Tag: He-Man

Poe’s Point > The Buzzlords

I’ve had a theory for a while that modern adult action figure collectors of a certain age (i.e., the ones currently driving the market, between the ages of 30-50 mostly) have gone through a number of fads. I’m calling them…the Buzzlords.*

While there have been plenty of popular action figure lines throughout the years, these are the lines that seem to dominate an era.** Here’s what I see as the most important traits of these lines:

  • The line appeals to fans of the property who perhaps aren’t toy collectors
  • The line appeals to adults who were fans of the property as children
  • The line draws in collectors who weren’t fans of the property at all
  • At some point, the line becomes hot enough that the scalpers come in and start trying to make a quick buck.
  • There are multiple instances of collectors going nuts trying to find or preorder particular figures, especially variants and exclusives (the monthly Top Ten lists in ToyFare were particularly instructive for this)
  • And finally, and I’m sure most controversially, the lines have a certain “buzz” around them among collectors – they’re the line everyone is familiar with, the one you see at every booth at comic conventions, the one that gets the occasional mainstream news article written about it.

So, using these criteria, here is my list of the Buzzlords since the modern collecting era. The years are obviously a rough approximation, as lines waxed and waned and some overlapped in their popularity, and many of these lines kept going long after their initial burst of mega-popularity (such as Marvel Legends).

  • 1994-1995 Spawn (McFarlane Toys)
  • 1995-1997 Star Wars: Power of the Force 2 (Hasbro)
  • 1997-2000 Movie Maniacs (McFarlane Toys)
  • 2000-2002 The Simpsons: World of Springfield (Playmates)
  • 2002-2006 Marvel Legends (ToyBiz)
  • 2006-2010 DC Universe Classics (Mattel)
  • 2010-2015 Masters of the Universe Classics (Mattel)
  • 2015-2020 Star Wars Black (Hasbro)
  • 2020-? G.I. Joe Classified (Hasbro)

Honorable Mentions: Masters of the Universe 200X (Mattel), G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary (Hasbro), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NECA)

But this is just my list. Perhaps it’s biased, or perhaps I’m just way off-base with this theory in general. I’d love to hear your thoughts! (No, really, I would! That’s not just comment-baiting. I mean it is, but it’s not just that.)

*Why the Buzzlords, you ask? Why not, say, the Zeitgeist Lines? 1.) I don’t think there’s anything about these lines that particularly embodies the spirit of their age (except maybe Movie Maniacs). 2.) “Buzzlord” is more fun and memorable than “zeitgeist” – and potentially marketable if the idea takes off. 3.) It kind of sounds like a forgotten Sectaurs character.

**I’m going to exclude sports-themed lines like Starting Lineup and McFarlane Sports. I mean no offense, but the collectors of those lines seem somewhat different from the sort of collector who would visit PGPoA. Their love of the lines comes as much from their love of the sports and their favorite teams and players as it does the toys themselves (which tend to be more like statues than action figures). That said, there’s no question those lines were very popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. You might think I’m being unfair, and if so, click here for a rebuttal on my behalf from an expert witness.

Poe Totally Missed This > He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Getting an Ongoing Comic

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I’ve been meaning to write up my thoughts on the DC Comics MOTU miniseries, but in the meantime the series evidently did well enough to score an ongoing title. This news broke over two months ago, but I’m rather out of the MOTU loop…plus I haven’t enjoyed the new series much.

Anyway, the first issue of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuts April 17, written by Keith Giffen and drawn by Pop Mhan. Ed Benes does the main cover (above) and there will be a variant She-Ra cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson.

Assuming you can get past Teela’s ridiculous cleavage, you might notice that creepily sexy Hordak-looking thing. The press release says this is the “return” of She-ra, who is “now known as Despara, the most lethal weapon in Hordak’s army.” So does this mean He-Man actually knew She-Ra in this universe, but then She-Ra left and somehow became Hordak’s slave again – or is this just the return of She-Ra to comics and is actually a new origin story? I don’t know.

There will be at least twelve issues of this title, since Mattycollector is offering a 12-issue subscription featuring a variant action figure cover for the first issue.

Review > Icarius (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

I can’t recall ever seeing a single episode of The New Adventures of He-Man. I’m sure, as an adolescent, I caught one randomly somewhere and though, “That’s not He-Man! Lame” (along with “”Man, am I way too old for He-Man”–it would be another ten years before I was again the right age for He-Man). As I’ve mentioned before, I did own the Optikk toy, because it was a scifi alien dude with an eyeball for a head. But the rest of the NA universe didn’t exist for me.

I certainly never owned Flipshot, known as Icarius overseas.* If I’d seen him at a store as a kid, I probably would have dismissed him as a generic-looking science fiction soldier guy with a jetpack who looked an awful lot like other toys, especially Ace McCloud from the Centurions.

And on the surface, that’s what his Masters of the Universe Classics figure is, too. However, Icarius has been lovingly crafted by the Four Horsemen into an amazing action figure–possibly the best since Trap Jaw.

Poe Plays Favorites 2010 (The Awards Post)


Wow, am I late with this thing. Frankly the only reason I’m even doing it is to placate my obsessive-compulsiveness–there must be a PPF for every year, even if it takes me three months into the following year to do it.

Odds ‘n Ends > Surf Party USA

  • You may have noticed PGPoA seems a bit…wider. That’s right, we’ve increased our girth, and completely without the aid of that terrifying Enzyte mascot with the rictus grin of a ten-month-old corpse. It was mostly done because I was finding it difficult to post certain videos, since the smallest embed options were larger than the 500px width I was using. The new width may screw up some of the older reviews, so let me know if you notice any, and bear with me as I fix them. Thanks as always to OB1 for the fix.
  • As I mentioned previously, PGPoA has brand-new forums in the hip phpbb style all the kids are talking about.
  • Evil-lyn and Wun-Dar arrived at Chez Ghostal this morning, though I won’t see them until I get home from work. Expect reviews next week–remember reviews?
  • The weapons pack is due to arrive Monday. In the meantime, check out this creative use of the brown Beast Man armor from the weapons pack. It makes Wun-Dar about 10x more awesome.
  • A few weeks ago, Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I saw How to Train Your Dragon. It was the first time I’ve seen a Dreamworks movie approach a Pixar level of quality. Other movies I’m psyched for this summer, for good or ill: The Losers, Iron Man 2, The A-Team, and The Expendables. Damn, the Expendables had better be good, because I want to love that movie so bad. (Before you ask, no, I haven’t seen Kick-Ass and have no interest in doing so, though I have no big qualms with it and wish it well.)
  • DC Unlimited’s God of War figures–because aren’t you tired of having to bend your well-articulated NECA Kratos into a squatting position and then leaving him that way forever?

MOTUC He-Man coming to TRU in exclusive 2-pack

In other news I was totally not paying attention to, this month’s ToyFare features the announcement of a two-pack of MOTUC He-Man and DCUC Superman, which will be available exclusively at Toys ‘R Us. Thanks to Newton Gimmick for the scoop.

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