“I will handle the Gleanons. Don’t forget I’m a Galactic Guardian too!” – Mara, The New Adventures of He-Man (1991).
As I was going through my stack of unopened 2015 figures, I had to stop and rub my eyes… I couldn’t believe it… a New Adventures figure? I didn’t realize they were still making those…
Ironically, when I first heard that Mara was added to the line, I wasn’t very happy. She was included in one of Mattel’s attendee polls and paired off against two figures I really wanted. Worse still, this was done at toy fair when very few folks were present. A few dozen people pushed Mara into the line and cast aside some fan favorites. I suppose that’s no different than the whims of a handful of dudes in a cubicle meeting, but I was bummed. Luckily, I’m open-minded enough to not take all that out on the Mara figure and, hey, those other two guys are coming next year. Win-Win.
New Adventures is still the one MOTU show where my knowledge is the weakest, but I remembered enough to think of Mara as a toga-wearing assistant, not this badass warrior chick that we got a figure of. It turns out that she got a costume upgrade later in the show and that costume is more or less, mostly less, the one that’s presented her. The main difference being that it was a full one-piece suit in the cartoon; no midriff.
But it’s not like they just tried to sex her up for the figure. Mara did have a prototype figure for the old NA line and that figure was sexed up with a bare midriff. So it’s grandfathered sexing up and that’s totally okay. I tease, but I do like the overall suit. It’s a good blend of the figure and from the show – it’s also awesomely unique in a way. She’s able to step out of MOTU Classics if you wanted her to. Her suit has a futuristic vibe that would let her mix in with some other lines. I’m not sure which ones really, but I just like that she potentially could.
The sculpt on the costume is really well done. There’s a lot of nice sculpting here with a new torso, new forearms, and new legs below the knee. I love all the details and the figure… could really step into another line… I’ve gotta quit saying that. The level of detail is really nice though and can be found throughout the figure.
Sitting atop the figure is probably one of my favorite head sculpts all year. Mara brings a new face type to the line. It’s not really show accurate – that show veered towards having an anime feel and this head sculpt is very much not an animated head. I still love it though. The pony-tail is a soft-plastic add-on to that head sculpt. It’s segmented into two parts so you can change the length if you’d prefer. On mine, the peg attaching the hair comes out with the extra attachment, so I can’t add the mace back on the end without getting some pliers. I figure she can keep her full length of hair. Continue to Page 2…
“So it’s grandfathered sexing up and that’s totally okay. I tease”
…phrasing? #OhMyyy!
She looks good, reminiscent of a classic retro pulp space princess from Flash Gordon or even John Carter books. I’m kinda disappointed you don’t have either 6″ Leia t play her against.
Now I’m disappointed she wasn’t included in the MattyCollector sale today, as she would have been a definite buy.
(which…rhymes with flusterduck on that “free shipping” thing.)
Did they try to sneak Castle Grayskull into your cart? Because I almost didn’t catch that.
Great review and comics, as per usual. I like this figure, but I’m not overly thrilled with it. As beautifully as she’s sculpted, as unique as her look is, I can’t see her as anything more than another box ticked, another space filled.
Oh, and if she were a little more asymmetrical, I could see her fitting into “Spawn” somewhere.
Another one I really wanted but didn’t have the money for at the time. I’m really hoping that she and Snout Spout are some of the daily deals during this black Friday week thing. Though at least I did get to finally pick up Stan (and can I just say that the fact that they didn’t name him Excelsi-Or is a tragic waste of potential?).
Well my NA knowledge is 0% so worse than you. Woulda been buying on if dig the look alone and yes I do. My prob, too many lines and not enough $$$$. I do.have an impressive mixed shelf though but would love to get some new additions. Wish OddLots (BigLots) would have that happen again.
Great review and wish knew more on NA to really have a say on the fig but without I wish woulda got her but, hoping to hit a local toy/comic-con again just to hunt some figures.
She looks great – the design and palette are cool – but the articulation is awful. I don’t really get the “ugly” hip thing – the hips on female figures aren’t really any more exposed than the males with furry shorts (it’s particularly clear on Tung Lashor in these pics) and that’s fine. It kinda reminds me of the Frosta controversy – the male figures can just look how they look, but if a female figure doesn’t fall into a very specific subset of “attractive” fandom decrees it a failure. Let the ladies have their thigh-swivellin’ warrior joints, Matty, and stop worrying about whether your action figures have pretty legs!
WOMEN MUST FIGHT TO GET MEN!!!!