MOTUClassics.Com:
Trap Jaw Review

The Kronis head is great for what it is. The helmet is the same (minus that trademark zip line hook), but with a normal blue face instead of Trap Jaw’s green visage. Kronis has a great expression too, he’s a little cranky. Probably because he’s wearing this big uncomfortable bracket on his right side.

I know, I know, when am I going to mention the arm? Well, I’ve held it until last because it’s probably the part that most people care about and the part I like the least. *GASP* It’s okay, I’ll give you a minute…

There’s nothing wrong with the arm. It is an excellent update of the classic. It has great range at the shoulder, bicep, and elbow and the 4H have tricked it out with some basic details and paint apps that were lacking on the original. The three attachments (hook, articulated claw, and laser) are all faithful updates of their classic counterparts. They all pop on and off easily while being snug to the arm. No, there’s nothing wrong with this arm. It’s probably exactly the arm that a MOTU Classics Trap Jaw should have.

But 200x? That was a cybernetic arm to fear. I didn’t like every redesign, but I did like that arm. And I just wanted to take a minute to note that I do miss it. For my Trap Jaw, he’ll probably keep outfitted with his laser arm (it’s the biggest) and hang the claw and hook from his handy belt.

Paint wasn’t what I wanted it to be on Trap Jaw. The orders come to my house, and because I take on MattyCollector.Com on the 15ths, I get first pick. It wasn’t easy to pick one and that had me a little disappointed. Most of the problem was in the face, one didn’t have the yellow on his eyes completely filled, another had grey pupils instead of black, etc. Luckily, after we opened everything we were all able to swap heads and had enough good Trap Jaw heads for him and all the rest will spend their lives as Kronis. It all worked out, but it still wasn’t cool.

The rest of the body was painted pretty well. The bright colors are sharp as are the metallics. I would have liked to see some different colors or shades to denote the bare parts of Trap Jaw’s arms from the metal coverings though. The metallic blue and the skin blue are just too close and the arms look a little off. They might not have needed to change the colors to differentiate between the parts of the arm and the armor. If some part of the shoulder were bare instead of all-metallic that might help it look a little less awkward.

Articulation is mostly standard for Trap Jaw. The only differences are limited hinge ankles due to the bulky armor, the great range on the robotic arm, and the articulated jaw. Everything else is what we’ve come to expect from the line.

Overall, this is a great toy. MOTU Classics seems to capture the toy aspect better than just about any other “adult collector” line I’ve picked up in the last few years. I’m not Trap Jaw’s biggest fan, but I still like the figure a lot. The robot arm isn’t my favorite, but it’s a great update of the vintage figure with great articulation and the three attachments are still fun to play with. The inclusion of Kronis pieces that allow me to make a second figure is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for in my toys. Simply put, Trap Jaw should be well-received in any MOTU fan’s home.

For more MOTU reviews, check out our MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide.

25 thoughts on “MOTUClassics.Com:
Trap Jaw Review

  1. I really love the idea of a character being near-death, only to have them “rebuilt” and return as someone new (I lost count of how many times I rewatched Megatron become Galvatron in the animated Transformers movie), so Trap Jaw is an attractive figure, but I doubt I’ll ever decide to pick him up.

    Is it ever explained why his face turned green? Looking at the figure as a whole the colors work together nicely, but when you focus on just his face it seems weird.

    Regardless, it’s an awesome figure, but I know if I start down the MOTU path, it will be wrought with anger, sadness and leave me with very little money.

    1. In the comic book origin, he receives a blast to the face from Skeletor’s Havoc Staff during his “disfiguring”.

      Yeah, I know, I know . . .

      That’s the problem with trying to tack-on origins for characters who were intended as toys, and little more.

      It usually feels very retconny, and very shoehorned.

      I like the *idea* of Kronis way more than I do the story they came up with.

      1. Agreed. I really wish I had an extra little bracket for his right shoulder. I think that would look cool, but that giant bracket is just him “waiting” to be Trap Jaw.

    2. My favorite idea for a character is when heroes and villains switch sides! We need some of that in MOTU!

      And being a MOTU collector doesn’t have too much gnashing of teeth, but it does feel like it sometimes.

    1. Man-At-Arms will always be one of the best characters from that entire mythos. He’s cooler than He-Man.

      Yeah, I said it!

    1. 😀 I was going to add “…only to have Skeletor steal those plans and have Trap Jaw turn some poor slave into Nightstalker, thus creating natural enemies”

      But I thought that would be overkill. 😀

  2. I tried to buy an extra Man-At-Arms in Feb and it cost me the extra TJ I was getting for Kronis, TJ cost me Battle Cat. If I’d listened to my inner voice and only bought Battle Cat, I’d probably have been happier with how that day turned out.

    But I did got stands! And since those are apparently one-time gold, I guess I got the one right thing. Right.

  3. trap jaw rules… she won’t let me bring him in the car though.. too much bad car mojo from the trips we took w/ scare glow and skeletor in the car.

    hard to believe the horsemen were trying to pack more into his box! i already feel like he was worth the 20 bucks, and the weapon’s pack is tempting, if only for the intended knife and blaster for keonis… but alas, i’m playing him as a muay thai style striker, so his armor is “splaned” and he don’t need no stinkin’ blaster!

  4. i hate not being able to edit these comments… i always see a problem AFTER i’ve posted… “intended knife and blaster for KRONIS!”

  5. Did you have any issues with the right leg? Everything from the thigh pad to the cut for the ankle joint sits a little bit higher than the left. This allows for extra movement, but is inconsistent. I also had an extremely lose right ankle joint. Anything similar with any you opened?

  6. Awesome review! I missed out on him last month, so naturally I can’t wait for the reissue! It can’t come soon enough! I was always a bigger fan of the evil masters and that hasn’t changed. Aside from the core three heroes (HM, MAA & T-la), I think Zodac is the only one I’m interested in. Oh, wait, Fisto! Definitely Fisto! The other heroes are pretty f’n lame, IMHO.

    But I love the EVIL masters! Scareglow is probably my favorite, followed by Tri-klops! However, I think TJ will be up there, once I finally have him. And if I end up getting the 2pk Skeletor, he may replace the reissued one I received back in Jan. (I like the solid yellow face and blacked-out eyes.

    P.S. I’m glad I was able to get the stands while the getting was good! Haven’t tried ’em out yet, though, thanks to the recent move.

    1. 😀 Extendar is pretty high after that – maybe fifth, but nothing tops those two. Roboto would be third. Sy-Klone fourth.

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