It’s the calm before the storm. The pregame before the party. The amuse bouche before the entree. And such and such. The point being, MOTU is about to run wild on the world with a June movie, but the build up is a lot of fun, too.
I could talk all day about what all is going on in support of MOTU from a toy standpoint, but we are here to focus on the second figure released in the all-new Chronicles line, King Grayskull. If you saw my Scare Glow feature, you know I LOVE that figure. Frankly, I am not nearly as high on this one as I was the Evil Ghost of Skeletor, but this is still a good figure with a lot of tells for what is to come.
As you know, King Grayskull is a product of the 200X era, so while that is now over 20(!!!) years ago, he still feels like a relatively new character. I understand the histrionics and the purpose of the character, but admittedly, he has never been one of my favorite guys. I don’t know – maybe it is putting the tradition of the Power of Grayskull more in the Power Sword, and then the lineage takes care of it self, but He-Man IS He-Man, and I feel like KG kind of cheapens his legacy. I like the combinative “Sword in the Stone” logic of the person is just as important as the sword, and there is still a bit of that with KG, but he has just never connected for me.
That said, he is now an important part of the mythos, so of course I will want his representation in a MOTU action figure line. Chronicles wasted no time adding him, and he currently on-sale as an exclusive at Mattel Creations. The reimagined design fits in with the these that Scare Glow established, and his size and overall build appears to be much more indicative of what we can expect for most future characters going forward. While I feel that you can cheat Scare Glow into Masterverse, that is absolutely NOT the case here, and the truer 1:12 scale of Chronicles is now much more established.
The design work well, and Chronicles is showing that it will certainly embellish and add more detail, but it is more restrained than 200X, or even New Eternia. I like that, frankly, because the classic designs are timeless, and the more based in that history modern figures are, the more successful the outcomes. So, the armor, shoulder pads, loin cloth, et. al are all unique in the updates, but still feel very MOTU. The weaponry follows the same path, and I have to admit that new Chronicles Power Sword might be my favorite part of this release, I REALLY like it.
One thing that is still waiting to prove itself out to me for this line is the build, and KG shades negatively for me in that regard. Let me explain: Chronicles looks to be going for a much more realistic build for the characters, but still very muscular. The “bubble” muscle shape that has helped define this property for decades has been put aside, and these guys feel like maybe an actual human could achieve these physiques. I am POSITIVE this is being done to integrate the actors in the movies more into the property. For so long, people have tried to match the person to the figure, but Mattel has reversed that, and it is really savvy, honestly. It allows a large swath of actors to be considered beyond just being muscle-bound.
But… I kind of miss the bigger build, especially for a guy like KG who has generally been portrayed as massive. That is a style adjustment I will have to get used to, I guess, because functionally, everything works as well, if not better, than with Scare Glow. I am also not a fan of the likeness. It just does not work for me here at all, but that is (hopefully) something unique to this character, and will not be endemic in the line overall.
So, bottom line, I don’t love this figure, but I still hold out a lot of hope for Chronicles. Scare Glow is (hopefully) a much better example of things to come, but if King Grayskull is your guy, at least you get him right out of the gate. As I said, he is Mattel Creations exclusive and is available now.
About the Author
