Super7 Masters of the Universe M.U.S.C.L.E. Series 2 Set D Super7, 2016
Day #1,639: February 14, 2017
Set D Flesh Orko, Castle Grayskull, Evil-Lyn
Masters of the Universe M.U.S.C.L.E. Series 2 Flesh 3-Pack
Item No.: No. 56424 Manufacturer:Super7 Includes:n/a Action Feature:n/a Retail:$6.00 Availability: September 2016 Other: 24 molds so far
But wait, there's more! The teeny tiny Masters of the Universe M.U.S.C.L.E. figures are fantastic, especially Set D. It's hard to innovate when your entire mandate is "make it look exactly like this thing from like 1985." The decision to do some smaller figures, and to make a playset as a figure, now that's brilliant. There aren't a lot of A-grade characters left to do, so filling the line out with some weirdness is always welcome.
Least but not last is Orko. He isn't crappy by any stretch of the imagination, but he's very short. There's no floaty stand or anything, he's just a little guy with his arms out and a proper Orko costume. The "O" is sculpted on his shirt, and the cartoony eyes feel appropriate to the cartoon while not looking exactly like it - this is interesting. He has big hands that seem to look like they were just stung by bees, but they look perfectly nice. There aren't many details you need to get Orko at his Orko-est, but since there's a hat and pointy ears you'll probably be happy with this one. I sure am.
An "A" for innovation goes to Castle Grayskull. I assume it's taking a cue from the various forms of M.U.S.C.L.E. Sunshine figures, one of which was basically a large arch. The castle includes many sculpted elements from the vintage Castle Grayskull playset - the towers, the jawbridge, the rough awnings, even the toy's handle has been replicated on the back. This is love. It's the biggest figure in the line so far, and more than makes up for Orko's slight build. You can't actually do much with this figure other than look at it and enjoy it, but that's sort of the point.
Seeing a playset rendered as a collectible figure swings the door open for so many possibilities - perhaps we'll see Snake Mountain in a future series, or a vehicle from ALIEN, or the car you smash up in Street Fighter II. Or maybe one of the elephants. (I'd love that.) There is no real figure interaction with the castle, so all you can do is admire it and hope that other famous castles from popular culture get similar treatment somehow.
Finishing out this pack is one of my favorite villains. Evil-Lyn has her signature crown had thing, her staff, her cape, and her armor that's sort of like Teela's. She has bigger hands than her first series counterparts, and the sculpting is much simpler and rougher than the previous year's line-up. Her eyes are nicely cartoony with half-opened lids, her boots are fuzzy, and her expression is tough to describe. She's not smiling, she's not angry, she's possibly amused. I like it.
Since Super7 managed to both mimic and arguably improve what this kind of figure can be (specifically the Castle Grayskull), I love the heck out of it. I got my money's worth, and I'd have paid $6 for just the big castle. All I can say is at this point, I hope they give us at least one more series of these - it'd be nice if they made the entire vintage line in this format eventually, but seeing Marlena, Prince Adam, Randor, Snake Mountain, Panthor, Faker, and a few others would be most delightful. Also cheap. Cheap is good.
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