Tomopop Review: Masters of the Universe Classics Adora by Mattel

12:00 PM on 03.08.2010   |   Robert Oden

Tomopeeps, I'm gonna level with you. This review isn't exactly what you would call "timely" but rather than make excuses, (which included both a dinosaur stealing my camera and an epic 3-week-long laser battle on a pirate ship) or scrap it all together, I tried to make this review (and my forthcoming review of Battle Armor He-Man) double-plus-good.

Anywho, though the sister of He-Man and the secret identity of She-Ra, Princess Adora has never had an action figure in her 25-year history. Was the figure worth the quarter-century wait, or is Adora simply a disgrace to the honor of Grayskull? Find out after the break.

(Oh and I'm serious about that laser battle, btw. Space pirates ain't noting to f**k with.)

Let's start of at the beginning, the packaging. Adora's package for the most part is standard fare, featuring the normal pack for all MOTUC figures. I say "for the most part" because there is one great difference...

The awesomely retro "Princess of Power logo! For those of you who might be less familiar with He-Man and his universe, the Princess of Power was the name of the Mattel toy line that accompanied She-Ra's television series. Sure it's just a sticker, but its a nice bit of fan service that shows Mattel and The Four Horsemen do have an appreciation for these classic characters and their history.

The back card contains Adora's bio and how she fits into the newly established MOTUC canon. There isn't much new in the bio, except in this telling of the story it seems that Hordak knows Adora is She-Ra. Not a huge change I guess, but an interesting one.

Before Adora's release, there was furious debate over the figure's sculpt. While people were generally happy with the face of the prototype, a production model shown closer to the actual release date left many fans (myself included) worried about the final product. Well, I am pleased to say that not only does her face look okay, its actually quite striking just how pretty she is. Honestly, she is so close to the Filmation cartoon it's like she walked out of a production cel! And look at that thin line of purple eyeshadow! Simply beautiful.

Another fan complaint was that, to cut back on production costs and fit the standard female buck, Adora's traditional bikini-style bottom was changed to a short skirt. The general consensus was the change left the prototype looking like it was wearing "granny panties"  Honestly, the change is a slight one and in person, I don't think the figure at all suffers for it.

The paint apps are smooth, clean, and detailed; everything I've come to expect from this line. I love the subtly different shades of red used for the boots cuffs and wrist gauntlets. Really, it's choices like this that really help a figure pop, especially on a somewhat plain outfit such as Adora's.

Working for Hordak turned the princess into one tough cookie, so when it comes to accessories, Adora comes with a Force Captain Blaster, its holster and, of course, her ever-important Sword of Protection.

One fun note about the Force Captain Blaster is that it is actually based on the gun Teela's character uses in the 1987 Masters of The Universe feature film. Cool, no?

The Sword of Protection, given to Adora by her brother He-Man, is beautifully and faithfully recreated in this figure.

The Sword not only has a classic Filmation look, but the jewels used for Stone of Protection are even faceted, and catch the light in a beautiful way that I had a hard time photographing.

Seriously, I could ramble on and on about Adora, but it all comes down to the fact that she is just a well done, beautiful figure. This daughter of Randor is a perfect addition to the MOTUC line and a perfect debut figure for the Princess of Power universe. Of course like most Masters of the Universe Classics figures she sold out within minutes upon her release on Matty Collector.com and was pricey to start with (nearly 30 dollars including the shipping) but you won't have much trouble tracking one down on ebay. If you have the money, I highly recommend her. Now I just need Mattel to get cracking on that Prince Adam and Queen Marleena so we can have a proper family reunion!

FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!!!!