“He-Man – Heroic Defender of Eternia!
The evil Skeletor captured the Sorceress and claimed Castle Grayskull as his own, and there is only one hero on Eternia who can save her: He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. His quest leads him across time and space to a strange planet called Earth. Even in this new world, He-Man embodies the Power of Grayskull and proves he is the true Master of the Universe.” – Box art bio
From one chiselled jaw line…
(Chronicles King Grayskull)
… to another… maybe… kinda!
Honestly, from the neck down this is a great figure!
Now that I’ve headed that off (pun intended), let’s talk about the 1987 Movie Masterverse line.
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Masterverse 1987 Movie Line
In 2022 Mattel added yet another sub-line to the Masterverse roster, the 1987 Movie line. Yep, at this point there was already Revelation (where it all started for Masterverse), New Eternia, Princess of Power, Rulers of the Sun, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Netflix CGI series and a few 40th Anniversary figures too! Phew!
So another new sub-line would seem to be over egging things. However, the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie starring Frank Langella as Skeletor and Dolph Lundgren as He-Man has become a definite fan favourite over the years. As there haven’t been many figures released that are based on it, this new line got collectors sitting up and taking notice.
Packaging and Box Art
As with the Princess of Power She-Ra figure, this version of He-Man has been given the deluxe treatment and that means a huge box! The contents also seem very spaced out inside the box:
Some plastic and cardboard could have been saved here, surely? On the other hand the contents are all very clearly displayed. Also thanks to the large box, we get treated to these gorgeous pieces of box art:
This is by artist Eamon O’Donoghue and features He-Man squaring up for a fight in the movie’s version of the throne room in Castle Grayskull. The other half of this scene is on the back of Skeletor’s box so I’ll cover that in the review of that figure.
Figure Overview
In common with the other Masterverse He-Man figures from around this time, this version keeps the slimmer torso design but has the longer and larger “He-Man legs”. The ornate boots seem to add a bit of height too making this quite a tall figure at almost 18.5cm/about 7.3 inches.
Comparing it to other Masterverse figures, this He-Man is about a head shorter than the very tall New Adventures Skeletor. 1987 Movie He-Man is however about the same height as Viking He-Man (if you ignore the pointy horns on the latter’s helmet!) and taller than New Eternia Man-at-Arms.
Poor Chronicles King Grayskull looks very small in comparison, although the big hair does make add a bit of height to the figure.
I have to say though, the look and designs of King Grayskull and this version of He-Man do go together really well!
Design
I’ll cover the armour and weapon accessories in more detail below (and the head sculpt!), but overall this seems to be very accurate to the character’s look in the 1987 movie. There are loads of detail in the various armour pieces. The figure comes with the complete set of weapons too. Although the cape isn’t wired, it hangs really well and even has the gold trim design from the movie.
As well as the unique accessories, there’s even some new tooling on the arms and legs. These have straps added including, in the case of the arms, gold embosses. These all show a fantastic attention to detail by Mattel’s designers:
In some ways, it’s a shame this figure doesn’t benefit from the later, larger torso used for figures like New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man. This would have brought the figure to being closer to the build of Dolph Lundgren. As it is though, it’s still a great looking figure.
It’s a bit bleached out in my photos, but the 1987 Movie He-Man figure does have quite a tanned skin tone. This matches the character’s look in the old Movie. It pales in comparison to Thunder Punch He-Man’s tan though!
Articulation
Under all of the new accessories and details, this is a standard Masterverse figure. So the articulation run down is:
Ball joint at the head/neck
This allows for the usual head forwards/back and side to side tilting. Having said that, the mullet hair does restrict looking up and it also catches on the large shoulder pauldrons. Another reason not to grow a mullet.
With the armour on, the best you can get is a bit of looking side to side.
Shoulder joints
A little bit hindered by the shoulder armour, you can still get the arms out into a “T” pose okay.
The arms can also be rotated all the way around but again, impeded by the shoulder armour a little.
Bicep joints
These joints allow the arms to be rotated in and out from the body.
Double elbow joints
In theory these should allow a large range of motion and bring the fore arms up to the upper arms. The joints do pretty well despite He-Man’s large bicep muscles. (Something we can all sympathise with!)
Wrist joints
These allow the hands to be rotated at the wrist. There’s also a hinge joint so the hands can be bent up to ninety degrees in either direction.
