One of my main issues with not immediately signing up for the Masters of the Universe Masterverse line was that the initial head sculpts of He-Man and Skeletor left a lot to be desired.
Of course I knew Mattel would eventually make better head sculpts for them. I’m still waiting for my ideal He-Man head, but with the New Eternia Skeletor, I have the new version of the main MOTU villain that I’ve been waiting for.
The overall concept of New Eternia is that Mattel designers and sculptors come up with original ideas for the Masters. Skeletor’s new look is definitely inspired. Let’s see if this version of the classic enemy delivers or deserves a fate to be banished from our memories.
Packaging: There aren’t many major changes from the Masterverse Revelation line, the biggest being the move to New Eternia on the front.
It still has the deep, crisp blue with the window open so we can actually see any paint issues, swapped accessories, or missing parts. The two portraits – one on the side and another on the left – are a nice touch.
The side portrait is really useful here to showcase this new look of Skeletor. As usual, his biography is incredibly well done with a real sense of storytelling and ushering in a new era for Masters.
Resemblance: Skeletor’s new look sticks close enough to the classic design without straying too far from what sets the character apart in the first place. This is a tribute to Mark Taylor’s original designs for MOTU.
Granted, Skeletor has had many armor and outfit variations over the decades, but his classic crossbones harness is too iconic to replace for an extended period of time.
Skeletor wears a hybrid Spartan and Barbute style helmet. The Taylor design looked more like a crown with a jewel in the center. This is reflected in this design as it looks more like a standard headset.
A big distinction from other Skeletor figures is the head sculpt, with more angular eyes and nose with the addition of a beard. Taylor didn’t have a beard since Skeletor had a skull head. I probably wish this addition had more of a beard in a different color, as opposed to the visual of a skull growing facial hair instead of skin.
Another difference is that Skeletor rocks an armored chest harness with what appears to be a bat (Horde shout??). This also includes a fabric cape for a more regal look. His shin guards are also new items with less angular edges and they also have the bat wing design.
If that’s not your bag and you prefer a more classic version, you can remove the harness to reveal the crossbones and a larger, more detailed piece of collar armor. I like the option of going for a completely new version or skewing a classic.
Skeletor’s belt has a different type of beast sculpted into the center while his gladiator-style skirt hangs much longer than his typical look. This is the only area whose texture gives a leather-like appearance.
Paint: Despite a change in clothing, Skeletor maintains his classic color scheme with a sky blue complexion. The previous Revelation Skeletor had a darker or blue tint, which didn’t fit. The purple has a nice deep hue that clearly complements the blue.
Skeletor’s eyes are fantastic, the red standing out strongly against the black. And the gem in the center of his crossbones armor has a beautiful shine to it, like it’s almost glowing with power.
Ladder: At 7″ in scale, Masterverse figures largely exist on their own with little difference in height from character to character.
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Joint: Skeletor features 30 points of articulation, which is pretty good even if the articulation model doesn’t have the smoothness of your average Marvel Legends figure.
He is capable of striking a variety of dynamic poses in his fights against Masters.
The new Eternia Skeletor has:
- neck
- articulated shoulders
- biceps
- elbow (double joint)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- size
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: Skeletor has some cool accessories. I covered the removable outer armor piece with a cape.
He also comes with interchangeable hands: an open left hand and a right fist.
As always, he has his Havoc staff. This one is thicker with a much more detailed and sinister ram’s head.
Skeletor also has a new weapon with the Scimitar of Chaos, which has a great name. It features an ornate handle and an exaggerated curved blade with small nicks and grooves along the edges.
The best accessory is a classic head sculpture. It looks fantastic with rounder, deep-set eyes, a wider nose, and an insidiously creepy half-smile. I’m really impressed with this sculpt and glad I held out for this version of Skeletor in this line.
It’s worth it? I purchased the New Eternia Skeletor for $22. Its prices have been fluctuating a bit more lately and I didn’t want another Tri-Klops situation where I was waiting for a cheaper price and it jumped dramatically.
Rating: 10 out of 10
I don’t find much fault with this figure. This is a fantastic update to Skeletor with an awesome scary head sculpt and a great two-in-one option.
Where to get it? You can get Skeletor on Amazon
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