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Series: Masters of the Universe Masterverse
Year: 2022
Prelude: The 1987 Masters of the Universe movie was not exactly a success, but if you ask He-Man fans about its good aspects, one thing usually tops the list: Frank Langella as Skeletor. Want to see a pedigreed, Tony-award winning stage actor have a blast and chew scenery like his life depends on it? Just watch any scene with Skeletor in it. The Masterverse finally delivers a figure worthy of this epic performance.
Figure: Of course, Frank Langella was not forced to paint himself blue and run around in furred underwear and a bone harness for his part in the movie. Skeletor got a full costume redesign, strutting around in a black leather outfit complete with hooded cape, gloves, boots, and a belt that kind of looks like it has Gwildor’s face on it. What can I say, it looked really cool on screen. The figure faithfully replicates that look, right down to the weird belt buckle, and this is clearly Skeletor as we saw him on screen.
Skeletor is as well-articulated as you’d expect from a Masterverse figure, meaning pretty good. His leg articulation is a bit hampered by those side skirts he is wearing (not removable), but otherwise he can move freely. His cape, neck piece and those two stripes hanging down his front can be removed, but you need to unplug his head to do it. The cowl is a permanent part of the head, so no removing that.
Skeletor comes with his familiar Havoc staff (probably the least-redesigned bit from the cartoon original), along with the sword he briefly used near the end of the movie. He also carries the Cosmic Key from the movie and comes with a second pair of hands to better hold the key with. So bottom line: a great representation of Skeletor as we saw him in the movie. No complaints except that it would have been nice to have those side skirts removable, too.
Remarks: There have been numerous articles written about the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, where it went wrong, how Cannon went bankrupt, how the budget ran out before filming wrapped, how bad the special effects were, etc. etc. Well, I still like watching this movie now and then as a guilty pleasure and one of the biggest reasons for that is Frank Langella as Skeletor. Honestly, the man has so, so much fun in that role and manages to emote under tons of make-up, it’s a marvel to watch. So when I saw this figure in stores, there was no question that I needed to have it.
Oh, in case you didn’t know: Cannon had actually been planning a sequel to this movie where Skeletor would become an evil business tycoon and He-Man would go undercover as a football player to catch him, all set on Earth, naturally. We may have dodged a bullet there.
Now if you are not a fan of the 1987 movie, this Skeletor probably won’t mean much to you. To everyone who loved Frank Langella in the role, though, this figure here is a must.
Rating: A
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