“I’m not here for pretty speeches. You have asked for help. I am here to give you that help, but first you must prove to me that this She-Ra is as evil as you say.” -Huntara. She-Ra: Princess of Power, “Huntara”
Huntara is one of those characters that no one would’ve guessed would get made a few years ago. Well, that’s not true, a few years ago was when the SDCC panel attendees voted to include her over Masque, but before that, a one-off character from She-Ra: Princess of Power would’ve been safe to bet against.
But there’s always been something memorable about Huntara. Her storyline itself was pretty average, she was a noble warrior duped into fighting our noble warrior by a common villain, blah blah blah, but she was notable for a couple reasons. Her look, which seems to be inspired by 80s icon Grace Jones, stood out from the rest of the cast. Most of the main cast were strong characters that retained the frillier aspects of the toy line. Huntara was drawn tough & arguably a little sexier than was probably acceptable at the time. That’s most obvious in her worm’s eye view crotch shot which was used several times throughout the episode. She was more 80s action star than 80s cartoon heroine.
What also set her apart was her “Bale Batman” voice expertly performed by Erika Scheimer. The nobility of her warrior race was conveyed through her gravelly dialogue. And, lastly, despite going up against She-Ra, she wasn’t embarrassed or summarily defeated. She-Ra did take down her lightsabers with a rope, but She-Ra basically fought her to a standstill and granted her mercy to prove Hordak was a liar and that she wasn’t Huntara’s enemy. The show was really setting her up for a larger or returning role later, but it never came to fruition before the show’s time ran out.
And now, thirty years later, that notable character finally got her due: an action figure. I rewatched the episode recently to get back in the groove for this review, but that still didn’t prepare me for how much I was going to like the figure once I finally opened it. Out of the package, the first pleasant surprise is again her unique look. The purple skin and gladiator costume adds a great new dimension to the POP shelf. Continue to Page 2…
I was going to say she looks great…until you went and mentioned the passive face on this “fierce warrior”!! LOL
I have to confess: The axe reaaaally bothers me 🙂 His spear is from a culture, that can’t work metals and the axe seems to be solid steel. It’s like an itch I can’t scratch. And I know, that it is ridiculous, that it bothers me — that makes it worse…
He found the Axe lying around and he stole it…
Haha, it’s a stupid reason to get hung up on, I know. I really never wanted to be THAT guy 🙂
I find Huntara to be amazing. Just look at the grooves on the calf part of her boot and then the sandle slots in the foot part of her boot. Both simple, but excellent as a whole. And the threads on the seams of her top are so intracit and precise. Some much love was put into her. Truly an excellent action figure.
Great review, as always. Last panel: best of the lot!
Yeah, I think a slightly more intense expression would’ve suited her better. Also, both of mine had a couple of paint-slop issues, one of which was on the head. that’s the one I’m eventually going to cover up with a hood and place in the Horde display.
I REALLY wanted to love this figure, but both of mine (from two subs) arrived with crooked eyes. Like, worse than most of the Angella figures that folks are up in arms about. I kept the better one for my display, but every time I pick her up in an attempt to find more to appreciate about her, the eyes turn me completely off. The eyes on the second one are so bad that she probably won’t be good for much besides custom fodder. I feared they might just be consistently bad across the entire production run, but it looks like I was just unlucky…twice.
Granted I’m a sucker for warrior chicks and mohawks, but even this fig isn’t enough to make me spend $30 on those chunky motu figs.
for a character that wasn’t even a blip on my radar huntara is pretty cool! not the strongest figure of the first quarter, but definitely helps beef up the pop shelf!