The Rise of Evil

The Rise of Evil

Masters of the Universe Origins - Mattel

The Rise of Evil…fitting name for a Target exclusive!  As usual, distribution is uneven and spotty, region to region and store to store.  Target’s online stock comes and goes in the night.  Literally…you get once chance at the in-stock alert and you better be prepared to jump outta bed and fight armies of online bot buyers.  Having the worst Target that I have ever been to as my home Target, I gave up early in the game.  Gas prices are too high, and my time is better spent elsewhere.  E(vil)-Bay scalpers seemed to be the only other option, but I wasn’t ready to jump at prices starting at $60 and rising for a $30 set.

Considering all that, is it worth the headache for a goofy looking, pre-transformation Trap Jaw and the handsome, pre-acid burned Skeletor?  How often is one going to be playing out pre He-man scenarios in their Eternia? 

Kronis’ face is the worst of the line so far.  He looks like Horace from “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”, Billy Cole from “Fright Night”, or any terrifying human characters in Gumby’s world.  Neck down isn’t much better. 

 

He doesn’t have the skull and crossbones cummerbund, but does have a fuller shoulder harness.  The harness has slots for extra accessories like the bund does, but he gets nothing extra to store there.  Just weird foreshadowing for his extra claw attachments?  He does have a rather large rifle, but its too big to store.

Keldor is the big seller for this pack.  I’m sure he would have done just fine on his own, in a regular assortment, but nooooo…just had to go the exclusive route.  He looks great.  The purples are a bit darker than on Skelly, and I’m not sure why his future self would ditch the extra green paint detailing and awesome cape in the future.   I get the arm bands and boots, as he becomes a bit more monstrous in those areas…feet and forearms needed some room to grow, apparently.

He comes with his staff and sword, but with a unique, fading/translucent green and purple scheme.  I’m not sure if that is supposed to illustrate his magic powers, or his transformation from the acid wash/melding with Demo-man.  It looks cool, nonetheless!  

What’s more is he comes with a great Alfredo Alcala inspired alternate Skeletor head.  Gotta be honest, this is what drove me to keep pursuing this pack.  I love the old mini comics art.  I have one like it in the Masters of the Universe Classics line.  Where this one differs AND sets the bar higher, is they have given him some ruby, reflective eyes!  Way to amp up the creepy on this already awesome character!

How did I finally snag this set?  Well, Target didnt want my money any more than Mattel did, and I didnt pay an internet scalper.  I follow a fan page for the line on Facebook, where a kind fan was able to grab an armful for other collectors and was selling them at cost plus shipping.  Shipping is a bit high these days, so that’s about all the extra I paid out.  It’s great to be a part of such a giving fan community where there are others looking out for their fellow collectors.  Quite a contrast to the recently violent and greedy turn for the sports card community.  Out of control market speculation has lead to even more Target insanity.  Blind card packs are one thing, but they started limiting action figures to one per customer…with some not realizing that assortments contain different figures in a series AND some contain build-a-figure parts!  Target is the absolute worst in so, so many ways.  I am glad to be done with them…for now, at least.  The evil kingdom of Tar-get sinks back into the abyss, biding it’s time until another ludicrous exclusive is inexplicably given to them to bungle.

Ghostbusters Action Vinyls

 Ghostbusters Action Vinyls

The Loyal Subjects

Who would have thought we’d ever reach a point in time where there are too many Ghostbusters toy lines?  As great as the Real Ghostbusters was, my kid self always wanted a true movie line with actor likenesses and all the ghosts.  Now we have at least half a dozen of those in different shapes and sizes…and here is one of those unique sizes with the Loyal Subjects’ Action Vinyls line.

I’ve got a couple of their Masters of the Universe figures, and I have reviewed Hank from King of the Hill.  This is more of the same:  nicely sculpted and articulated, 3inch figures with oversized heads.  I used to love “super D” or “deformed” figures back when they hadn’t been done to death, so I wasn’t exactly knocking down the door to get these at $11-12 each.  However, I jumped on them at a local GameStop sale for $2!  Two dollars!  I would say they are at least worth $5, so that’s a steal!  I even got to keep the display box.

 

Slimer has a ton of accessories…but, once again, no GB1 accurate butt crack.  Wah waaa!

I was able to snag the four boys in gray, Janine, and Gozer in this sale.  The others, according to the cards, are more rare.  Good enough…but I kept my eyes peeled on EBay.  I picked up Stay Puft from Amazon in the meantime.  As a larger figure, he was separate from the assortment.  Weeks later, one EBay seller had Slimer, the Librarian, and the ultra-rare Dana…at $10 each!  Close to retail price, and I was actually able to complete the line.

Dana’s rarity pays off in the form of the most awesomely bright, glow in the dark feature I have ever seen!  Are we sure the paint they used isn’t radioactive?

 

Sadly, I nor Loyal Subjects was able to complete a full lineup.  Old Toy Fair images showed prototypes for Terror Dog, Louis Tully, the Cab Driver ghost, and even a pre-transformation Librarian.  Short of the subway ghost, this could have been the first line to deliver a complete Ghostbusters roster!  Sigh…

Also, RIP Ray’s cigarette.  Good on Loyal Subjects for the attempt, but the kibosh just leaves Ray with forever-frozen-in-plastic dumb look on his face.

Anyway, they’re still fun to play with and look really nice with the too-small Plasma Series Ecto-1.  Their big heads wont allow them inside (and their packs don’t come off, either), but they still size up nicely and give off a Sega Genesis Ghostbuster vibe.  If you can nab them on sale, go for it!

On another Ghostbusters kick, I learned that Janine’s lucky coin from a deleted scene actually exists!  Thanks again, EBay!  If you haven’t seen this cut scene, it’s worth a gander: