Added a Beast Man Review to the MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide.

I need to explain some of my childhood psychology for this review. I meet a lot of toy collectors who grew up loving Cobra, Decepticons, Evil Masters, Horde, and Snakemen. That wasn’t me. I had the evil toys cause you need them to form play patterns, but they were never my favorite. I know that I have 8 MOTU Characters that I love above all others and only two are evil. I only have three favorite Cobra figures and two of them are just types of Vipers. I’d be hard pressed to even remember a favorite Deception.

As an adult collector, this has really translated into liking the evil MOTU classics. It’s a psychology of low expectations. I’m not expecting as Beast Man and Mer-Man to rock like I am Man-At-Arms or Rio Blast. So when a 4H figure shows up in the mail, I’m a lot more blown away. Beast Man is an example of this rule.

Beast Man was released on the first day of the line, December 1st, 2008. There’s no great sellout story for him other than asking the question “what a difference a day makes”. It will always amaze me that He-Man and Beast Man lasted as long as they did. Beast Man should have been around 7500 units and it took six weeks for him to sell-through. Current figures have twice that and the last one went in 45 minutes. It really showcases the spread of information on the internet. Mattel wasn’t really getting the word out at first, but as the figures kept coming out and the word spread, the sales exploded.

I was lucky to get a Beast Man (even luckier than you might think, but I’ll save that story for my He-Man review). Right now, he’s the one figure, other than the exclusive King Grayksull, that commands a high markup and Mattel hasn’t said they will rerelease. I’m sure they will, and I hope they do it soon. I know a lot of fans who got started late and it’s looking like he’ll be one of figures it will take longer to get in.

Beast Man is the originator of his furry body. He shares only the pelvic area of He-Man and everything else had to be done new. His head sculpt and armor piece are ingeniously designed to give him more heft. Traditionally the figures head and neck connect normally at the base of the skull/jaw. On Beast Man, the armor rides up on his shoulders for extra volume and the head attaches at the top/back of the head to finish off his bulkier look.

He has a unique left hand. It’s made to hold his whip, but also has a raised emblem on the back of the palm. He also sports armored bracelets and shoulder pads. The pads are snug to the bicep, but they are removable.

Beast Man only has one accessory, which drops him down into Zodac and Stratos territory. It’s his classic whip. The whip itself is nice. It’s molded out of a rubber material that can simulate “real whip action”. I won’t be as harsh on Beast Man as the others because of the size/bulk of his armor, but Mattel should look into adding something extra to figures that are light on accessories.

Beast Man’s face is probably one of the trickiest things for the MOTU line so far and the paintwork is up to par. The eyes are done well. The white and blue markings are clean and look great with the orange body color. The paint apps on the armor are also done well with the rocky texture on the spikes and the general dirtiness of the armor.

When Beast Man came in the mail, I opened him up and left him on my desk with He-Man and Skeletor. I use my desk as a holding area for new purchases, enjoying them a little separately before they go to the shelves. In Beast Man’s case, something strange happened as he sat there. I started to like him more than the others and for the first few months, he ended up being my favorite MOTU figure. Like I said, psychology of low expectations. I know never to do that to the 4H, but hey, it happens. Beast Man ends up getting front of shelf status from me, even though it’s weird to think of Mer-Man, Faker, and Beast Man frontlining my MOTU shelf. My young self would think I’ve gone crazy.

For more MOTU reviews, check out our MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide.