Merry Christmas, everyone! This guy looks like Krampus, so he gets reviewed now.
Prahvus, invented for the 200X cartoon, got to enjoy some limelight as a villain in the Sorceress's backstory, as well as a cameo involving Stinkor. We didn't really get to see much of him beyond that, and his fate was even left unrevealed - intentional, since he was meant to be a recurring villain. But he looked really cool, and even fit in a litle bit with someof the old vintage monsters, so he was in demand as a figure. Thus, it's totally fitting that Prahvus has the last slot of the 200X mini-subscription!
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PRAHVUS: EVIL MASTER OF DOOM
REAL NAME: PRAHVUS THE UNTAMED
Released by Count Marzo from his magical prison, Prahvus the Untamed roamed throughout Eternia terrorizing the populace and causing havoc throughout the land. Marzo had intended to use Prahvus as a distraction to divide Miro's troops during the Great Unrest. But thanks to the heroics of Prince Weldor, Prahvus was contained again inside of a magical lamp. Decades later, after Hordak returned to Eternia, two of his bumbling minions released the warlord again, but this time he was quickly enslaved to the Horde invaders by Hordak's chief witch. Prahvus uses his unstoppable strength and great magic to destroy any heroic warriors who get in his way!
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Well, there you go. He's a genie now. Oddly, nothing about the Sorceress fighting him, which really is kind of a shame.
PACKAGING: ****
It is the same as every other MOTUC figure, and almost the last time I get to say this.
SCULPT: ****
Prahvus is a huge, intimidating, antlered demon-monster, and one character who really typifies the 200X style. He has a lot of clean, sharp lines and bright contrasts, somewhat busy and crowded but also clearly taking cues from Bruce Timm's minimalist DC cartoons.
Although Prahvus has some great unique armor pieces including an ornate glove, his face gets all the attention. He's somewhat gatlike, with the most hilarious curled bear evers - seriously, that thing looks more like a mutant hair follicle trying to escape than anything else. It was a little less goofy in the cartoon. But on the bright side, look at those horns!
His half cape has a scale texture on the lining, but not the outside. Oddly enough, this is accurate to the cartoon, though one must wonder if he should have had texturing on both sides.
PAINT: ****
Prahvus's paint absolutely lines up with the minimalist parts of his design. As in the show, he is an extremely dark blue, almost slate-gray. Mattel has chosen to emphasize the blue a little bit more on him, and the effect varies based on lighting - but it's honestly very good.
Prahvus also has some crazy neon blue tattoos covering his facr and torso. They are as exact as any other tampo pattern, though they tend to be easily scuffed or chipped. Still, they add a unique kind of excitement to the figure.
Unfortunately, those glowing tattoos do have a tendency to chip and scuff sometimes - beware!
ARTICULATION: ****
Prahvus absolutely has normal MOTUC articulation, with nothing taken out or messed up. He poses good.
As it turns out, neither Prahvus's cape nor his loincloth get in his way, either. He's pretty posable, and better than many other figures in this line.
ACCESSORIES: ****
Prahvus has two accessories to his name. Firstly, he's got his weapon, a bit club/spear combo that looks a little like a table leg, but a lot like a massacre. It's a pretty unique weapon, even though it certainly fits this ine's techno-barbarian aesthetic.
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He's also got a lamp - you know, the one he was trapped in. This isn't from Prahvus's cartoon appearance, though it can stand in for any one of a few lamps in the Filmation cartoon. It looks pretty good, and can be held.
VALUE: **1/2
He's got normal He-Man pricing, though if you subscribed, you'll save a little individually on shipping.
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
If you have the option, check his paint - this figure seems to have scuffed tattoos pretty often.
WHERE TO BUY:
The two-pack sold out from Mattel, but can be picked up on the secondary market..
OVERALL: ****
The 200X mini-sub consistently put out some of the best figures of the year, and choosing Prahvus to round out the end was a wide choice. He's in demand, looks cool, and was executed very well as an action figure. This guy's look is unique enough that he can even invade other diplays, too, and not just He-Man. And that's a fantastic sign! Now that Prahvus is done, the 2015 year has only one more item left, and 2016 will rebrand the subscription completely. So far, December of 2015 has been an uncommonly good month, with extra quality put into their figures. Hey, ending well is a great thing, right?
