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MOTUC's mini-subscriptions tend to fill in gaps in the line, whether based on the FIlmation cartoon, Princess of Power, or even a special artist showcase. This year, Mattel chose to tackle the 200X remake cartoon, and provide some villains and designs not seen in other media. And as it turns out, they're opening with a fan-demanded character: Callix.
Callis is what can generously be called a "filler" character. He appeared once, briefly, in a flashback episode as part of Hordak's Evil Horde. He gave Hordak some bad news, and Hordak blew him to pieces. Obviously, his entire role was dying, so that nobody the fans remembered or cared about would have to be sacrificed. And that is why everybody waned a Callix toy. This guy has topped so many favorite character and figure request polls that it almost isn't funny - but hey, it means we get a toy!
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CALLIX: EVIL HORDE ROCK MAN
REAL NAME: CALLIX
A Vebex rock man from the Tri-Solar system, Callix was recruited by the Horde Empire during his youth and quickly rose through the ranks due to his insight and perspective into enemy strategy. Assigned as lead council to Hec-Tor Kur, Callix traveled with him to Eternia to ensure their foe He-Ro had been destroyed. He remained with the Horde army on Eternia fighting the Snake Men and King Grayskull for rule over the planet. His ability to crumble into pebbles and rebuild himself has made Callix a deadly enemy of all those who oppose Hordak and his evil minions!
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Okay, that's funny. MOTUC bios have given us the deaths of many characters - tons of Snake Men, Horde Prime, Mer-Man... but this guy, who actually died on-screen in the cartoon, has officially lived. See, he likes being blown apart, because he can put himself together! Well-played, Mattel.
PACKAGING: ****
I can't wait for next year, when the packaging will change.
SCULPT: ****
The 200x cartoon was more detailed than the original... well yeah, duh. Th thing is, the issue of how much detail to include in MOTUC has always been kind of a sticking pint. The few 200X-styled figures have included more, sometimes to compliments and sometimes to criticism. Callix is very detailed, but in such a way that fits in with other rock figures - Rokkon, Stonedar, and Castle Grayskullman. When you hold them side-by-side, you can see a few differences, but they don't matter. He looks great, and he does fit in the He-Man universe. He doesn't look lik a statue or even a golem - Callix was not carved by human hands, he is an actual chunk of living rock. He looks weathered like a mountain, carved by nothing more than the elements. If anything makes him imposing, it's this. The rubber overlay over his torso is glued on, and manages to not make him look too fat - he's big and broad, but the rubber fits, thankfully!
Now, there is one flaw, sort of - it's a matter of opinion, and something that every MOTUC figure has, even the other stone-ish ones. Parts of his body, the ones that are reused, have smooth flesh. his stone texture does not cover 100% of his body. Is that a deal-breaker? It's up to you.
PAINT: ****
As a rock monster, Callix is mostly done in gray. The trick is in how they do it Callix does not have any overt washes, the way some stone-esque surfaces do, but he has extremely subtle variety in the shades of gray on his body. The result is something that looks like actual stone without being obviously painted. It's very subtle, but it works quite well.
Callix's Horde symbol has garnered a tiny bit of controversy, because it was red in the cartoon. This? Not red. At first, I thought the peach-beige tone was odd, but then I realized it: This is sandstone. Sandstone! ingenious!
ARTICULATION: ****
Callix is articulated just the same as any MOTUC figure – ball-and-socket shoulders and hips, ball-jointed head, swivel biceps, waist, wrists, and shins, hinged elbows, knees, and ankles.
His armor doesn't impede his articulation much (perhaps a little around the shoulders), but mine actually has a stuck joint. His left shoulder won't swivel up or down, though it can pivot out. I have no idea how widespread this is.
ACCESSORIES: **1/2
Starting small, Callix has a little buckler-type shield made of stone, so he can use his stone shield to block blows that would harm his stone body. This seems slightly counterintuitive to me, but it looks cool.
AND MY AXE! Callix also comes with a ginormous axe, a big stone weapon that looks like it can crush or chop pretty much anything in sight. This... this is a fantastic weapon, especially considering that he had nothign in his few onscreen seconds.
The axe has a second handle in the head, specifically so he can turn it into a crossbow! As crossbows seem tobe Horde uniform, this only makes sene. How exactly a stone crossbow works is anyone's guess, but it's all cool.
Also, if you reverse it, you can use it like a gun. It even contours to his shoulder!
VALUE: **1/2
As the first of the min-sub figures, Callix shipped seprately from Peekablue, and thus had his own shipping chage. So he ended up about $40, not $27. Dangit. Future months will be nicer.
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Mine has a stuck arm joint, which is the first stuck joint I have seen in a long time. I am not sure how widespread this is.
WHERE TO BUY:
It sold out at Matty in like five minutes, so you're stuck with whatever Google can find.
OVERALL: ****
Well, Mattel started out their 200X subscription by utterly exceeding expectations. Cllix is the definition of a dark horse minor fan favorite, in that he only existed so the character blown up was somebody nobody would care about.. but here he is, getting a toy. And that toy is insanely good. If the rest of the mini-sub can be like this, then we're in luck!
