Captain Toy Picks...
The Top Ten Masters of the Universe Classics Action Figures

Introduction

When I get sucked into a line and sucked in hard, it's usually because I love the license.  Nostalgia is a harsh mistress, and if someone produced something for a property like, let's say, the old Batman television show, I'm a total sucker for it.

The opposite is usually also true. If there's a license that I never really liked, I might dip my toe in the water just to get the temperature, but the odds are against my falling in head first. Thankfully (or unfortunately, if you're the one stuck balancing my checkbook), there aren't a lot of licenses like that. I pretty much love them all.

But I was never a Masters of the Universe fan.  The cartoon came out when I was out of college and focused on one and only one thing - women. Because I was an adult at the time, I saw it through adult eyes, and it (like Scooby Doo and G.I. Joe) were not cartoons that I considered quality programming.

An odd thing happened when the Masters of the Universe Classics came out...I got sucked in. Hard. While I still had zero interest in any incarnation of the cartoon, the new series of action figures by Mattel were so good that I simply couldn't resist. Nostalgia be damned, these are great toys.

And so I ended up a pseudo completist - there's a couple figures I'm missing, but my collection is close to complete, and I suspect that with the line winding down, I'll end up going back and filling in those couple holes over time.

I thought picking my top ten from the series might prove interesting, since it's entirely based on my appreciation for each figure design, and not for any love of the characters themselves. That also means it will probably be a very different list than the list of a cartoon fan. It's been a long run, covering 7 years and dozens and dozens of figures, making it tough to go with just ten.  I skipped the true vehicles and play sets too, to avoid sucking up the obvious spot with something like Castle Grayskull. Hmmm, maybe that's another list - Top Ten Play Sets!

And no, Grizzlor did not make the list (although he was in the running - just look at that Don King hair!). If you've been paying attention, you know I never spoil my list with the first photo...

Here we go!

10 - Buzz-Off, 2010
Okay, this one is my personal goofy pick. You know I had to have one, and I'm sure you do too. That one figure that is so silly, yet so well executed, that you just love him.  For me, there's plenty of potential candidates in the series - the above pictured Grizzlor, Optik, Mer-Man, Clawful - but I settled on Buzz-Off because he reminds me of a jacked up, bad ass version of Bumblebee Man, who is himself is a copy of "El Chapulin Colorado". How great is that? He also has not one but two terrific head sculpts, and we all know how much I love that.

9 - Webstor, 2009
There were a LOT of really great figures in the early days of this series.  I could easily grab Mer-Man, Hordak, or Scareglow and stick them in this list as well (Spoiler Alert - they didn't make the cut). But the first figure that I got that really sold me on this series long term was Webstor.  Again, remember that I had no vested nostalgic interest in the line. When I got Webstor, I was totally sold on how great the sculpting and articulation was, and what wonderful toys Mattel (with the critical help of the Four Horsemen) was producing.  Webstor was the guy that sucked me in. Damn you, Webstor.

8 - Sorceress, 2012
When I did my recent Top Ten Female Figures, I was surprised to see the heavy influence of the Four Horsemen on the smaller figures in the list. I shouldn't be though, since their work on MOTUC created some of the best female figures across the board, not just in this series.  There are lots to choose from, and I've included three, starting with the lovely Sorceress. You know she's a 'good guy' without even checking her back story, and the incorporation of the bird theme with the basic body is done extremely well. I also really like the design around the wings and their articulation, allowing more pose potential than normal.

7 - Griffin, 2012
Mattel included a number of the beasts, and just like the main line, they re-used a lot of parts.  My favorite is the Griffin, a mean looking ride if there ever was one. This weird hybrid beast is a geneticists worth nightmare...and a toy collector's dream.

6 - Evil-Lyn, 2010
Here's number two in our set of three lovely ladies that made it into my top ten.  With a great design and a fantastic sculpt that oozes menace, she remains one of my favorites in the entire series. The Four Horsemen have done something no other company has managed to do - consistently produced great looking female figures.

5 - Draego-Man, 2012
I have a thing for dragons, but don't we all?  Characters like Granamyr and Lord Dactus were high on my list of potentials for the top ten, but I didn't want to go overboard with the winged fire breathers. I settled on one, my favorite - Draego-Man. Now, I know he was part of the 30th Anniversary series, and you could split hairs and say he wasn't in the 'regular' MOTUC line up. But hey, he stands proud with every other figure in my collection, and this is my list after all.

While he and the aforementioned Dactus share a lot of parts, it's his totally unique and totally bad ass head sculpt that got him in the top five.

4 - Vikor, 2011
I'm probably going to be alone on this pick, but I really like Vikor. Yea, I know he's not super detailed, or particularly unique. He's a warrior figure in a line of warrior figures. But I've always been partial to vikings (one of my favorite figures as a kid was Eric the Viking from Marx), and I think they used the base body perfectly in creating this character.  The helmet rocks, the accessories are great, and he's a perfect example of simple done right.

3 - Teela, 2009
Teela was very, very high on my list of Top Ten Female Action Figures, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see her here as the top female in this list. She's tough, she's beautiful, she's just about perfect in every way.

2 - Trap Jaw,  2010
The best overall figure in the line, when you consider the sculpt, paint, articulation, and accessories, is Trap Jaw. He came with not one but two great head sculpts, and thanks to all the swappable limbs, has the most customizable look. The design works great, allowing the articulation to work cleanly with the various arms, and the build quality ensured nothing will easily break in the swapping process. He's a terrific figure overall, and I'd not be surprised to see him in a number one slot on most lists.

1 - He-Man, 2009
But Trap Jaw didn't make number one on my list, because I also can't deny the huge importance of the very first figure, He-man himself.  With the release of this figure, Mattel set the tone (and design of the basic body/armor) for the entire series. The overall design has stood the test of time, and MOTUC has remained one of the best action figure series ever produced. This figure defined the concept for collectors, a concept that mixed the classic figures of the past with modern elements. Collectors responded, and history was made. They could have easily screwed the pooch on this first release, and the outcome would have been very different.  For getting it right, He-man gets the top spot.

In Closing...
There were lots of other potentials , some I've already mentioned. Others include Hordak, Count Marzo, Carnivus, Gygor, Rattlor, and even Mekaneck. My list tends to run toward the older releases, but more recent releases like Karatti, Batros, Captain Glen, and Mantenna are great as well. Lots of figures have particular aspects that I loved, but these ten ended up with the widest appeal for me.

So what's your list look like?

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