Toys & Merch

Toy Review: For the Honor of Gayskull!

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Gather ‘round, children, and let me tell ye a story. Way back in the year Nineteen-Hundred and Eighty-Five, the world of He-Man changed forever with the introduction of his long-lost twin sister, Princess Adora. I remember relating this information to my mother as the biggest news I’d heard since Luke Skywalker discovered he had a long-lost princess twin sister, too. My mother’s reaction? “That’s nice.” A few days later, the news must have sunk in, or perhaps she saw a commercial for the toys, because she came back to me with an urgent and desperate plea: “Don’t even think about it.” She knew, as well as I did, that the abundance of pink plastic and rooted hair would send my father over the edge. Thus began the great Princess of Power smuggling ring of ‘85. Without my parents’ knowledge, I managed to procure and hide about a dozen PoP figures. I would have collected more, but the whole enterprise was extremely risky. One of my more dangerous and brazen tactics was wandering off in a store, then rushing to the toy aisle. I’d pick up one or two figures, then check out while my parents were still shopping, always nervously looking over my shoulder. Then I’d go to the bathroom, ditch the packaging and cram the figures into my pockets. Then I’d rejoin my parents before they suspected what was going on.

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I relate this story because it’s still something of a thrill to get and open a Princess of Power figure. Thanks to Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics line, I just received and tore into my Adora figure. The big deal here is that this is the first version of Adora in her Force Captain uniform. She’s not the first Adora figure, of course, since the original She-Ra figure served as both princess and Princess of Power. This is a gorgeous figure, though, and she couldn’t look more like Filmation’s Adora. It’s an uncanny resemblance. There has been some grumbling about her tunic skirt, but after looking at it up close and posing her, it doesn’t bother me. I am a little bothered that she comes with a gun, which is so out of character for her, but I’m chalking it up to her Force Captain persona. The sword is a nice attempt to replicate the iconic bejeweled weapon we all know and love, but I’m disappointed it’s smaller than He-Man’s sword. It should be the same size, no excuses.

Other than that, I have no complaints. The colors, the sculpt, the articulation: all brilliant. Her gun and sword holsters are elegant and functional touches that really set her apart. Which brings me to my final thought. She’s a fantastic figure, but like the 80s originals, she doesn’t look like she belongs in the MOTU world at all. Posing her next to He-Man or any of the other figures makes it obvious she’s from another line and another world. A world where people wear tailored jackets instead of loincloths and have lovely layered haircuts instead of tragic pageboy disasters.

The other big change in this new incarnation of He-Man’s long-lost twin sister? I didn’t have to smuggle her home in my pocket.

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