Review of Evil Seed
Masters of the Universe Classics action figure

Introduction

Somehow Mattel continues to find ways to breathe life into the Masters of the Universe Classics. It's been over six years, and it's still chugging along, and for the back half of 2015, they added a 200X themed subscription.  The second figure in that sub is Evil Seed (or Evilseed as he was known back in the day), a villain of kale proportions.

There was a time when I covered every release, and then it started to spread out...and I realized this week that it had been over a year since my last MOTUC review!  It's not that I haven't been buying them, since neither my genetic drive for hoarding nor completism would ever allow that, but rather issues of time and priority have made the reviews scarce.  I promise to rectify that in the back half of the year.

This guy was an August release, but is sold out at Matty Collector at this point. His original price point was $28 plus shipping.

Packaging - ***
The MOCers should be pleased by the consistency of the packages, which makes for a great display of carded figures. The inner logo card doesn't block too much of the sculpt, and the back has the usual character personalization and bio. It's not collector friendly, but it never has been.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Here's an evil piece of flora - no doubt about it based on his sculpt. The design matches up with the 200X look nicely, and incorporates a number of new pieces to the standard MOTUC body.

The head sculpt is my favorite aspect, with the flowing 'hair' that looks like underwater seaweed, and the slits incorporated for the mouth and nose. The large brow and furrowed expression add to the overall impression that he's pissed, and you're in trouble.

The large collar is a bit restrictive, but I like the look. The sculpted vines on the body give him some texture, and there's a new chest piece, pelvis, forearms, and shoulders as well.  The addition of thorns at key spots give him an armored look, and add to his formidable presence.

The hands are designed to hold the accessories, and he stands great on his own in the usual 7" scale.

Paint - ***
There's a hit of red with the eyes and mouth, because we all know evil dudes have red eyes...but that's about it for bright color.  The rest of Evil Seed is brown and green, and that means just one shade of brown and one shade of green.

I can live with that, as he is a plant after all. Flowers are pretty, plants are boring, it's just the way things are. It's why Evil Seed is so envious of his cousin, El Seed.

There's a little slop along the brown edges, and the torso really does look slightly different in person - it's not just the bright lights effecting the green. Those two issues pull this score down slightly, even with the clean work on the face.

Articulation - ***
Most of the usual MOTUC articulation is here, although it can be a bit restricted. Take the ball jointed neck, for instance, which is blocked from some tilt, lean and turn movement by the huge collar.

The shoulders are slightly restricted by the torso cover as well, but the elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, ab-crunch, and waist all work pretty much as you've come to expect. There's no cut joints on the leg this time because of the vines on the surface, but it's a minor issue.

Accessories - ***
He comes with two additional items - a scepter and a snake-like chunk of vine, complete with open mouth.

The vine can wrap around an arm or shoulder, and fit in either hand.  I suppose it's a weapon of sorts, since it could bite, and it's also a pet...I guess. I'll leave it up to your imagination.

The scepter is a Filmation item, I believe, although I'm no expert. I suspect most die-hard fans will add it to another figure rather than use it with Mr. Seed, but it's always nice to get these additions from the older show.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
He might not pop on the shelf, but he's still a ton of fun, and the articulation and accessories allow for even collectors to have a good time posing him and re-posing him as time goes by.  Kids would love these figures, if they ever got their hands on them, and I really wish we'd see more lines like this in the actual toy aisles at the local store.

Value - **1/2
The going rate for MOTUC figures in any series is around $28, plus shipping. I've whined for years about the rising costs, but at this point it's safe to say this is the market price, at least for now. I have to wonder if the extreme drop in oil prices will ever get reflected in the cost of action figures, since that was the number one reason cited for the rise several years ago.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
This guy has an issue here, an issue there, but nothing major or compelling.  I love the head sculpt, and the overall design does a great job of using the standard MOTUC body with new parts to create a unique look. He's also a solid release for the 200X line, and I'm glad I signed up for the sub to reduce the hassle of ordering.

As I said earlier, I've been a tad remiss with my MOTUC reviews this last year, and I'll see what I can do about fixing that over the last half of 2015.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Matty was the place to pick him up originally, but he's since sold out. Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I might have not covered much MOTUC in the last year, but I've covered lots before that, including Scorpia, the wall display units, Blade, the huge Castle Grayskull, Lord Dactus, Icer, Octavia,  Snake Face, Jitsu, Ram Man,  Mosquitor, Castle Grayskullman, Rattlor, Mekaneck, Sir Laser-Lot, the cool Griffin, Slushhead, the excellent Draego, Kobra Khan, Sorceress, Demo-man, Fearless Photog, Snout Spout, Wind Raider, the large Megator, the giant Tytus. Leech, Icarius, Clawful, the Faceless One, Catra, Sy-Klone, King Hssss, Vikor, Buzz Off, Grizzlor, Roboto, Gygor, Chief Carnivus, Whiplash, Orko, Count Marzo, She-Ra, Optikk, Evil-Lyn, Moss Man, Trap Jaw, Adora, Scare glow, Teela, Man-at-arms, Hordak, Zodac, Faker, Mer-man, Stratos, Webstor, Tri-klops, and starting out with He-man, Skeletor and Beastman together in one review.

- I also covered Battle Cat and Panthor, the big kitties.

- check out the cool MOTUC Display stands.

- I've also looked at more weapons  and the cool custom swords and shields you can get from SpyMonkey Creations.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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