
Masters of the Universe Classics – Mosquitor by Ed Speir IV
POE GHOSTAL: So, Dan, a few weeks back you tweeted that Mutagen Man would be appearing on the new TMNT series. He was a favorite of yours, as was Mosquitor (for readers who somehow don’t know, Dan is a HUGE fan of Mosquitor and was campaigning for the character to be added in MOTUC for years). This prompted me to reply that I really wanted Ray Fillet – that he was, as I put it, My Mosquitor. This prompted a discussion as to what other people’s “My Mosquitors” are, but after getting some rather high-profile characters as suggestions, we began discussing a stricter definition. We’ll get to that in a minute, though – let’s get some background first. Dan, why are you such a fan of Mosquitor?
PIXEL DAN:Â It’s a total nostalgia factor for me. I remember always being completely enamored with Mosquitor as a kid. I loved my MOTU figures, but he always stood out to me as a favorite. I think the liquid blood feature had a lot to do with it. I just thought that was so cool as a kid, and as a result Mosquitor was always with me on my adventures. Even when I wasn’t playing with my He-Man figures, Mosquitor was still usually in my hand.
PG: And what about Mutagen Man? What drew you to him? I think I can see an affinity for “blood” and “guts” here…
PD: Ha! Yeah, it seems like it. I’ve always had a weird fascination with toys that were clear/translucent, shiny, filled with liquid, or glow in the dark. Mutagen Man has two of those going for him, which automatically puts him above the rest. Something about his design was just so appealing to me. I loved that not only could you see his insides, but you could fill him with water and watch his insides float around! Gross? Yeah, kinda. But come on, little boys love that sort of thing!
PG: So before I get into my own “Mosquitors,” I was thinking we should try to define what it means. Initially I thought My Mosquitor for MOTU was Trap Jaw, but while he is my favorite figure that’s a pretty lame choice, since he’s an iconic character and there was never any question he would be made for the line. I think a true #MyMosquitor has to be someone who’s at least a little obscure. He can be a fan-favorite, but not a cult favorite, i.e. Boba Fett – because again, there’s never any question you’re going to get a Boba Fett figure in any given Star Wars line. But there’s no guarantee you’ll get, say, Amanaman.
So: One’s Mosquitor has to be a second-tier or third-tier character, someone whose chances of being made in a toy line are not 100% or even 90%, but more like 60% or less (though obviously those chances go up the longer the toyline goes on). Some examples from various franchises:
Transformers: Nightbeat, (??)
G.I. Joe: Tunnel Rat, SciFi, Doc
Batman: Killer Moth, Red Robin
TMNT: Mutagen Man, Ray Fillet, Genghis Frog (I’d say 70% of the 1980s TMNT toyline could be someone’s #MyMosquitor)
What are your thoughts on this definition?
PD: I think that’s pretty much spot-on. Your Boba Fett example is a good one, but I must say that after thinking about it, I think Boba Fett at one time could have been classified as a  My Mosquitor candidate. But through the years he sort of rose above that and became an icon. Amanaman is definitely a good My Mosquitor now.
Everyone has their “favorite” figure in any given toy line. But I think you’re right in that “favorite” doesn’t necessarily translate to My Mosquitor. Another good way of explaining it may be saying it’s sort of a “guilty pleasure” character. A figure may not be popular with everyone else, but there’s something about it that YOU love.
PG: All right. Now that we’ve defined it, let’s have some fun. Here are some of My Mosquitor picks:
TMNT: Ray Fillet. I loved this guy when he was still called “Man-Ray” in the Archie TMNT comics in the ’80s. The original figure was great, but I’ve always hoped to see him look a bit less cartoonish and a bit more heroic as he looked in the comic. I think a TMNT2012 version would probably do that, so here’s hoping he shows up.
S.H.MonsterArts: Titanosaurus. This kaiju is actually fairly popular among American fans who grew up on UHF Godzilla flicks. Terror of Mechagodzilla, the film in which Titanosaurus appears, played in fairly heavy rotation back in the late ’70s and ’80s. But he’s not very popular in Japan (in fact, he only got a 6″ Bandai vinyl in 2002 because American fans demanded it). He’s a fan-favorite but hardly a lock to be made as an S.H.MonsterArts figure, unlike, say, Showa Mechagodzilla or Anguirus, and thus he’s My Mosquitor for this line.
