New MOTUC packaging reveals: TRU 2-packs, Shadow Beast, Weapons Pack #2

Where have I been, you ask? Busy! Working on getting more content up.

Anyway, in the meantime here are some cool pics of the new upcoming Weapons Pack, the Shadow Beast, and the new TRU 2-packs, all courtesy of He-Man.org member TokyoNever, who got them from “a Turkish contact” that he/she “met on YouTube.” Huh.

Click any pic for a larger version.

Here’s the Shadow Beast bio:

Shadow Beast
Real name: Varies
Great ape-like beasts who live in tribes throughout the dark hemisphere. Shadow Beasts can only come out in the absence of light. Originally created by Count Marzo, as a weapon to use against his enemies, the beasts were driven back by Prince Keldor and Randor and forced to reside in the shadow of Mount Barathrum. There they developed a long standing hatred of both the Human and Gar race. Easily manipulated, the ever growing colony of Beasts was later controlled by Beast Man in the service of Skeletor to take down Eternos Palace. With their great strength and stealth-like appearance, Shadow Beasts are more than a match for most heroic warriors!

My thoughts:

  • I’m sure a lot of people are going to say, “What’s with the art on the 2-packs?” but I think they were going for a 1980s MOTU minicomic/Curt Swan vibe. Viewed from that perspective, I think the Aquaman/Stratos pack is fine, but there’s no excuse for that Mer-Man with the goofy sword and, oh yeah, he’s green. The whole point of the new figure is that he’s blue. They got the Stratos colors right. I’m still not sure if I’ll be getting either of these…I had hoped for a more teal Mer-Man, not a Faker-blue one.
  • Lots to say on the Shadow Beast bio, but we’ll get to that when the time comes.

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20 Comments

  1. Barbecue17

    I guess I actually like the art. It has kind of a minicomic or even a silver age comic feel to it, which I like.

    I noticed that the Stratos art has his wrist bands in yello/gold, but on the figure they are blue. Thinking about it, the yellow wrist bands would have been a good paint app.

  2. Does Mer-Man have his extra head? Prepare to see that Stratos/Hawkman pack until the end of time.

    Hawkman wasn't the greatest seller on his own and neither was Stratos. There's little in that pack to appeal to anyone who already has these figures.

  3. AmericanHyena

    Yeah…I want all of this.

    Damn it.

    Ha…that bio just solved my problem as to who to pair the Shadow Beast with in my display. Looks like Marzo's got hisself a body guard.

  4. misterbigbo

    I'm inclined to believe someone will, if he hasn't already, reveal what mini comic or other old source provided the card art, because the quality of the illustrations is otherwise so poor that "inspired by" the classic look is a bad justification for those examples.

  5. Thrawn

    @Barbeque17

    The shadowbeast also had new feet as well as hands.

    I want all that stuff. I'm going to be broke. Man I want that Shadowbeast. He looks even better than Gygor. I really wanted a darkblue or purple one like in the MYP cartoon, but the color it has is really starting to grow on me. I can't wait for that bad boy.

    I'm so-so on the weapons pack. I'll get at least one for the Zoar perch and the two-tone She-Ra sword.

    The two packs look awesome. I can't wait to get Merman. But why is he green on the package? Big mistake there. Stratos looks good too. I'm glad I didn't pick up an extra one now when they reissued him.

  6. Barbecue17

    @Mysterious Stranger:

    Definitely right about the hands. With claws like that, he can definitely afford to give Tytus the club from time to time.

  7. MUST-GET-THAT-AQUAMAN-TWOPACK!

  8. Mysterious Stranger

    @Barbecue17: Shadow Beast has new hands too. And yeah its total reuse city but the paint and new parts really make it look like a new figure.

  9. Fengschwing

    @PrfktTear:

    That's a great offer Tear, alas the way my finances are going at the moment I'd be hard pressed to split a bag of M&M's with someone.

    Sigh.

    So I guess it's all rhetorical wittering for me in the end.

    As long as I can scrape some money together for a DCUC Jack Knight and the ThreeA Mongrol, I'll be a happy man.

