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Sunday 22 January 2012

Skeletor - Evil Lord of Destruction



With the risk of blasphemy, I hereby state that Skeletor is the most iconic figure for the entire MOTU brand. Sure, He-Man is the poster child but Skeletor is a pop culture icon and stands out in the minds of many. Let’s face it, without Skeletor, He-Man is pretty boring.

And that brings us to the next figure in line of Masters of the Universe Classics, Ol’ Bonehead himself, Skeletor – Overlord of Evil.



Now if you took a floating skull covered it in a hood and chucked it on the shoulders of a body what would you get? You’d get one of the best designed characters of all time.

I don’t think there is anyone who would argue that Skeletor’s look is anything but iconic. As I said in my opening statement, I consider Skeletor as the most iconic figure for the brand and in today’s world; he would probably be more marketable than He-Man himself.




The MOTUC figure captures the look of Skeletor seamlessly. However, with this particular release of the character there have been some liberties taken with the paint application on the skull itself even though it features the use of yellow over the base green. 

Unfortunately, there are many inconsistencies with how the paint has been applied which alter from figure to figure. This has caused some dissatisfaction by some within the fandom. I for one do not mind the variances in the paint application. It could be explained as simply as the skull is still decomposing. But c’mon, he has a freaking skull for a face does it really need to be rationalized?



It might be a bit of character bias as to why I like the figure so much. I always felt kind of sorry for Skeletor. Sure he was constantly trying to rule Eternia but the poor guy was surrounded by nincompoops (yeah I really did just use that word) so his life must have been so frustrating. But each time I look at the figure I can’t help but see the character shining through, no matter which version of the mythos I compare it to.


Skeletor is resplendent in his dark blue/purple armour harness which complements the overall look of the figure. In comparison to the vintage figure, the harness has the same defined bat symbol design across the upper chest/shoulders, and although this has always been the design, it fits with Skeletor’s ties to Hordak and the Horde which were later expanded on during 200x and again in the MOTUC bios. The crossed bones on the chest are just as much of a focal point as the were in the vintage line, this time with a lighter purple gem in the centre.






Skeletor wouldn’t be Skeletor if he didn’t have his Havoc Staff and this version of the staff has once again been masterfully recreated for this line. The horned skull at the top of the staff has been sculpted to include cracks which give it more of an old, worn look. There is almost no faulting the Four Horsemen with the work they have put in on this line. I can’t help but wonder if it would have been nearly as successful as it has been if it was not for their involvement.



Skeletor also has a dark blue/purple full Power Sword and half Power Sword, just like He-Man. I love this sword as I said in the He-Man review and the more various colours I get the happier I am. But the half sword ends up in the parts bin as I really don’t have much use for it, unless I chose to have it holstered in the back of the armour harness while the full sword is being displayed in a hand of the figure.



The figure is Skeletor in all his glory. From the dark blue/purple of his armour harness, hood and weapons to the light sky blue colour of his body and the yellow skull, it expresses who he is so to a great degree and I almost regret not following my instincts and jumping on the line as soon as I saw this figure. I guess it doesn’t really matter now because I am all caught up with every release so far.



I personally know of a handful of people who have only bought this one MOTUC figure based solely on it being Skeletor. This just reinforces my earlier statement again of Skeletor being the most iconic character for the brand.The only reason this figure should not be in your collection is if you completely despise the character.

If you do not have this figure but would like to add it to your collection then you are in luck once again. Mattel will be offering this on Matty Collector all year round as one of their few core figures.













3 comments:

  1. Great review, and wonderful pictures. Skeletor is my favorite motu character, and my favorite figure in the line.

    I do agree with you that he is probably even more iconic than He-Man, if only just.

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    Replies
    1. Nice review!!!

      Great pics!!! Skeletor on Panthor being my favorite.

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  2. I love the figure but cant help thinking he needs a more menacing look...not so joyfull.

    Great Review tho!!

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