As a general rule, we don’t include many MOTU characters in this column because Mattel promises a complete roster. That means we’d just be asking to move them up on the schedule. But there’s a movement out there for a MOTU character likely not on Mattel’s roll call… “Blonde Bikini” Teela.

In 1982, DC Comics published a version of the Masters Of The Universe slightly different than the one that had been building in the early mini-comics. It was this DC series that established the duality of Adam/He-Man, Eternia, and many other elements that ultimately made their way into the Filmation cartoon. But there are some elements unique to this mini-series and one of the designs used for Teela is one of them.

Teela had already appeared as the toy we all remember by the time this comic hit newsstands, but, for whatever reason, the creators gave her a more barbarian look befitting of a sword and sorcery comic (she does sport her traditional costume in later issues). After the series ended and the mini-comics were aligned to better cross-sell with the cartoon, Teela’s barbarian gear was pushed to the side. But MOTU Classics, with its wide lens on MOTU history, gives fans an opportunity to bring this particular look back and create what we think would be snazzy action figure. She’d easily fit into the line as an A-list refresh, but what if she’d didn’t need to be Teela in the Classics mythos? I’d be happy to see her as a compatriot of other inserted characters like Vikor or Wun-Dar.

There is already a lot of support out there for the inclusion of this character. There’s a healthy thread about her at He-Man.Org (definitely check out the fan art in the later pages) and she’s been featured in Ask Mattel questions at AFP and at He-Man.Org. If ever there was a character on the MOTU Classics bubble that could use a little push, it’s “Blonde Bikini” Teela – though she will need a better name.

In related news, this will be our last Most Requested article, at least how you’ve come to know them. While the article started out with a strong response, it’s been in decline for the last few months. We’ve gone quite a while without a submission and the article views/comments aren’t where we would like them to be, so next year we’ll be replacing it with a new feature – look for that in January. Most Requested will continue, free of the weekly schedule, appearing as needed throughout 2011. And if we have enough candidates towards the end of the next year, we’ll likely run a poll to crown an IAT 2011 Most Requested figure.

As for the IAT 2010 Most Requested figure? That is still on as scheduled with the polling to begin next week! Due to the decrease in submissions (and some disqualifications), we don’t have a full compliment for Round 3. So, we’ll likely bring in the runners up from Rounds 1 and 2 to fill out the Round 3 Semi-Finals Poll. That poll will begin next Thursday, the 16th, and run for about a week. The finalists will be announced on Dec 23rd and the Final Round will run until the end of the year with the winner announced on Monday, January 3rd. Check back next week to vote!