  10. Barbecue17

    I apparently need to find myself a Turkish contact on youtube, also. What would one even begin to search for?

    I'm liking the look of the 2nd weapons pack. Although a few of the items are a little too specific for reusue (Mer-Man's armor in a different shade doesn't really excite me) but I love the items like Randor's staff, Zoar's armor and perch, Faker's weapons, and the black Optikk weapons!

    Shadow Beast looks good. While he really feels pretty reused (only a new head and a club) he is a somewhat cool looking figure. Another accessory or so might have helped make me a little more excited about him. I like his club (I wouldn't mind using it for Tytus.) I like the idea of them as magically created creatures formed by Count Marzo. Marzo is a pretty powerful guy, apparently.

    I just can't get into either of those two-packs. The art looks cool, but the figures don't impress me. I'd maybe consider if the DCUC figures were any more recognizably different than the regular releases, but off the bat I can't notice a difference.

  11. Frogster

    Hey Poe, this is cool, but I am looking forward to your Gygor review. I know you must have gotten yours by now and have multiple fanboygasms since. Should I send you some cigs and a robe, man? πŸ˜‰

  12. PrfktTear

    I really like the 2-pack art! It looks cool!

    @Feng: Maybe you can find someone who would be interested in splitting the pack up with ya! A friend of asked me when they were first announced, he wants Aquaman and I'd take Mer-Man, but if he changes his mind I'll go in on one with ya!

    I'm not too concerned about Mer-Man's color, it looks a little washed out from the flash or light or whatever.

    I know Poe is going to wait to discuss the Shadow Beast bio, but I have a couple thoughts at first blush:

    Great ape-like beasts who live in tribes : Tribes? What is it with the BW and tribes? A group of apes is called a shrewdness, a group of gorillas is called a band. The word tribes normally denotes a civilized group… aren't these supposed to be beasts? I guess its semantics, but still, bothersome.

    Originally created by Count Marzo, as a weapon to use against his enemies: Whaaaaaatttt???? LAAAAMMMMEEEEE!!!!

    There they developed a long standing hatred of both the Human and Gar race.: Well, I guess they one-up the humans on their equal opportunity of hatred. But c'mon, aren't these supposed to be primitive, savage beasts? How can they develop hatred? Don't they just want to kill everything?

    …controlled by Beast Man in the service of Skeletor to take down Eternos Palace: Okay, this is cool… so at some point Skeletor is going to attack the Palace… and SUCCEED!!! Excellent!

  13. dayraven

    @Josh: i was about to ask the same thing.

  14. Poe

    @Scott: Haha, more like a "Poe copied and pasted from someone else's site and thus learned a lesson…again" typo, but whatever πŸ™‚

  15. Mysterious Stranger

    @Josh: That's a typo on Poe's part. Its spelled correctly in the package art.

    I'll be looking for both of these two packs for lots of reasons. Hawkman and Stratos are two of my favorite characters so that's a given. Aquaman and Mer-man I'll be getting so I can 1) finally get that version of Aquaman for my DCUC collection and 2) Mer-man will look nice with the gold armor from the 2nd weapons pack.

    As for the Shadow Beasts, I have a friend that has 2 subs but doesn't want the Shadow Beasts so I'll get his 2 plus my 1 and have a nice Shadow Beast army for Beast Man to lead.

  16. Dark Angel

    Oh, they just haaaaaaaaaaad to tie the damn shadowbeasts to Marzo. Now I have to keep the one I will get with the sub. Because, y'know, I have that big ol' mancrush on Marzo. Damn Mattel. Damn them to hell!

  17. Scott

    That'a a Poe typo. If you look at the package itself, it says "absence".

  18. Josh

    "abstenance of light"

    Uh, what?

  19. I think Mattel is trying to get me to buy some Masters of the Universe figures… That Merman & Aquaman pack is DELIGHTFUL!

  20. Fengschwing

    Nuts.

    So to FINALLY get that version of Aquaman I have to buy the blue sea-cat thing as well?

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