She-Ra Most Powerful Woman in the Universe! He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Basic Figure Item No.: Asst. HYD16 No. JBM76 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Sword of Protection, Shield of Sword of Protection, Horde Invasion mini-comic Action Feature: n/a Retail: $19.99 Availability: November 2024 Other: I saw a massive stash of these and other MOTU toys at a Walmart the day I posted this, by baby toys with no space for them near the action figures
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While I didn't get around to reviewing the "toy" version yet, the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection She-Ra takes the Filmation version and makes it, well, pretty much exactly what you'd imagine. You can throw out the toy one. This is the one you want.

The toy version is fine - it has that specific tiara, the cloth elements, and a head that looks closer to the doll, but with plastic hair. It's fine - but the version a lot of fans remember (due to the TV show being free and the doll costing money) had a smaller tiara, more make-up, and a silver Sword of Protection. And that's what this delivers.

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Are there shared parts? Of course. Her head, torso, and skirt are unique. The arms were used with Filmation Evil-Lyn and the forthcoming Catra. The sword, cape, and shield are unique.

She-Ra delivers the goods - if you just want one figure from Etheria, this is probably it. (Or, you want the Netflix show's cast, which I assume we'll be waiting on for quite some time.) Mattel did a good job with the more or less standard articulation - ankles, wrists, boots, a well-hidden waist joint, and all for about $20. She may not have quite the level of movement of slightly larger or more expensive figures, but it's a good figure that gets the job done with bright colors and a generally good handle on translating 2D vibes to three dimensions. That's not easy, so kudos to them for finding a way to double-dip on a popular character while making fans happy for the opportunity to fork over more money.

I found she had no real problem holding her sword, and while getting her to stand took a little work, it wasn't impossible. Her left hand really doesn't want to hold that shield - so keep that in mind when displaying. She may be a hair shorter than the men in the line for reasons only Mattel knows, but aside from that she looks stellar.

Assuming the materials hold up for the long haul, you're in for a treat. I'm always a little scared of molded-in-gold plastic or silver thanks to what has happened with some 1980s toys crumbling as time goes on - so take care with her as she ages, she may need it and it might be a while before we hear about problems. If I were Mattel I'd probably re-run this figure every couple of years in small numbers because I assume the secondary market will demand more as supply dries up. The sculpting is simple, the colors are good, and the face looks about right - so I don't think I'd have much reason to demand another update of this version of this character. Perhaps an Adora figure would be nice, and could be coming, but I don't really expect them to do a lot for this line. It's probably about as good as you can hope for when it comes to a 40th anniversary figure.

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