Beast Man - Savage Henchman

Beast Man, Beast Man what do you know about taking off you clothes……

That is about all I can write here from the infamous song Skeletor vs. Beast Man, by Brandon Dicamillo and Bam Margera, to make sure I don’t offend someone. For anyone who doesn’t know what I am talking about you can always Google it.

I was never a big fan of Beast Man. All main bad guys need to have henchmen and Beast Man always seemed to be Skeletor’s lead henchman, it is pretty much right there on the package under his name, but the character never resonated with me in any of his appearances.

I pretty much feel the same way about the MOTUC figure. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wide of the mark with the figure, it is still very impressive, but it just doesn’t command my attention like so many others in the line.

On the positive side, Beast Man comes with a very vibrant colour scheme which is visually arresting. The base orange of his body meshes nicely with the brownish red of his armour, and the blues of his medallion and loin cloth. Ofcourse, this is also the first use of the hairy buck which would later be used for other characters and it does its job well for a man that is a beast.

The head sculpt of Beast Man is a thing of beauty. Everything with the snarling expression has been done extremely well. From the rippled forehead, to the bared teeth of his open mouth, it is very much a work of art. As the line progresses with the reuse of parts, it is always refreshing to know that, for the most part, characters are receiving individually sculpted heads even if they are sharing body parts, although there are some exceptions to the rule.

The blue and white face has been a matter of discussion around the fandom. Is it the colour of his skin, much like a Mandrill? Or is it war paint? I am firmly in the camp of it is the colour of his skin. I can’t see how Beast Man would go to all the trouble to do himself up like a hussy only to go out and do battle with the Heroic Warriors. Seems like too much hard work for little reward if you ask me.

Beast Man has also been created with one gripping hand and one open hand. The open hand seems to have elongated fingers and long finger nails which really adds to the overall beast look. The gripping hand has the spiked knuckle duster and is a good homage to the vintage figure. It is these small details that increase the overall appeal of the figures.

Beast Man doesn’t come with many accessories but what he does have are really well done. His spiked armour has been designed in a way that not only increases his overall bulk, making him look bigger in stature, but it also makes him look somewhat hunched over, even when posed standing upright.

Unfortunately, the the blue painted, sculpted medallion on the spiked armour tends to have a lot of paint bleed which shows up easily against the brownish red of the armour. This is not overly distracting to me but it is there if you go looking for it.

Beast Man also has spiked upper bicep armour on either arm that is featured with intricate details such as visible cracks in the spikes themselves. Each bicep armour will clasp firmly in place so there is no real worry with it constantly becoming loose during play time..... ahem! I mean during posing the figure for display.

There is also the beast taming whip which is the last accessory that comes with Beast Man. This has been moulded in a pliable rubber which is a thousand times better than the piece of string that came with the vintage figure. Beast Man holds the whip well in his gripping hand but in the end, it is just a whip so there is not really much more to add.

It is a strange thing because as I write this review with the figure next to me, I can’t help but being more and more impressed with its design and look. From my opening statement where I claimed the figure doesn’t command my attention enough to now where I am a little surprised that it does not get much attention from me. Fully geared up, Beast Man does look imposing and doesn’t look like the moronic henchman that his media appearances have made him out to be.

I guess the changes in my opinion can be attributed to how good this toy line is. Even the figures that don’t seem all that much have all got some redeeming qualities somewhere. And I think if Beast Man was a standalone figure, or only partnered up with his line launch cohort, He-Man, he really would really stand out more.

Beast Man is all but sold out on Matty Collector so the best place to pick one up, if you haven't already, is on the secondary market. Although, if you are lucky Mattel may re-release it on Matty Collector again at some stage.