http://nerditis.com/...verse-classics/
And here's a guy who died! In the Masters of the Universe movie, Saurod was... a guy who died. Skeletor's henchmen in the movie included Evil-Lyn, Beast-Man, and then a bunch of brand-new flunkies. Saurod got to run around and shoot his gun in a few scenes, but then Skeletor executed him for failure, and that was that.
But see, Saurod got an action figure - just like Gwildor and Blade - and it could shoot sparks! As a result, Mattel can make a toy of him, even though they seem to be barred from other movie characters. So, what about Saurod, then? Blade ended up kind of humongous, and Gwildor had goofy hair. What would this guy's execution be like?
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SAUROD: EVIL SPARK-SHOOTING REPTILE
REAL NAME: C'NEGREL CHOULUTH
A Klybian Lizard Man from the planet Draphos, Saurod the Terrible broke out of Prison Star and rode a meteor shower across the solar system to Eternia. As one of the three reptilian races whose DNA was spliced to create the Snake Men, Saurod is a natural enemy of King Hssss and eagerly joined with his enemies. He was recruited by Skeletor in an attempt to boost his forces against his former master Hordak. Saurod fought for Skeletor during the Second Ultimate Battleground, slaying many snake warriors including Sssqueeze and Snake Face in hand to hand combat. Using his laser, Saurod also tried to steal the cosmic key from Gwildor to go back in time and prevent the dilution of his species.
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WOAH! So he didn't die? Apparently, at the time the bios were written, directly referencing the movie plot (aside from "cosmic key" like that) was a big no-no, so Mattel went ahead and gave him the opposite storyline. Instead of failing and getting killed by Skeletor, Saurod now wipes out two of the toughest Snake Men! Daaaaaaaang, man. Wait, is this a racial purity thing? Does that mean... oh crap.
PACKAGING: ****
You know my feelings about MOTUC packaging, so let's just move on.
SCULPT: ****
A major challenge with these movie figures is accuracy - how accurate can a photogralistic figure be when everybody else is cartoonish to some extent? Blade and Gwildor both had detail issues, though Gwildor more than Blade. As for Saurod, it helps that he is a non-humanoid creature, and his armor covered up most of his face. As a result, this figure's sculpt is absolutely accurate, but manages to fit in with most of the line. Certainly, he would look odd with Lizard Man or Fang-Man, but those are on the extreme end of the scale. It is kind of funny how much he resembles a Predator, especially with that odd little ponytail he's got going on.
An interesting thing is Saurod's armor - it's removable, but not thick or bloated or padded like much removable armor tends to be. He uses the basic "scaly" torso, but the armor slips so well over it that nobody can tell.
And then there's Saurod's size - he clocks in as one of the bigger MOTUC figures, not in musculature as much as general scale. Saurod is very tall, able to stand eye-to-eye with a lot of NECA figures, and his head especially is not tiny. Mind you, that's how his head was - the costume mask and helmet took up a lot of space - so it makes sense, but the way the movie was shot made him seem a lot smaller than he was.
PAINT: ****
At first glance, Saurod's color scheme is pretty striking for this line. His copper-colored armor anddark teal skin stands out, utilizing the more muted movie colors in a way that makes him look anything but bland. Aside from the big, obvious things (like his armor), there are also subtle details - see the pink around his eyes? A little bit of the actor's flesh was visible behind the mask, and this figure incorporates the color without looking unnatural!
At first glance, there appears to be some inconsistency with the scaly skin around his waist or tail, but it's intentional - the movie was a little inconsistent, so he matches his old costume. It does raise an odd question about his skin, too - in the movie he had chain mail under his armor. His old toy did not. So this figure has sculpted chain mail, but with the color of his skin - the obvious interpretation is that it's a layer of loose scales, but it can seem odd if you think about it too hard.
ARTICULATION: ****
Saurod has the same articulation as pretty much everybody in this line, which has been repeated ad nauseum - his tail, however, does not move. It's not quite long nough to be a proper stabilizer, but you likely will not notice its immobility in general use.
Saurod's sculpt does not limit him in any way, and in fact his armor is thinner than most, thus giving him some great range. This figure is surprisingly well-made on the articulation front.
ACCESSORIES: **1/2
Saurod, sadly, only comes with one accessory: his gun. Grnted, his gun was all he had, but a second item would have been nice to fill out the ranks. It's film-accurate, and fits in a holster at his side, but it's all he's got.
Oddly, my Saurod has a bent blaster. It came this way, though I could see one getting warped in his holster. The plastic is thick enough to make this strange, too.
VALUE: **1/2
The same as every other figure in this overpriced line - well, the figure i all right, but the shipping is terrible.
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Nothing about Saurod seems fragile, though I would watch out for bending that gun of his.
WHERE TO BUY:
Same as every other MOTUC figure. hrng.
OVERALL: ****
NOTE: I lost my original concluding paragraph whenI copied the template. Ha, silly me! But it's one of the best of the year - and honestly, best of the line in a few ways. Is Saurod perfect? Well, he is a little tall, but that's accurate. But overll, he's just a really solid figure of a guy who never did anything.
What's funny is the crazy flak he's gotten for his new bio, in which he doesn't die, but instead wipes out two bad guys. I've noticed that the body count has gone up lately, but maybe it's just the Ultimate Battleground being basically a sort-of series finale before a retooling. I'm still wondering who kills Madame Razz...
Edited by Ridureyu, 23 September 2015 - 09:00 AM.
