Guess what day it is! It’s… wait for it… #MOTUesday and we have some cool stuff to mark the occasion. Masters of the Universe Origins is rolling along nicely and a brand new series is starting to hit store shelves now. We have a look at new/old favorites Buzz-Off, Jitsu, and Sorceress and like their predecessors, they are sure to warm your old vintage heart.
I know I have said it before, but initially, I wasn’t taken in by MOTU Origins. The fact that Classics is MY MOTU line, and the initial exclusivity of the new series made it easy to rebuff. For about a month. No, friends, I love MOTU so much and when I finally got a feel for what Mattel was doing with the line, I was hooked. I knew I would be all-in (especially after seeing my boy Mer-Man), and I continue to be pretty impressed with how each of the vintage characters are updated “just right” and frankly, how expeditiously they are moving through that 80s line-up.
This new series features the three figures we are looking at today, plus the mini comics/nudie Stratos. As much as I love seeing all the old familiar faces, I am also quite pleased with the new characters and character versions Origins is bring to life. I could talk all day about how cool it is that the Sun Man characters are being introduced to the line, but that is a topic for another day. Today, essential stalwarts are joining an already impressive cast, so let’s get right to it.
BUZZ-OFF
If you are familiar with Origins at all, you should probably know the recipe by now. This line carries modern articulation, sculpting, and paint work against a back drop of the same basic scale and form of the original vintage line. So, in a way, it isn’t quite as far down down the evolutionary chain as the previous Classics line, but rather a fun connection of the charm of the originals, and the sensibilities of the collector line.
Buzz-Off is great update because this new Origins figure takes all of the impressive design qualities we had before, but just enables them more. I mean, he is giant bee man with cybernetic wings, there really isn’t much more you would want to do to mess with this formula. It’s funny because with the exception of one small aesthetic change, nothing else has really changed. It was the same for MOTU Classics and honestly, it just speaks to the strength of the original design. The one thing that has changed is actually interesting because it is just as much functional as it is form. Gone are the little nub antennae from before, now Buzz-Off has actual extended antennae and they add a whole new element to the look of the figure without it being out there. Plus, these now hold that bee helmet on his head securely, something the vintage figure could NEVER do. Thus, for the first time ever I am displaying a Buzz-Off figure with the helmet on – so I really like and appreciate this update.
Honestly, I find Buzz-Off to be one of the most successful updates to the Origins line yet, and that is saying something.
JITSU
Now, Buzz-Off was always there in my collection, but Jitsu is much more my speed in terms of characters. I have always been about the bad guys, so he fits that mold, but Fisto was one of the good guys that WAS mine (my brother collected most of the heroes) so I have always loved this pairing. I mentioned above that Buzz-Off is a faithful Origins update with a tiny bit of new panache, but Jitsu here is almost hit for hit to the vintage. Sure, you get more articulation and some added details, but really, this is almost a near recreation rather than an update.
Fisto was the same way, really, and like Fisto, there is no spring-load to the chopping hand, but otherwise, you should be familiar with most everything else. I am actually surprised how faithful this update is, but I am certainly not complaining. Jitsu was always one of the more mysterious bad guys on Eternia, and while it is easy to follow the pattern of his powers/etc., he has not had quite as much media support, and I kind of like that. I am very happy the vac metal gold was retained – I am not a die-hard vac supporter, but this is one of the places where it HAD to be done, and it looks great.
I don’t know, there is just something about having Jitsu and Fisto in a new line to battle for all ages, and Origins has them looking great.
SORCERESS
Whereas Jitsu and Buzz-Off where mainstays of my adventures as child, Sorceress, unfortunately, was not. I had several of the later MOTU figures like Clamp Champ and King Randor, but we never found Sorceress back then, even though we really wanted to have her in the collection. So, in a way, this is kind of like getting that original figure, along with the Origins version all at the same time. Sure, I have the “Temple of Darkness” version that came with Castle Grayskull, but while that is a neat version, this one is ESSENTIAL, and it makes for a striking figure.
If you have that Temple version, you will know most of this figure, but I will say that this version DOES feature the updated female knees, so that is a definite improvement. Plus, you get the white, orange, and blue colors which come through in striking fashion, and this figure looks great. One of the things I love about Origins, even over Classics, is the fact that the line embraces the bright colors, and nothing is muted. The blue and orange cut in the very best way here, and I LOVE the gradient transition between the colors on the wings. I have always, as a general rule, posed my Sorceress figures on the large tower of their corresponding Castle Grayskull, but I don’t know, I feel like she needs to be out in the thick of it in a more prominent spot for Origins.
It is cool to finally have a Sorceress in the vintage-inspired fashion, and it is cool that the line pulls from all different times of the vintage series so we actually have several of those harder to find later figures done and dusted.
I am having a lot of fun with this line. It is one I don’t stress over in terms of finding the figures or worrying about if my most wanted characters will be made. It is nice to be free and easy, and with great releases like Buzz-Off, Jitsu, and Sorceress, it bring a lot of joy.
If you have not gotten a pre-order in for these, you can do so below at BBTS:
*Thanks again to Mattel for sending along these early samples for feature.
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