“Well, we’d better think of something fast. They know we’re here now. “ -Lizard Man. MOTU Episode: “She-Demon of Phantos”
2015 kicked off with a nice Filmation nod to a character that has waited thirty years to get his due: Lizard Man! I have to be honest, my memory of Lizard Man when I was a kid is fuzzy at best. He only appeared in two episodes (a third appearance showed him in brown, and is conceivably a different member of his species), so he didn’t really register with me back then. He became my cause celebre much later when I realized that he’s from a very select group – Filmation Heroes that got passed over for toys by Mattel. Bad guys? There are dozens of ’em that we didn’t get. But Heroic Warriors tended to get their due, but Lizard Man wasn’t one of them.
Lizzy finally made the jump to figure form thanks to Classics though and my how he’s grown! I’m really going to be gushing over this figure the rest of the time, so let’s address the “giant” Lizard Man in the room. While the reuse of Modulok parts gives him a more slender build than your average MOTU figure, if you stand him flat-footed, he stands just a little taller than your average figure. Now, with the articulation, you’re able to shrink him down to around the right height, but he’s still big; not the slight hero featured in the cartoon. I don’t know if that was intended, part of the classicization, or just something that happened, but it’s the one drawback to an otherwise great figure. Now that we’ve covered it, let’s move on!
So, I’ve already said he’s otherwise great figure. There goes the suspense… Anyway, Lizard Man is really well done. He does share some bits with Modulok as I mentioned, but all the parts that needed to be new, are new. The feet & hands look great – and the new head sculpt! Y’know, I really like it. It’s a little more anthropomorphized than as he appeared in the cartoon. In it, he appeared more like a real lizard, head a little more flat, eyes further apart. This head sculpt actually looks closer to that brief, brown appearance than his typical green. I still like it though. It fits what I think of him right down to the benevolent expression. The torso is all-new as well. It’s again one-piece torso, like Mermista, but it doesn’t look as cheap as it did on Mermista. The only knock here is that there’s no ab crunch and I think that would’ve helped with his posing.
Taking that missing ab crunch right into the articulation side of things, it thankfully doesn’t represent the rest of the figure. I could use a little more range on the ball-neck, but the ball-shoulders, hips, & knees all work great, and there’s hinges at the elbows & ankles, rocker ankles ( I think, they’re very limited), and swivels at the biceps, waist, thighs, and wrists. In all, he’s really well articulated despite that missing ab crunch. The ball knees are particularly nice and still look great. Continue to Page 2…
Great review and comics, as always.
This was it for me. The Filmation figure I’ve wanted for just over thirty years. I’m ridiculously thrilled to have him in my collection (and I got a couple of spares for customs, including the brown lizard guy) after all these decades.
But, as you say, lack of ab-crunch and tail articulation took this from Dream Figure to Adequate Figure. I could live without the ab-crunch especially if they did with his tail what they did with the Webstor / Buzz-Off / Mosquitor extra bug-limbs. But, no dice.
I tried removing the tail on one of the spares to see if I could articulate it some way (such as a simple swivel), but the way the tail attached to the butt-flap is complicated enough that it looks like they were purposefully trying to stymie people from adding articulation after purchase. }Sigh.{
Anywho, very, very happy with this figure. But, with just two more articulation points, I could’ve been ecstatic.
I didn’t get this figure so my opinion counts for nothing, but based solely on your photos his left hand really looks fantastic it such a shame the right isn’t in a similar pose especially since he doesn’t need to hold an accessory.
The hand is really cool — possibly one of my favorite things about the figure. It’s just a little touch, but that detail moves him up a few pegs in my book.
Classics has been knocking them out of the park this year. I haven’t got Blast-Attak in hand yet, but I suspect he will continue that trend. Lizard Man, while not even on my radar for a “want” in this line was still a pretty awesome addition. Minor quibbles are the lack of ab crunch and tail articulation, but otherwise I’m satisfied with him. The hands are a really nice touch too. I know you’ve already cracked open SA He-Man/BG Hsss, but you’re going to enjoy Ninjor a lot! I’ll be curious how you feel about Huntara though.
Great review. I never even noticed he size difference and it really doesn’t matter to me. I really love this figure. Before they announced Lizard Man, I was wondering who they were going to have in the 2015 lineup who would be a recognizable pop figure. Lizard man was the perfect introduction to the year and he stars off what to date has been MOTU classics best year In terms of execution. All these figures so far are fantastic. I am so impressed with the extra attention to details with each figure we’ve receivd so far. Keep in mind I’m on the quarterly sub so I only have the first six figures up to March. I’m really looking forward to reading your take on them as are my two little girls. I read them one of your reviews/comics each night before they go to bed. They love them and have really become huge fans of MOTU. After reading your Castle Grayskull review, my 8 year old insisted I get it for her for her bday. It arrived last week. I do t know who is more excited about it her or me.
Eh, I just want those accessories.
If you watch Lizard man in the cartoon closely you’ll see his height varies from shot to shot – sometimes he’s taller than He-man.
Recall slightly thanks to an old Panini sticker book. I have the first season on DVD too and the boom is the main help. And somebody Quagmire’n him in that scene with the Sorceress.
Haven’t bought any MOTUCs in a long time. (Tearing down the old toy show location is.part of that reason and new would have to take public trans. and, the amount of what used to buy would be in need of another ticket)
I like but do see the cut corners and, after the past nice tails we have surprised this got cut. I don’t recall him ever using any weapons so weapons pak could come in handy.
Always do great reviews and this is another. I’m actuallly behind on reading them as been watching a lot of Kamen Rider lately.