Review – Masters of the Universe (200X) Skeletor

Now this is the way to present an evil, terrifying villain in action figure form. The classic Masters of the Universe Skeletor character design has always been cool, but this version of the character takes all of the promise of the original concept and turns it into something wickedly fun. A skull-headed action figure with armor, a staff, and a twisted sword, Skeletor looks scarier here than he ever did in the eighties toy series, animation, or comics. It’s too bad that choices in the toy’s design and playability keep it from being perfect.

Blue and Purple are the Colors of Evil

For an action figure with such a limited color palette, Skeletor is one of those designs from the eighties that is instantly recognizable by colors alone. Stacks blue, purple, and yellow in the right order and any vaguely humanoid shape starts to look like Skeletor . . . and if you make the yellow burst of color a skull then you’ve guaranteed that any guy who grew up in the eighties will think of this terrifying character. And for that reason it makes me happy that in the relaunch early in the last decade the team at Mattel stuck with the classic colors.

(Don’t believe me about the colors? Take a look at this Dokurocks Skulletor at the Super7Store. Purple, blue, yellow skulls . . . yeah, that color scheme works great.)

Awesome Sculpt

So with the color scheme perfect and matching the classic design, the sculpting team on the Skeletor, the incomparable Four Horsemen, went above and beyond and brought us possibly the greatest version of Skeletor we’ve ever seen. (Well, that’s only if you don’t count Fire Armor Skeletor, who is easily the coolest version of the character. I love that design.)

In a review at epinions.com, OAFEster yogore writes:

“Previously, Skeletor was cast in the same stumpy, squatting pose as all the rest of the MotU figures. Today he stands hunched over, ready to fight or command his legions. The sculpting detail is just as good as anything McToys produces, with muscles, veins, armor and leather all wonderfully detailed.”

I’ve got no arguments with that assessment. From the sculpt of the skull to the incredible armor, every detail on Skeletor is top-notch. My favorite detail has to be the way Skeletor’s hood flows around his skullhead; at the right angle slivers of light spill around the skull, showing how the hood is a separate piece that was assembled at the factory. It’s a minor detail, but the combination of the soft plastic hood with the hard plastic skull comes together beautifully and makes me quite happy with the figure’s head.

Accessories

In addition to the armor, Skeletor comes with a ram-headed staff and a sword that splits apart into two pieces. Of the two weapons I prefer the staff — it just looks more evil than the sword — and I’ll definitely be displaying Skeletor with his staff . . . held low? Damn, this is where an awesome toy starts to fall apart on me . . .

Articulation and the Button

Skeletor has extremely limited poseability options, with ball-hinge shoulders, t-hips, and what might be a ball-jointed head his only points of articulation. Even this would be perfectly acceptable if it wasn’t for the “push the button on his back to raise his arm” feature. The sculpt was clearly designed around the articulation (or the other way, but regardless of which came first the two work together perfectly), but that damned “play” feature with the button really restricts Skeletor to holding his staff low if you place it in his right hand. And placing the staff in his left hand isn’t ideal since it means he holds his right arm at an unusual angle.

I know this toy way made for kids, but do kids really like these “play” features? I’m trying to remember what I thought of this sort of action/feature when I was a kid, but I appear to be too damned old to remember. Back in my day . . .

Closing Thoughts

Perfect coloring, a fantastic sculpt, cool accessories, and just the fact that this is Skeletor all combine to make this an excellent toy. The articulation and action feature are annoying, but in the end I’ve gotta say that this guy looks great on the shelf and is one of the best versions of the character that we’ve ever seen. (The only version I know of that is clearly the best — besides Fire Armor — has to be the statue from the Four Horsemen. Wow!)

He’s not perfect, but if you’re a Skeletor fan and can find this figure for $10 then I recommend you grab it. He’ll make a nice addition to your collection, and he’ll look better than your Masters of the Universe Classics version of the figure.

Philip Reed would kill for a high-end, 12-inch tall Skeletor action figure. Something from Sideshow would be amazingly fun.