He-Man and Skeletor Variant Discussion (Battle Armor, Thunder Punch, etc; all brands)

[Viper Steve]

But I think that adding the armor would rack up a whole bunch more orders for Mattel. (Like they need any help selling these figures)

I think it is important that baring some retail intervention, we may be lucky to see a new He-Man/Skeletor figure every two years or so. As is, we have the classic versions available again this fall and I think the sell through on those will determine how soon we start seeing variants.

[Multibot]

I generally never really saw the need for the variations of He-man. He's the most powerful man in the universe; in his standard form. He doesn't need new armor or any dif weapons imo. He's already as powerful as they get, so he should be able to handle any given situation in his standard attire.

Skeletor & other villans on the other hand, i could see them trying out different armor & weapons to try to defeat he-man with.

The only He-man & skeletor versions i'd ever want to see in this line would be the standard classic, NA & standard 200x versions. Maybe after all the various characters are done, then they can bring on BA, Thunderpunch, Dragon Blaster, etc. but if they don't i'm not going to lose sleep over it. They were never part of the tv show anyway, only the toys & minicomics that came with the toys.
Even the 200x versions on the myp show seemed rather unneccessary imo, just a glorified ad for the 'yet another He-varient' imho; since He-man is 'the most powerful man in the universe' without the ice armor, & other such crap. BTW, what good does it do to 'bundle up for the cold' if you're still not wearing pants? most laughable He-man version ever imo! cool toy, but still a very laughable concept. yeah, he's tough, but he'll feel that frostbite in the morning.

[Gimporama]

I would prefer to see the variants as the con exclusives in place of new characters. So instead of He-Ro, who is a new character, I would rather have BA He-Man. Then have all of the He-Ro figures be available for sale on mattycollector.com.

[MegaGearMax]

I generally never really saw the need for the variations of He-man. He's the most powerful man in the universe; in his standard form. He doesn't need new armor or any dif weapons imo. He's already as powerful as they get, so he should be able to handle any given situation in his standard attire.

Skeletor & other villans on the other hand, i could see them trying out different armor & weapons to try to defeat he-man with.

I think that they were power-ups. Evidently, Skeletor and Hordak got more powerful over time, so He-Man also needed to get better to match their increased might. The whole "Most powerful man in the universe" thing might be a static aspect that doesn't address when others boost themselves in power. Meaning, if Hordak found something to make himself more powerful than He-Man's current power level, then He-Man would need to find something to boost his might to counter Hordak's new greater power level.

Even the 200x versions on the myp show seemed rather unneccessary imo, just a glorified ad for the 'yet another He-varient' imho; since He-man is 'the most powerful man in the universe' without the ice armor, & other such crap. BTW, what good does it do to 'bundle up for the cold' if you're still not wearing pants? most laughable He-man version ever imo! cool toy, but still a very laughable concept. yeah, he's tough, but he'll feel that frostbite in the morning.

I don't think people love that look because he's protected from the elements. I think it's because he looks more like a barbarian in that outfit than his normal outfit. A lot of fans liked the Ice Armor figure better than the normal 200X He-Man figure.

[drone]

In all honesty I'd rather see a He-Man & Skeletor Movie variants before any other variants due to the fact that they were never made when the film came out.

[Mern-Ra]

I think He-Man and Skeletor should be bonus figures from now on.

And I don't think there's much point to the Battle Armor versions without the action features either.

[spymagician]

I think that He-Man/Skeletor variants do lose some appeal without the functioning action features.

I still think both Battle Armor versions are worthwhile, as that gimmick is easily one of my all time favorite action features. And that even if it didn't "work" per se, you could still make a worthwhile figure simply with swappable chestplates.

The other variants are rather hit and miss if there are no working mechanisms.

I don't think Thunder Punch or Flying Fists make much sense gimmickless.

Terror Claws and Dragon Blaster I think are more worthwhile though, as the claws are a very striking visual and could be easily done as clip ons. The Dragon Blaster would also make for a great sculpted accessory and a sculpted clip on fire/Venom effect for the Dragon's breath would be pretty neat.

All in all though, I think Mattel should be fairly judicious with He-Man and Skeletor variants.

Of course, one option would be to do a "Deluxe" figure, say include Battle armor with a re-release of He-Man/Skeletor, that could be displayed as the variant or the original figure (since the BA figures were largely the same as the standard ones, other than the chest. Of course we'd have the whole "Hordak Armor" controversy there again...)

I actually like that Idea, as they could be offered as bonus figures, allow folks who missed out on HM and Skeletor to get them again, and get a variant out there all at once.

Spy

[Vorgon]

I think He-Man and Skeletor should be bonus figures from now on.

And I don't think there's much point to the Battle Armor versions without the action features either.

I completly agree Skeletors and He-mans should be bonus figures from here on out same with everybody else who already took up a months slot.There is no secondary character that I would rather not have just to have a variant He-man or variant Skeletor.

I know mattel said no action features but I think mattel meant to say "action feaures will be on a case by case basis" seeing as Tri-klops visor is movable.

[Pyre]

OK, I remember the 4H saying that there would be surprize figures released with some of the stuff coming out on MattyCollector... why not make them the variant versions of he-man and Skeletor? All they have t do is resulp some armor or maybe even the torse in the case of battle armor, and it wouldn't reduce how many other characters are released each year...

They'd just sell them along side the other igures from time to time...

any thoughts?

