What classic figure brings back a childhood memory and why

[mekaneckpain]

Yup, growing up they were always refered to as, "He-Man Figures".

"Mom, Can I get another He-Man figure?... Please."

[Nemisythe]

Wow some really cool and deep stories! One that I can remember that was really funny and memorable was when Webstor came out!

-Since I was one of the few kids in my class who collected MOTU and collected religiously, I would bring the mini-comic of every new figure into class and me and my friends would go straight to the back to see the new figures listed and begin speculation! Now I think we all had this moment in some degree: when we saw the name Webstor, we all started imagining Emanuelle Lewis in some type of warrior garb and extremely smaller than the standard figure!

[JoeyCruel]

I've a lot of different series when I was a child but I was in love only with the Masters Of the Universe, I really regret to have wasted a lot of money and time with the other series, because of this I had only 28 figures on 62 on my wishlist.
That's why now I'm tryin' to buy every figure that I wanted when I was a child with Classic figures or with vintage ones if I don't like the Classic figure.
And now the memories.

Battle Armor He-Man and Adam
When I was 4 or 5 years old my parents brought me in a toy store that had a column full of MOTU, the indecision was between Battle Armor He-Man and Adam, I chose Battle Armor He-Man, but after I couldn't find anymore Adam.

Trap Jaw, Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops
These 3 bad guys are linked to a similar episode, when I bought the fourth motu I went into another toy store and there was this huge wall full of MOTU, a scene that I will remember forever, and this time I had to choose between Trap-Jaw, Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops ... I decided to buy Trap-Jaw, I found later Evil-Lyn but I couldn't find Tri-Klops.

Snake Mountain, Castle Grayskull and Eternia
A wonderful Christmas morning I found Snake Mountain under the three, sadly my parents never found Castle Grayskull and Eternia.

Mantenna
I was in a little town with my mother and we found a little shop that sold everything.
It was closed but I saw a MOTU, it was Mantenna! The morning after we had to come back to our city so I couldn't buy it. I didn't find it anymore however I'm happy about this because the vintage Mantenna is awful, the idea is marvellous but I hate the toy, now I'm hopin' about a stunnin' Classics version.

Rattlor, Rokkon, Stonedar, Battle Cat, Teela and Clawful
There isn't a particular episode about these figures but I remember that I saw them in different shops, I couldn't buy 'em and I never found 'em again.
(in these years on ebay I bought the vintage Battlecat and on Matty I bought Clawful and I ordered Teela).

Evil-Lyn, Teela, Sorceress and Shadow Weaver
When I was playing with my motu, Evil-Lyn was always against the Sorceress but I used to think that if I found Teela I had to have an enemy for the Sorceress, so I used to dream about to have Shadow Weaver and Teela. Only in the 2001 I discovered that a Shadow Weaver toy was never produced.
(and in the 2011 I discovered that I have to pay 100$ for Shadow Weaver).

Bionatops, Turbodactyl, Tyrantisaurus Rex and Pre-Eternia Disguise He-Man
When the series was deleted I found these beasts with a discounted price and my parents bought me all of them! But I always wanted the Pre-Eternia Disguise He-Man... thanx to ebay I bought him!

Karg and Det. Lubic
I saw the movie on TV very late and I always wanted these action figures to complete the “new figures from the movies” collection…

Moss Man and Saurod
My aunt Tina (R.I.P.) gave me these figures in different times of my childhood, and everytime I look at them them in my Detolf, the picture of her smiling face appears in my mind.

Scareglow
I received it for the Epiphany in 1988 or 1989 and Scareglow became immediately my favorite MOTU and that’s why I have to buy it again as a MOTUC as soon as possible.

[DisneyBoy]

...so I used to dream about to have Shadow Weaver and Teela. Only in the 2001 I discovered that a Shadow Weaver toy was never produced.
(and in the 2011 I discovered that I have to pay 100$ for Shadow Weaver).

Yeah, that was the lousy part for many. Did you try the Shadow Weaver Breadline Thread over in the Marketplace?

[MldMnrdReporter]

He-Man brings a lot of memories to the forefront. That figure went everywhere with me. Where all the figures are out on the shelf, He-Man and Battle Cat are the two that have a place on my desk, constantly riding towards some new untold danger.

[He-Dad]

The Easter bunny bringing me prince Adam....overtime I see one I have a very vivid memory of the excitement that Easter. Also feel that way about snake mountain..Santa brought it to me at my grandpa's house while we were out shopping one Christmas eve. Special till this day!

[DrGrayskull]

I came on he-man.org today to distract myself. my granddad died last night from cancer, all happened in a few days. i found out when my thunderpunch he-man arrived.

i have memories of staying at my nans often playing with my he-man toys and can rember walking to my nans on christmas day with my castle greayskull in the snow
also as a kid, when my sister was born i was given spikor on the same day.

lots of memories

[redsquadron]

Every Christmas my Dad used to sneak into my room and put one present at the foot of my bed to 'wake up to'... First MOTU figure I got that way was Man-At-Arms... My dad died last year (only 66 dammit) adn seeing the Classic version now (I don't collect the originals) makes me smile.

