“Heroic Ancestor of He-Man!
He-Man’s ancestor once ruled Eternia with wisdom and compassion, as he protected the planet from the Snake Men and the Evil Horde.” – Box art bio
From Out of Nowhere, King Grayskull!
Back at the beginning of April and with no prior fanfare, Mattel announced a new version of King Grayskull. Not in the Masterverse line though but rather in the new Chronicles line. Not only that, this new figure was going to be a Mattel Creations exclusive! Yes, another exclusive! Just what we want.
But wait! Although lucky people in the US have managed to get upcoming Chronicles figures already, here in the UK we’re looking at late April or even May at the earliest. So with this King Grayskull figure being released on the 9th April (on the 8th for Club Grayskull members) this actually represents an early chance to check out the new Chronicles line.
Lovely, But Who’s King Grayskull?
Introduced in an episode of the early 2000s Mike Young Productions (MYP) “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”, King Grayskull defended the castle that bears his name against the Snake Men and Hordak. He cast his evil foes into the dimension of Despondos, but the effort of doing so proved fatal to him. Before dying however, he managed to transfer his power into his sword. This became the Sword of Power and the very same Sword that many years later, transforms Adam, his ancestor, into He-Man.
To be honest, King Grayskull’s origins are rather confusing but the basics are: Powerful ancestor of He-Man!
Jump to Section:
Packaging
As this is a Mattel Creations exclusive, extra love and care has been lavished on the packaging. Starting off with the outer mailer box, it’s pretty funny how the contents are illustrated with silhouettes of the figure and weapons:
Comparing it to the mailer box New Eternia Moss Man came in, King Grayskull’s box isn’t as tall but is quite a bit wider.
Moving on to the inner boxes of both figures, the new design for King Grayskull isn’t a complete overhaul but it is certainly less “shoe-boxy” than Moss Man’s. The angled right hand side of the new box makes it look a bit more interesting.
Box Art
Okay, that’s enough about boxes! I’ve got to move onto the artwork because it is simply stunning:
Note the large number of Snake Men on the front of the box. None of these characters ever made it to the Masterverse line so it would be interesting if this is a hint of what’s to come in Chronicles. Alternatively, it could simply be King Grayskull facing off against his old foes, nothing more!
Inside the box is an insert with the scene from the front of the box. Previous Mattel Creations exclusives like this had art inserts too and it’s great that this is continuing with the Chronicles line. The reverse of the insert has another scene featuring a snake temple. Very moody!
A bit more reading around suggests that the box art might be a homage to the cover art for heavy metal band Manowar’s 1992 album “The Triumph of Steel”. That’s pretty neat if true. Makes me wonder whether the big hair and chiselled looks of this King Grayskull are entirely coincidental!
Figure Overview
To save bogging down this review, I might do a separate article comparing the scale of this figure to various Masterverse examples. Suffice to say this new King Grayskull seems to be using the new Chronicles He-Man body. It looks really good but the bad news is it is quite a bit shorter than the standard Masterverse body.
A quick comparison with Viking He-Man shows the size differences:
I will say, the height difference isn’t quite so dramatic in hand. The shoulder armour and King Grayskull’s big hair both give the illusion of the figure feeling taller than it really is.
You can also make use of the newer figure’s drop hips to make it stand a little bit taller:
There’s been quite a bit of confusion over the actual size of the new Chronicles figures. I don’t think King Grayskull’s own page on Mattel Creations helps with the size comparison with Origins Despara.
On that page, the size comparison makes it look like King Grayskull isn’t much taller than Despara. I’m not sure what that is all about as this King Grayskull is 17.5cm/6.8 inches tall. If you pop out the drop hips (sorry old boy!), the figure gets close to 18cm/shade over 7 inches. The Origins Despara is about 14cm/roughly 5.5inches tall.
Not the best size comparison there, Mattel!
Articulation
So the height and build of Chronicles King Grayskull is smaller than Masterverse. However, what’s lost in size is made up somewhat by the brand new articulation system. It really is very good:
New!
Two ball joints at the neck! One at the top as usual for the head and one at the bottom where the neck joins the chest.
A small upgrade that adds a surprising amount of character to poses.
New!
New shoulder butterfly joints. These allow the arms to be moved forwards and back somewhat at the shoulders.
It’s not a huge amount of movement really but it does make two handed wielding of weapons easier.
Old!
The arms still go all the way around and out for a “T” pose.
