 Faker
Evil Robot of Skeletor!
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. HYD16 No. JBM82
Manufacturer: Mattel
Includes: Alternate head, sword, mini-comic
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: February 2025
Other: He-Man 1.5
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Famously blue in the toy world, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection casts Faker in a more normal hue - just like the cartoon. Presumably to save some money, Filmation just used the far more convincing He-Man with tan skin and blonde hair - and sometimes, glowing eyes - for their interpretation of Faker.
He was only in the episode "The Shaping Staff," but his appearance here makes sense for a few reasons. Interestingly, those reasons aren't necessarily the reality. I assumed they could just take the existing figure and change a little paint, but Mattel put some actual work into what could be a package variant with a deco hit added.
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The figure shares a lot of parts with the late 2023 Cartoon Collection He-Man [FOTD #2,701]. The bulk of the figure tooling is the same, but I was surprised they made a new chest harness, new boots, and a new head. The harness has a scabbard which was retooled to better fit the sword, and the fasteners changed from big ugly straps to a simple button hidden on the figure's back. It's a small change, but it looks significantly better. Also the harness has been desaturated a bit, appearing less blue and more gray.
Articulation is unchanged, but his boots are. The initial figure's boots had more straps and detail, and Faker's are smoother - like the animation model. I'm surprised Mattel put the effort in to do this. I'm also surprised they didn't change his hand so he could hold and point his sword like Prince Adam, but I guess you can't get everything.
The figure has two heads, both of which are a new and angry sculpt. The details are sharper, and you can see up his nostrils a little bit more. With exposed teeth, it's like Mattel took the Filmation style and applied it to the general vibe of the original 1982 head sculpt. The skin on the heads and body are lighter than the slightly more sun-kissed He-Man figure, but it still looks pretty decent.
One of the two heads has a painted white-eye robot glow. It looks a little odd and covers the eyebrows too, but that's very close to its appearance on the cartoon. His hair is a separately molded element, glued in place.
It's not a figure that's really necessary - you could probably airbrush some white on a duplicate He-Man - but hey, you didn't. You could swap Faker's head with other figures, or steal his boots or vest to put on another He-Man too. I got it mostly so I could have another Evil Warrior on display around Snake Mountain, and the fact that it had revised boots was a nice surprise. I'd recommend getting him if you can find it - even if you don't have He-Man... this more or less is He-Man.
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
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