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Vault Review: Catra



This review was originally published on June 3rd, 2011.
You may have noticed we’re running a bit behind.  After all, Catra did come out last month.  The irony here is that this review isn’t late due to the horribly destructive tornado that hit our town, but because of a mix up with Digital River.  Luckily, everything got sorted out and Catra arrived in time to kick off our first week back.

Speaking of the tornado, I just wanted to take a moment before getting into the review to thank all of our readers for their support while we were gone.  Noisy’s done a great job summing up our feelings about this whole disaster and I really couldn’t say it any better.  But it was truly amazing to see the amount of concern and well wishes that popped up among the different toy communities, and I just wanted to give you all my own personal Thank You.

Now, on to Catra!

I don’t recall ever seeing the She-Ra cartoon when I was young.  Even though I wasn’t really into “girly cartoons” I still remember seeing ones like Jem or My Little Pony.  So I’m pretty sure that our local TV stations never aired Princess of Power.  Looking back on it, I’m actually glad they didn’t.  It’s given me a chance to discover some of the surprisingly deep plots, unintentional hilarities, and truly interesting characters that I just wouldn’t have appreciated as a kid.

Probably the most remarkable thing I’ve discovered about Catra is that she wasn’t really a member of the Horde because she believed in their cause, but because it would gain her more power.  Like an early version of the 200X Evil-Lyn, Catra was willing to betray Hordak in order to rise higher in the ranks.  That’s a level of complexity that most MOTU characters just didn’t have back then.

The first thing that really jumps out at you when you see Catra is that she’s basically the Filmation version of the character.  The Horsemen did a really great job of capturing the look of her style guide.  Like the Adora figure, you’d swear Catra just popped right out of the cartoon.  I’m really keen on the long flowing hair and super short mini skirt.

Although I do love the look of this figure, I’m curious to see if we’ll get another Catra based on her original action figure. With her ribbed corset, furry skirt, and metal gauntlets she definitely would have enough of a different look to justify a second figure.

Catra’s paint job is decent, if not a bit sloppy in certain areas.  Her face seems to be the most affected spot with her lipstick not really conforming to the area of her lips and her eye liner being just a bit uneven around her right eye.  Something else I found a bit odd on this figure was the heavy use of the darker flesh tones as highlights.  Unlike previous figures, the color they used didn’t blend as well on Catra and gives her a bit of a spray-on tan look.  It doesn’t ruin the figure, but it’s definitely noticeable.Continue to Page 2…

15 thoughts on “MOTUClassics.Com
Vault Review: Catra

    1. Thanks Polo. I didn’t even think about that pattern. Hmmm, I wonder who my next MOTU review will be?

  1. Great Review! Glad to have you guys back!! I have’nt had a Matty fix in a couple of months so hopefully I will be able to jump back in this month. Yea the soft plastic for the weapons and hand is a bit of a head-scrathcer. Once again great review and welcome back!

  2. I really like Catra’s cape, but damn if she doesn’t look sexy without it.

    I’m not too bummed about Catra’s sword since the whip is more of a “bad girl” weapon, but it would have been nice to have some symmetry with her and She-Ra.

    1. I have to admit, she looks pretty good with or without the cape.

      I was hoping to have her hold the sword on the shelf, but now I’m not sure if I’ll even have her holding anything.

  3. i just don’t get some of the weird choices mattel makes, like in this case, the gooey weapons. why? like when webstor got a gooey gun, and the haft of the grapple hook was gooey… why? i just don’t get it.

    1. But it makes it more fun when get capes as solid as a rock and weapons as wiggly as water….I mean that’s FUN!

  4. That packaging pic got a sizable chuckle out of me. At first I wondered why there wasn’t a patented IAT humor caption to go with it, and then I realized that its ridiculousness speaks for itself.

    1. Yeah, when I first pulled her out of the white mailer I had a “What the…” moment.

  5. Excellent review, as always. A few seconds in boiling water sorted out the rumpled sword that came with my Catra, if that’s any help.

    I hope the post-tornado recovery proceeds quickly for you all.

  6. I never watched Princess of Power either and am therefore confused as to why the Scarlet Witch is in it. Having said that it’s a 4H Wanda so it can finally replace the Godawful Toybiz one that hangs around the back of my ‘Vengers shelf.

    Glad you guys are back.

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