16bit.com Figure of the Day Review: Mattel He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Teela Action Figure

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Mattel He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Teela Action Figure Mattel, 2024

Day #2,697: April 4, 2024

Teela Heroic Warrior Goddess - '80s Adventures! He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Basic Figure Item No.: Asst. HYD16 No. HYD27 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Training Robot, Sword, Shield, Time's End mini-comic Action Feature: n/a Retail: $19.99 Availability: February 2024 Other: New, Mostly
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Mattel is really making He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection work, but while the boys got all-new taller bodies Teela is the same basic size as the Origins figure. While not inevitable, "toon" figures have been a part of kid and collector toy lines for year - Star Wars had Ewoks and Droids, TMNT had a Toon Turtles sub-line, and so on and so forth. Many of these are cartoony, but Teela actually takes some pains to try to make her look like she did on TV. I would say her head pulled this off amazingly well, and the rest of her does a good job but comes up a little short.

At first glance this looks like the Origins figure with a new head, but there are a bunch of changes - just not to her boots. The biceps have bands on them, now flat, and her vambraces are also flat. Unlike Skeletor and Man-at-Arms, she has a fair amount of paint in addition to the included accessories.

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Thanks to the distinctive look on the TV show, you'll probably have a compelling reason to buy this figure along with Snake Teela, Teela with Zoar, regular Teela, and the Eternian Goddess figures. This one drops the snake motif completely with no hood, no knife, and no staff. They did some clever things to keep her molded in color as much as possible, including a rubbery gold top that hangs down and a matching tiara. The upper-armbands are painted in a matching gold color, while the white of her bodysuit, furry boot tops, and vambraces are all white. All of her skin appears to be molded in color, as is her hair. I have heard concerns about the rubbery plastic used for her top holding up over the long term, and I assume older fans who take care of their toys should have a nice, long life with this figure. After all, they're at or over 40 and this is where you start doing the grisly math of which is more likely to go first - the top, or you.

The boots are much like the cartoo in color, but not in texture. They were higher-heeled with no straps on them, where as these are, obviously, just the toy boots. Will most fans notice or care? Probably not. But I did. It's the only part of the figure that doesn't really feel like the cartoon, but I assume Mattel has a budget and opted to put the new mold budget on parts you'll probably be more likely to see given they're obscured by a sticker when the figure is in the package.

Mattel and Super7 have gotten close to getting her face right, often sculpting it well with a face that comes up a little short in spots. The Ultimates-era cartoon head had a lot more eyeliner, which matched the cartoon but was a tad too thick. This one thins it out a bit, but adds more blush and eye shadow that goes a little heavy. I think they could have improved this figure by cutting it back a bit, but maybe I'd be proven wrong - at a distance, the very striking eyebrows, eyes, and lips all look very much like how I remember her on the show. I assume they're using the increasingly popular printing techniques we saw used in Jurassic World human figures as well as Hasbro's many collector-level figures for Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and Marvel. The eyes and lips are very glossy, which renders them a little more realistic - and since the goal was to be cartoony, you can decide if you like that or not.

It feels silly to criticize it, given they managed to get extremely fine detail printed cleanly and aligned correctly on a tiny skull that's about the size of a grape. It's an impressive achievement, and unless Mattel does some sort of premium deco rerelease down the road I can't imagine this getting much better. Their factories did a very good job here.

The lack of deco doesn't mean Mattel pocketed all of those pennies, because Teela comes with a whopping four accessories, also all molded in color. You get Teela's Havoc Staff, with its more compact ram skull, as well as a purple version of He-Man's cartoon sword and gold Masks of Power from the episode of the same name. Other figures in this assortment usually cap out at one or two accessories.

Her main accessories are a Filmation-inspired sword in a rubbery plastic with no paint, and a simplified cartoon shield. The shield is in a hard plastic and seems a bit darker than what was on screen, but I'd say it looks pretty good. It's clearly different than the previous shield mold, and she has no problems holding either weapon. The rubbery blade doesn't bother me much, but I have seen samples come out bent. I imagine it would snap like a twig if Mattel used a harder plastic, or somebody would get stabbed for real. Neither is a good option.

Her "from the TV show" accessory is a training robot from the episode "Pawns of the Game Master," which is another fun choice. A little sidekick robot or character is always more fun than another weapon, although I would have loved it if they included a hole in it to use with a display stand. While it has no paint, it's impressive thanks to a sparkly silver plastic with articulated arms. Were this an actual 1980s or 1990s figure, it wouldn't have such niceties - and including it along with a comic for no extra charge is a real plus.

My wife made some comments a bout the make-up overkill on her face, but I'd say this figure makes a solid case to re-buy more characters in the Cartoon Collection format. The toy ones are still excellent and worth hanging on to, but now you can have a sword and those extremely important arched eyebrows that totally change the map of her face. Having recently picked up a number of Origins figures, I am a little annoyed at the thought of replacing them with upgraded figures so soon. I hope Mattel keeps cranking these out because I would be happy to see a Cartoon Sorceress some day, and this Teela really does a good job of delivering the goods. It's so weird to see her without the black ink outlines, but I'm sure some aspiring customizer will put one out there that really lays on the panel lines. If you can find Teela for $20 or so, I'd recommend this one.

--Adam Pawlus

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