Leech Evil Master of Power Suction Masters of the Universe Classics Action Figure Item No.: No. T5800 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Crossbow, net Action Feature: n/a Retail: $20.00 Availability: September 2011 Other: He Certainly Does Suck
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Some of these reviews get banked a ways in advance, but it took me a while to get to even opening Leech due to my sitting on a bunch of figures during a pre-move time and getting to them much, much later. You probably already knew this was a questionable figure, but let me confirm it: you probably don't need this one. By and large I'm a big fan of the line as a whole, but this one had some real problems out of the box: the crossbow was ridiculously bent out of shape (but was repairable), the net accessory was ripped before I even opened it (not fixable), and there are some real paint issues. There's some great paint on here, and there's some real slop-- so I have to give them points for ambition while taking them back for big unpainted areas on his fangs. The developers did a nice job, but the manufacturing and packaging process resulted in-- at least on my sample-- something I'd almost rather not even own.

He-Man and She-Ra were things I watched on TV as a kid, but other than Meteorbs I never really had any of the toys. So Leech here is brand-new to me, and I didn't really have any idea of what a new Leech should be. The old action figure had a suction cup face, and this one has a big, fanged mouth that looks more like a dinosaur or demon figure. It looks to be inspired by the original, but he doesn't appear particularly leechlike in his modern incarnation. It doesn't have to look this way now that the action feature is gone, but it still looks distinctive. The figure has a very wide body sculpt and tons of new elements, including bend-and-swivel wrists for his faux suction cup hands. The feet can pivot in multiple directions, and the texture is amazing. If you get in close, you can see shiny areas and flat areas, plus lots of shades of green bring the figure to life. It looks better than a toy, but when you see big green gashes in the teeth, your enthusiasm can leave pretty quick.

His accessories could be better. I admire the addition of a suction cup net to bring back the original action feature of the figure, but it was warped and torn in the box. The rubber bands apparently ripped right into it, plus mine had a bum crossbow-- the bat wing was actually smashed into itself, but this was quickly fixed with boiling water. It was astonishing how bad it looked, I really wish I took a "before" shot. (But I did some research and you can see how distorted it looks on this He-Man.org forum posting. He's not exaggerating. Mine looked worse.) The crossbow clips on to his wrist, but is a little loose. The sculpt is amazing, it looks downright evil and has painted eyes giving it a little more personality. I appreciate the manufacturers giving him two weapons, but one of them was DOA and the other needed serious work-- at first glance, I thought the crossbow was meant to be a one-winged monster.

With few new Horde members each year you, like I, were probably excited when you heard he was coming. Since mine sat in a box for a few months, I was actually pretty bummed when I was greeted by broken gear and bad paint. I like the overall sculpt of the figure-- he's big and mean, and the Four Horsemen crammed tons of detail on this one. I can tell this wasn't a simple figure to update, so I commend them for doing the best with what they had. It doesn't mean I'm not bitter we didn't get a better figure, but I guess I need someone to hang out on a shelf behind Hordak until the shelf gets full... and then goes into a box somewhere again. If you buy one, I'd suggest trying to get a loose sample-- investigate the parts for broken elements first, because they can sneak up on you in a packaged figure. If you love She-Ra and the Horde, and are considering blowing some money, I would suggest you save up and spend even MORE money and get Shadow Weaver first. (And Catra. And Hordak.) You'll thank me later.

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