[rhea]

Most of the figures bring back special memories, but the one I always loved more than the others was Evil-lyn. When the line first started (pre-Filmation) I recieved He-man, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Skeletor, Stratos, Beastman, Windraider and Castle Grayskull for Christmas (which was pretty much the only time we got toys during the year.) However, I remember going to Roses department store during the Fall and seeing the figures all over the pegs. For some reason, my parents, who really couldn't afford to buy us playthings year-round, told me to pick out one. By then, the cartoon was on and when I looked at the top peg, there was Evil-lyn and I couldn't help but choose her. My older brother tried to mock me and shame me into putting her back, but my mama said if that's the one I want, then that's the one I get. When I would play with my younger brothers, she was the one who I always pulled out as my main figure. Not only was she a witch, but she was also the sorceress of Snake Mountain (which my Screech didn't like because I would pull off his wings and tape them to her back.) Her special place to stand was in the wolf-head microphone on Snake Mountain. So, when the classics line came about, she was the one I looked forward to most. She's my sorceress of Snake Mountain still, but she also is a symbol of my childhood, of how my parents sacrificed a little extra one week just to make me happy and how a mama accepts and loves even peculiar little choices her son can make.

[convoy]

Hahah!! I love it! I, too, called them my "he-man guys". I always wanted more he-man guys. lol

But I still remember that Christmas like it was yesterday...and still the most memorable.

I was seven (1983) and I remember getting a huge lot that year. I got Castle Grayskull, He-Man, Skeletor, Ram-Man, and Trapjaw.

I remmeber always thinking that Castle Grayskull belonged to Skeletor, until my older brother filled me in...boy was I shocked. Then I remember the next Christmas, getting snake Mountain!

But to this day, I still hold a special place in my heart for those original four characters, He-Man, Ram-Man, Skeletor and Trapjaw..........aahhhhhhhh, the memories!

[Lord Anubis]

Thunder punch He-Man for me. My uncle gave me him before he got murdered. True story, but somehow it makes me apperciate Thunder Punch more so than my regular.

Gwildor will be my second because my grandma gave me him as a suprise gift just before I went with my mom to see the film. Kinda cooler that way and made me like Gwildor as I now owned him.

[KingRandor82]

For me, it will be Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Terror Claws Skeletor, Flying Fists He-Man, and Rio Blast.

The reason for this is I actively remember getting the first two, and Rio Blast, but I always wanted Flying Fists He-Man, but never got him until I was a teenager.

Rio Blast though I especially remember because of a memory I feel really bad about, even all these years later.

Every time my parents and grandparents and I went to the mall, I always wanted to go into KB Toys, just to look around. I loved toys more than anything--still do.

I went in there just to look around, saw Rio Blast, and basically did what any 5 year old would do, and my grandfather bought him for me.

All these years later, I still feel bad it had to happen. My Dad has even told me "Russell, you were 5", and yet it still kills me on the inside.

That said, god how I love Rio Blast.

[Squishy Duck Man]

I'm quite certain that my very earliest memory is of holding the original Skeletor figure in my hand in the toy store handy to where I lived as a child. I can still remember the shine of the plastic bubble under the flourescent lights and looking at my own distorted reflection at the age of three. It's one of those strange memories that's always stuck with me and one I cherish simply because it's the first one I have. Either that or watching Captain Kirk fight the Gorn on CBC. But this is a He-Man fan site, so Skeletor wins for today.

[redsquadron]

Yup, growing up they were always refered to as, "He-Man Figures".

"Mom, Can I get another He-Man figure?... Please."

To be honest, for my own convenience I still call them that.

[TJRules]

Easy for me. Trap Jaw. MOTUC Trap Jaw is sooooooooooooo much better than the vintage version. And I love my TJ when I was a kid.

Not to mention KRONIS!!!!

In all, ALL of the characters really take me back to my childhood. THESE are the toys we(at least I) wanted as a kid!!!!!

[Barbecue17]

I've posted some of my memories earlier, but it is interesting to me how many of us connect these toys/ characters with significant life events from our childhoods. I think I'm a tad younger than most of you (born in '83), but it seems that many of us born in the mid-late 70's and early 80's really latched onto the toys and characters of our youth in a very significant way, beyond simple consumerism. I'd argue that for us, the toys and characters really became, in some sense, pieces of a modern mythology. I really wonder how much children born in the 90's and later will continue to cling to the properties of their childhoods?

[DrGrayskull]

... but it seems that many of us born in the mid-late 70's and early 80's really latched onto the toys and characters of our youth in a very significant way, beyond simple consumerism. I'd argue that for us, the toys and characters really became, in some sense, pieces of a modern mythology.

i think you are right, not for everyone but i would imagine for at least a large number of us. i have valued reading this thread and peoples memories.
another memory of mine was the year my parents divorced and i spent christmas dad with my mam and her new partner (my stepdad) in his house, it was really odd. i asked for the fright zone that year. a good while before xmas maybe around november i remember finding it under the bed. i had a vivid imagination and thought it had just appeared. i didnt tell anyone about it. i would sell the box up carefully each time. when it came to christmas day i had the fright zone for xmas. later when i went under the bed and it had vanished. that was the year i found out about santa and had my parents split up. the following day i took it and the box up my old house where my dad was and made a play set out of the box and i loved it.

i also remember that the cartoon would easily cheap me up with i had a bad day and the charecters meant a lot to me. I also really liked the moral of the story sections, maybe it was because i was so young- they didnt seem daft or silly at all.

its good to hear everyones memories, happy and sad

[iron_pride]

So many where to begin???

