2026 Movie Edition Heroic Human Periscope Masters of the Universe Core Action Figure Item No.: Asst. JKH88 No. JKH94 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Pistol, 2 neck segments Action Feature: n/a Retail: $9.99-$12.99 Availability: April 2026 Other: McQuarrie-esque
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You know how it goes - I planned on skipping Masters of the Universe movie stuff and then I saw Mekaneck in a store for ten bucks. And again. And again. A few days later I said "OK fine let me try it." And it's good.

Hey customizers: as far as I can tell the arms and waist do not pop apart like the Origins and Cartoon Collection figures. He has no waist joint and no ankle joints, but you get bend-and-swivel wrists plus the head pops off for the neck extension segments.

Unlike WWE, Mattel opted to do at least three scales for Masters of the Universe movie and none are compatible. These $10-$12 Core guys seem to make up the best overall offering. There are also "Origins" figures (extra wide, as you like) and Chronicles, which are the $28 collector figures. Which are best? Each one offers something different, but also splits the market. Usually in these circumstances at least one scale will suffer, but not always. I think these figures are arguably good enough that collectors, if deprived of other options, would leap at them. Since "Masterverse" and "Origins" fans exist, they may not want to try something new. I didn't. But a new $10 figure, in this economy? Sure. I'd try it.

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Right now I only have two of these "Core" guys. Revenge of Skeletor [FOTD #3,031] and Mekaneck were the first ones I tried. Both are very similar in their builds, with armor over a torso. As far as I can tell, Mekaneck doesn't share parts with other figures. The aforementioned Comic Skeletor is mostly Movie He-Man fleshy bits with some enhancements, while this guy seems to be his own man. Played by James Wilkinson, who I confess I had not heard of, we've seen some pictures of the costume on a poster. He looks pretty much like the figure, except the movie has darker green goggles, desaturated colors, and some more painted black/silver greeblies on his suit. The various straps on the forearms were unadorned on the figure, but we have to keep sight of the big prize here - this thing was ten dollars. The cheapest we ever saw non-closeout Origins figures were $15 in 2020, and these are almost as good. There's no mini-comic, and you don't get as much gear, but again - it's ten dollars.

The quality of sculpting seems on par with most modern figures. It seems precise with lots of straps, padding, and armored bits but lacks the deep cuts and aggressive exaggerated detail we would see 25-40 years ago. I would describe the overall texture of the sculpt as "plastic," as they didn't exactly go wild with cloth elements. It's a cyborg, and Mattel delivered a figure that looks like a cyborg.

Does this figure have shortcomings? Yes - I missed the paint slop on the leg when I was looking at these guys in stores. I am surprised to find myself unbothered by the stray silver around the thighs, and the figure has generally good paint masks. Sure, the flesh on the face is a little thick due to the layers of paint to ensure the red plastic from the helmet won't shine through... but that's life, and we saw that a lot in the 1980s. Mattel did a nice job given what I assume was a tiny deco budget and almost no prayer of improvements to economic conditions to keep the price down. It's a 5 1/2-inch dude, in an era where competing 4-inch figures are fancier and a lot more expensive.

Our hero has three accessories - two neck extenders and a pistol. I would prefer a club, but I would have been find with no weapon accessory and more neck bits. It's a silly gimmick, and not as fun as the classic figures with telescoping heads - but it's something. At least you can make him do something goofy, and he can use all his gear at once when on display. He also stands nicely. I have pretty low standards for what makes a satisfying action figure, and he's met them all.

I wrote this up a few weeks ago, when no vehicles were out yet. I tried him on my Origins vehicles and other than some seats being a little wide, he fits like a glove. The hip joints swing forward more easily than the squat guys, meaning he looks great on Battle Cat or in a Landshark or Sky Sled. I thought he'd look silly in the Talon Fighter, and he doesn't - it works! This is good news if you're a new collector, because a lot of older vehicles are quite affordable. Ross stores started getting more Origins Battle Cats in late April and Origins Stridor is still relatively cheap.

As I write this, Core Mekaneck is the only game in town for the movie design. Maybe we'll see a collector-level one later, but I don't think I need one. This is good, and it's convinced me I need to pay close attention to the toys and maybe even (gasp) see the movie in theaters. My recommendation to you would be to try a random movie core guy for $10 and see what you think. I went with this guy because I wanted someone who looked cool, and he reminded me of some old McQuarrie sketches for the 1987 movie... plus he didn't have any loincloth blocking his legs. I have no intention of going whole-hog here, but if I can find a figure on the pegs when I'm having a rough week? I'd buy one. That's how I used to do most of my toy purchases, and it felt more like a treat and less like an obligation when you have to pre-order and wait.

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