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<\/a>After writing up Spector\u2019s review, I thought I was good to go on having to write about \u201ccontroversial\u201d MOTU figures for awhile. Well, silly me, I forgot about June\u2019s Snake Man-At-Arms. Though he was slammed as soon as he debuted, Snake Man-At-Arms is actually a huge win for collectors. <\/p>\nAny time that the collectorbase sees something it doesn\u2019t like, it roars up (and makes a face not to unlike Snake Man-At-Arms here) and says so. How vocal or how many collectors speak out is up for debate, but the answer is almost always the same. No changes can be made. <\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\nWe\u2019ve had some success with altered final touches here and there, Moss Man\u2019s ears, an accessory or deco change, but more often than not we\u2019re told that \u201cby the time you see it, it\u2019s far too late\u201d. Snake Man-At-Arms, love him or still hate him, smashed that typical cycle. Collector response pretty much sent Snake Man-At-Arms back to the drawing board. Maybe it was special circumstances \u2013 after SDCC, Powercon, and NYCC, Mattel was just so far ahead on the reveals that a rare opportunity presented itself, but in the end the Four Horsemen & Mattel decided to have another crack at him and the figure got a pretty extensive overhaul from his NYCC debut<\/a>. Whether it was enough to make him a worthwhile figure will be up to each of us to decide. For me, it did, but not necessarily for the right reasons. <\/p>\n First, you should know that Man-At-Arms is my all-time favorite MOTU character. I really love a lot of the lesser-knowns, but I think each of us tend to have a favorite character from the main cast. Guest stars and recurring supporting cast can add flavor, but if we like something we usually identify with someone that\u2019s there all the time. Dr. McCoy, Winston Zeddemore, Obi-Wan, etc. For my MOTU, Man-At-Arms is the hands down best character in Masters of the Universe. Just maybe not when he’s a snake. <\/p>\n Normally, I\u2019d be excited about alternate versions of Man-At-Arms. A young captain of the guard or the (impossible) movie version. That said, I don\u2019t have a ton of excitement for Snake MAA. He\u2019s kinda not<\/em> MAA, y\u2019know? I\u2019d much rather have a redeco in his silver, MO2K snake-bustin\u2019 armor – which brings me to the first problem that spawned the \u201ccollector revolt\u201d in the first place. <\/p>\n A good toy line needs cheap repaints. Sometimes because certain characters can be done as cheap repaints, sometimes because we want multiple versions with slight changes, sometimes just because some minor change can make for a fun figure. I\u2019m going to buy that GITD Robocop from NECA. I\u2019ve bought and enjoyed several DCUC Batmen \u2013 heck, when I temporarily trimmed the shelf down to less than 50 DCUC figures, three Batmen still made the cut over unique characters. Cheap repaints are not a bad thing. <\/p>\n But they are for MOTU. It\u2019s partially the price, but I think it\u2019s the subscription model too. With the all-in subscription, we\u2019re all buying everything and that means a minimum level of value has to be maintained. When Snake MAA debuted back at NYCC late last year, you would\u2019ve been hard pressed to find anyone who felt his value was on par with that of the other releases thus far. (And it\u2019s not so much what $20 will get you, but what $20 will get you compared to other figures in the line). <\/p>\n When Mattel presented Snake MAA to us, he featured a new head sculpt, a slight redeco, one old accessory, and one new accessory. Now, I\u2019m a little biased \u2013 I think part of the disdain was also likely caused by his being an MO2K variant and from a fairly unpopular MO2K story line at that. Personally, I don\u2019t mind that he died (or how) in the bios. It\u2019s a continuity that spans millenniak people are going to die. I\u2019m actually more annoyed that so many characters are thousands of years old!). But, whatever the reason, Snake MAA didn\u2019t have a perceived value on par with other figures in the line, even heavy re-use figures like Battleground Evil-Lyn. That negative response is what ultimately saved this figure. Continue to Page 2<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n No new parts could be tooled, but design changes could be made. Trap Jaw\u2019s thighs and forearms, Man-E-Faces\u2019 shoulders, Roboto\u2019s biceps, the longer loincloth, and a booted left foot were all swapped in. A gold highlight deco added to the armor along with a some color changes to the base figure itself. In all, he ended up a vastly different figure from what was originally shown. Response has still been mixed, but Mattel ended up putting in me in an unenviable position. <\/p>\n Since MAA is a favorite, his original 2009 figure has been a prominent piece in my collection since it arrived. I even bought a second MAA just to get some extra leg armor (while I love MAA, I hate the figures\u2019 lopsided armor). When Snake MAA arrived, I removed the well-sculpted snake head and popped Duncan\u2019s regular noggin\u2019 up there instead (all mustache, all the time folks!). All of sudden, this figure shot up a dozen spots on the cool scale. <\/p>\n I found myself not sure what to do with two MAA figures. I mean, I\u2019m unopposed to some cool MAA variants, but these two are so close. And I\u2019ve spent the better part of three years treasuring the now seemingly less cool original. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion to amend my \u201call mustache, all the time rule\u201d. The original 2009 MAA now sports that non-mustache head as my young MAA. He chills out with Keldor & Gygor awaiting Oo-lar. Yep, Snake MAA\u2019s more MO2K-friendly deco and his armored up bits has become my go-to Duncan. He\u2019s the older, wiser of the two with augmented armor \u2013 and the circuitry on his right arm almost makes the lack of armor there acceptable.<\/p>\n In addition to MAA\u2019s classic mace (also with the new deco), Snake MAA also included the Serpents\u2019 Ring. This is exactly the direction I want to MOTUC to go when the opportunity arises. The Masters of the Universe\u2026 uh, universe is full of relics. They might come across more like like props than regular accessories, but they\u2019re more than welcome in the line. So, a loud “more like this” frome me on this go round. <\/p>\n Also, as a quarterly figure, Snake MAA included the second issue of the 2012 mini-comics. There\u2019s so much crammed into the few pages of each of the two issues so far, that I\u2019m waiting until the third and final issue before I really dig into what I think about it. I’ve enjoyed it for the most part, but a lot is riding on the finale. <\/p>\n Mattel still needs to solve the problem of how to include cheap repaints (and to make them valuable to the average collector) because I\u2019d still like to get figures like green Trap Jaw & red Beast Man. The MOTU vs DC 2pks were (mostly) fantastic as an outlet for figures like that. I love my all-yellow face Skeletor and reverse Stratos, but I wouldn\u2019t have wanted those figures in the subscription. They’re just not for everyone. <\/p>\n This time, I think the powers that be made sufficient changes to make Snake MAA worthwhile. He now looks different enough on the shelf and, if you’re so inclined, he makes for a snazzy MO2K Duncan provided you can track down the original head. But the real thing to takeaway from Snake MAA is that, sometimes, changes can be made<\/em>. Figures can be improved. That it’s not always hopeless when something debuts and it’s less than stellar. That’s a good to know going into SDCC next week. <\/p>\n Oh, and as for Snake MAA\u2019s head sculpt? Well, it\u2019ll still get displayed here at my house, just not as prominently on the shelf. See, you might\u2019ve noticed that my MO2K MAA in the picture at the top of the page there sports armor on both legs. You know what they say, a fool and his money are soon parted. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/reviews\/motuimages\/2012\/smaa03.JPG?w=640\")
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