MOTU Fans typically figure out a lot of figure reveals in advance. We all expectedthat Prince Adam would be a He-Man repaint. Some fans were certain that Orko would end up as part of a multipack convention exclusive. But Prince Adam as an accessory? I don’t know about you, but I didn’t see that coming.
“Only three others share this secret: our friends the Sorceress, Man-at Arms, and Orko.”
I usually like to go into the back story of the characters a bit in this space, but it’s Orko! Do I need to go into detail? This guy gets top billing as one of the three keepers of Adam’s secret (why didn’t Cringer count?). And, of course, each of us shared in that secret too, but did you ever really think about if everyone was qualified to keep the secret? Obviously, we could be trusted. Man-At-Arms & the Sorceress. They’re professionals. But Orko? Really? Would you trust Orko with your most important secret? Sure, you could say his heart’s in the right place, but how much food does he have to dump on Man-At-Arms before you question his competence?
The Classics mythos has let it be known that it’s safe to trust Orko anew. That it’s the mystical properties of Eternia that turns Orko from the Samuel L. Jackson of magic into… Steve Urkel. Some fans have mixed feelings about that little nugget of back story, but I’m fine with it. Personally, it makes me want to see Skeletor come across Orko out in space and see what happens when he underestimates the little Trollan. That’d be hilarious.
Orko’s an all-new sculpt, if you couldn’t tell, but more importantly, I’m just glad that Orko finally has an in-scale action figure. If you had a vintage Orko, you know that he was more in scale with Tytus than He-Man. The 200x was closer, but he was still a bit bigger than he needed to be. This Orko is perfect. He’s on model, he appears to be floating, and truthfully he looks so good that this one (when cold) looks good enough to be the only one you need. I may feel differently when I have my solid one next week*, but I ended up liking this one a lot more than I thought I would initially.
* – Check back for an addendum on that version when it arrives.
When heated, Orko turns clear. I was similarly excited by this when I didn’t expect to be. It’s generally cold in my house, so you can see in the picture that Orko is already starting to regain some of his color, but I loved his completely clear look. There’s just something about it – he’s fun and he looks right. I kinda want a clear Orko that doesn’t require the heat. I also want this color change plastic to be used to make a Sword of He that turns invisible. I know… I’m full of wants, but that’d be awesome.
The color change is sensitive. If I pick up Orko right now and apply a bit of pressure with my fingers, I can leave visible finger prints for a second or two. I don’t know which version will be best, my instinct tells me the regular one will blow this one out of the water, but I won’t know for sure until I see them both together.
Orko includes two accessories, not counting the big guy of course, his scepter and his magic book. Both of these are included with the regular release offered on MattyCollector, but the book on that version will not feature the color change SDCC logo. When cold, the logo is a dark brown rectangle, but when heated, the logo becomes visible as seen in the picture above. Orko can hold his scepter in his right hand, but he can’t hold the book at all.
Orko’s main accessory is Prince Adam, strange as that may sound. Adam utilizes the standard He-Man buck (with matching bracelets). The only differences are the two new pieces: the 2nd head and the vest. I don’t know what to think about the new head. I don’t really like it – I’m not sure if it’s the sculpt or the paint. My issues are primarily because I can’t tell you what emotion is on his face. Is he smiling? Is he downtrodden? I can’t tell. He kinda looks like Thomas Haden Church in a way.
I’m glad he has a new head, I can’t stress that enough! The standard He-Man head is getting boring and this would’ve been its fifth use (technically, it is because a standard He-head is also included). I just have mixed feelings about on how it turned out. Despite my misgivings, this will be the head I use for Adam on my shelves. Variety trumps my dislike.
On a side note, the regular He-Man head came with his hair sitting way back on his head. This is an easy fix, of course, but annoying nonetheless.
One thing I know I don’t like is the vest. It looks good. It fits well. It reminds me of the vintage figure. It’s not made of cloth. All good. From the front, I’d even call it great, but it needed a place to store the Power Sword. I don’t know if that was skipped to save money or if because the vintage figure didn’t have one, but it was a mistake. The vintage figure had a cloth vest and the sword could be shoved back there. Not so with the new one. The vest is a tight fit and it just won’t work. Prince Adam needed a holster for his sword, there’s no two ways about it.
Aside from his two heads, Prince Adam also came packaged with his classic magenta sword and half sword. I know it’s silly, but I’m happy to get the Skittles power swords any time. I enjoyed them as a kid and I like them more now as they expand into new colors. I could do without the half sword, but I do want to note that we’re going to need some more ‘evil’ halves. We’ve got good halves in gray, purple, black, magenta, & presumably blue. While evil halves only come in purple, purple, and orange. We’re running short here.
Also, every time I get the sword in a new color, I want the axe and shield to match. Yes, I know SDCC just revealed we’re finally getting Faker’s shield & axe was well as a purple axe for Skelly, but now we’re adding a magenta axe & shield to my long MOTUC want list. Continue to Paint, Articulation, & Summation (& the standard Orko review!).
Hmm… the ankles on my Prince Adam are pretty tight, actually. I think you guys might just have rotten luck?
But I agree with your review on Orko and his scaling! I really dig it!
As far as Adam’s head… I dunno… I kinda like it. It’s funny! Although, I think I wish it’d be more like the intro to the original Masters cartoon, sleepy eyes, smirk… That would’ve been funnier!
Oh, and the Prince Valiant hairdo, yeah, that would’ve been better lol
We must have rotten luck! Adam, Marzo, and Keldor to a lesser extent. I’m hoping on regular Adams will be good!
You’re right! The more smoothed out hair would have been great!