Star Wars Black: Grand Moff Tarkin. Despite being a major character in the first film, he’s only had two or three figures in the 3 3/4″ line, I think, so he’s definitely My Mosquitor for SWB. I’ve always thought he was a much scarier character than Darth Vader. Unlike Vader, who’s a larger-than-life supervillain, Tarkin is someone you can imagine ordering the deaths of millions in the real world.
Aliens (NECA): Now that NECA is tentatively branching into Predator figures inspired by the Kenner figures of the early 1990s, I would love to get a new Gorilla Alien.
DCUC/Batman:Â My Mosquitor for this line already got made: Red Robin. I don’t know why but I’ve always loved that look. It bums me out it came so close to becoming Tim Drake’s regular look until the New 52 reboot.
MOTUC: After thinking it over, I realized that My Mosquitor candidate for MOTUC hasn’t actually been made yet – it’s Eldor. I love old-man wizards – Gandalf, Merlin, Dumbledore, Elminster, Ogeode, Ringlerun – I love ’em all. Unfortunately, at this point I think it’s pretty unlikely Eldor be made before MOTUC ends. It bugs me a bit because he’s a character we have an actual vintage prototype figure for. I’ll have Demo-Man and Vikor figures in my collection, but no Eldor.
PD: Okay, here are my picks.
TMNT: Mutagen Man. I’ll just start here since that was sort of the basis for our whole discussion. For the reasons mentioned above, I loved this guy as a kid. In a line full of wacky looking characters, Mutagen Man is definitely one of the more obscure. A lot of folks I’ve talked to over the years didn’t even remember this being a TMNT figure. He made a few brief appearances in the original cartoon series, but I wasn’t real happy with the way he was portrayed. But man did I love that figure. When word of a new TMNT line got out, I immediately thought how cool it would be to see a new Mutagen Man, but I assumed the chances were slim to none. Imagine my excitement upon finding out that he will have a decent-sized role in the new cartoon, pretty much guaranteeing we’ll see a new figure!
Marvel Legends: Moon Knight and Scarlet Spider. If we were to talk about our favorite Marvel characters, these two would not really rank there for me. But I have always had a weird fascination with both of them, especially when it comes to action figures. Truth be told, it has everything to do with their costume designs. I’ve loved the look of both of these characters since I was a kid. Toy Biz gave us a Scarlet Spider figure as part of the Spider-Man Classics toy line that pre-dates Marvel Legends, but he was a cheap exclusive that was basically a repaint with a cloth hoodie that was the wrong shade of blue. Toy Biz also gave us a pretty decent Moon Knight figure towards the end of their Marvel Legends run. But now that Hasbro has brought back Marvel Legends, and doing a pretty good job with it, I really wouldn’t mind seeing updated figures of both of these characters, especially a Scarlet Spider with a proper looking costume with accurate colors. I feel like I’ve been waiting an eternity for that.
Transformers/Go-Bots: Boulder. Ok, ok…this one is a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. As a kid, I didn’t have a lot of Transformers figures. I did, however, have a few more Go-Bots, including the Rock Lords. Say what you will about a toy that turns into a rock, but I loved those figures! I still do! And Boulder was always a favorite figure of mine. Hasbro now has the rights to the Go-Bots name, and I assume the characters names as well. Even though we’ll probably never see proper Go-Bots characters done in their Transformers line, I would love to see Boulder somehow make a cameo appearance!
BumblebeeZ3
TF:Scrounge? seriously, I'd love to have a toy of him.
TMNT: Maybe Mutagen man, Wingnut and Screwloose, and Chrome Dome? How can you not love a robot shredder to face off against Metalhead?
MOTUC: Rio Blast
G.I. JOE: B.A.T. version 2
GO-BOTS: Granite
STAR WARS: Zuckuss
MARVEL LEGENDS: Sleepwalker, Darkhawk, Speedball, Squirrel girl, and Spider-girl(Mayday Parker) Nightmare would be cool too.
