New Adventures Skeletor… Intergalactic Skeletor… Space Mutants Skeletor … Cyborg Skeletor?
This version of Skeletor seems to have collected a few different names over the years. The “New Adventures” bit comes from the name of the late 1980s re-boot of Masters of the Universe, The New Adventures of He-Man. This take featured He-Man’s adventures in a much more science-fiction focused setting.
I’ve also seen this version of the Lord of Destruction called Intergalactic Skeletor which certainly fits. While this Skeletor’s new faction of evil warriors was called the Space Mutants. So that explains that.
“Cyborg Skeletor” is simply what I always think of this version to be due to all of those gnarly looking cybernetic implants!
New Adventures, New Sub-Line
In 2023 Mattel added the New Adventures sub-line to the Masterverse line. In all only three figures were released: He-Man, Skeletor and Slush Head. And hooray! They were all Target/Walmart exclusives in the US.
That exclusivity means all three are quite hard to find in the UK. So while it was great that Mattel explored another part of the He-Man mythos as part of the Masterverse line, good luck finding the three figures!
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Box Art
No box art this time as the figure I found was complete but loose. From looking online I think this version of Skeletor was released in a standard older-style Masterverse box. Which makes sense as it didn’t come with a whole lot of accessories.
Figure Overview
This is a big, lanky figure! From those big blue boots to the top of the helmet, this Skeletor stands at close to 19cm/7.5 inches. Whilst not as huge as the Revelation Skelegod figure, this is still a tall version of Skeletor.
I think the huge robotic boots are partly the cause of this figure being so tall. It also has the longer and chunkier legs too, usually seen on He-Man.
The upper half however, looks a bit short in comparison to the lower half. I think this isn’t helped by the chunky magenta coloured belt, the upper half of which is actually part of the torso. However if you don’t spot this, it gives the impression that the torso isn’t big enough or that the figure is wearing a big pair of high waist pants!
Apart from that, I really like the way this figure looks. It has brand new sculpting that includes all of those cybernetic implants that I liked about the original figure as a kid. The only major let down is the cape which I’ll talk more about below.
Articulation
Despite the large size and unique sculpting, the designers have managed to maintain all of the standard Masterverse articulation:
- Ball joint at the neck allowing you to move the head all the way around and back and forwards. A little bit hindered by the helmet but not too bad.
- Shoulder joints are good and tight. The arms can move all the way around as well as move upwards into a “T” pose.
- Bicep joints allow you to swivel the arms in and out.
- Double joints at the elbows. No problem with these except that the biceps seem a little larger so you don’t really get the full benefit of the double joint.
- Wrist joints. So you can spin the hands around as well as swivel them in and out. Note that the right gripping hand has an up and down wrist joint. All the better for brandishing the Havoc Staff!
- Mid-torso ball joint allowing plenty of movement. Not at all hindered by the chest armour which was a nice surprise.
- Standard waist joint, disguised by the chunky belt.
- The hip joints allow forwards and back motion as well as a pretty good splits or high kick pose! The lanky legs certainly help with this!
- Mid-thigh cuts allowing you to move the legs all the way around.
- Double joints at the knees. These are really good on this figure without being loose.
- Boot cut on both legs.
- And finally the ankle joints. Quite tight and hindered by the shape of the boots. Still, I’d much rather these joints be too tight than too loose.
Design/Paint Application
The New Adventures of He-Man are quite often skipped over in these modern toy lines. So this version of Skeletor might not be one that you’re familiar with. In a nut shell, on his way to the new setting for the New Adventures, Skeletor was seriously injured. In order to survive he received many cybernetic implants, all included in the sculpts for this figure.
I’m very glad that Mattel went to the trouble of adding these for this figure. They really make this version of Skeletor look unique. The colours are a bit different for Skeletor too but he still has the light blue skin and yellow skull face.
The boots are huge but still have a three toed design that nods back to the monster feet of the classic look.
The legs and arms all have various cybernetic details sculpted in, which look great. So it’s a bit disappointing then that apart from the large armour plates on the legs, most of these details go unpainted. There’s so much detail here that could have been brought out by a bit of paint application.
There is a subtle wash over the limbs giving a slightly dingy look to the character. This might not be to everybody’s taste but I’m taking it to mean that although this Skeletor has been saved by the implants, he isn’t necessarily all that healthy.
