![](\"reviews\/motuimages\/2011\/mdc00.png\")
<\/a> Last year, someone at Mattel got this crazy idea to put MOTU Classics & DC Universe Classics figures together. Honestly, it’s the kind of oddball idea that I have to appreciate, but I wish the final product were as cool as the idea. Today, I’m looking at Aquaman vs. Mer-man<\/strong> & Hawkman vs. Stratos<\/strong>.<\/p>\nI was lucky enough to be online when the second wave of two-packs became available on Toysrus.Com<\/a>. My TRU has had about a dozen Skeletor\/Luthor 2pks for months and I didn’t have any hope they would get in a case of wave two, so I happily ordered them from the website. So far, that’s worked out because my TRU didn\u2019t sell a single Skeletor 2pk through the Christmas season. It surely didn\u2019t help that the price jumped from $29.99 (what I bought them at) to $34.99 either. <\/p>\n I still appreciate the two bubbles being smashed together, but the card art was a downgrade from wave one<\/a>. He-Man had the cover to one of DC Comic’s MOTU covers and Skeletor had this awesome rendition of the traditional Snake Mountain merged with the classic play set. Both figures also included a reprint of a DC MOTU comic. <\/p>\n This time around, the front of the package features a simple sky or shoreline background while the back has some art featuring the characters (a mini-poster of the card back is also included). The art is best described as lackluster. It appears to have been drawn by someone that thinks comic book art is akin to coloring book art and then colored by someone who wasn’t worried about accuracy.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the packaging art isn’t really a big deal because it went to the trash anyway (mini posters too), but it might have been nice to have some art worth keeping, like the Skeletor packaging. That and the lack of the reprint comic makes it harder for these two packs to be worth $35.<\/p>\n Of course, the main thing that hurts the value of these 2pks is that Mattel can’t afford to give collectors two worthwhile figures in each package. When asked<\/a> about this, Toy Guru said…<\/p>\n We only have a certain number of “slots” for development skus. No every figure in the two packs can have development put against them. Some packs will have two figures with development (i.e. repaints, rework) some packs neither figure will have development. It all comes down to the limited resources we have for the line and choosing the best way to use our resources. <\/p>\n The bottom line is we just don’t have the resources to develop every sku. Some skus will need to be straight reissues. That is just part of the business of toy making!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It’s a shame that the 2pks can’t be a way for Mattel to roll out some simple repaints of the DC characters. The interesting part here is that he says, “[in] some packs neither figure will have development.” That’s good for collectors because we can pass on that 2pk completely (just as I did with the recent Parasite & Gentlemen Ghost 2pks), but it’s not really good for the line overall. Skeletor already seems to have some trouble selling and if collectors can walk away from a 2pk altogether… well, I just hope Toys R Us doesn’t cancel the sku midstream like they did with the Tuxedo Joker.<\/p>\n Editor’s Note<\/strong>: I’ve reviewed most of these figures before, so this won’t be a traditional review hitting all the key points. I’ll include links back to the original reviews when possible.<\/em><\/p>\n Hawkman is basically identical to his earlier release<\/a>, but there are little differences. The most obvious is the joint for the wings. It\u2019s now molded to match the wings instead of skin tone. The wings feel a little softer too, but I can’t quite tell for certain.<\/p>\n Otherwise, he’s the same – articulation, paint deco, etc. That makes him the least valuable part of the quartet for me since I’ve already got this exact figure. To harp on the fact Mattel can’t afford to do “development” on every figure a little more, it really sucks on Hawkman because he’s had eleventy billion costumes in the comics and I imagine there’s one or two that could’ve have been easily reproduced here with a new deco.<\/p>\n Aquaman is a slight redeco! Yay! This time around, Aquaman received a gold belt and is a bit shinier overall. That’s something, at least.<\/p>\n If you’ve been waiting on an Aquaman for your collection (the first one ended up a bit on the rare side), you could conceivably be happy with this release. I still prefer the flatter orange used on the original and I don’t really care if the belt is gold or yellow. The main difference for me though is the head. The original was painted and, to me, really shows how a properly painted head can look better than molded skin. Of course, it didsn’t help that my 2pk Aquaman is afflicted with the latest QC issue – looking up and to the right.<\/p>\n Update!<\/strong> Two sharp readers (Capt. Collector & Urbanmyth – thanks, fellas!) were kind enough to remind me that I left out an important detail in my meandering review (that’ll teach me to try and write up a review an hour before work!). Check out Aquaman’s biceps… By Roboto! They’re reversed! Now, I’ve only seen this one figure in person, but, from looking around the net, this seems to be the case for most (if not all of) the 2pks so far. Just one more strike against this $35 set.<\/p>\n Continue to the MOTU Figures…<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I know I was a little harsh on the two DC figures in this wave, but that’s because I had to plop down $60 for two figures I already have to get two repaints. I think it’s safe to say that most collectors are in that same boat with me, buying these 2pks for the MOTU repaint. <\/p>\n Way back in the time lost year of 1982, Stratos was released with blue wings and a red backpack, this was later corrected to the red wings and blue backpack we’ve all come to know and love. And ever since Classics Stratos<\/a> was released in early 2009, collectors have been asking for this redeco. While it’s not the most exciting change, the MOTU 2pks were definitely a way to get him out to the collectors. Poor guy still needs an accessory though, it\u2019s been nearly thirty years.