Hoo boy, was that ever a debacle! If you were trying to score one of these sets earlier in the year, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Thankfully, Target re-ordered more of this exclusive set, and there is now a supply that is more than ample, with many stores piling dozens on the shelves. (Though there are none here, oddly enough.) As with the Scare Glow situation last fall, the drama surrounding the acquisition of this set has largely distracted from its merits. The 2002 revamp and its designs remain beloved among a large contingent of collectors, myself among them. Though Origins hasn't yet been around long enough to give us the breadth of the MOTU Classics line, it has already shown itself to be widely inclusive of various incarnations of the property. Getting a 2002-themed set like this is a huge deal, especially so early in the line's life. Does it live up to the hype, or will you want to condemn it to Despondos? Read on...
As per usual, the packaging art is beautiful. It even makes someone like me, who opens every damn thing, reluctant to rip into it. The sculpts are a bit of a mixed bag. Keldor is very well done, making use of existing body parts and adding a new head. I've seen many people claiming that this is the head from the Classics figure, but while it does look very similar, an in-hand examination of the two quickly makes it clear that it is a new sculpt. It's a great head sculpt all the same, with an expression that manages to seem both charmingly roguish or downright sinister depending on the angle from which it is viewed. His cape and boots are also new, adding some very useful pieces to the parts bank. The Skeletor head, touted as an Alcala version, is a fantastic addition to the line. It doesn't look explicitly Alcala-style to me, but it remains a very cool and creepy rendition of the arch villain, with a great pair of jewel eyes, to boot! As with the MOTU Classics Alcala head, the shadowed portions around the eye sockets are purple, but some quick paint detailing can fix that. It's easily the best Skeletor head sculpt we've gotten in the Origins line, and I hope they make it available again down the line so we have options other than dropping $30 on a figure set to get an extra.
Kronis fares... less well. Like Keldor, he is made up mostly of reused parts, all of which are appropriate. His head is new, and it's, well, it's not great. Where Keldor's head sculpt looks as if they closely modeled it on the excellent MOTU Classics version, Kronis has a head sculpt that looks as if someone with very poor vision described the Classics version to the sculptor. There may have been a major earthquake during the sculpting, but they kept it anyway. Also, somebody peed on it. There was also probably-- well, you get the idea. It's a very odd sculpt, and it looks far more like someone's bad cosplay of the character than the character himself. I've mostly been happy with the sculpting work we've gotten with the Origins line, but this is easily the worst thing released to date.
Both figures have the sparse but neatly-applied paint apps we've come to expect from this line. There is a spot on the Skeletor head's teeth on the right side where it looks as if paint has chipped away, but every one of these I've seen has this, so I'm guessing it's a widespread production error. Not a major deal, easily fixed, but worth noting. Both figures have the line's standard articulation, with swivel & hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, swivels at the calves and waists, and ball-jointed heads. This remains a great articulation model that is tons of fun to play with and pose!
The set has a decent amount of accessories, with armor and a gun for Kronis, and two pieces of armor, a cape, Havoc Staff, sword, and alternate head for Keldor. I've already covered the head and cape, but it's worth mentioning that the armor Keldor is wearing is the standard Skeletor armor. This is inaccurate to the character's design, and it's too bad the design team repeated the cost-cutting measure that was employed with the MOTU Classics version. Like Evil-Lyn's 2002 design, it seems we're doomed to never get an accurate version in figure form! The armor has the bat painted in green, likely inspired by the character's original B-sheet design, so that's a nice easter egg for the old school fans. The staff and sword are molded in translucent green with the purple bits painted on, giving them a very cool "powered up" look. Kronis has his armor, a nice design that differs from the Classics version, and a black version of the Grayskull rifle. The figure lacks the green skull & crossbones belt that he is normally shown wearing.
Despite the months-long drama and turmoil that surrounded this set-- you just know the people who paid hundreds of dollars for it earlier in the year are really kicking themselves-- this is a pretty awesome set, and I'm damn happy to have it in my collection. The odd head sculpt that Kronis got saddled with is definitely a major negative, but this set brings so damn much coolness to the table that it's a net win, even with that strike against it. With the Lords of Power re-releases, the Evil-Lyn repaint, and the upcoming minicomic Tri-Klops, Mattel is gradually building a pre-Adam version of MOTU's main antagonists, and that is a very cool thing indeed. It all starts with this set, and even if you only want it for the custom potential of the new parts that are utilized, it's one of the best $30 purchases you can make. Of course, clearance seems to be inevitable, what with the vast numbers now littering Target shelves, so that's always an option, too. Personally, while I'll score a couple of extras for parts at a reduced price if I can, I'm very glad I secured a set when I did. It's one of the standout releases in the Origins line, and easily one of my favorites. That's it for today, but lead your invading forces back over Tuesday for more! Until then, stay safe out there, and happy hunting!
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