Time prevents and time enables. Fans get super-articulated Masters of the Universe figures because we grew up, got jobs, and the market allows for it. It takes away because Power Rangers made us of the name Ninjor, meaning that this figure shall be known as Ninja Warrior. Bleh. Well, you can call it whatever you want and what matters is that the same Skeletor body with a new head and gear is replicated here nicely. They put a lot more effort into the remake than the original, as you get an alternate head instead of a cloth mask and the sculpting on the chest armor is really impressive.
Heads are said to be expensive, requiring additional work and deco to get them right. Alternate heads are something of a rarity, or certainly a thing to be celebrated. The default masked head has seams and texture befitting of a ninja action figure, with red eyes and bushy eyebrows peeing through a small opening in the front. The alternate unmasked head has a wild tail popping off the back of his balding head, plus the most amazing gnashed teeth I've seen in this line. The original 1987 figure looked slightly annoyed, our new modern friend here looks positively demonic. The ridges on his brow are so intense you would expect that his veins would be sticking out on his neck, were you able to see it. The white teeth, black facial hair, and red wrap for his hair do a lot to bring the figure to life - but odds are you'd stick with the ninja mask.
The body uses a lot of a lot of Kobra Khan's unique limbs, which makes sense given the proud tradition of part reuse that has always been a big part of He-Man's world. What's really impressive, though, is the somewhat bulky new chest piece. A big crest with a dagger going through it is on the front, with textured straps and painted buttons. Someone spent a lot of time on this to make sure it looked good, and they even included a hole in the back so you could plug in his quiver of arrows. By default, a bladed weapon and bow can attach to it but they easily pop off for use in combat, or display, or whatever.
The weapons are on the happy side of good, especially for this line. The nunchucks have a silver chain with black grips, and the sword also makes use of black and silver to bring it to life. The bow is purely silver, and the backpack is mostly brown with some silver for the feathers on the non-removable arrows. There's a lot going on here, and it's rare that Mattel gives us a figure with more accessories than hands. Maybe they saved a few pennies with the lightly-painted figure body, but the gear ore than makes up for any perceived slight. This is a $28 figure.
Oh, and I almost forgot the giant belt that goes over his crotchial region. The deco is great, there's a little gold paint to bring the tassels and dragon to life. It looks peculiar as a vaguely Asian design, but that's what we got a lot in the 1980s. I don't think America was really understanding with the various differences in the cultures yet, but maybe that's just how it looked when I was watching this stuff on the TV. Getting the belt to fit is a pain in the neck, as is popping the second head on the neck peg. It's doable, but your fingers are going to be mad at you when you're done.
Ninjor has been on my wish list since the 200X line, so seeing him here - finally - makes me particularly happy. While the spiny gloves do look goofy, as do the clawed feet, it's true to the original and that's really all I want at this point. It's goofy, it's ridiculous, it's probably not even very tasteful - but it's a faithful update to a figure that kids bought in the final few months before ninjas really began to catch on with the advent of the green teens on TV. Get yourself a Ninjor if you're cool with the price, because it's a mighty fine figure with a lot of stuff in the box for the price.
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