Webstor The Master of Escape Masters of the Universe Classics Action Figure Item No.: No. P4024 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Gun, backpack with grappling hook Action Feature: n/a Retail: $20.00 Availability: September 2009 Other: A Fine Specimen of MOTUC
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After King Grayskull, the first figure from this line I actually opened was Webstor. (Long story.) He's a bit of an odd figure, as he's packaged more or less topless and you actually have to dress him yourself. As characters go he's pretty non-essential, but as figures go he's a highlight in the line. While Mer-Man and Skeletor are my go-to bad guy figures when it comes to Eternia, Webstor is surprisingly impressive for a spider character that didn't make as big of a splash as he should have. Oh, and he was reissued last month, finally. (This is from the original release, hence, no packaging.)

Since mechanisms are pretty much absent from the current line, the figure merely has a backpack with four articulated "legs" and a string with a grappling hook. There's no motor or climbing mechanism, but he can still hang from it and that might make for some good displays, if you're in to that kind of thing. The moving bonus legs are a nice touch and drive home the spider motif, but the added costs from ball joints seem like overkill. Given the figure costs $20, I welcome overkill. It makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth, plus it's a feature which was absent from the original "master of escape." A role which is charmingly retro, but also seems like an odd role for a spider. Now an Octopus man? That'd make a swell master of escape. Ink bombs, baby.

His sculpt is pretty basic stuff-- most of his parts were originally used on Skeletor, except for the head, armor, backpack, and gun. The head is similar to the original, and contains fangs, a piglike snout, and pointy ears which remind me of numerous other bad guys from the 1980s. His face has so much stuff on it that it's hard to also read much of an expression on him, but he does seem to be a little crafty or thinking thanks to the paint on his brow. Did I mention the paint? The paint is impressive-- it's a dark blue figure with black all over him to add definition. It's a nice touch, and, again, it makes it feel like you're getting something extra.

I really like his gun-- it's quite impressive, and it's very 1980s. I didn't even know a ray gun could be "1980s" until somewhat recently-- the guns of the 30s and 50s have some very specific affectations, but the Regan years gave us blasters with sharper lines and, often, some sort of large ammo clip. The weapon is painted plastic-- I'm not sure the color underneath the paint, but you can see bits of orange, red, and metallic orange on its surface.

While this won't be the first figure you buy for the line, it probably should be. You'll get a great idea of what to expect from the entire line, from the goofier elements to the nice, clearly expensive little touches that bring him to life. While it's lacking the insane number of rivets, or extra heads, or huge accessories from some other releases it remains an impressive figure. You won't have any extra stuff for your parts bin, and you'll want to display him because he looks really freaky and cool-- those six eyes shine brightly. If you can't get enough of Webstor, the original 1984 action figure is on eBay and NECA put out a swell statue of the character in 2007.

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