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

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

Day #2,711: May 23, 2024

Stratos Winged Warrior - '80s Adventures! He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Basic Figure Item No.: Asst. GNN84 No. HYD32 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Staff of Avion, Perilous Power mini-comic Action Feature: n/a Retail: $19.99 Availability: April 2024 Other: Less Ape, More Flight?
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At first blush I thought the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection was going to be this amazing, drawn-out thing - and four waves in, our hero figure is Stratos. While I would put the in-the-opening-credits Sorceress higher on the list of important good guys in Eternia, she didn't sell so good last time so it makes sense they would want to do something else. Mr. Sky is paired with Mr. Sea in Mer-Man for this wave, and while there are a lot of other heroes to do as Filmation figures - Ram Man, Buzz-Off, and Mekaneck all come to mind - the heavy hitters are already out or in the pipeline. Regular gray Stratos has been off the market for a while, so this is a good replacement for newcomers that will make people cringe if their Walmarts are still drowning in naked Mini-Comics fleshy color Stratos.

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The figure shares the same body as all the men in this segment so far, with the same boots you'll see on other heroic and/or evil warriors. The new parts are the head, jetpack, staff, and wings.

Figures like this really drive home how important it is for fans to love the characters. You have no action features, and his accessory is not much of a big deal - so you get a super-muscular man in a gray suit, lacking the ape-like features and downplaying the feathers a bit, with a nifty red helmet and Abraham Lincoln beard. It's goofy, but it also shows how the original line served as a product linking multiple eras. The whimsical flight suit with wings and an old-school jetpack seems like a design of 1950s kids, and it was on the shelf next to a bunch of other barbarian figure throwbacks and also Star Wars-inspired blocky vehicles like the Road Ripper and Battle Ram. The world was still dragging its heroes and villains out of the pulp days, but Stratos sure seemed to be a part of the legacy print adventures for kids of all ages. There's no goofy armor, realistic or lived-in elements, or anything that looks like you may have found it at a Mervyn's or Kresge. It is fantastical, and to keep costs down, more or less the same as a dozen other similar designs.

The range of motion is more or less standard for the line, and I would love to have a little more range on the hips. He squats, he stands up, he's a pretty good cross between the old-school figures and the modern super-articulated ones. I would say it definitely caters more toward the needs of collectors, but I can appreciate that much of him is molded in color so there aren't as many painted bits to show wear and age. His face is painted, though, so any kids might want to take care to not bang that part against a wall.

His accessory is the Staff of Avion, which something something authority something bird people. The original toy didn't have one, but the modern era of figures seems to like to make it. Heck, the mini-comic one looks like a grape got impaled on a jack, while this one looks sort of like a less-scary trident. He can hold it well, it looks gold-ish, and there's not much to say about it. I'm glad they tossed in something, but it would certainly be nice to have a cool never-before-made artifact or accessory like many of the other cartoon collection figures.

Since I was late to the game and missed the original, regular Stratos, I got this. And it's fine for me - I knew the character from the cartoon more than the toy line, so this is the version of the character I knew from being a kid. The sculptors did a nice job with it, as getting the heads right can be tricky. The design makes good use of existing tooling, and could well be the final Stratos most fans ever feel the need to purchase. Nothing about it is particularly impressive, and some fans may lament the hairy chest of the original figure, but it's not like Beast Man got sculpted cartoon fur. It's what it should be, but if it had just one more cool accessory I think I'd be more impressed. As it is, it gets the job done - and it's not like you're going to see it on pegs anyway.

--Adam Pawlus

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