MOTU Classics.Com:
Kobra Khan Review (12 Pics)

Do my eyes deceive me? Is there finally another Snakeman in the MOTU Classics line? Yes! I was overjoyed to see Kobra Khan make his way into the line, a full year after the last Snakeman, no less. My wait would be a little longer though, Khan just arrived this week.

The delays in getting Khan to market and the delays in Digital River getting him to my house aside, this is one of my most anticipated 2012 figures (and, yes, I’m well aware I don’t even know the last third of the 2012 lineup yet). See, this is a pure nostalgia one for me. Kobra Khan was one of my favorite vintage figures. He still is to this day. I didn’t have time to get down in the toy cellar and pull out the old figures for “comparison time”, but rest assured Kobra Khan is a key figure in the line for me. I wasn’t so hot on his MO2K figure (I’m not a fan of the flared hood look) and I’m still crushed to this day that the Kobra Khan staction never saw the light of day (let alone that Faker!)

The best way to assuage those feelings of missing out is to get the next great version to come along, and that’s exactly what we have here. There is something about seeing this guy, whether on my desk or in these pics, that just makes me smile. It’s funny because when I look at other childhood favorites, like Snout Spout or Sy-Klone, I’m happy but I still want some MO2K influence or more Classics detail. Khan doesn’t register any of that. I don’t even need (but do appreciate) the second head. He’s just fine with me straight out of the package.

I point this out because I did go and put ‘review’ in the title like always, but I’m more than a little enamored here. And it’s because this guy looks like one of my all-time favorite toys as a kid. Just lettin’ ya all know…

Kobra Khan is an interesting part of the MOTUverse because, while he’s a Snakeman, he actually precedes that entire faction. Heck, he was on shelves before there was even a Horde! See, Kobra Khan starts out as a snake-themed Skeletor henchmen before King Hiss and his posse arrive and Khan takes his “Evil Henchmen” services over to their side. In the more streamlined MO2K and Classics mythos, Khan serves Skeletor only as a means to an end, ultimately seeking to free King Hssss.

I know I mentioned it the intro, but I’m not all that broken up that we haven’t gotten more Snakemen yet. I mean, it’s a little odd that in a few months we’ll be getting Snake MAA and some grunts while we’re still without so many of the principle snakes, but there’s a reason for that. The Snakes just don’t play friendly with their shared pieces. This will likely make them all wonderfully cool Classics figures, but it also makes them pricey for Mattel. That’s why we’re nearly to 75 figures in the line nad have only two Snakemen. Luckily, Khan here isn’t as complicated as most, Mattel achieved his look with just six new pieces.

There’s the basic head, the new upper & lower torsos, the “loincloth”, and the two new boot tops. The boot tops are of particular amusement because these are finally ‘classicized’ versions of the vintage evil boots. If we were basing the figures off the vintage toys, these are the boots Skeletor, Webstor, Zodac, etc. should’ve come with. I’m not complaining. I like the barefoot look for Skelly, I prefer my TRU 2pk Zodac, so on and so forth, but it’s amusing to see pieces that were so crucial to the vintage line just now make it into the Classics lines. Oh, and they look sharp… to boot.

The forearms are reused from Whiplash, but the torso and loincloth are new to Khan as well and they do their job of capturing the details of the classic figure. One fun little thing I noticed on the torso is some extra ribbing arond the pecs. I had thought this was just a 4H update, but it’s actually on the vintage figure. Pretty cool.

While this version of Khan can’t spray water all over the place, he does come with two heads. In the various media, Kobra Khan is capable of flaring out his hood to look more like his namesake animal. It’s a cool ability, but I loved the toys first and foremost, so I’m not really that ecstatic about it. I applaud Mattel including both the flared and unflared head all the same, and I can appreciate how awesomely sculpted the hooded head is, but it’s extra parts bin bound even as awesome as it is.

The traditional head is similarly awesome. Part of me wants to talk about a hinged jaw or having something besides Leech face, but I’m honestly okay with this guy’s hissing sculpt this time around. Yeah, he’s walking around with his mouth hanging open, but after thirty years, I’m used to it. I do kinda wish Mattel could do something about the teeth. These are surely some of the fiercest teeth we’ve seen so far, but they still look pretty nubby from certain angles.

On the whole, Kobra Khan didn’t require too much paint. The deep green does most of the work, but some sharp paint apps on the torso and loincloth finish off the piece. On both head sculpts, I really like the glossy red used on the inner mouth, but the teeth were each a little slopy one way or another. Oh, and I still don’t get why they paint the toenails on the boots. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but I just don’t understand why all the bad guys paint up their footwear. Continue to Page 2

50 thoughts on “MOTU Classics.Com:
Kobra Khan Review (12 Pics)

    1. Kamo Khan is my Battle Armor Faker!

      And Scott, if you’re reading this, he needs to come with Buzz Off hands and weapons!

  1. Kobra Khan is one of my favorite figures in the line too.

    I love his colors, accessories, and his sculpt. Easily my favorite figure this year so far, and I loved Fisto and Shadow Weaver completely.

