He-Ro Review

He-Ro...The Most Powerful Wizard in the Universe!
At least that's what he could’ve been, until folks at Mattel labeled him as yet another Cosmic Enforcer (like Zodak). He-Ro was actually intended to be the main character in a prequel series to “Masters of the Universe” back in 1987. Sadly Mattel 86ed the brand before he could be produced, so in essence you could say this guy has been in pre-production hell for over twenty years.

He-Ro was first offered as this year’s San Diego Comic Con MOTU exclusive from Mattel, and was then released to the extended public (us non-goers) a week or so afterwards. As far as exclusives go, this is a solid choice for one; you don't necessarily need him to complete your “Masters” collection, as he was never really a solid part of it to begin with. No special packaging this year; just the simple-yet-effective green blistercards we've been getting since January.

He-Ro is on the standard, non-furry body, but features newly-sculpted forearms, boots/feet, loincloth, and of course his head. The articulation is again the standard we've seen with each “Masters” release thus far:
Balljoint: head, shoulders, legs
Hinged: torso, elbows, knees, ankles

Swivel: biceps, thighs, waist

Cut: wrists, calves

The articulation is very similar to DCUC figures with some minor changes. For the most part the joints are tight on one of the ones I opened, whereas on a second one they were quite loose. This has been an ongoing Quality Control issue for me with Mattel crossing both this line and the DCUC one. Paint would definitely be the other issue.

The paintwork here and across the line in general is and has been good overall. Eyes aren't crossed and the colors are nice and even. I've seen a few misses here and there, but overall He-Ro came out pretty good. One thing that is important to note is that He-Ro is missing the airbrushed effect all the other figures have gotten so far. It's actually a very nice piece of paintwork and really brings out the sculpting, especially in the muscles, adding a nice tone to the figure. If I had to guess I'd say He-Ro is missing the airbrushing as a means of lowering the final production cost. Seeing as how he features several new parts and three distinct variations (and of course the SDCC version had the SDCC logo painted on his chest), those things would hike up cost a bit.

As far as accessories go He-Ro's got a new armor sculpt emblazoned with his signature "H" and a red cape attached to back piece. The armor is easily removed thanks to a pair of pegs on either side. The armor does look bulky though, mostly due to the size of the torso underneath and while it's expected he does have a sort of that Gears of War look to him.

He-Ro also carries a new variation of the Sword of Power except this time around it's designed to look almost celestial. The sword sculpt is the same as He-Man's and others like it, but it is cast in a translucent blue plastic that’s splattered with silver paint. I like it, as it's a very interesting take on the original. To think that they could've just saddled him with a gold one, I think, adds a neat variety to a mold we've seen four times now and definitely stands out against this gilded wizard.

Last and certainly not least is the staff. He-Ro’s staff is designed to open at the top, revealing a stone or gem. There were three stone variations randomly inserted throughout both the regular and Con exclusive versions of the Wizard:
Green Stone of Protection
Purple Stone of Healing
Red Stone of Defense

Obviously green is going to be the most common. Green was the color of the stone the original He-Ro prototype had and was (thankfully) the one I got. I'm told purple is the rarest but I know a lot of people who got purple, as well as two who got red. Rarity in this hobby is all hearsay anymore, though, and if you're a completist trying to obtain all three I doubt you'll have much of a problem.

Wrapping things up, I'm really pleased with this addition to the line. The gold, red, and blue color scheme really pops amongst the other figures and, like I said, I'm diggin' the celestial-looking Sword of Power. A very minor nit would be the length of the staff as it doesn't the touch the ground, Skeletor's and Hordak's do. Mattel's QC still has a bit of a way to come in my opinion, especially in a line like this that is solely fueled by collectors. Loose or broken joints and poor paint apps aren't acceptable at the $12-$13 DCUC price point and are certainly unacceptable at the $20 the MOTUC figures cost.