DC: Spoiler
TOY LINE: SuperNaturals Holograms and glow in the dark, two awesome things in one.
BumblebeeZ3
Scrounge the colon got to close to the "S"
MegaGearX
MOTUC: Oo-Larr and Sagitar
Cythagen
TMNT: Totally on-board for Mutagen Man AND Ray Fillet. Both were strong childhood favourites. I hope that the level of detail would be a smidge closer to old-school Turtles, as I was totally unimpressed by the modern Metalhead (who was my first TMNT "hero" figure of the vintage line).
MOTUC: Saurod. The live-action film is still a favourite of mine, and he's one of a mere half-dozen vintage MOTU toys that I still own.
G.I. JOE: I got "My Mosquitor" last year in the form of SDCC's crimson-clad Jinx, but now I'd love an updated version of B.A.T. leader Overkill in his green & gold early-'90's look. (Ditto on Scarlett's similarly-coloured "ninja" attire from the same era.)
GO-BOTS: I was thrilled that the TF movie series included a modern version of Crasher (Classics Mirage repainted and re-christened as "Fracture"), but I'd really love to see an update or homage to Sparky in one of the TF lines.
STAR WARS: EV-9D9. Fully-articulated, with a hinged "jaw" like the vintage POTF figure.
MARVEL LEGENDS: Lilandra or Nimrod.
TOY LINE: "Exo-Squad", as only NECA could do it justice.
Mark
MOTUC: Dragstor and Extendar
TMNT: Panda Kahn
Transformers: Chromedome
Star Wars Black: Mungo Baobab, Rancor Keeper and Noa (Ewoks: Battle for Endor)
Marvel Select: Hobgoblin and Psylocke
Marvel Legends: Redskull
Mark
Gobots: Cartoon accurate versions o the 6 main characters.
Masterpiece Leader-1. The original Leader 1 is amazing, not one Transfotrmer jet toy could come close to it, except Jetfire….but he isn't really a Transformers toy.
dayraven
for marvel legends, my person mosquitor would be stellaris.
TMNT- muckman… though they physically can not top the original
TF/go-bots- granite. loved that dude, he and snare arm swamp thing formed the backbone of the resistance there for a while when my bad guys took over
dcu- warlord, or as a possible back up, yuga khan
random other line- i'd love a reload on the defenders of the planet phantom fig. i've been using the phantom as the highest tier magic user in my universe for nearly 30 years… it's time to get him a more proper figure. (i know, that's not his powers, but when i got him, i had no clue who he was, he was bought on visual cool alone)
star wars- i want a zaalbar from KOTOR, with bloody paws… anyone who's played the game will know why, and if you don't know why the bloody paws are significant, let me just say "best application of the dark side EVER in any form of media" go play the game already
motuc- extendar, even though he seems a lock for "vintage heavy" 2014… and eldor as a very close second. like poe, i have an affinity for the Mentor archetype, and i want eldor something fierce.
disney movies- yes, sometimes, they get action figures. after years of waiting, we finally got great versions of woody and buzz, and i would like a callahan from wreck-it-ralph, as an action figure not a doll that looks nothing at all like the movie character. her and a well articulated tarzan.
mosquitor toy line- i'd love to see an entire line devoted to starz exclusive "spartacus" series, that show was great, you had a ton of loveable characters, all the main characters got reasonable costume changes, and cast off parts are no longer so socially taboo. i'd seriously invest heavily to snag a gannicus or two, especially if a saxa was made available to go with him. and then, bumped to second spot by the stellar spartacus (that is not my name), my favorite video game franchise is koei's dynasty warriors. i'd murder an entire nursing home to get a complete roster of them, especially if they gave me a red hare for lu bu and guan yu. i'd sell off my marvel legends to have money/space for dynasty warriors figs. that's saying a lot.
Nightboomfer
Marvel: I'd honestly like to see Speedball in some form. Why not? We have Nova, Jubilee, and Darkhawk, why not some more New Warriors?
Star Wars: Huyang. He appearred for a few episodes in the clone wars cartoon, but sadly, that was as the animated toy line was drawing to a close, so the chances of getting this guy in toy form are… sadly slim. The main reason I want him? He was played by none other than David Tennant.