    I bought a few of him actually. One for each head, and one for the computer desk.

    I love both heads, but I think I prefer the hooded one slightly. It makes him look even more dangerous. It probably has something to do with cobras being ingrained in our minds as dangerous.

    Anyway, good review as always.

    1. Thanks!

      I almost bought an extra because the Kobra aspect is more fitting on the flared head, but decided just to stick with one.

  2. Kobra Khan is here and he is was well worth the wait. That’s three classic characters in a row! I do miss the old water spraying action feature so much that I’m thinking of getting a loose, vintage Khan to back this newest version up with some true old school firepower!

  3. Finally, a use for that awful Iron Man accessory! Also, I prefer the hooded look because it makes sense with his gaping jaw. If it had been a closed mouth, I would go with the non-hooded look. The hooded head also holds Fang in place without falling down when moving Khan around.

    1. Yes! I was looking at the classic cardback art for Khan and that piece just popped into my head. I’m happy too, because I hate those as IM accessories. LOL

      Thanks for the tip on Fang & the hooded head.

  4. “I do kinda wish Mattel could do something about the teeth.”

    They can. They just won’t.

    Some of NECA’s toys that are sold at Toys R Us are sharp enough to kill…so I don’t buy Mattel’s BS.

    1. NECA hasn’t been sued yet. Mattel, having been around for decades, has been sued lots. Once NECA gets sued, they’ll make nubby teeth, too.

      Blame the lawyers.

    2. Has anyone tried any of theose Lego fang pieces, trimmed them down and stuck ’em in someone’s mouth yet? I was thinking of doing that, but unless they put out a box set of nothing but varying sizes of nasty big pointy teeth, I won’t be able to afford to get enough sets to customise all my befanged characters. Just a thought.

    3. They won’t because they want to reserve the option to release these at retail “during a movie year” and not have to make any adjustments to tooling or anything due to the wider safety concerns that would come into play.

      Just one of the many reasons why Mattel will never ever be able to deliver a true “collector’s line”.

      Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really solid line for what it is, but this and other self-imposed limitations just get to me, because I can see how truly amazing the line COULD be.

      1. Wouldn’t that just be a kicker? All these figures at retail for $5 cheaper? Or, maybe by the time hell freezes over (when a MOTU movie is released) retail figures will cost more than $22…

        1. Yep. And the crazy/sad thing is some of these figures are just good enough to rebuy if the redeco is right, and Mattel knows it.

          Yes, even at $22 retail + tax + gas money.

  5. I really like your make-shift “water spray.” What did you use for that? It looks like something out of the 3 3/4″ MU figures or maybe the Iron Man figures

    1. Not sure where the blue one comes from, but you can get a clearish blue version with the latest MU Iceman (although mine gets displayed with the Spider Friends Iceman).

      1. Iceman did have a good one!

        BP, this one came from the Bleeding Edge Armor Iron Man I believe though I think Hasbro labeled it Modular Armor. It’s the standard repulsor attachment, just in blue. Other IMs might have it too.

  6. I missed sale day and have been waiting for these to show up at BBTS. But man are they taking FOREVER.

  7. If yours came this week then i may get him right after the charge for Stinkor (end of the month). I love this sub so much…….not.

    1. It’s like they had all those consecutive months of good shipping and then the bill came due with all the schedule slips now…

  8. Khan’s lovely. All the subtle ridges and textures to the sculpt make the figure look best while dynamically posed. His head makes me think of a muscle car’s hood.

    I enjoyed the bit with Hiss! It conjured this imagery in my head that when Snake Men sneeze, Hiss’ disguise flies off, Khan’s hood flares open, Th General’s head shoots forward and Tung Lashor’s tongue whips out.

    1. And now I can’t stop the thought of Snake Face + Big Mucus-y Sneeze from popping into my brain: all his hidden snake heads popping out, and evey single one of them spraying snot as well. Thank you for that.

  9. That sucks about the wait on Khan. Once it actually shipped though it seems like it arrived a lot quicker than the last few figures have.

    Khan definitely hit a nostalgic note that I haven’t heard for quite a while in this line. It’s not even because he was a favorite of mine, it was just that seeing him together with Skeletor’s other minions it really hit me.

    I want a new MOTUC Skeletor with the Khan/Whiplash forearms and the Khan greaves. Throw the Acala head on that and you’ve got a stew!

    That iron man accessory is brilliant! I’m going to have to track that down! =)

    Khan is a solid figure but somehow I felt a little under whelmed with the face/head sculpt. I didn’t mind his open mouth, hissing sculpt; I think it was the eyes. It’s grown on me though. Overall I’m happy, he had a tough act to follow and there are a lot of huge contenders this year (Horde Prime and Spikor) but I think he could be one of the best figures of the year.

    1. I’d be interested to at least see what Skeletor would look like now that all the pieces to make a proper version of him are out there. I’m sure some enterprising customizer will whip one out soon.

      And thanks!

  10. He looks really good, but he’s missing the most critical part of the original toy for me. No, not the action feature – well, kind of.

