Geldor is one of those figures in the line that I didn’t really care about, but ended up really liking. I’d never read his mini-comic, and didn’t really have much to go on for characterization. It also didn’t help that I voted for Illumina in the fan choice poll, so I was a bit biased against him. But after getting the figure and reading the original mini-comic, Geldor’s character began to ingratiate himself to me.
It was the figure that got me interested in the character though (which seems to happen a lot with this line). Even though he’s based on the standard male buck with gloves, they added a few new bits to give him his own style. The new upper body armor, loincloth and boots really give off that barbarian-warlord vibe. But they could also easily be mixed into future figure designs (especially the boots and loincloth).
What really makes this figure shine is the new headsculpt. The unique look of the mustache-to-Mohawk pretty much gives him the most unique hairstyle on all my MOTU shelves. But it’s his crazy eyes and sadistic toothy smile that makes him stand out. A lot of MOTU figures have a very plain expression, but Geldor’s headsculpt shows him as the power-hungry bastard he truly is.
Geldor’s color is pretty basic, but still has a nice bit of detail. All the clothing is done in a similar red with highlights being done in a darker tone and glittery/metallic sheen. There’s also some nice dry brushing on his gray head-hair. One thing that did throw me a bit was that Geldor seems to just be tanned, similar to He-Man. I was under the impression from the mini-comic that he was black like Torgul, Maran, and Dakon. But I guess it’s a bit ambiguous since the coloring isn’t consistent throughout the story. Continue to page 2…
Great review and pics, as always. Gotta say, while I’m happy to get any new MOTUC figure, this one I could take or leave. I didn’t vote for him, his colour scheme seems a bit off (coulda sworn his clothing was a bit more brown as well), and even though I read his mini-comic, it wasn’t a pivotal event in my childhood. He’s a nice figure, but after the Horde Troopers, Dactys, and Mantenna, he’s a bit of a comedown.
Great review. I knew zilch about this dude myself, but when the head sculpt is a virtual mash-up of Mr. T. and Chester A. Arthur, what’s not to love? It’s also cool how his axe matches his hair color and the Liquid of Life sample is a neat bonus.
I wouldn’t fret about his skin tone, either. Those mini-comics could be pretty inconsistent. Thirty years later and I’m still wondering if Man-E-Faces had yellow skin or some kind of bodysuit which he forgot to wear for his origin story.
He does nothing to me… Especially since We got Teela’Na, Duncan and Stratos DEAD FOREVER, but this bozo was explicitly killed in a very pathetic way and he COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD!? F that!
Geldor I liked as a kid from just design and that mini comic cover. I didn’t read it till later and saw how.evil he was but man that was a lame death. Figure wise he looks great and would be a fun addition to villian ranks.
Yeah mad about those 3 being dead too. We need ghost versions of them. I want a Duncan ghost just to haunt clamp champ.
How much he resembles Huang Gai of Dynasty Warriors is almost disturbing!
i don’t know if i could love this one any more blot… that you just name dropped huang gai on a toy board makes me deliriously happy. but to be fair to my man hung guy (his nickname in my heez), his musculature would make even a motuc blush.
all we need now is an arm blade for geldor… crap. now i have a craft project. thanks a lot! 🙂
Oh, I didn’t know Stratos was DEAD FOREVER, too. I stopped reading all that Nietlich nonsense ages ago. Ignorance actually feels good in this case!
Anyway, I am so glad you said something about Geldor’s skin tone…I was also under the impression that he was black (or whatever a black person would be called on Eternia). I suppose his skin tone could still be that of a light-complexioned person of African descent? And a broad range of skin tones makes the collection look more diverse, I suppose, so it’s all good.
I am not a fan of the nearly monochromatic armor. That is most assuredly NOT all good. I do love the smashaxe. It looks very imposing, heavy and medieval. Not every weapon can or should be a picture of elegance, folks…
Sadly, the “Neitlichverse” is very likely to be the backbone of any future continuity (as seen with the NU52 MOTU). that is why I pay attention to the MOTUC Canon.
I don’t think you need to be concerned about that. Mattel may be able to dictate quite a bit to DC so long as the comic moves units, but any movie that is made will be subject to the whims of the director, producers and studio (look at how drastically different both Transformers and G.I. Joe are from anything Hasbro has created in-house), while any cartoon simply couldn’t use Nietlich’s ideas, seeing as how bloody they are. Finally, never forget that Nietlich’s story, while absurdly complicated, has no discernible narrative thread! It simply isn’t usable as the basis for any kind of ongoing story.
Great review! Liking Geldor more and more..but gotta wait for 4 more weeks till he arrives 🙁
I like that double sided meat cleaver that he carries around..one Whack is what it takes for Geldor to bring his enemies down!
He should have been Dekker’s shade..that would have been comic accurate
you know what bugs me about motuc? take a look at that cool leathery texture on his breech cloth. cool, right? that’s one of the things the horsemen do enormously well, texture sculpting. now look at that armor… what is that substance supposed to be? it’s not leather, it’s too smooth. it’s not reflective, so it’s not metal. is he supposed to be wearing plastic armor? i doubt that, but that’s all it looks like. why oh why can’t we let the horsemen sculpt that leather chest armor with the same distressed texture that the breech cloth has, and thus complete the look? so geldor, who i love and have been looking forward, ends up with this noticeable flaw that i can’t endorse… he goes from a perfect 10 figure (for me, of course) to something like an 8… close, but not all there. (he also loses a point for the axe that bears a resemblance to a pizza peal moreso than an axe… there’s no distinction between the bit and the cutting edge of the blade, and that bugs the hell out of me too.)
He really doesn’t do much for me. Part of it is the coloring. the skin and red armor just kind of blend in. Maybe if they had made his skin darker, as noted, he would stand out a bit more? Basically, the head sculpt and new armor/axe are the only positive points for this guy.
Also, not sure what you’re talking about with the boot tops? You only have the only full body shot where we can see them, so I’m a bit lost, there.
the boots are similar to Trap Jaw’s. They have a “boot cut” but the Knee piece does not move with the rest of the boot, like say, Bow.
Geldor’s got the vitiligo…
I like the figure, I like getting a character from the mini-comics, but all he’s done for me since landing on the shelf is make me regret not voting for mini-comics Trap-Jaw. An infinitely more interesting figure, and one we might not get now.
Makes me wonder if they changed his skin tone from “black dude” to “George Hamilton” to head off any potential lawsuits from Mr. T or his representatives. (I’m only partially being serious with this speculation, if that’s not coming through the Internet… not that Mr. T is one of those overly litigious celebrities, but he did figure in one high profile case against Best Buy using an alleged unauthorized use of his likeness back in 2003, and Geldor really does give off an “inspired by Mr. T” vibe, especially given the timing of the release of the original mini-comic.)
…and if there is one thing Mattel seems to fear, its a lawsuit. Serious or not, you may have a point.
Just not a ton of MotU-ness coming from this guy IMO…
Head sculpt feels much more like the DCUC line.
poop on you sir, he’s awesome. i already staged a horde trooper-based police violence incident after they pulled him over for riding in a wind raider. first, they knocked out his tail light, then they made him step out… and now, all of eternia wants to know why they can’t all get along. dekker started looting faker’s grocery story. it was awesome, and awful at the same time.