Released in December 2012, Procrustus is a giant sized figure similar in size to the earlier giants Tytus and Megator. He measures in right around 12 inches from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, although his posture is slightly hunched over. While he’s not a very well known Masters of the Universe character, Procrustus is an exceptionally well made figure possessing all the charm of a stop motion creature designed by the late Ray Harryhausen. Procrustus was quite the surprise when he was revealed at SDCC last year, but he was one of those nice surprises; a somewhat off the wall characters that still manages to fit in well with the line.
All right, let’s get down to brass tacks: So who exactly is Procrustus? Procrustus is an immortal being who lives at the center of the planet Eternia and is responsible for literally holding the planet together. Procrustus appeared briefly in the vintage minicomic “The Magic Stealer” which was part of the second series of minicomics from 1983. In the story, Skeletor is using some kind of magic siphon, and one of the side effects of that is that Procrustus is lured to Eternia’s surface. While He-Man is traveling in the Attak Trak, he comes across the giant crawling out of the crust of the planet’s surface. He-Man instantly recognizes Procrustus, referring to him as a “the god who holds the inner world together with his many arm.” While we can speculate that He-Man might recognize Procrustus from his description alone, interestingly enough, Procrustus recognizes He-Man. What can I say? He-Man’s kind of a big deal on Eternia and we can only assume that stories about him have made their way down to Eternia’s core. From the dialogue between the two, it is implied that Procrustus is literally responsible for holding the planet together in some way and if he neglects his duty for too long, Eternia will crumble. Somehow, the lure of Skeletor’s magical siphon clouds the giant’s judgment, making it difficult for Procrustus to resist, so He-Man shoots him with the Attak Trak. This seems to knock some sense back into him, as shooting someone with an attack vehicle usually does. He wishes He-Man well and that’s about it for Procrustus in “The Magic Stealer.”