    I always loved toys that could be pulled apart for battle-damage as a kid, and while nearly every He-Man guy had arms that came off, Kobra Khan was the only one whose head not only pulled off, but had a sweet spinal column dangling down from the torn-off head when you did it!

    I probably should have seen some kind of specialist.

  11. Excellent review and fun pics, as per the norm! Eagerly looking forward to this guy arriving, especially since I only got my Sorceress / Fisto / Shadow Weaver crate a week ago.

    If they actually produced a Camo Khan with golden pincers and made it part of the subscription, I’d happily put mine up for sale. There’s only so much weirdness I can take, and Camo Khan is a step too far for my liking. Vault can have first dibs.

    1. Thanks!

      And no love for Camo Khan, eh? I imagine you’re not alone… I won’t mind one, but it’s definitely a ‘Vault thing’ round these parts.

  12. I’m in love with this figure!! Bought a marriage license and everything. Might even take his last name.

    It’s been a while since nostalgia and well executed figure hit me this way. Khan’s in my top 5 even if he lacked the extra head and sidekick, especially now that the elbows are fixed.

    What’s gotten me even MORE excited is your makeshift water spray!! I’m so thankful for your idea and I’ll be using it.

    1) I was hoping for a water spray effect for Khan since day 1 of this line

    2) When I’m messing around with my random energy effect pieces, I’ve always tried desperately to make that Iron Man “sonic wave” looking piece work since it looks cool, but the awkward clip placement makes it look awful even on the figures it’s intended for.

    It’s double-effective!

    And I’m glad you noticed the stupid amount of effort I put into demonstrating what’s going on with his elbows. That little tab even kept me from posing one of his arms completely straight. I’m glad to discover how easily the tabs can be cut without even the pain of removing the forearm. Since most of the figures seem to use that same bicep sculpt, I’d bet we see this pop up again, unless Whiplashes forearms are a rare case in that they are the only forearms that haven’t been altered to account for the change. Guess we’ll find out once TP He-Man and Spector arrive.

    1. Thanks for doing the legwork on the elbow joints! I hope, but doubt, these bumps on Khan were a one-time thing. This seems like the DCUC tri-barbell thing all over again.

      I wish that the folks in charge of the MOTU line thought about stuff like the water spray effect (though who knows, the 4H might have tons of effects pieces in their extra parts bin). Tri-Klops could’ve had optic blasts, Khan his water spray, magical energy, etc. Thunder Punch He-Man is definitely a step in the right direction.

      1. No problem! I enjoy ripping apart the occasional toy and learning something.

        Just by looking at various figures tonight(without ripping them apart) noticed that relatively recent figures, Leech, Demo-Man and Snout Spout have that little bump, but the difference is they’ve got newly sculpted forearms that allow clearance for it while Whiplash’s unaltered forearms have a slight conflict. Icarius doesn’t have the bump at all on his all new bicep pieces. Weird. I imagine the intent is to help the elbow lock into place so large accessories don’t weigh it down, but I don’t know how effective it is.

        That tri-barbell thing is pure irritation(as well as the lost rocker ankles in DCUC) Khan does have the newer neck barbell that I first remember seeing in Vikor and most of the females lately, probably some of the guys as well. Instead of a barbell with a ball at each end, it now ends in a loop that wraps around a post inside. I think it allows a bit less motion on some figures, but not drastically. I figure that was done for durability, as I’ve pulled Scareglows head off so many times that eventually his neck seam split just enough that the entire barbell came out with the head. No big deal and I blame myself for loving the toy to death rather than Mattel QC.

        And I’ve been crying for action feature “effects” for a long time now! This was a toy line based on action features, which many characters identities were based around entirely! Some figures had action features that can’t be represented with a visual change on the toy itself, since their feature was based on motion…or liquid. I was hoping for a Snout Spout blast and something similar to Red Tornado’s effect for Sy-Klone, but I’ve got this big bag of Marvel effects that don’t look so hot attached to a 4″ figure, so it’s about time to play. I’ve been messing around with Star Wars force lightning as well with some fun results.

        Anyway, Khan is pretty darn great for a figure that took so long to get here that my excitement should have been diminished some.

        1. I realize I’m likely the only one who thinks this, but I would really enjoy a ‘guest feature’ where you dissect and showcase all these features, the changes and what the resulting effect has been on the toys (MOTUC and DCUC).

          I seem to recall Noisy did it with the neck barbell nonsense.

          I still can’t figure out why they did that thing.

  13. I didn’t get this guy, but the spelling caveat at the end had me wondering:
    No Madeline Kahn jokes?
    I am Disappoint.

  14. 1 of the best top 5 figures in the lineup. Love the Hooded head. Cool pics & funny pic of Khan eating Pixal!!! Bring on more Snake Men.

  15. Love that pic of Khan blasting He-Man with water!

    on the issue of painted toes, it always seemed to me like there was holes in the boots for thier claws to stick out for kicks and stuff.

    Great review! My Khan finally arrived on Wed of this week…about damn time

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