Prince Adam, Orko and Battle Cat....I got all three for my tenth birthday and it was also a snow day from school on a Friday so I was living the dream that weekend.

Trap Jaw.....first figure I ever had. Got him for doing well in swimming lessons from my mom.

Man-E-Faces.....first of a lot that my granny bought me, she said I needed a good guy to fight the bad guy I had.

Battle Armor He-Man.....my first He-Man, also from my granny, I needed the biggest star afterall.

Kobra Khan.....I had one, but got another for my bday from my cousin, and I didn't have the heart to tell him so I kept both, hid the first one and we played with him for days.

She-Ra and Bow......When they first came out, my mom said no becasue they were in the girls section, but granny to the rescue again.

[snakeeyes0217]

Faker, he was my first MOTU figure. I saw him at a store while Christmas shopping with my mom. I thought he was a production error and proceeded to convince my mother of this under the guise of "he might be worth a lot of money." Only some time later did I realize he was not and was allowed to open him...right before Christmas Day when I scored He-Man, Battlecat, and Castle Grayskull. Because I had Faker, He-Man had someone to battle and that made all the difference that morning. I think about how happy I was playing that morning every time I see Faker.

[Uki]

I'm waiting for that wave of nostalgia to accompany the patchouli as I open Stinkor later this month...

Mantenna will bring some memories too: I got him from Dad after he ran over my Endor Han Solo with the lawnmower.

[Spacedust]

This might seem like a watered down answer, but pretty much any figure that is based on the vintage first two waves. The odd QC problem or dodgy choice of how to do it aside, I think these characters finally look as great as intended.

Just about every fan who mentioned Mer Man mentions their delight at finally getting a box art-style head; and the likes of Tri Klops or Trap Jaw or Teela finally look as good as those bold, bright "also available" illustrations.
The only one from that line-up that has felt a bit dud for me (well, other than Zodac who, lets be honest, was always rather bland figure-wise anyway) is Faker, but only because they went for more dirtied-down "natural" colours, whereas I longed for neon orange armor and flame red hair (or indeed the deep violet armor and flame yellow hair of the box art illustrations).
Now if only we could get a certain Heroic Human Battering Ram to complete that first two wave line-up....

[boricua11220]

another memory for my was with thunder punch He-man he was the only heman I had as akid I got it xmas morning I was so excited I finally had Heman to fight my evil warriors best xmas ever

[jackstatic]

The only he-man figure (yes, i called them that too, and still do) that i remember actually receiving was moss man, being born in 82 i was fairly young for a lot of these figures when they were released. But i remember the hunting down of mosman, store after store we went to, searching, and how badly i wanted him, and then one day finally, after weeks, my grandmother buying him for me at a store called consumers, they sold home items like washers, and toasters, but had one toy rack behind the cashier, and i could see his epic furry greenness sitting there, and i remember flipping out and my grandmother bought it for me and i was so happy. She still tells me this story to thIs day, it always makes me smile.


But i do remember having a ton of other he-man figures, and my favorites were orko, clawful, two bad (who lasted the longest of all my vintage figures) spikor, whiplash, dragon blast skeletor, and thunder punch he-man. Of those so far released, i just marveled at the figures for hours when i opened them, with tons of memories flooding back to me, of playing with them, swapping parts, the adventures, showing them to people, it just makes me smile, knowing that i can still feel like im 5 for even a few minutes every once in a while, its really a great feeling. Idk, oh, and as for orko, i remember usin his ripcord feature so much on my grandmothers table, that i wore out the teeth on the cord that my grandmother went out and bought me a brand new orko. So having the two orkos now (sdcc color change and mattycollector normal colors) was actually a pretty nostalgic coincidence

[PrinceAdam101]

A number of them. But here's a few worth mentioning:

PRINCE ADAM. I really wanted him and was afraid I wouldn't get one. I desperately wanted to play out the transformation sequence from the cartoon. Adam was always the co-lead of the cartoon. He was often in episodes with more screen time than He-Man!

STRATOS. He was a huge favorite of mine. I still remember discovering him (with Adam and others) in a box under my parents bed. They had bought my christmas presents early and I had been thinking/dwelling/obsessing about He-Man while sitting on their bed. I leaned over the side to peer underneath and found them. It was like magic!

TEELA. Never had her, desperately wanted her. I was given Zoar for my birthday with the Teela removed. She was the Holy Grail and I wasn't allowed to have her. Or Evil Lyn. Or the Sorceress. This was a huge problem for me as a kid.