[Daniel Lynch]

I have to have the Battle Armors, almost more than having the regular versions. I'd take those in monthly slots, the other variants I don't really want/need.

[Fneh]

I have to have the Battle Armors, almost more than having the regular versions. I'd take those in monthly slots, the other variants I don't really want/need.

I agree. The BA ones are shown in a lot of original artwork and deserve to be released. Couldn't really care less about the other variants, besides dragon blast skelly. I think BA skelly could easily come with a dragon as a nod to that figure though. much like hordak's imp)

Give the he-man a silver power sword with a bronze hilt and skelly a black power sword with a purple hilt.

Both figures would be nice with an alternate head to the originals, but i'd be equally happy if they just used the basic head and made more effort on the paint application

[EuroCoin]

THIS I would debate. I always GOT Battle Armor He-man, but that's the only one they were selling. Parents got Thunder Punch... but I never liked him.

I wanted the one from the TV Show. Granted every time I got him I used him literally to death... but if they only sold the original I would have been a happy child!

I've never seen Battle Armor He-Man or Skeletor anywhere but in pictures. I only got regular ones.

- Joni -

[capitalzero]

No, the armor should be able to switch between battle damages. Like the vintage toy

doubt this will happen, they've nixed the action features.

I'd be happy with removable armor, that featured 'battle damage' inserts that could be pegged into place.

[Eterniandreams]

And I don't think there's much point to the Battle Armor versions without the action features either.

I dont need the action feature. The staction looked awesome.

[chuc98]

As for the ladies Starburst She-Ra might have some reinventive possibilities, but Bubble Power She-Ra, Shower Power Catra and Scratchin' Sound Catra?

Like He-Man and Skeletor's variants, not all variants are needed. Just take the most popular ones.

I thought that was a given? Spin blade anyone? C'mon…any takers???

[RocketPunch]

doubt this will happen, they've nixed the action features.

I'd be happy with removable armor, that featured 'battle damage' inserts that could be pegged into place.

It wouldn't need to work exactly like the original, just a rotating piece that you can turn manually like Tri-Klops visor would do.

HM & Skelly would only need 3 new parts each: Chest, Abs, and the rotating chest cylinder. All the other parts can be recycled from the original versions.

[mistaloko]

In all honesty I'd rather see a He-Man & Skeletor Movie variants before any other variants due to the fact that they were never made when the film came out.

Im with you!!
Those movie versions were great and as they were never made it would be great!

But I would like to see these characters released as figures of the month

[kk2]

In all honesty I'd rather see a He-Man & Skeletor Movie variants before any other variants due to the fact that they were never made when the film came out.

Can't agree, I really don't like the movie skeletor, somehow he reminds me of the aged Ozzy osbourne strumbeling around, movie skelly is lame. And movie He-Man would just have to have a different, less cool, harness and curls instead of straight hair.

[Ulisses31]

It wouldn't need to work exactly like the original, just a rotating piece that you can turn manually like Tri-Klops visor would do.

HM & Skelly would only need 3 new parts each: Chest, Abs, and the rotating chest cylinder. All the other parts can be recycled from the original versions.

Or sold as weapons packs?

Can't agree, I really don't like the movie skeletor, somehow he reminds me of the aged Ozzy osbourne strumbeling around, movie skelly is lame. And movie He-Man would just have to have a different, less cool, harness and curls instead of straight hair.

very funny. But I like the movie and want to see them in MOTUC, with Lubic.

[RocketPunch]

Or sold as weapons packs?

No, I don't want them to have removable armour, I want a new torso with a chest piece you can turn to show battle damage.

That way they can also have the ab crunch without compromising the armours appearance.

[mistaloko]

Can't agree, I really don't like the movie skeletor, somehow he reminds me of the aged Ozzy osbourne strumbeling around, movie skelly is lame. And movie He-Man would just have to have a different, less cool, harness and curls instead of straight hair.

Opinions. I think that movie Skeletor is a great design and would be a great action figure.

[MegaGearMax]

I think that He-Man/Skeletor variants do lose some appeal without the functioning action features.

I still think both Battle Armor versions are worthwhile, as that gimmick is easily one of my all time favorite action features. And that even if it didn't "work" per se, you could still make a worthwhile figure simply with swappable chestplates.

The other variants are rather hit and miss if there are no working mechanisms.

I don't think Thunder Punch or Flying Fists make much sense gimmickless.

Terror Claws and Dragon Blaster I think are more worthwhile though, as the claws are a very striking visual and could be easily done as clip ons. The Dragon Blaster would also make for a great sculpted accessory and a sculpted clip on fire/Venom effect for the Dragon's breath would be pretty neat.

All in all though, I think Mattel should be fairly judicious with He-Man and Skeletor variants.

^This!

[DO4M]

About the BA Armor pack dilemma. How about this:
a two piece Armor. Lower part clips on to the waist. Soft plastic and covers the lower torso. (a bit snug, might lose a bit of artic on the Ab crunch) A slighlty bigger Breast plate to accomodate the lower torso "armor piece". (Breast plate could come with interchangeable crests to represent the battle damage)

[JafariStew]

I would like to see at LEAST the Battle Armor variants @ some point...
The others would be cool to waaaaaayyyyyy down the line.

[-= SupernovA =-]

It would be nice but not so soon. I'd prefer to get all the regular figures first and wayyyy down the line maybe some other versions of He-Man, Skeletor and Hordak. And if so don't forget about She-Ra and Catra Mattel. They had 2 later versions as well!