Power hungry, would-be dictator? Long lost brother of the King? Apprentice to one of Eternia’s greatest villains? Disfigured victim of circumstance? Crazed host to a pan-dimensional demon? Some Masters of the Univese characters have sediment histories, but Keldor’s not among them.
He’s gone from a simple idea inferred by a mini-comic to a more fleshed out character that left that one inference on the table, and in MOTU Classics all that came before has been combined with a history fraught with misfortune. It’s okay though, because through it all, Keldor’s still smiling.
I’ve had mixed feelings about Keldor ever since he debuted back in February. It had little to do with the figure itself. I was glad to have Keldor in the line; it’s the swords that got under my collar. I’m not a big fan of the half swords in the toy line and Mattel’s different attempts at explaining why they couldn’t do a classicized version of the evil 200x swords were largely unsatisfactory. I think that took away from the buildup for this figure in my eyes. Instead of getting everybody’s favorite villain before that unfortunate date with a vial of acid, I felt we were getting a figure with bad accessories. I’ll still rant a bit in the accessories section, but Keldor ended up with nice representation in the Classics line despite that drawback.
Keldor’s like a DCUC that’s relying almost entirely on his head sculpt. The figure is comprised of mostly Skeletor parts except for the lower forearms/hands, feet, and the head. New boot pieces and Tri-Klops matching bracelets are reused to accommodate Keldor’s lack of demon influence. The boots are really… generic? If you’re a fan of new parts being added to the repertoire, then you’re in luck. We now have plain feet for future figures (I believe Marzo’s already got tabs on ’em too).
So yes, the head is left to do most of the work and it does. The smiling sculpt is perfectly between charming and dastardly depending on the angle you look at it from. It’s a mix of Errol Flynn and Ming the Merciless. Going off his bio, you can play Skeletor as the idealistic uniter that he might have been or the sinister evil that he became. I love it.
Articulation is standard for the line with the only potential areas for change being the new pieces. The rocker ankles work fine, but I had to work on the one on the right foot to get it going. The head pivots on the neck fantastically with good tilt and a deep bow. Keldor could look up, but the hair and cape interfere with one another. I’ve been displaying him without the cape (and combined with the ab crunch) he’s got some good looking up poses in him.
It’s not really a paint issue per se, but Keldor is a very vibrant blue. I’m not sure I accurately captured it with my pics. He’s brighter than all of the other blue figures so far, even Faker, and very far from the washed out blue of Skeletor. It’s entirely possible that the merge with Demo-Man altered his skin tone as it apparently mutated his arms and feet, but it’s weird to think about the fact that Keldor is only half Gar. Either the blue genes are particularly dominant or a full Gar must be a deep blue. I know it’s just a kid’s toy line, but I think about these things…Continue to Page 2…
FIRST!
“He’s gone from a simple idea inferred by a mini-comic to a more fleshed out character that left that one inference on the table, and in MOTU Classics all that came before has been combined with a history fraught with misfortune. It’s okay though, because through it all, Keldor’s still smiling.”
Priceless. I laughed out loud for this one.
Your overall tone in the first portion of the review hits the appeal of this figure right on – this one’s about charisma, and it’s all in his new head. Without it, he’s just a cheap repaint with the wrong swords.
As for his conversation piece with Brother Randor in pic #2, I think that arrogant pelvic thrust makes “Randy” look WAAAAY more evil than his poor misunderstood brother. Schmuck…
You beat me! LOL
Glad I made you laugh!
And my apologies on the pelvic thrust. I told Vault he may have to do a new “8 Things…” column on inappropriately posed figures in our reviews! I was too focused on the cowboy hats (they are wearing them, though I ended up pshoping them to look pdded in) that I didn’t bother to check for obscenity. 😀
You know your site is moving up in the world when people are excited to get the first post. ^^
LOL.
That’s pretty sad when you have to psyche yourself up to buy a figure because the figure itself sucks. xD
Being a completist is hard? 😛
“I know it’s just a kid’s toy line, but I think about these things…” hahahahahaha best quote ever! Don’t worry, I think about stuff like that too! Keldor is pretty cool, in a line of generally cool figures!
One of us! One of us! It’s good to know that I’m not alone in my random ponderings of sociology, pyscholgoy, & biology in fictional universes…
Great review!Funniest part was that Keldor and Hordak armor joke.I know wich movie you had taken from that joke and that movie is still awesome XD.
I love Hordak’s face in that shot. The great thing about the 4H sculpts in this line is how well they photograph if you catch ’em. Hordak’s facial expression is perfect.
Another great example of that is in Poe’s review (linked below) where Keldor is reading the warning label on the acid vial. The expression is perfect!
How did you get the black torso on Keldor? That’s the picture where Keldor is wearing Hordak’s armor. Oh and you definately need a Shield of Deliverance – Golden Royal version from Spy Monkey Creations 🙂
I need to order some Spy Monkey stuff BIG TIME. Mattel is just sopping up all my money! I’m back to ‘relatively’ caught up on DCUCs so hopefully I can snag some of their stuff here soon!
Excellent review. Cool looking villian.
Thanks, Sy!
Nice review, Noisy! (Here’s mine, if you don’t mind me plugging it.)
A few points:
* You really hate the grin, huh? Personally I think it works. It suggests the charm that a leader has to have to lead a rebellion. Or maybe just that he’s a smug bastard. Also, it reminds me of the memorable reveal by Tony Moore from the Beast Man Icons of Evil comic (this is the only online copy of it I can find).
* For whatever reason, my Keldor holds the sword-halves nice and tight in his hands. I’ve actually found it kind of cool to pose him with them, despite the odd look of the inside part of the weapons.