He_Man1
Extendar for MOTUC.
Thommy/Uki
Ooooh! Fun! Here are some of mine:
TMNT: (This is hard, as so many could be considered “Mosquitors.”) I’d have several, including Muckman-and Joe Eyeball (who I lost in the vents on Mom’s minivan and we still won’t tell my dad), Ace Duck, and Slash, but I have to say it is an even tie between Usagi Yojimbo and the Fugitoid. (2 of my Favorite Characters From Anything. Ever.)
MOTUC: It was the Rock Warriors, but fate’s been kind this week, so now it’s Gwildor! Jungle Attack He-Man is close. Oh, and Odiphus!
Star Wars Black: Tempted to say Greedo, but I think he’s almost a given. I’m calling it Watto. Of course, if they make Noa, I’m going to kiss everyone at Hasbro. Toss in Teek and I’ll use tongue. 😉
LeeboFett
Mine has got to be the Warlord.Mattel can stick him in the DC line where he belongs,but it would be cool to see him done up MOTUC style as an homage to the Remco line.There's only been two figures ever done of him and neither really got him right.
Pixel Dan
Happy to see so much love for both Mutagen Man and the Rock Lords in these comments!
clark
TMNT: I am probably going to have to go with Dirtbag. Panda Khan and Slash are right up there with him (if I had Mutagen Man or Muckman as a kid they would probably be there too, but I got them just a couple of years ago).
Dirtbag stood out to me as just a really cool figure, I loved the tattoos (how he tattooed fur I don't know) and stitched up cuts, and his weapons were fun.
Transformers: Granite. We did not have many transformers because they were so expensive. We had Optimus Prime and Soundwave, then the cheap dollar versions you could find at drug stores. We had plenty of Go-bots, but could never figure out how to transform them properly (or their transformations just sucked). However, I loved the Rock Lords, and Granite was definitely my favorite, followed by Nugget. Also they could team up with Rokkon and Stonedar.
MOTU: Rio Blast. Fisto was my absolute favorite, but Rio Blast was so weird and fun. I loved all the guns that were tucked away inside his cyborg body.
GI Joe: Muskrat. I don't know why I liked him so much. I just loved his hat, his machete, and the color green he was cast in.
Misc: Dragonriders of the styx: Black Knight. I just had to google to find out where this figure came from (I thought he was D&D). I loved having a black knight, and I still remember losing him by dropping him the backseat of somebody's car (I think a relative I did not see often). He slid down into the seat where I couldn't get him, and the lady who owned the car thought he was in the upholstery and gave up looking for him without much effort.
GalvaTRION
Mutagen Man is absolutely one of the best, craziest things to come out of any kid’s line. I love that figure, and I freaking hate the episode he had (with the exception of the scene where he gets created- because it is surprisingly horrific). I love him so much, I draw him at work when I’m bored- http://galvatrion.deviantart.com/art/Mutagen-Man-…
So, given that Mutagen Man was already used for a My Mosquitor-
TMNT: Scale Tail (other notables: Muck Man, who my father forced me to sign a contract that stipulated I’d never ask for another toy ever again if he bought it for me [obviously he didn’t stick with that], Chrome Dome, Ace Duck)
Transformers: Squeezeplay (one of the few Transformers that survived my childhood propensity to break everything)
Beast Wars: Wolfang (though I also love Razorclaw, Clawjaw, Snapper, Bonecrusher… f***, there were a ton of great toys in that line)
Rocklords: This whole line kind of counts as a My Mosquitor, really. Still, Sticks n’ Stones.
Go-Bots: Blaster (turns into a missile launcher, not a radio).
G.I.Joe: Everyone hates/makes fun of Shipwreck, but my dad was in the Navy and had a similar beard, so there.
Toxic Crusaders: The Radiation Ranger foot soldier guys look cool and work well with any number of 5 inch lines…
Star Wars: Eh.
MOTU: Eh.
