Becuse we are nearing the end of the Classics line (sorta, there will be figures next year), it's time to rush out those remaining figures. This means He-Man and Skeletor, of course! And one basic set of variants heretofore unreleased in MOTUC are Flying Fists He-man and Terror Claws Skeletor. They were released together in October, their review only delayed because of Halloween.
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TERROR CLAWS SKELETOR: EVIL LEADER WITH THE CLAW-SWINGING ACTION
REAL NAME: KELDOR OF THE HOUSE OF MIRO
In preparation for the Second Ultimate Battleground, Skeletor commissioned a new armor upgrade from his chief weapons master, Spikor. Arming himself with Terror Claws, Skeletor leapt into battle against the Snake Men, Horde Army and the Masters of the Universe. In single combat he slew Gygor, Lord of the Vine Jungle, and eventually fought and mortally wounded his former master. Finishing Hordak off with a magical spell which drained his essence, Skeletor learned of the might of the Horde Empire, and quickly turned his ambitions to the stars. After the battle, Skeletor left Eternia behind in favor of a grander prize - as ruler of the entire Universe!
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Well, Gygor's dead. So that's a thing now.
PACKAGING: ****
As samey as it may be, it is a good window box.
SCULPT: **
Underneath the special armor and claws, Skeletor is the same figure we've seen a bunch of times - but that's not why we're here! He has new armor and weapons, meant to match the vintage toy. How do they line up?
Well, Skeletor now wears a sports bra. I'm sorry, but that's just what it is. It didn't seem as embarrassing back in the day, but now it's unavoidable. His loincloth also does not match the vintage toy, which has frustrated a surprising number of people.
And the other nitpick is his head. Skeletor's hood works when it looks like it is connected to something, otherwise he resembles those old-timey drawings of sick people with bandages wrapped around their heads. It's extremely obvious here, because Terror Claws Skeletor's sports bra has a plunging neckline.
PAINT: **1/2
Skeletor's paint is clean, without many flaws... but he's the wrong shade of blue. Every Skeletor out there is consistent, except for this one - he's too dark! It may surprise you how many people care about this.
But if you can ignore this flaw, he's pretty good - again, no actual common errors puts him above Flying Fists He-Man.
ARTICULATION: ****
Skeletor has the most "ordinary" articulation of the line, which fits considering almost all the bad guys use parts from his basic body. There really are no complaints about this.
Skeletor's armor isn't bulky, and even with his claws on, he's got a lot of posing options. He's certainly more limber than He-Man!
ACCESSORIES: **
Firstly, Skeletor comes with his Terror Claws, which are almost a weapon! Actually, his gigantic metal claw-gloves are somewhat similar to actual fist weapons, like the cestus - only you held on to those via a handle, you ddn't put all the strain on your wrists. Realistically, Skeletor would accidentally break his forearms using these, if he could even lift the heavy metal.
Skeletor also comes with a... dragon puppet. It moves at its middle and has a hinged jaw, but does not fold in a convenient way. Maybe he just got a grabber because he was tired of reaching for things. Or maybe he's insane.
The big and most obvious flaw is that his Terror Claws actually daage the figure. The claws are made of stiff, rigid plastic, and his arms are softer. This means that the claws' clamps dig into Skeletor's wrists, scoring them pretty uch immediately. Don't you like toys that break themselves?
VALUE: **1/2
Even with both figures together to pay for shipping, they end up evening out to about $30 a toy.
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Terror Claws Skeletor's terror claws will damage his arms, so have fun with that.
WHERE TO BUY:
This set is not currently available on Matty, but will likely pop up in the future.
OVERALL: **
In some ways, Terror Claws Skeletor is more interesting than Flying Fists He-Man. But in others, it's just not a well-made toy. It damages itself, it's the wrong shade of blue, and clearly not much thought was put into this. It does have a plut side, which is looking decent when fully-assembled, but this is a disappointing variant of Skeletor.
I really have to ask, what possessed He-Man and Skeletor? Did Skeletor see He-Man's spinny propeller thing, and go, "I know! I'll top that with a sports bra, some gloves, and a puppet!"?
