Today we're veering back into Masterverse territory with Skeletor's right-hand witch! Thanks to some timely listings on Amazon, I received Evil-Lyn shortly after coming across a single pair of
He-Man and
Skeletor at Walmart. (No prizes for guessing who the subject will be for my next Masterverse review!) The recipient of one of the show's more drastic redesigns, Evil-Lyn's look has spurred much debate among collectors. Is this new iteration worth getting for fans of the character, or should it be cast into Despondos? Read on...
As the only female in the first wave, Evil-Lyn has a totally unique sculpt. Her look from the show is faithfully recreated, with a nice level of detail on most of the figure. There's some particularly nice texture work on the fur, robe, and boots. The upper torso's fabric texture continues onto her chest, which is a bit weird. Her face has a nice, determined expression that nails the calculating persona for which she is known. Evil-Lyn looks intelligent and ruthless, just as she should. The alternate head shares this expression, with the addition of hair that is much longer than she is usually seen with.
The paint apps are very neatly applied, and the printing on the face is flawless. Her upper lip is a much darker shade of red than the lower one, something I hadn't noticed while watching the show. After checking, the upper lip is darker on the show, not just for Evil-Lyn, but for all the females. It looks like it may simply be an effect of the lighting, but maybe not. It'll be interesting to see if Teela has the same sort of coloration on her figure once wave two hits. Maybe that's just the fashion on Eternia? Two of the hands have some minor slop, but nothing major. It's also notable that someone made the decision to make her caucasian for some reason, which is a new thing for the character in animation. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though it is a bit odd. I'd definitely be interested in seeing this figure with the classic yellow skin, or 2002-style deathly pale. Anyway, this is a very neat paint job, particularly by the standards of a mass-produced toyline. Just don't expect any paint washes.
Evil-Lyn shares the standard articulation for the Masterverse line with swivel & hinge shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles, double elbows and knees, swivels at the boot tops, thighs, waist, and biceps, and a ball-jointed head and torso. Nearly all of these points of articulation have excellent range, move smoothly and hold poses well. Notably, she does not have the weirdness with her hip articulation that I previously pointed out on Skeletor and He-Man.
Evil-Lyn has a nice assortment of accessories, including the aforementioned swappable head, her staff in two different lengths, a satchel, and two extra sets of hands. The head and hands swap easily enough, and the hands allow for a wider variety of poses and gestures. The hair on the extra head is stiffer than I would like, which interferes with posing to some degree. The satchel is a nice option to have, though I find it more cumbersome than it's worth. There is a strap on the figure's right hip with a ring to hold the small staff, but it's very prone to falling out no matter how you put it in there. It's a nice idea, but the staff is just too top-heavy. Whereas the Classics figure had two staffs into which the orb could be plugged, here we just have two full staves. It's nice to have the choice, however they chose to implement it.
While I'm enjoying the Masterverse line as a whole, Evil-Lyn may be my favorite so far, at least from the basic figures. Both He-Man and Skeletor had a few issues that, while not major, were annoying. Evil-Lyn really doesn't have anything detracting from her good points, and she seems like a more fully realized figure as a result. This is an excellent rendition of an interesting new look for a classic character, and you can hardly go wrong with that! If you only get one figure from the first wave of this line, she is a great choice. That's it for today, but scheme your way back on Friday for the next Origins review! Until then, stay safe out there, and happy hunting!
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