Hey dude whats up im a 4HM fan myself & i have no one else to ask but is there anyway to fix the ankle problem ? Dude all of ur reveiws rock they truly are a collectors dream come true plus there funny!
The Number One/Number Two joke is hilarious!
That was the one I was worried about. 😀
Awesome round of strips this time! I love the last one best. I always knew Orko could kill them all!!
Thanks! 😀
Nice. I caved and went for Orko because he was still available when I reached the order page. I figured “why not? Those $25 were burning a hole in my pocket anyway!” But the set looks promising and I don’t think I’ll regret the purchase.
I think you’ll like him. The Adam figure is very nostalgic for me and Orko is done well – the hemline, the hands, he’s just spot on.
I’ve had an awful time with loose ankles in this line. The loose footed Heroes don’t stand a chance against the evil forces of Skeletor because they’re all able to stand up properly 95% of the time. She-ra and He-man are sadly the worst offenders though Keldor recently gave them a pretty big run for their money.
One note about Orko: does anyone miss the removable hat? I’m not sure if I’m going to or not yet…
I thought I would, but I really didn’t think about it once I had him in hand.
The “He-Man” boot is usually the worst, but I haven’t been having good luck with the new boot ankles either.
i’ve been getting 50 50 figs for a while now, one ankle nice and tight, one floppy as my balls on a warm day.
Yeah! The right ankle is a much worse offender than the left!
This guy gets top billing as one of the three keepers of Adam’s secret (why didn’t Cringer count?).
Perhaps because Cringer also has a secret identity, and would therefore be more kept than keeper?
I suppose that makes sense…. :grumble:
The Lost joke is hilarious. Great job as always!
Haha, I was wondering if anybody else knew that was from Lost, too. Definitely funny and appropriate!
I’m so glad people enjoyed that one. I thought for sure it would fall flat! 😀
On the Org, Toy Guru said he didn’t know why the holster wasn’t back there. I’m not often unhappy with 4H decisions, but I was this time. His lack of holster really blows. 🙁
if the brand manager isn’t the guy who gets the proto fig and says “hey, this needs a tweak” then i guess i don’t know what the hell his job is. if he noticed the sword hanger was missing, isn’t it his JOB to tell the horsemen, “hey, put a frog on the back of the vest you pants pissing pansies!”? no, this, and the overall lackluster job on the face of adam lead me to believe adam was an in-house tweak on an existing he-man body, not a horsemen job… admittedly, i have no proof, only suspicion… but there it is.
TG rests on the 4H laurels, so I’m sure its a 4h sculpt. How often do we hear that the 4H made this, the 4H made that, and he has no clue what the backstory is? In one of the interviews, Pixel Dan I think, Guru outright MOCKED and laughed at fans for asking about the backstory of Carnivus shield when it was just intended to be an extra accessory.
Its definitely his job to look at Adam and ask where’s the holster, but I dont think that lets the 4h off the hook for not including it.
The thing about the shield annoyed me when I watched that interview. It was IAT who asked the question. We ask because we’re interested and care. We already knew “keep reading the bios” was more or less a putoff/lie but I felt a little embarrased/angry when he laughed off fans asking about the shield.
So I’m the only one who finds the strip with Orko carrying a head SUPER CREEPY?!
Geh, he’s probably got the spare heads all lined up and KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE TEELA HEAD! NO! NO!
I didn’t think of it as a creepy, but I can see it. LOL
Great review! I read somewhere that the 4H intended the book to be tucked under Orkos arm instead of it fitting in his hands.
Yes, I’ve read that since too. I’ll include it in my look at the regular Orko.
Cute review!
Cute?? LOL Thanks!
Great review and pics! Thanks!! Can’t wait to get my solid Orko next week too!!
Thanks! My reg Orko should be here Monday! I’m excited!
I’m having the same issue as Dayraven. The right foot is almost univerally loose while the left ankle is fine.
Are the molds starting to wear out?
Me three. I suppose it could be that simple!
Cringer is part of the secret because he’s Battle Cat, but he could be considered a keeper of Adam’s secret. I don’t know. Were not supposed to analyze old cartoons like that!
I analyze everything like that…
“mystical properties of Eternia that turns Orko from the Samuel L. Jackson of magic into… Steve Urkel.”
LOL
😀 It’s true! Skeletor doesn’t want to run into him off Eternia!
I wish I could’ve gotten this yesterday. Matty wouldn’t let me submit my order.
I had another friend who had that same problem. I waited forever to get my order in.
Orko’s the smartest guy in the line; he’s guaranteed that he’ll never have floppy ankles by simply forgoing legs entirely.
LOL Exactly!
Definitely an interesting way to do an exclusive!
I enjoyed the color change immensely. I want a heat-sensitive sword!
I can’t wait for mine to arrive. He looks awesome.
Next week’s gonna be cool.
Great review! I always love your stuff. When are you doiing Mo-Larr?
Mo-Larr won’t be here until early next week, so we’ll get him on the schedule after that!
That list pic is hilarious! Orko should lay the smack down!
😀 Maybe he’ll get his chance someday.
Great pics! Orko’s hand sculpts are super expressive! 🙂
I didn’t talk about that, but they really are!
Q:”Hey, ToyGuru, why does Adam use teh teckno swrod?”
A:”Well…bee..because. Just because.”
LOL Yeah.
I know what I’m doing with the extra He-Man head with the dolphin forehead… I’ll pop that hair off, and hopefully Vikor’s hair/helmet will come off easily with some boiling… and thus with Vikor’s face and He-Man hair, I will have the greatest He-Man EVAR…
I have two subs for next year now, so I’m looking at Vikor’s face for something. I hadn’t thought of that, but that could be really good!
I hope my Orko doesn’t look like that! That sucks!