One of the gripping hands has a vertical hinge joint which in theory allows for easier sword aloft poses. In practice, this joint is very stiff and I can’t get much movement out of it.
Torso joint
At the diaphragm is a ball joint that should give a good range of side to side and backwards and forwards motion. Even with the armour removed however, there isn’t an awful lot of give in it.
I could try forcing it but frankly, I don’t want to risk breaking it. In any case, once the armour is back on it doesn’t really allow for a lot of movement here.
Waist swivel
A straight forward swivel joint at the waist. You can rotate the upper body all the way around if you want. Although it looks rather odd!
Hip joints
These look like ball joints to me and provide the forwards/backwards and out to the side motion you’d expect.
This figure doesn’t have the drop down joints of the later Masterverse figures.
Note that the hip holster does get in the way of the left leg. This He-Man won’t be doing any high kicks any time soon!
Thigh joints
These are simple swivel joints which means the legs can be rotated all the way around if you wish.
Unfortunately this joint is a bit loose on the right leg on this figure. It can leave an ugly looking gap which is a shame.
Double knee joints
These work rather like the elbow joints. Unlike those, there are no large muscles in the way so the knees can be bent quite a way back. The large boots don’t hinder the joint either.
Boot swivel
Another swivel joint on each leg. This is right at where the tops of the boots meet the lower legs, so it’s almost a hidden joint.
It you want, you can rotate the lower legs and feet into odd looking poses but do I find these help with getting the figure to stand in a variety of poses.
Ankle joints
Finally the ankle joints. These give you the expected up and down motion but also a sideways rocker too.
If you think some of these photos make it look like He-Man is practicing his tap dancing moves, well done! The pointy toed boots make me think of dancing shoes!
A bit of a mix of over stiff and slightly loose joints. Despite the elaborate armour, the articulation of this He-Man figure works well for the most part.
Accessories
1987 Movie He-Man comes with a whole plethora of accessories:
- Removable armour and cape.
- Movie accurate Sword of Power.
- A laser pistol.
- Knife/short sword.
- Boot dagger.
- A pair of gripping hands, a fist and an open hand.
- An alternative head!
Armour and Cape
The torso armour/harness is beautifully detailed. The straps all have a texture moulded into them giving the impression of leather. I think there’s a slightly dark wash over these too, adding to the effect.
The shoulder pauldrons are moulded in a highly detailed dark gold plastic which also has a dark wash over it. This really brings out the details and looks fantastic. In the centre of the chest is more of that gold plastic, moulded in what looks to me like a dragon emblem. It’s certainly not the red cross or “H” emblems which are both more traditional for He-Man. However I think I have spotted this dragon in the set designs for the movie’s Castle Grayskull throne room set (perhaps on the doors to the room?), so it’s a nice link to that.
On the back of the armour is the sheath for the Sword of Power. Just as in the movie, the Sword goes under the cape and slots into the loop at the top and then the rest of the sheath at the bottom.
A Cape for the Most Powerful Man in the Universe!
The cape is made from the usual thin material that’s standard for the Masterverse line. Sometimes these can feel a little cheap but here it hangs really well and looks great on the figure. I’ve mentioned it once already but it’s worth mentioning again, the cape also has the gold trim design as well. It looks really good and brings a lot to the figure.
Note that the whole armour and cape combo can be completely removed from the figure. So if you want to have a topless He-Man as in the later parts of the movie, you can! The cape can’t be removed from the armour though. Not without getting into customising anyway.
Sword of Power
If you’ve ever seen the 1987 movie, you’ll know the Sword of Power had a quite different design from what we usually see for it. It’s a much straighter blade with a more elaborate hilt and handle section. That’s all reflected here in a great looking and detailed Sword. The blade is moulded in silver plastic which has a metallic sheen to it. The hilt has more of that dark gold colour while the handle is painted a dark brown.
The Sword fits nicely into the sheath on the back of He-Man’s armour. The only niggle I have is that brown paint on the handle can get chipped or rubbed off by placing it in the figure’s gripping hands. Just something to watch out for.
Laser Pistol
Unusually for He-Man who isn’t shown with a gun very often, this version has a laser pistol. It’s simply moulded in black plastic and there’s no paint application on it. There’s quite a bit of detail to it though if you look closely. The holster on the other hand, has a nicely painted trim done in a silver paint.