Nothing that the Masterverse figures couldn’t do of course but the joints feel smoother and the new butterfly joints help as well.
Old!
Bicep joints allow you to swivel the arms in and out.
Again, nothing that the Masterverse figures didn’t have.
New!
New double joints at the elbows. These look to be a completely new system over the one used by Masterverse figures.
Doesn’t add a lot more movement over the older figures to be honest but the elbow joints are really smooth to move about.
One improvement however is that the bicep muscle doesn’t need to have the weird looking cut that the Masterverse figures have. The upper arms of the Chronicles figures all look at lot more natural.
New!
New wrist joints! These are also completely new. Instead of the hand having a peg that fits into the wrist, here it’s reversed and the peg is on a ball joint at the wrist. The hand fits over this peg and the ball joint means the hand can move about and up and down.
Removes the need for separate hands with an up and down hinge.
Old!
Mid-torso ball joint allowing plenty of movement. Although this is a carry over from the Masterverse line, it did tend to be quite a difficult joint to get moving. On this Chronicles figure though, it was really smooth right out of the box.
New!
New waist joint! Another ball joint I think, allowing the figure to be bent forwards, backwards and to the sides.
Not a huge amount of movement to be honest but feels a lot more naturalistic than the simple swivel in Masterverse figures.
Old
The hip joints are a mixture of old and new.
They retain the usual forwards, backwards and out to the sides articulation. Plus they still have the drop down movement of the newer Masterverse figures. This is useful to make the figure a little taller!
Unfortunately the kilt/furry trunks combo does limit the movement somewhat. I’m sure with a bit of work the figure would sit fine on say… a Battle Lion figure!
Replaced!
The mid-thigh cuts of the Masterverse figures, have here been replaced by rotating hips.
The hips don’t rotate a tremendous amount to be honest. However the thigh cuts could sometimes be ugly and distracting so I’m pleased to see these gone!
New!
New double joints at the knees.
These are very much like the new elbow joints. Unlike those I feel the new knees allow for a lot more motion over the Masterverse version. The figure’s foot can bent back a really long way. Okay, it’s not exactly natural looking but it’s an upgrade over the Masterverse figures.
Once again, the joints feel nice smooth out of the box.
Old!
Mid-shin swivel joint on both legs, just above the boots. Weirdly, considering how great all of the other joints are, these are really stiff and hard to move!
New – Maybe!
And finally the ankle joints. Are these new like the wrists? I’m not sure but they seem to allow for a lot more motion than before.
As King Grayskull uses the same body as the 2026 movie He-Man Chronicles figure, this gives a pretty good idea of how the new line’s re-designed articulation works. It really is very good too and feels like an upgrade over the Masterverse line.
Design
For the Revelation cartoon, King Grayskull was a big, regal-looking black guy with nice long braided dreads. The tie in figure followed suit and looked great. In fact, it’s one of my favourite figures from the Revelation sub-line:
This Chronicles version of King Grayskull has gone back to the character’s roots and has a white skin tone and blonde hair. Still has the braids though.
This does make the figure look like yet another white barbarian dude and we already have plenty of those, including He-Man himself of course. The overall design of this figure just feels less distinctive than the Revelations figure.
In the MYP cartoon, King Grayskull was also depicted as being massively built. With the smaller Chronicles scale, this version is definitely not huge. Not even very big at all. If you collect more Chronicles figures, this King Grayskull won’t seem so oddly small alongside them but it will never be the large hulking figure from those cartoons.
With that out of my system, let’s talk about what I like about the figure! It has a very 1980s metal band look about the face and hair – perhaps I’m being influenced by the Manowar connection in the art work!
There’s also a lovely Celtic flair to the knot work designs on the battle axe and shield. The rear of the kilt has an embossed crossed swords design too. Does this look familiar? It’s the design from Castle Grayskull’s flag and is a really nice touch!
Along with the new designs some traditional elements are retained. The “asterisk” chest design (mirrored on the shield), the red cape with a ragged edge and the fur on the shoulders. It’s a shame this figure doesn’t have the faux fur or the wired cape of the Masterverse version. This does feel like a down grade and a shame considering this new figure is a Mattel Creations deluxe figure.
Paint Application
This is something that’s better than the Masterverse figure for the most part. The harness has a nicely done weathered leather look to the straps. The wrist guards are really well painted with a gun metal grey, gold embellishments and a darker wash over both. The kilt has dark gold edging to match the belt too. It all looks really good.
