Mantenna
was highly anticipated by everyone who pays any attention to the
Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. Partially because he was
one of the last remaining heavy hitters from the Evil Horde, but
mostly because we all wanted to see how Matty was going to handle a
figure that seemingly defied re-use of parts – whether it was going
to use existing parts or be a source of parts to future figures.
Once
Matty finally revealed the production pictures, even the most
strident of Matty cynics had to admit that the finished product was
breathtaking. For the most part the Four Horsemen do a bang-up job on
this line, but every once in a while they create something truly
spectacular.
I
also had fond memories of the original Mantenna toy. I didn’t own
one, but a buddy of mine that had all
of the Masters toys did. This guy even had the Eternia Playset, which
was such an out of reach item that it wasn’t even on my radar. I
didn’t know what it was the first time I saw it, and I didn’t
remember it until a few years ago when I got into collecting MOTUC.
But I remember that guy’s Mantenna and the simple joy I got out of
pushing that little lever and watching those bulbous orbs rise up out
of the figure’s head.
Of
course, that’s no how this updated Mantenna works, so let’s go
ahead and talk about that.
First
Glance:
This is one of the most striking MOTUC figures I have seen yet.
Articulation:
I had assumed that Matty would cut some corners on articulation –
ankles or knees, maybe – to accommodate the figure’s complex
form. I was wrong. Mantenna sports the articulation of a standard
MOTUC figure in all of the same places, even though he has more
places.
Head
– ball joint
Shoulders
– ball joints
Biceps
- swivels
Elbows
–pivots
Wrists
– swivels
Torso
- pivot
Waist
– swivel
Hips
– ball joints
Thighs
– swivels
Knees
–pivots
Boot
Tops - swivels
Ankles
– pivots
Mantenna’s
unique and eccentric appearance does not interfere with the
functionality of his joints. None of the fins and giant ears and
whatnot block movement.
The
head has a pretty good range and can look in whatever direction you
like.
The
legs are amazingly versatile. They don’t get in each other’s way
and the rubber underpants on the figure’s lower torso are flexible
enough that they don’t cause any restrictions.
Mantenna
has a nice, deep knee pivot; considering the armor around his knees
and the fins on his thighs.
Mantenna’s
ankles are fantastic. Rather than using the lame, almost
non-functional rocker joint that they’ve been utilizing lately,
Mattel gave Mantenna all-new feet with full hinges built into the
ankles. They work well and look fine. This design has been used on
some of the female figures in the line and I think it’s great. The
ankles have a deep pivot and the rocker in the foot moves
side-to-side.
Sculpt:
Mantenna is a 100% new sculpt – even his hands and feet.
The
head is a marvel of insanity and clever design. The massive ears
manage to look sinister rather than goofy. The shape of the skull is
bizarre and off-putting – it looks like it was made just to house
those creepy eyeballs. Both of those eyeballs and the mouth are
removable, but look great when they are in place. The eyes are
perfectly round and the mouth and tusks are detailed and even.
Mantenna’s
torso is unique and packed with interesting detail. The big Horde
crest on the front is obviously the first thing that draws the eye.
It matches the style and look of the many other Horde crests in the
line and is a nice, raised sculpt. The rest of the torso consists of
various pieces of plating that could be Mantenna’s exoskeleton or
actual armor. I’m leaning towards exoskeleton, but that’s part of
the charm of MOTU – you just don’t know sometimes.
Mantenna’s
arms and legs have these detailed fins sticking out of them that are
big and conspicuous, but manage to not interfere with movement. It
does bug me a little bit that the bumpy texture on his legs is not
present on his arms. The hands are new five-fingered sculpts with
claws. The right is an open fist for holding stuff and the left is
opened a little wider – more of a clutching hand. The figure’s
feet are booted and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that
Mantenna has on four matching licensed Hordak© brand boots. I love
Hordak’s sense of brand identity.
