Sy-Klone MOTU Origins Sketch Book Series art behind the scenes teases Spikor & Horde Brain

Today, Roy Juarez shared a behind the scenes look at the Sy-Klone MOTU Origins Sketch Book Series art which reveals teases Spikor, Two Bad & the Horde Brain! Thanks to Toy Habits crew member Grrrraffe for deciphering the Horde Brain image for us! If you want to get yours hand on the new Sy-Klone Sketchbook Series figure, he has gone up for preorder on Target. So let’s take a look at these behind the scenes images of the amazing art for the Sy-Klone MOTU Origins Sketch Book Series figure and all the cool figures it teases!

Sketches below show Sy-Klone beating the heck out of Spikor and you will notice the Horde Brain behind him!

Here we can see the initial sketches for Monstroid grasping onto Two Bad! And then you can see the further development of the illustration.

Spikor

The character that would eventually be known as Spikor originated from a simple concept by Roger Sweet: an action figure that combined features of a humanoid and a porcupine, making it one of the more unusual creatures on Earth. In this early sketch, Spikor’s porcupine traits are more apparent. Not only does he have a more natural animal color scheme, but he also features a distinct snout and tail. While the trident arm seems to have been part of the design from the start, the mace appears less threatening than in the final version. Sweet had initially intended for the character to be named Spike, but marketing opted for a name that was more fitting for the world of Eternia.

The Horde Brain

Huge thanks again to Toy Habits crew member Grrrraffe for deciphering the Horde Brain image for us! Ted Mayer had designed this character to be simply known as Brain. He was a giant brain with a glass dome over it and worn a black and red outfit. A four armed creature, he had huge red gogo boots on and a red Horde bat on his belt. This was a crazy looking character Brain’s action feature was going to be blood pumped thru his dome. This concept as we all know was reused for Mosquitor.

Two Bad Tease

The evil, double-headed strategist Two Bad started life as Schizo, one of Roger Sweet’s most beloved ideas. As one can see in the initial illustration (left), Sweet originally envisioned the character as half good and half evil, which would have resulted in an incredibly conflicted individual. However, somewhat understandably, Mattel’s marketing department was not sure how to present such a character and subsequently asked Sweet to make both sides evil (above) much to Mr. Sweet’s chagrin.

Hi-Res Art Reveal

Back on April 5, 2025, Roy Juarez surprised us with the new Sy-Klone MOTU Origins Sketch Book Series package reveal and boy does it look amazing! Today, he followed up with a hi-res box art reveal on his Instgram account by saying:

A close look at the art and packaging for the upcoming Sketchbook Series Sy-Klone.

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

Here is a closeup of Sy-Klone as he is punching the heck out of the Monstroid and we get to see all of the amazing talent that @fetch.franciscoetchart pours into each illustration.

For a single carded figure, he actually comes packed in a deluxe box! This MOTU Sketchbook Series Sy-Klone figure is inspired by concept art from the 1980s which has never previously been used for Origins action figures. On the back of the box, we can see how the art inegrates with the final package design.

Digging into a little MOTU history, we can see where @fetch.franciscoetchart got the inspiration for the back of the packaging art.

You can enjoy the 360 degree view of the package reveal here:

The front of the box features amazing concept sketches of Sy-Klone and you can make out the different versions of him from the black and white sketches below!

The excitement comes when you look at the artwork close up on the back! Here we can see Sy-Klone battling Monstroid and a concept version of Two Bad in his grasp!

Angles views of the front and back of the box show you how the incredible art wraps around! Here we can see illustrations of Sy-Klone in both his concepts on either side of the box.

Where to Buy

Target has put up Sy-Klone, the first single carded MOTU Origins Sketch Book Series figure for preorder! FYI…Target has the wrong name for the figure, which I am sure they will update!

• Detailed design. The Human Tornado has his signature lenticular shield on his silver metallic torso, accented by metallic and gloss details throughout the figure and accessories
• Accessories. Sy-Klone comes with a laser blaster and an alternate head with his more traditional look
• Deluxe packaging, The black-and-white sketch combined with color graphics is inspired by the original concept art and is ready for display!

Sy-Klone Sketch Book Series Leak

With the reveal of the Evil-Horde 2-pack that kicked off the Masters of the Universe Origins Sketchbook Series, Mark Taylor and Roger Sweet’s early concepts of the Masters of the Universe figures are on a fast track production. This was a brilliant move by Mattel as we get a peak into an alternate reality as the early concepts very well could have been green lit for production and the figures and characters we know today could have looked very different. Mark Taylor is a former toy designer who worked for Mattel in the 1980s, during the development of the Masters of the Universe toy line. Taylor is known for his contributions to the early development of the franchise, including the creation of many iconic characters such as He-Man, Skeletor, and Battle Cat. With teases of Skeletor (aka Evil Incarnate) and He-Man on the Hordak and Grizzlor Sketch Book Series card art, the door is wide open to bring more concepts of yesteryear to life! Thanks to yo_tengo_el_poder for posting a listing from Heo that shows that Sy-Klone and Spikor are coming to the MOTU Origins Sketch Book series!

Sy-Klone

Although the illustrations appear to depict two very different characters, they are actually early design concepts for Sy-Klone, a character with a unique action feature developed by Roger Sweet. The design on the right closely resembles the final sculpt, while the overall look and color scheme of the figure on the left clearly draws from the other design. Interestingly, this same design was later used in several minicomics, most notably in the “Spikor Strikes” minicomic that came with his action figure. In that minicomic, Sy-Klone was mistakenly referred to as Tornado in one panel, which was a temporary name for the character.