So the paint application feels a little more premium on this Chronicles King Grayskull than the Masterverse version. The latter of course has the fancier wired cape though, so in a competition of which deluxe figure is the more deluxe, they end up about the same!
In comparison with other deluxe Masterverse figures, this King Grayskull does come up a bit short however. For example the Mattel Creations Moss Man had a wash over the body, something this King Grayskull lacks. It’s a niggly little point but considering this is also a Mattel Creations deluxe figure it is a bit disappointing.
Accessories
This deluxe figure comes with a reasonably good number of accessories:
- Removable cape and shoulder armour.
- Removable wrist guards.
- Sword of Power.
- Battle axe.
- Shield.
- Pair of fists.
Cape and Shoulder Armour
I’ve talked about these a little already when comparing this figure to the Masterverse version. Yes, they do lack the faux fur and wired cape but they are in their own right well done. The harness and armour have a lot of detail while the cape itself is a lovely burgundy red. It has the ragged bottom edge that seems traditional for the character too.
Mattel does need to stop taping the capes to the packaging though! The tape leaves a sticky residue on the fabric and if you’re unlucky, this can cause it to curl up. I’d much rather the few creases that the tape is there to prevent than the sticky residue!
Wrist Guards
I’m mostly pointing these as they are so great looking! The one for the left wrist is bigger than the one for the right. I guess this mirrors the wrist guards from He-Man himself as the left one always tended to be bigger than the other. Both are removable too.
Sword of Power
Out of the accessories this is sadly the most disappointing. Firstly, I really like the overall design. It is shorter than the Sword’s designs from the Masterverse but to me it feels like a call back to the original vintage design, where the sword was shorter. The hilt area has a new design with what might be a “H” perhaps or some more of the Celtic knot work.
However, there’s no paint application on the Sword at all. That extra detail? All a bit lost in the shiny plastic that it’s moulded from. Disappointing and rather cheap looking!
The Sword of Power can be slotted into the loop on the back of the chest harness/shoulder armour. However, King Grayskull’s long hair gets in the way and makes this rather awkward. You could push the Sword further down into the loop but I’d be worried about splitting or damaging the plastic.
Battle Axe
This mighty battle axe makes up for the disappointing Sword! There’s more of that Celtic-flavoured design in the central part of the axe’s blades and it has a darker wash over it that brings it out. At the top there is a small King Grayskull emblem that’s neatly painted in red and gold. This is what the Sword needed!
The battle axe looks good in the figure’s hands and although the handle is a lot slimmer (presumably to fit the figure’s smaller hands), it does scale well with the axes from the Masterverse line.
Shield
The shield is the best of the accessories by quite a long way. The design is gorgeous with a large central area featuring the red and gold emblem for King Grayskull. The shield edge is covered with more knot work designs and this also has a dark wash over it. It comes together really well and shows up the poor effort with the Sword!
The shield can be attached to the figure’s arm in a similar way we’ve seen with Masterverse figures. It actually seems a little easier to do here, so that’s great.
Hands
A quick mention of the hands. The figure comes with the gripping hands fitted in place out of the box. These can easily be swapped out and replaced by the pair of fists. The peg system used is completely different than the Masterverse’s so there won’t be any swapping hands between the two lines.
Final Thoughts
If you are jumping into collecting Masters of the Universe figures for the first time, this version of King Grayskull is a great place to start. The design is very detailed and although a few extras such as a wired cape would have made it feel even more premium, this is a really good looking figure. Not quite as good as the Masterverse Revelation version, but still really good.
The biggest disappointment for me is the lack lustre Sword of Power. Fortunately the other accessories are really good, in particular the shield.
For those of us who had been collecting the Masterverse line, the reduction in height and build is a bitter pill to swallow. This King Grayskull does look oddly small and slight when stood alongside some Masterverse figures.
For me, I’m prepared to be a bit more forgiving as I like the design so much. The new Chronicles Scare Glow looks even better so on the whole, I’m feeling hopeful.
Where to Buy
At the moment, the only official place to buy this King Grayskull figure is at the Mattel Creations website. There are some figures popping up on eBay but they are much more expensive than the Creations shop. Unless you live somewhere where Mattel doesn’t ship to, I’d stick with the official shop this time around.
For some odd reason, in the UK this deluxe figure is £1 cheaper than the standard movie Chronicles figures. So as a side note, I’d look elsewhere for those figures such as at The Whole Shebang.
0 Comments