<\/p>\n I was happy to find that the new Stratos didn’t have his wings glued to his arms this time around. That allowed me to spin them to the front for his proper look. I was unhappy to find that he’d been put in the package with his jet pack smashed up against the insert tray. I’ll have to fix that later…<\/p>\n Finally, Mer-Man. He’s the real centerpiece of wave two. He’s featured here in “comic colors”. I can’t say that I feel a real connection to this particular look because I love the classic green<\/a>, but he looks great in blue and he finally gives me a nicer way to display the 2 Mer-Man heads. Mer-man includes a new deco on his sword and… yeah, you can probably guess what I’m going to say next… that makes me want to see his trident in a similar deco in a future weapons pak.<\/p>\n There was some sloppy paint on this figure, a little bit of yellow on the otherwise unpainted teeth and some scratches on the jewels on the armor piece. None of the paint issues are that terrible, and likely could’ve been avoided had my TRU complied in getting this new wave in and I could\u2019ve picked these out for myself.<\/p>\n Reading over this, I’m sure I came across as a little harsh to the DC figures. It’s weird because all of these toys have great Four Horsemen sculpts, mostly decent paint, and the MOTU figures are just as fun to have as the originals. It’s just that it’s hard for me to get excited about having to spend $60 ($70 now) on the duplicates.<\/p>\n At $35 each, that’s essentially buying a DC figure and MOTU figure separately – but MOTU figures usually include 3-4 accessories and DC figures have C&C pieces. These two-packs simply don’t have the same value as the separate figures despite being the same price. That really puts a damper on things – especially when the DC figures are going to be duplicates in our collections. At $35 each, future two packs might need more “wow” factor than a gold belt can bring.<\/p>\n For more MOTU reviews, check out our <\/center><\/p>\n Last year, someone at Mattel got this crazy notion to package MOTU & DC Comics figures together. Honestly, it’s the kind of oddball idea that I have to appreciate, but I wish the final product were as cool as the idea. Today, I’m looking at Aquaman vs. Mer-man & Hawkman vs. Stratos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[7,34,10],"tags":[353,665,600,323,112,16,117],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/mdcTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-2Ng","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9730,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=9730","url_meta":{"origin":10742,"position":0},"title":"Mattel Non-NYCC Coverage: MOTU & DC Classics Updates","date":"October 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Even though Mattel couldn't make it NYCC this weekend, that didn't stop them from making a splash in the headlines. Amidst the great pictures being beamed back of DC Direct's Batman, Inc line and MU Cable (complete with Baby Jean!) came a slew of pics and updated info on Mattel's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4573,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=4573","url_meta":{"origin":10742,"position":1},"title":"ItsAllTrueReview: DC Classics vs. MOTU Classics 2pks","date":"March 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Joe vs. Cobra. Optimus Prime vs. Megatron. Ninja Turtles vs. The Foot. Marvel vs. Capcom. All great battles that fans have long taken sides on. Thanks to Mattel, we can add a new one to the mix: DC Universe Classics vs. Masters of the Universe Classics. Hey, it's less clunky\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21958,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21958","url_meta":{"origin":10742,"position":2},"title":"Mattel News: New DC Unlimited Solicits + MOTUC Jitsu in Package","date":"November 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't had as much time to keep up with news here at IAT lately, but we got a double dose of Matty news today with some leaked pictures of figures from the \"unconfirmed\" DC Unlimited Wave 3 line-up and our first look at MOTU Classics Jitsu\u2019s bio thanks to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16031,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16031","url_meta":{"origin":10742,"position":3},"title":"MOTU Classics.Com: DC vs MOTU Zodac Review","date":"December 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This summer was a challenging time for me as a MOTUC collector. The loss of our subscription sent me back to the Monthly Matty Madhouse. The con exclusive Faker had me (successfully) watching TRU.com like a hawk, but another TRU 2pk, Zodac vs Green Lantern, slipped through my fingers... until\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4221,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=4221","url_meta":{"origin":10742,"position":4},"title":"Matty’s Full March-June Schedule! Hordak, Mer-Man, & Faker Reissues","date":"March 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"On the MattyCollector News page, Matty has updated their full March through June schedule. Most of it is the same, but we do get our first word of reissues for Hordak, Mer-Man, and Faker. Toy Fans, We do our best to plan when products will be released, but sometimes the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11099,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11099","url_meta":{"origin":10742,"position":5},"title":"Updates to MOTUClassics.Com Catra, Zodac, & Reissues thru May","date":"January 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"ToyFare #163 (on-sale today) has images of the newest MOTU Classics figures: She-Ra's adversary Catra and a Hal Jordan vs. Zodac 2pk for Toys R Us. Along with these reveals, Mattel has given collectors an online image of Catra from behind as well as the full schedule (chock full of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10742"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10742"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10754,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10742\/revisions\/10754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/reviews\/motuimages\/2011\/mdc01.JPG?w=640\")
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MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.
For more DC reviews, check out our
DC Universe Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/reviews\/motuimages\/2011\/mdc11.JPG?w=640\")
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