms and Cringer set sail to figure out what has been going on.

They spot a city beneath the city! And suddenly the ship begins to shake and a giant whirlpool starts to shallow up the ship beneath the ocean, taking them to the underwater city! Prince Adam turns into He-Man and rescues them, but they are still taken to the underwater city.

They’ve been taken to the city of Aquatrica as some Aquatic warriors capture them and take them to the leader of Aquatica. There they met a mysterious red robe character who claims that the surface dwellers are the ones who attack Aquatica and they are merely defending themselves.

The Red Robed character turns out to be Shelandor, advisor to Princess Nami who is teased in the mini comic packed with Mer-Man! Shelandor, announces that their ruler is approaching. Suddenly Mer-Man arrives with a pearl in his hands! Mer-Man has been sinking the King’s ships in an effort to takeover Eternia!

Mer-Man uses the Pearl of Power to capture He-Man and his friends as depicted on the card back art work!

They are sent to an area to battle the Lorbos giant crab creature

He-Man makes quick work of the Lorbos, and Mer-Man sends his Aquatic Warriors after He-Man!

Shelandor, seeing what Mer-Man was doing to He-Man and his friends, realizes he is on the wrong side, and comes to He-Man’s rescue!

Shelandor explains that Mer-Man has captured Princess Nami, ruler of the Aquatic people and lied to the people of Aquatica and blamed the surface dwellers. So he made them mistrust the surface people, that and the Pearl of Power makes them believe Mer-Man’s lies. Shelandor knows a spell that helps him resist the Pearl’s magic, so he asks He-Man for his help in rescuing Princess Nami. Shelandor takes them to where Princess Nami is being held.

There they find the Princess, but the Monster approaches! But He man takes care of him easily!

He-Man returns to the Throne Room to dethrone Mer-Man and returns the Pearl of Power to Princess Nami to tell her people the truth and return to her throne!

Mer-Man Official Images

Below you can see the official images of Mer-Man and he looks just as he appeared on the Filmation Cartoon series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Packed with his trusty trident and Pearl of Power from the City Beneath the Sea episode, this version of Mer-Man is sure to be a fan favorite!

Here you can see the official images of Mer-Man comes holding his his trident and the Pearl of Power!

The official pack-out for Mer-Man is pictured below.

Seen here from the episode City Beneath the Sea, Mer-Man is holding the Pearl of Power

Mer-Man Cross Sell

Mer-Man appeared on the cross sell for both Trap Jaw and Teela Cartoon Collection figures, and which is super exciting to see because I have personally been waiting for a cartoon accurate version of Mer-Man in the Origins line for a very long time! As you can see from the illustration below, they captured his goofy fish face and teal body color from the Filmation cartoon! The closest thing we got in this scale figure has been the Super 7 5.5″ Vintage Style figure from back in 2019, which we will take a closer look at below.

Mer-Man was depicted as a member of Skeletor’s Evil Warriors, a group of villains dedicated to overthrowing Castle Grayskull and conquering Eternia. He was often portrayed as a loyal and cunning servant of Skeletor, utilizing his aquatic abilities and commanding sea creatures to aid in their evil plans. Mer-Man’s presence in the Filmation MOTU series added depth and excitement to the ongoing conflicts between He-Man and Skeletor. His underwater abilities and role as a loyal henchman made him an iconic and memorable part of the Masters of the Universe animated universe.

Vintage Mer-Man and Super7 5.5″ History and comparisons

Original Mer-Man Figure (1982): The first Mer-Man action figure was released in the initial wave of Masters of the Universe toys in 1982. Mer-Man was depicted as a green-skinned creature with webbed feet and hands. He wore a chest harness and carried a trident as his weapon. In the accompanying animated series, Mer-Man served as one of Skeletor’s henchmen, using his aquatic abilities to aid in his evil schemes.

In 2019, pop culture icon toy maker Super7 released a Filmation cartoon accurate version of Mer-Man for their Vintage Filmation 5.5″ figure line.

Here we can see the new Cartoon Collection Mer-Man compared to the vintage 1982 figure and the 2019 Super7 5.5″ Vintage Style figure. You can see the biggest difference between the two Cartoon style figures is the head sculpt and facial expression. I think Super7 did it best when it comes to capturing the animated look of Mer-Man and the classic look on his face! I still really love this new Origins Cartoon Collection version, but I still think the face sculpt could have been a little bit better. The skin color of the Origins version is a teal color where as the Super7 version is a darker blue that more closely matches the Filmation Cartoon.

Where to Buy

Right now, Mer-Man has not been widely available for preorder yet, but you can preorder Mer-Man right now from Paulmart with a release date in May.

Be sure to check out our other Cartoon Collection Reviews