Godzilla (various lines from various companies): GIGAN. Only recently has he ever had a decent figure (the Revoltech one)- every time beforehand the figure always looked weird or had a bad paintjob. Though I’m still trying to justify to myself spending 50 bucks on the Revoltech classic Mogera figure (because damn, that’s one absurd design for a giant robot).
ridureyu
Muck Man was like that for you, too?
Bigbot
I second Slash. I'd love to see Playmates give him the Classics treatment.
Dead Man Walking
Mutagen Man is my Mutagen Man (or Mosquitor or whatever)! I just love the guts and brains in a jar look for a character.
That's why I love the Bubblor create-a-character MOTUC submission http://www.toyark.com/news/attach/1/_DSC5849_1342…
and Emiliano Santaluci's version of Slushead http://www.he-man.org/assets/images/collect_toy/s…
I would KILL (not literally) to get these two in actual figure form.
Pixel Dan
Bubblor totally reminded me of Mutagen Man! Would be awesome to see him made.
Rustin Parr
I'm pretty much 100% on board with Poe's Mosquitors, I'd love to see them all!
I always had a weird fascination with Mutagen Man too. I think for me it was the incongruous design elements, like his visible muscles and sharp metal fingers and toes seemed to make him the most "hardcore"/slasher character but there was something comical and TMNT-ish about the floating eyes and potbelly. All this Mutagen-Man talk, though, has me wanting to track down a second one and fill him with different things, like colored waters and Glow-stick fluid!
Poe Ghostal
You must do that and then post photos!
GalvaTRION
Second.
Pixel Dan
Glow stick fluid would look awesome! Do it!!
jumper11
Funny story about glow stick fluid… I put one in an AT AT I had on display and forgot about it. It eventually started leaking and ate a hole through the AT AT, like alien blood. Non toxic? Hmmmm…
jestergoblin
My TMNT one would be Slash without a question. I love evil versions of heroes.
Poe Ghostal
Good choice! I was initially going to suggest he was maybe too popular for a good Mosquitor pick, but then I realized he hasn't had a figure since the original line, so it makes perfect senes.
ridureyu
Addition:
Kinnikuman (any, there are a few lines): A good version of Atlantis. Plenty other characters have gotten good figures, but Atlantis has been shortchanged since the beginning. His kinkeshi/MUSCLE doesn't look like him, his Romandoh is really low-quality, and he just doesn't get enough attention.
…What happened to my first post? weird…
Poe Ghostal
I'm not sure why your first post was selected for moderation, but I approved it.
ridureyu
It's because I'm edgy. I keep it real.
ridureyu
TMNT: Wyrm. I'd especially love a yellow comics version, but the blue guy we got as a toy would be equally good. Also Antrax, for some reason.
SH Monsterarts: Hedorah. please, my favorite Kaiju is Hedorah! If they ever get Ultraman rights, though, I'd love a Gatanazoa.
Mortal Kombat: Goro, 6" scale, actually a good action figure (the two released have been awful).
NECA Predator: Scarface from the Concrete Jungle game
NECA Aliens: An updated Kenner Mantis Alien
Fist of the North Star Revoltech: Jagi in his Hokuto Musou/Ken's Rage garb
Marvel Select: Doctor Strange with a really trippy backdrop, or Man-Thing witha sizable chunk of the swamp
MOTUC: Rattlor with his MYP design
Marvel Legends: Shuma-Gorath (Yeah, I know, it's because of the video game)
Battle Beast Minimates: An octopus is the only thing that would convince me to come back.
Poe Ghostal
You know there already are super-articulated Ultra-kaiju, right? Under the Ultra-Act banner (same folks as S.H.MonsterArts):
http://www.cooksux.com/2011/11/04/ua_gomora/
http://www.cooksux.com/2012/11/28/ua_redking/
http://www.cooksux.com/2011/09/19/ua_golza/
http://www.cooksux.com/2011/01/30/ua_ultraseven/
And there was even a prototype for an Ultra-Act Gatanozoa: http://i.imgur.com/OAuJe.jpg (The figures around it are 6" tall.) It may never be produced, though.
ridureyu
Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. It's not even a prototype, they made it "for display purposes only." Which might be the most depressing news, ever: http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/images/tp0704/08…
I mean, come on! it's Ghatanothoa! An obscure Lovecraft monster!