Chest Plate
The magenta chest plate is a very eye catching piece. It has some vaguely technological details sculpted into it along with a pair of skulls at the top. Just above these skulls are couple of pegs where it attaches to the torso itself. There’s nothing attaching it at the bottom which means the torso articulation isn’t hampered by it at all. It’s a nice way of going about it.
Also note the silver details on the lower torso, it’s one of the few places on the figure that the cybernetic implants are painted.
Helmet, Head and Ewww… Grim!
This Skeletor has an all new head design. With the helmet on, it doesn’t look that much different from other versions of the character. However, take the helmet off and a lot of gruesome detail becomes visible! The skull face merges into some unhealthy looking green flesh. At the back of the head this sickly looking green fades into Skeletor’s blue skin. Embedded at the back of the head is some more of those cybernetic implants, this time nicely painted in silver. In fact, all of the head is grimly detailed and very well painted.
The helmet itself is moulded in a gun metal coloured plastic with some of the details picked out with a darker wash. The helmet fits quite snugly over the head and makes me nervous about scraping the paint every time I take it off or put it back on. So perhaps choosing a way to display this Skeletor and sticking to that might be the order of the day.
The removable helmet and all of those gory details on the head go back to the original New Adventures Skeletor figure. A toy for kids! Anyway, as one of those kids at the time I must admit to appreciating the gnarly details. As a grown up kid I’m really happy they were re-done in even greater detail for this figure.
A Disappointing Cape!
If the gruesome head is the best part of the figure, the cape is the worst!
It’s really rather disappointing. Okay, the colour and size of it is quite faithful to the original vintage figure. The material it’s made of is that thinner and glossier fabric that was used on Barbarian Skeletor. I do prefer this over the felt-like material that was used for Scare Glow’s cape. Unfortunately the shorter length of this cape does make it seem really rather flimsy.
It also has a tendency to fold over on itself, making it look even smaller and flimsier. To be fair, you can get it spread out out and then it looks okay.
The worst part is how it attaches to the figure. If you’ve been wondering what that red plastic choker is in the photos, that’s what it is. It really looks out of place and although the Princess of Power She-Ra figure used the same method and got away with it, I don’t think it works here at all.
Accessories
This figure didn’t come with an awful lot of accessories it has to be said. The helmet and cape I’ve already talked about, so let’s look at what’s left.
Havoc Staff!
A new look Skeletor must have a new look Havoc Staff. This looks really good, updating and enlarging the design from the vintage figure. The top has a human skull rather than the traditional ram’s skull and instead of horns there are metallic looking protrusions. The top two look almost like shock prods! At the other end of the Staff is a vicious looking blade making the staff quite a formidable looking weapon.
It’s made from quite a sturdy plastic in a gun metal grey. I hadn’t noticed until I took these photos that there is a subtle dark wash over it.
Hands!
We have a choice of:
- A pair of gripping hands. The right hand one of these has the up and down wrist joint.
- And a pair of fists.
- That’s your lot!
And that’s it. I like this version of the Havoc Staff a lot but this isn’t exactly a generous amount of accessories for an exclusive figure is it? Still, the pair of gripping hands mean you can get some cool two handed wielding poses with the Staff.
Final Thoughts
I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for this version of Skeletor as it was one of the last figures I ever got as a kid. At the time I thought I was getting too old for toys. Little did I know back then!
If you ignore the disappointingly flimsy cape, this is an awesome version of New Adventures Skeletor. I’ve griped a bit as well about the lack of paint application but that’s only because the figure’s sculpt is so detailed.
The number of accessories is a bit lacking but the Havoc Staff looks great and is a fantastic update of the original vintage version.
I’d say this figure would be an essential addition to a Masterverse collection but that store exclusivity does mean it is hard to find and costs quite a bit too.
Where to Buy
Well! This version of Skeletor hasn’t gotten a lot of figures over the years which means this is a sought after figure and one that’s hard one to track down. That initial store exclusivity certainly doesn’t help either.
It’s probably a bit easier in the US but I know that here in the UK this figure doesn’t come up very often. Nonetheless, loose figures (like this one) do occasionally pop up on eBay. Keep your eyes open and good luck!
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