http://nerditis.com/...verse-classics/
June's MOTUC figure is Extendar! This mighty hero has the power to Extend to great lengths, standing tall and firm as he, uh, his extremities, um... big shafts pop out from his... uh...
um...
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Don't make a joke...
...I swear I'll be good...
...okay, better now.
Anyway, Extendar is a character who holds no nostalgic interest for me. I had to look him up to remember what the figure looked like. But it was significant in the original line as being one of the few toys not made off the exact same buck as the others. Extendar resembles a robot knight, melding science fiction and fantasy in that way that only He-Man can. And this year has been really tumultous for He-Man fans - the line may be ending soon, and there are some serious production issues along with some of the best toys in the line. And yet, despite all the heated debates, Extendar seems to have gotten a universally positive reception.
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EXTENDAR: HEROIC MASTER OF EXTENSION
Real Name: Doodon
An Etherian athlete of great renown, Doodon was tricked by Hordak into entering his Experimentation Matrix. Here he was transformed and grafted with cybernetic parts allowing him to extend his limbs and body to great proportions. Dubbed Extendar, he escaped the Evil Horde before the foul effects had fully taken hold. But to his great regret, his best friend was also transformed and unlike Extendar, Dragstor was unable to escape from Hordak's clutches. Extendar eventually traveled with She-Ra to Eternia and joined the renegade Masters of the Universe. Confronted by his enemies, Extendar reeeeches new heights, transforming into a superstrong warrior!
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Hey, a bio that's fairly free of typos for once! And with kind of a tragic story, albeit one adapted from the old mini-comics. It's also nice to see a character who wasn't altered by Man-at-Arms. Seriously, for a hero, that guy just screws with people against their will (poor, poor Mekanek). Extendar (and his tragic former friend, Dragstor) has been a relatively requested character over the years - not super-major, but unique enough to have a lot of fans. After all, how would Mattel do it? This toyline defines itself by reusing parts, and Extendar would require lots of unique tooling! Well, as we near the line's twilight years (seriously, it has 2015 and maybe 2016 left), Mattel has pushed full-steam with characters like Mantenna, Two Bad, and Modulok, so why not toss in an Extendar? The other issue involves his action feature. The original toy could extend, but this like does not implement action features. However, it has put some effort into replicating them - Mekanek's swappable neck parts are certainly a nice template, but would Mattel spring the cash? Well, let's find out!
PACKAGING: ****
This is exactly the same as all MOTU packaging. I have already said everything I possibly could. It looks nice, nothing is wrong, and at least the bio is fine.
SCULPT: ****
So, what does Extendar reuse? His torso underneath the armor is standard. That's it. Everything else is brand new! Extendar is a futuristic cyborg Knight of Tomorrow, and his sculpt carries a serious classic sci-fi aesthetic. You could imagine seeing this guy in a vintage World's Fair, or maybe even Tomorrowland. Does this clash with the normal He-Man style? Maybe, but so do a lot of other characters, so he's as good as gold. Extendar's face is hidden behind a huge grille in the front of his armor - asusming you keep his neck down. This matches the old toy, and gives him some realistic facial protection. Speaking of that armor, it does mean that his torso gets a little awkward around the belly - having your belly as a belly shirt is weird - but hey, it allowed us to get the torso armor rig.
And then we have the action feature. Extendar comes with lots and lots of pieces to stretch out his limbs! And neck! And torso! This is awesome, and you implement it by pulling out the paritcular pieces and popping in the extensions. When stretched out, Extendar looks kind of hilarious, but everything seems mechanically possible. You can also get a great look at his face this way, too, thich is a really nice bonus. The extensions are all detailed based on which type (arm, leg, torso, or neck), and look great! You can combine the arm and leg pieces easily, though the neck and torso ones have specialized pegs. You can fake another piece for his neck by wedging it in the grille, but it just isn't the same.
