Rattlor Evil Snake Men Creature With The Quick-Strike Head! Masters of the Universe Classics Action Figure Item No.: No. W8910 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Staff, neck, Horde armband, Great Rebellion sticker sheet Action Feature: n/a Retail: $22.00 Availability: October 2012 Other: Body used for generic Snake Man
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Here's a good one. One of the better-known Snake Men, Rattlor was another figure updated in the 2003 line with the awesome neck-striking mechanism which, in the current range, is just not permitted. So, Mattel came up with a clever workaround by giving him a "neck extender" piece just like we saw on Mekaneck and Tallstar which pops right in between the torso and head, allowing him to look really tall. It's not a bad idea, and helps give the figure some added personality. Since Rattlor was released late in the game during the original Masters of the Universe series, his TV appearances were limited to She-Ra episodes which a lot of the target demographic may have skipped. He had a much larger role (and swell body armor) in the 2002 animated series.

The body sculpt is new for 2012 and was shared with one of the two Snake Men figures from the 2-pack. The key difference is paint and a new head, and this figure has tons of paint and a pretty slick new head. Fully painted, the figure has brown scales plus big yellow and blue stripes running down his limbs. There's a subtle fade from yellow to brown on his belly scales, and when you really take a good look at this guy it seems Mattel blew their entire year's paint budget on this one figure. He's even got painted fingernail claws, which is pretty amazing given how some figures saw release missing decorated rivets on their armor or other missing details on their accessories. Mattel really pulled out all the stops decorating this guy, but at a small cost - a bonus accessory, 2003-inspired armor, was left out. It happens. Since the figure looks pretty spectacular, and it's not impossible to think we might see it in a Weapons Pak down the road, I think I'll manage just fine.

The head is a little weak, in that the eyes seem lacking in life. The yellow orbs and the red detail are by no means bad, but the 2003 version seems a little more active and a little more curious. It could just be the angle at which the eyes were painted, or my imagination. I know this doesn't mean it's awful... I just don't care for it. The figure's body is spectacular, and the head is, well, OK I guess.

His accessories aren't bad. Recreations of the original gear plus giving necessary parts to replicate his action feature and animated Horde allegiance are necessary, but well, that staff. I just don't like it. It's big, bulky, and pretty inelegant... I understand the need to recreate the originals as closely as possible, but meh. I should give him a Horde crossbow or something from the Weapons Paks. His arm band is a tight fit, but it fits. So that's great! The neck piece pops right in, so no complaints there. I'm still not sure if I like the figure more with or without it, but it adds a lot of personality to a figure where it would probably be best to draw attention away from his head.

In a year where prices went up and piece counts dropped a bit, Rattlor comes through as a figure who didn't get costed down to a point where you can really feel that it got hurt. Sure, the loss of the armor is something a few of us will miss, but the figure looks fine without it and they managed to recreate the figure in 1980s-inspired glory just fine. While I would've loved an alternate head, well, yeah. I'm not the brand manager. If you're at all on the fence about getting this one, be aware that it's really great to futz around with and probably one of the more impressive figures overall in terms of execution. If the price is right, and you're a Rattlor fan, go for it!

--Adam Pawlus

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