New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man and Battle Armor Skeletor Coming To MOTU Masterverse
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The MOTU News doesn’t stop flowing! Thanks again to an anonymous source, we have confirmed that a New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man and New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor are coming to the MOTU Masterverse line in 2024! We previously reported that Thunder Punch He-Man was going to be part of the Wave 13 assortment, but now we have learned that he will be a New Eternia version! Not only are we getting New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man, but we, but are also getting New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor as well! NE Thunder Punch He-Man and NE Battle Armor Skeletor will be joining NE Mer-Man and NE Sy-Klone in what already is shaping up to be an epic year for Masterverse! These will be incredible additions to a stunning line up of figures for the Masterverse line! So let’s take a look at the history and background of Thunder Punch He-Man and Battle Armor Skeletor that will be coming to the Masterverse line in 2024!
Thunder Punch He-Man
To take you way back in time, Thunder Punch He-Man was originally released in 1985, in Wave 4 of the vintage Masters of the Universe Line. Thunder Punch He-Man known for his bright red chest armor with silver “H” logo in the center was a new dynamic variant of He-Man that incorporated a “Thunder Punch” action feature that used caps to thrust a burst in his punch! We expect his New Eternia version to incorporate the classic look of Thunder Punch He-Man and to include an homage to his cap gun rings into the design as the MOTU classics version did.
Shown below is how the Vintage Mattel figure came packaged on that dynamic card back with the illustration on the front.
The card back art work appeared like shown below with Thunder Punch He-Man battling against Whiplash
According to The Battle Ram:
Thunder Punch He-Man was the “deluxe” version of He-Man that everyone in my grade school peer group coveted. The counterpart to Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Thunder Punch He-Man had a new an exciting action feature – you could load a ring of caps (of the kind typically used in toy revolvers of the era) into his backpack, twist his waist back, and he would spring forward with a power punch and a loud bang. It was quite the upgrade over the power punch feature typical of the line.
Thunder Punch He-Man was the “deluxe” version of He-Man that everyone in my grade school peer group coveted. The counterpart to Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Thunder Punch He-Man had a new an exciting action feature – you could load a ring of caps (of the kind typically used in toy revolvers of the era) into his backpack, twist his waist back, and he would spring forward with a power punch and a loud bang. It was quite the upgrade over the power punch feature typical of the line.
Sculpt wise, the figure featured all new parts apart from the head and sword. The legs were based on the original, but he was given bigger feet to make him more stable. The sculpt unfortunately on the arms and torso is a bit soft and unfinished looking compared to the original. Befitting his action feature, his right fist is closed, ready at any time for a thunder punch. He also has painted bracers, something previous versions didn’t get.
His boots have white fur tops, which was actually how He-Man had been previously illustrated by Rudy Obrero and R.L. Allen. Earl Norem would occasionally depict him like that as well
He has a new harness design, sculpted onto the chest rather than as a separate piece. He keeps the “H” logo that first appeared on Battle Armor He-Man, and which also appeared on the side of the Dragon Walker and on Flying Fists He-Man. The symbol looks like a blend between an H and an M.
Thunder Punch He-Man: Heroic leader with loud power punch (1985) – Battle Ram (battleramblog.com)
MOTU Classics Version
Thunder Punch He-Man was also developed for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. His description when he was released read “Might makes right, and it’s lights out for anyone who battles this beefy bruiser! Thunder Punch™ He-Man® is back to fight the good fight, and he kicks it up a notch by calling on the Powers of Grayskull™ to strengthen his weapons, giving him even more bang for the buck!” He came with removable chest armor, a power sword, shield, a thunder punch effect, a “cap” accessory, and a 30th anniversary mini comic! (#1 in a series of 3).
His MOTU Classics bio reads: “When Skeletor banished Randor to Despondos, he used Faker to convince the royal court that He-Man was not only a Gar, but also responsible for the King’s “death.” This ruse turned the people of Eternia against He-Man and the Masters soon became renegades in their own land. Driving to the underground caves of Tundoria, the Masters reformed as an elite attack squad. They returned to the surface and found not only Skeletor ruling Eternia, but King Hssss and a newly returned Hordak also challenging for control. To enhance his strength for these new battles ahead, He-Man used the Powers of Grayskull to energize his weapons, giving them a new Thunder Punch to combat evil!”
Battle Armor Skeletor
Battle Armor Skeletor, lord of destruction was originally released in the Master of the Universe vintage toy line back in 1984. Using technology Mattel had used on their Hot Wheels Crack up cars, Battle Armor Skeletor was loaded with a spring-loaded, rotating drum in his chest that would be activated by pushing on the drum and then exposing the three different versions of a bat insignia with various levels of damage. We expect that the New Eternia version will use changeable battle damage chest plates, as they have done in the past with previous versions of Battle Armor He-Man.
Below is the vintage 1984 Battle Armor Skeletor action figure and his cross sell art.
Battle Armor Sketeto’s vintage card back art featured him battling with of course Battle Armor He-Man in the classic scene shown below.
Battle Armor Skeletor was featured in many vintage product images used in style guides for products such as T-Shirts and the like.
Battle Armor He-Man and Battle Armor Skeletor were often featured in print ads for the Masters of the Universe figures and became classic icons for the characters.
Here we can see a concept sketch of Battle Armor Skeletor as seen in the Power and Honor Foundation Book. He is riding some sort of beast, but the design for Battle Armor Skeletor remained true to his final production release.
MOTU Classics Version
The MOTU Classics version of Battle Armor Skeletor was released in 2011, and was similar to the design of Battle Armor He-Man. He came packed with changeable chest armor plates with the various different type of Battle damage. The back of his bio card read” Using the dark magic taught by Hordak, Skeletor occasionally creates new forms of armor and weapons to outmaneuver The Masters of the Universe. His BATTLE ARMOR was first created to help Skeletor penetrate through the mystic wall in order to kidnap Adora and secretly clone the Sorceress of Grayskull. The original armor was destroyed by Oo-larr after three strikes with his mighty battle axe, sending Skeletor back behind the wall. Skeletor reformed the armor 20 years later in an effort to combat a similar battle suit now worn by He-Man. Although lacking the mystic qualities of the original, his new armor was stronger and more powerful. Skeletor, Evil lord of destruction is now protected by his magic BATTLE ARMOR.”
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