Coloring:
Mantenna actually has a fairly simplistic paint job – no washes and
very little detailing – but the boldness of the colors works well.
He is colored heroically, which is probably why his face had to be so
fucking hideous. Traditionally primary colors – red, yellow, blue –
are associated with the good guys. I will say that throwing the
blacks in on the torso and limb armor helps a lot.
The
head does have a darker wash to bring out some of the details. The
eyes are a glossy yellow and the teeth are an off-white that makes
them look more like tusks. The pupils are precisely placed in the
same spot on each eyeball. If you take the time to position them the
same way, they match up perfectly. I didn’t do this for every
picture.
The
rest of Mantenna’s deco is applied well. All of the colors stay
where they are supposed to. I don’t have any blotches and no joints
were frozen by paint. I like the distinction between the blue of the
legs and the metallic blue of the Hordak© brand boots. The reds,
blues, and blacks all match shade across the various types of
plastics used.
Flair:
Mantenna has a new rubber lower abdomen piece to accommodate his four
legs and hide the joints. It has a pretty standard studded belt with
armor plating that matches what’s on the torso. It looks really
good and does what it is supposed to do – unobtrusively cover the
ugliest joints on the figure.
Accessories:
Mantenna comes with a Horde crossbow and an extra set of eyes
sculpted to look like they are extending out of the figure’s skull.
The
Horde crossbow is a new, unique design. The sculpt is great and the
metallic silver plastic looks good. But I think it could’ve
benefitted from a wash or some small amount of detailing. I hate to
see weapons in this line with sub-par decos.
The
eye stalks look great. The eyeballs themselves are perfectly
spherical and the stalks are totally gross – all veiny. I love how
the glossy yellow paint covers the eyeballs and blends down into the
flat red plastic. The stalks plug securely into the holes in the head
and stay put. My problem here – and my only real issue with the
figure – is that the eye stalks protrude forward rather than up. On
the vintage Mantenna, the stalks popped out at maybe a 60° angle.
Not directly up, but mostly up. These are basically horizontal to the
body, which is not correct. While the extra elevation offered by the
feature on the regular feature is negligible, it was something. And
one of Mantenna’s assets is that he “uses his antenna eyes to spy
on the enemy”. I don’t see how a pair of eyes that extend roughly
twelve (scale) inches forward of their normal position are going to
do a whole lot of good.
I
feel like the figure was probably intended to come with a Filmation
style mouth, as well. There’s no other reason for the mouth to be
detachable – it doesn’t interfere with eye removal at all. I like
the horrifying vagina full of razors that Mantenna came with, though,
so I don’t really care about that other mouth.
Packaging:
The standard MOTUC blister card. I love the blister and this is
probably my favorite modern toy packaging. I think the best thing
about it is that Mattel has kept the design consistent through the
life of the series. That does not often happen. Granted, I open all
of my figures, but for the folks who leave them in the package it
must be nice to have one line that actually all matches.
Mantenna’s
bio is one of the most well-written of the whole line. There’s
nothing in here that is outright stupid or that undermines the
character. Even his name and home planet sound pretty reasonable.
Value:
Definitely worth the price, even once you add shipping. There aren’t
many MOTUC figures that I would say that about.
Overall:
Mantenna is fantastic. I’m disappointed that his eyes aren’t what
I thought they should be, but everything else about the figure makes
it one of the shining examples of how wonderful Masters of the
Universe Classics can be. Getting this guy a month or so before my
Castle Grayskull arrived was a nice sort of affirmation. I hate to
not give him a perfect score, but those eyes, man. That’s his whole
deal.
How do you mess that up?
4
out of 5
Regardless
of the eyes, Mantenna is a must –have figure. I don’t know that
I’d go so far as to say he transcends the MOTUC line and would
recommend him to other collectors, but he is a great figure that is
fun to play with. Also, he’s so damned strange that he would fit on
any random monster shelf and not stand out as being too
He-Man like.
-Phantom
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