When the designers behind He-Man first pitched the concept to Mattel’s upper management, their idea was that the main character would be put in different outfits and fit different eras. This was a common idea at the time, and one the designers would most likely have been familiar with from their own childhoods – the original G.I. Joe figures had different outfits for different situations, and Mattel’s own “Big Jim” concept from the 1970s made heavy use of the concept as well. While I haven’t actually seen or heard this confirmed anywhere, it’s my theory that the name “He-Man” was intended to be used as the name for this whole line, not necessarily the main character. If Mattel had decided to follow the same route Hasbro did in the 1980s with G.I. Joe, what we now know as the Heroic Warriors (or, as Mattel insists on calling them, the “Masters”) would have been called the He-Men.

But I digress. There were three figures in that original pitch: a bizarre half-man, half-tank character that I guess was supposed to show that He-Man could work in some sort of military environment; a barbaric warrior (eventually to become the He-Man we know and love); and a Boba Fett rip-off proving that the immense popularity of Boba Fett’s action figure was clearly evident as early as 1980.

To honor He-Man’s thirtieth anniversary, the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con Masters of the Universe Classics exclusive was a figure they called “Vykron” (a name culled – Kulled? – from some early design documents). It included one “body” and three snap-on “outfits.” Mattel now referred to the barbarian as the “Ultimate Eternian Champion” (who I’ll refer to as “the Champion”), the Boba Fett as “Space Ace” and the half-man, half-tank as “Tank Top.”

Many fans were disappointed by the snap-on nature of the armor when the figure was revealed. But what’s it like in-hand?

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In 1985, Mattel held the “Create-a-Character” contest, inviting kids to design their very own Masters of the Universe character. The winner was Fearless Photog, created by Nathan Bitner. For whatever reason, Fearless Photog was never produced back then; it would be another twenty-seven years before a Fearless Photog figure would become a reality. By comparison, it took less then twelve months for the winner of the second Create-a-Character contest, Castle Grayskullman by Daniel Benedict, to become a reality. (more…)