* There’s no question, though, that these would have been much, much cooler: http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/showpost.php?p=2371495&postcount=92
* I think the lack of the “burning” head was, like the swords, mostly a matter of the tooling budget. Every single bonus figure so far as had only one new part, be it a head or an accessory. (Zodak: staff, Goddess: spear, BA He-Man: armor, Keldor: head.)
Your links are always welcome. I actually need to go check yours out now that mine is done…
I don’t hate the grin at all! I did make fun of it, but that’s a large part of what we do here! I don’t know if it carries the expression he should have, but then again, I don’t know what his intentions are anymore. I’m really starting to look at him as a young prince / gentlemen adventurer saving damsels in distress and righting wrongs with no clue of his visageless fate. Ironically, I prefer my Skeletor pure evil with no tragedy though. I blame the greatness of the head sculpt.
The swords might be cool, but I’m utterly biased. They do fit together, so he’s got that going for him, but I still want to shake my fist at Matty for being cheap. The swords in your link would be great.
And you’re dead on about the tooling budget. Maybe if Toy Guru had just come out and said – we gave him the old swords cause he had to be done cheap, I’d’ve let it go quicker. LOL
Excellent job! I was rolling by the end!! LOL
Thanks, Mike!
Perhaps Kronis is a full-blooded Gar? So, peach + dark blue = light blue?
Entirely possible!
Is it bad I want a figure of Keldor’s Mom?
Not at all. I would personally only want a figure of her if she’s hot, though. If Star Wars taught us anything, it’s that attractive women only get more attractive when their skin colors are bizarre and unnatural.
Well, she’d have to use the Teela buck, so I think we’re safe! 🙂
And yes, that’s one of the most important things I’ve always taken from Star Wars…
Keldor: the Fresh Prince of Eternia! ; )
I may have to grab this one if he gets reissued. The potential for hilarious comics is limitless!
LOL
He’s a ton of fun. I actually had a really good month with MOTUC. I think both him and She-Ra ended up with more joke pics than not. They were a blast.
Samuron loves me! He really loves me! 😀
Is there an “aw hell no” in Keldor’s future?
Great opening on this one. And yeah Keldor’s one happy dude for being so blue. (ba-dump-cha!)
Maybe… and thanks!
My Keldor arrived at my friend’s place Wednesday, but I won’t be able to go get him until tomorrow! The wait is killing me!
I’m thinking I’ll display my Skeletor with Keldor’s body, Comic Skeletor’s head and armor. I’ll still have to buy a standard Skeletor for the whole sword and Havoc Staff.
You can rebuild him!! I’m trying to picture your creation, you’ll have to swing by and show it off once you’ve got him together.
You know what I really want, though this may belong in Vault’s article – the next Weapons Pak to give us a Havoc stuff with a painted ram’s skull on it. Either a dirty bone or a silver and dirty brown or gold horns. That’d be sweet!
I’ll definitely post a pic here once I pick up Keldor!
I agree with you on the possible Weapons Pak. I like the coloration of the animated Havoc Staff, but I prefer the MOTUC’s longer horns than the tightly-curled ones shown in the cartoon, which is why I’m glad they molded it the way they did.
I do love the look of the MOTUC staff, and I don’t even mind the slight metallic hue of the one we did get, I just would love to see that sculpt sing under some better colors!
I have high hopes for this upcoming Weapons Pak. Though I don’t know how to review it just yet… 😉
Here’s my head/armor-swapped Skeletor.
Unfortunately, something happened while I was messing around with Keldor. I grew fond of him. I blame his devilish smile. Now I can’t bear to steal his body from him!
Looks great.
But, yeah, that’s what Keldor does to ya! 🙂
“That am impossible” Great use of Faker there.
Great review. I love Keldor, he looks like the right mix of badass and regal.
Faker knows the score, right? 😀
I got over the swords issue. They don’t look too bad and like Poe mine can hold them pretty well.
I’m slowly getting there. The fact that they stay together really helps. Plus, with Skelly stealing the cape, I can give Keldor the other full sword.
Keldor couldve been great if they’d spent more money in him simple as that.
That tagline should be on the box… 😀
He does look rather winsome, doesn’t he…. I really can’t think of him as a bad guy when he doesn’t have the cape on. Poor Mr. Keldor.
Oh, yeah. And in that pic with Hordak, I love the look on Hordak’s face. You can see him thinking, “I @&*!ing hate you…”
I love that pic! I was thinking of pshoping the armor into Apprentice colors when I took it, but it worked without having to do that.
You should see him on my desk! He’s posed like he’s about to enjoy a fight taking down some hooligans. LOL
::Now needs another hordak::
Haha. I only have one Hordak. 😉
I’m thinking full Gars are really a dark blue like Kronis and a mixed race would be the light blue that is Keldor. That would make him even more of an outcast.
RageTreb had that same idea. I think that could be the case in this reverse engineered history.
Interestingly though, we’ve been talking a lot here about Faker and why he’s blue. I kind of like the idea of him being a Gar He-Man. That seems much more insiduous giving Keldor’s background. But he’s closest to the color of Skeletor, so he might not be very much like a Gar at all.
ROFLing at those crotch-thrusting cowboy-hat wearing pics xD
LOL. Ah the unintended jokes… 😀
Great stuff, Noisy! (BTW, if this Keldor guy had existed back when the MOTU movie had been made then there could have been no other choice but to cast Billy Dee in that role…)
Thanks, Jim! LOL
Great Keldor review! I love him in the Horde armor! It makes me wish I had an extra to flesh out those Horde colors. He’d be like the Kanto of the Horde.