It’s a missed opportunity that one of the gripping hands doesn’t have a trigger finger but other than that, the figure holds the pistol well.
Knife/Short Sword
In addition to the Sword of Power, there’s also a knife or short sword. This fits into a sheath on the figure’s right hip opposite to the holster on the left. Although it doesn’t have quite as much detail as the Sword of Power, it is nicely moulded and painted in the metallic silver and dark gold colours. It also fits into the figure’s hands really well too.
Boot Dagger
The final weapon accessory is a small dagger that fits into a sheath on the figure’s right boot. I don’t know whether this was intended as a reference to some of the original concept designs for He-Man (also referenced with the Viking He-Man‘s boot dagger) or just a coincidence, but He-Man does briefly use it in the movie.
Hands
Nothing out of the ordinary here. A pair of gripping hands, a punching fist and one of those weirdly open and flat hands that Mattel seemed to favour early in the Masterverse line.
All of the weapon accessories fit well in the gripping hands. Additionally, one of the gripping hands has a vertical wrist hinge allowing for better “I Have the Power!” poses with the Sword. As mentioned further up, I can’t get a lot of movement out of this joint but it’s good that the thought was there!
Something to watch out for: the gripping hands are made from a very tough plastic. This makes fitting the Sword of Power into one of them really quite hard going! The paint on the handle has chipped off a little and I think the gripping hands are the culprits.
Fortunately, the smaller weapon accessories all fit into the hands with no problems.
By the way, the bracer on the right hand can also be removed if you prefer.
That Head Sculpt!
And that brings us to the heads! There’s a choice of two – the more movie accurate version along with an alternative. This latter one looks like it has a similar face but has a bit of a smile and the hair is closer to the look of the vintage He-Man figure. It somehow looks even weirder though! Perhaps it’s there to make the default head look good?
It’s clear that Mattel didn’t have the likeness rights for Dolph Lundgren when producing this figure. It would have been a bit of a scoop if they did. However, what they’ve gone with is an odd “Dolph but not Dolph” that just looks a bit weird. It’s hard to put my finger on why it looks so off to be honest. It’s certainly a bit long in the face. I have to say though, from side on it’s not that bad!
Funnily enough, I do think the hair is done well. The designers have captured that 1980s mullet well with a lot of detail and a darker wash over the blonde colour to bring it out.
Warning!
For some reason, it is really hard to swap the heads. Something about that ball joint isn’t quite right and try as I might I can’t get the alternative head to sit on the neck correctly. Whether the parts are slightly off in size I’m not sure. This probably won’t affect all figures but do take care when swapping out the heads!
Head Swapping
Talking of head swapping, let’s do some now. I don’t have any third party heads to choose from so let’s stick to alternatives from the Masterverse line:
So there’s a few different looks to choose from if the original head sculpt isn’t doing it for you. I quite like the bearded Battle Armor He-Man myself. Although, the alternative unhelmeted head from Viking He-Man seems to actually fit the best.
I also tried out the head from Chronicles King Grayskull. Unfortunately the Chronicles figures have a differently sized ball joint to Masterverse. As a result, the heads do not sit right at all:
You can get the heads to sit on top of the necks, but the proportions are much more different than I thought they would be.
Final Thoughts
As this version of He-Man is the first figure in the 1987 Movie sub-line, it definitely suffers in comparison to later additions. To be fair the detail in the armour and weapon accessories still hold up really well but that head sculpt is hard to ignore! It’s no wonder that many collectors opt to swap it out for another Masterverse He-Man head or even for a third party version.
The figure itself is a mix of slightly loose and very stiff joints, particularly the ball joint in the neck. However these will vary figure to figure and your mileage may well vary.
If you’re not bothered in the slightest about the head sculpt (or already have alternative options to hand) I would highly recommend this figure. The detail in the armour and weapons is simply fantastic.
Finally, a Bit of a Grumble!
The 1987 Movie sub-line seemed to be on a slow but steady release schedule. One or two figures per year appeared to be the pattern and each one was getting better than the previous one. So it’s a real shame that with the news of the Masterverse line being “paused”, we’re not going to see any more of these highly detailed figures.
Where to Buy
This is an older figure from the Masterverse line and I would imagine that most shops have sold out. There may still be a few found though so it’s worth checking your favourite online shops. Other than that, you best bet would be places like eBay.
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