A lot of Extendar's pieces feel really soft and rubbery - his armor, hands, lance, and extensions in particular. My assumption is that this is to keep them furable and less prone to snapping, but we will see. It is worth noting that his torso extension is harder than the others, and takes some work to swap. But pay attention to the hexagon shape of the peg, and you will be fine.
Fun little bonus detail - he's got a peace symbol on his neck extension, same as it was in the original toy! But didn't the Evil Horde create him? Was this carved afterward by the good guys? Well, probably. But it's a nice little detail, even if his head on the extended neck looks like something I promised I would not joke about.
PAINT: ****
Extendar is the White Knight of this line. Wow, is he ever! His armor is a pearlescent white, eye-catching and extremely heroic. He comliments it with gold and red accents that give him a regal look, too - and the figure just looks so clean in person that it's awesome! And look at that face, too - Extendar is decidedly Tron-esque, or maybe Micromanish or Transformerlike. It's a very classic pulp sci-fi robot look. My figure has no paint slop, though there isn't much room for such. He uses simplicity and straight lines to create a sleek, ultra-modern look. Seriously, this guy is like an iPhone. An iPhone from the '80s.
ARTICULATION: ****
Extendar has ball-and-socket shoulders, hips, and elbows, a ball-jointed head, an ab crunch, hinged knees, "rocker" ankles, and swivel wrists, shins, and forearms. Thanks to the "extending" feature, he has more arituclation than the average bear - extra swivels in his forearms and shins which actually become double swivels when the extensions are in place. Likewise, his torso and neck gain more articulation, making him one of the most flexible figures in the line.
And I mean FLEXIBLE. Its almost to a fault - when extended, he has a high chance of toppling over, but thats due to a high center of gravity and lots of weight on his joints. But this guy can get himself into all sorts of shenanigans, and he can twist and turn with the best of 'em! His armor impedes his arms a tiny bit, but it's nothing compared to other suit-wearing figures.
ACCESSORIES: ****
Okay, Extendar comes with lots of pieces to help stretch out his body. But surely that ate up the whole accessory budget, right? Especially in a line where most figures get one unpainted item and leave it at that? Well, no.
Firstly, Extendar has his lance. It's huge. Lance-sized. It also lends itself to a lot of puns that I said I wouldn't make. rrrng. The lance is golden with some black paint apps, and it actually looks like it should extend. Perhaps adding the feature would have broken the budget, but this weapon is very cool and fits with his knight theme. What's more, it wasn't included with the original! It's an awesome addition to the character.
Now, the original character did come with a shield, thus joining the pantheon of MOTU characters who think that the only offense is a good defense (read: Stinkor and Two Bad). And his shield has been reproduced here - an odd red briefcase-esque foldout shield that actually looks like it could be used as a weapon. But the sculptors went the extra mile on this one! The original shield had three wedge-shaped foldout panels, but you can actually flip open the main body of this one, thus extending it into a huge tower shield! That functionality is not immediately obvious, and turns into a great bonus when you finally discover it. His shield also has a little peace symbol on it, just in case you forgot who Extendar was.
VALUE: ***
I admit that all the gewgaws and limb extensions help this figure out. He doesn't feel as bad for the cost as other MOTUC figures, but nearly $40 after shipping and taxes still hurts.
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
I would pay special attention to all the pegs on Extendar, especially in his torso extension. They feel sturdy, but you never know.
WHERE TO BUY:
He may have sold out on Matty on the day of sale, but Extendar is quite available on the internet, such as at Big Bad Toy Store.
OVERALL: ****
As I said, I have no nostalgic connection to the original figure, so the following comes straight from its merits as a toy: Dang, it's good. This is one of the best MOTUC figures out there. The last year or two has been crazy in this line - e've gotten literally some of the best and worst figures, and thankfully this one is outstanding. He pays a great tribute to the old design, updates it nicely, looks striking even without the nostalgia, and actually implements the old action feature! It's just a really good, really solid figure all around. I especially like how he extends to, uh... become... um... he... urgh... I promised I'd resist...
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THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
