As a kid, I was a massive fan of He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, watching the cartoon series and collecting a healthy chunk of the action figures. So when I learned that Mattel was making a cross-over series between the two toy franchises, that really hit me where I live.
Unfortunately, because where I live is in Canada, I couldn't find any of the damn figures for nearly a year after they were introduced and even then, it wasn't the full collection. Oh well....
Let's first talk about the Grayskull Ring, which is a thing of freaking beauty. I'd argue it's actually better than the more traditional, standard-size ring Mattel makes for its WWE figures.
The ultimate tribute to Masters of the Universe, the ring is similar to the original Castle Grayskull playset, complete with faux green bricks and skulls perched on top of each turnbuckle. There are also rickety wooden stairs that make you feel as though Skeletor is on his way into the ring.
Again.... points for staying faithful to the MOTU line (which has undergone a surge in popularity in recent years). This not only holds true for the ring itself, but also the figures, which look nearly identical to the He-Man figs I played with (and may have taken with me into the bathtub, truth be told) as a Little Bulldog.
The figures are all in scale to the He-Man originals as well.
Oooooh yeah! As someone who doesn't own any Mattel Randy Savage figures (except for the Retro ones, which are fine but not nearly as cool as the more-accurate Macho Man figs), I knew I needed to pick this up as soon as I saw it.
A call-back to MOTU's Man At Arms, Savage comes complete with a removeable bandana, a scepter (in tribute to his days as Macho King?), giant yellow kneepads, and the classic purple "Macho Man" shirt with a twist -- you can replace the sunglass logo on his chest with two variant versions, as if to signify his glasses being crushed by your opponent's battle armor.
It's a pain to remove the logo from Macho Man's shirt.... but you quickly learn with these figures that the head, hands, waist and boots twist off to make it easier to assemble your Macho Man At Arms and other characters.
More on that later.
I'm not entirely sure which figure Seth Rollins is patterned after in the Masters of the Universe... um, universe, but that's truly not the end of the world.
While I'm not the world's biggest Seth Rollins fan, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by how this one turned out. Both his headscan and trunks are faithful to The Monday Night Messiah, and his chest armor doesn't look all that out of place.
Rollins also comes with a flame sword of some kind, presumably to "Burn It Down" (clearly the figure was introduced before his late-2019 heel turn).
Of note, each Masters of the WWE Universe figure comes with a pamphlet-sized comic book. Even though it's not comprehensive at all, it gives a bit of a glimpse into the connection to the WWE version of each MOTU persona.
Braun Strowman is resplendent here as the ultimate tribute to Beast Man.... although, I have to say, wouldn't Brock Lesnar have been a better Beast Man given his nickname is "The Beast Incarnate"? And for that matter, He-Man's loyal companion Battle Cat could have received a tribute via WWE's Battle Kat. A bit obscure, I know, but these names are ripe for the picking, people!
The Monster... er, Beast Among Men comes complete with war paint, Legion Of Doom-style shoulder pads and matching chest plate combo (including Strowman's logo on the front), and two gigantic red claws that fit nicely over his "Get These" hands.
All in all, one of the better WWE-MOTU crossovers and certainly among the ones that I currently own.
According to my research online.... The Fiend Bray Wyatt is largely patterned after MOTU's Trapjaw, which I admittedly had to look to see the comparison photos.
Not only does The Fiend have a small topknot on his head that mirrors Trapjaw's, but his mouth actually moves slightly (a rarity for figures that somewhat basic in articulation).
In addition, The Fiend's hands can be switched out for an ax and mace (another tribute to Trapjaw). How cool would it have been had they included Ramblin' Rabbit or Mercy The Buzzard to fit on his hands instead?
Oh well.... it's hard to complain. This is my second version of a Mattel "Fiend" figure and while I like the more accurate Elite version better... this one is super-badass as well.
I couldn't figure out who Mr. T is supposed to be patterned after in the MOTU world, but who cares? It's Mr. T!!! I pity the fool who doesn't like... he.
A very new addition to the wrestling figure game, Mr. T has a version of his WrestleMania 1 red trunks on; body armor that I prefer the figure not have; and two giant fists that snap on over his hands to make the most menacing version of Mr. T ever.
Honestly, given Mr. T was an 80s icon, the crossover to MOTU is a no-brainer. Plus if you happen to own any of the AWA Remco figures, it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility to have an interpromotional action figure battle between T and, say, Larry Zybszko. And before you ask... YES, Mr. T would go over in that one; I don't care what Verne Gagne says!
Much like Mr. T.... I'm not sure who Roman Reigns is supposed to be patterned after. But quite honestly, if you take away his shield (oh, wait - I get it... The Shield!) and oversized punching glove, you have a perfectly serviceable figure of The Big Dog. And last but not least, John Cena comes in regular He-Man version and a Faker He-Man version... both of which are just about perfect. Check out the "WORD LIFE" brass knux to boot!
Earlier, I mentioned how you can snap off various part of each Masters of the WWE Universe figure to put various accessories on and off. Well, you can also use that functionality to swap parts with different figures, very similar to Mattel's criminally underappreciated Create a WWE Superstar line.
Not sure if today's He-Man figures also have this technology, but even just with the wrestlers, the options for customizing and changing are pretty endless. And these are just some of the combinations for the five figures I have - there are more than a dozen out there in previous waves, including The Ultimate Warrior, Triple H, Sting, The Undertaker, The New Day and a Jake "The Snake" Roberts that I desperately need to acquire.
Overall, these are fun figures to collect. While I personally don't need to track down every last one to sleep well at night... it's a really commendable crossover series.