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Masters of the Universe Origins…So Far

On the one hand, I’m not sure exactly when/whatwhy I’ve gotten "into" the Masters of the Universe toys. I’m sure it’s some part nostalgia, some part OCD, and some part…I-Didn’t-Get-This-Stuff-As-A-Kid-So-Let’s-Get-It-Now.

While rather annoying–especially lately–trying to track down anything but He-Man and Skeletor via Walmart or Target WHILE keeping the price point to $15-per–I find these figures to be pretty darned cool.

A couple years ago, I snagged a bunch of the Funko/DC Primal Age figures. I recognized them as being akin to the classic MotU figures…but DC characters. I also snagged several Mortal Kombat figures from their equivilent line from Funko.

Last year I picked up several of the Masters of the WWE figures appreciating the mash-up of Masters of the Universe with WWE figures.

But then I found Skeletor. Had to get him, if only for the heckuvit. But then I had to get He-Man, too, right?

And then…well, might as well get the entire wave…

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I was able to get the other figures through Walmart‘s website if I recall correctly; though I’ve since come across instances of the full wave available all at once as well as parts here and there.

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I also had to get Battle Cat.

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And then when he was available, Panthor because…I couldn’t not…right?

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And then I missed the Scareglow and Orko wave apparently, though I still have some slight hope that they’ll get a general mass-market release. BUT I did find this wave at a Target, so snagged it. Some really beat-up cards, but while I have way too many toys still in their packaging…I have some visions of opening all of these and mix ‘n matching them in a display with those Primal Age and such figures!

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And then, partly for "completion’s sake," partly for "Well, at least it’s SOMETHING Masters of the Universe Origins that I don’t have yet," I snagged this Prince Adam’s Sky Sled. It’s a bit more "futuristic" than I tend to think of for the setting…but whatever.

I’m a sucker for the branding and packaging, too, so there’s that as well!


These seem to be a great mix of classic-accurate and yet a bit of something mordern to them. Definitely a matter of the packaging REALLY helping to "sell" the figures…almost so I don’t want to take them out of the packaging! But again…I’ve amassed so many in-package things that the basement truly looks like some hole-in-the-wall store…full of comics, graphic novels, toys/collectibles, novels, and so on.

Looking at sites like Entertainment Earth and Big Bad Toy Store, it looks like some of these figures that I’ve already seen photos of people having in-hand (and selling for disgusting prices) are available for "pre-order" for coming months…so perhaps it’s a ripple effect from Walmart apparently having a several-month "window" for the figures in the US?

Time will tell.

So…this is my collection of Masters of the Universe: Originsso far.

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The Weekly Haul: Week of March 17, 2021

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Another week, another haul. AND…another week with NO DC stuff (for me)!

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First off is the new Ultramega #1. I’m curious about it, and something about it put me in mind of Radiant Black…and hey, it’s Skybound, so…should be interesting at least. And I certainly hope so, for the price.

And speaking of Radiant Black, #2 is also out this week.

Then, much as I dislike hype, even I have to admit certain marketing really does work. I was curious about BeQuest #1 thanks to a cover feature of it on Comic Shop News some weeks back; and the issue itself looks even better. We’ll see how it reads, though…assuming I actually get that far with it.

The newest issue–#115–of TMNT is out; and part of me is still surprised they didn’t renumber such that this would just be a #15. Sometimes feels like I’m supporting for the long numbering–while TMNT are my "exception" on stuff, I don’t know if I’d really WANT to continue with a renumbered-for-renumbering’s-sake series. The Tokka/Rahzar stuff has me a bit more engaged again and I do wonder if the cycle (for me) is gonna be 30-some issues of feeling like this series is good and something to look forward to, a big climactic thing, followed by 12-18 issues "off" for it to get is groove back.

Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #3 is here…I’m not sure if I read #2 yet, so I’ve some catching up to do. This being a Larry Hama book, though, sells it for me.

X-Force #18 is "the next issue" of the X-titles.

And then we have a reprint of Invincible #1. This one’s "in honor of" the new (upcoming?) animated series. It’s not a "facsimile" edition or such, but I think being treated simply as a new printing? I’d willingly accept an alternating schedule Invincible Deluxe book to go with The Walking Dead, though. Sure, it’s re-presenting content, but it’s still something I’ll enjoy more than the likes of DC at this point…

Finally, the weeks-old Black Knight #1 facsimile edition (finally!) and a "Director’s Cut" edition of The Lat Ronin #1. As said…the TMNT are my exception, and I’m willing to get multiple editrions like this–as opposed to variant COVERS.

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Then on the back-issue front, snagged the Uncanny X-Men (2018) #9 which I believe completes my series there, unless there’s an annual I’m not aware of.

And while I don’t have much good to say for DC lately…the imagery for Batman ’89 and Superman ’78 (the former spotlighted here on the cover of Comic Shop News this week) are quite appealing. I’m not sure where I stand on these or how I’ll opt to get them–I believe they’re "digital-first" which means they’ll be available as digital chapters, then multiple such chapters will be combined as a single print issue, and then so many print issues will be gathered into a collected edition. I suppose it’d be WAAAAAYYYYY too much to ask DC to do a "deluxe-edition"-sized hardcover of Batman ’89 to go with the adaptation of the film, though.

As of this typing, reading-wise, I’m on the X-books’ #7s…so I’m "catching up" albeit a bit slower than I’d expected. AND reading those has caused more of a backlog of my reading current issues of everything.

First world issues, right?

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Retro Movie Star TMNT 2021

Playmates sure seems to be milking stuff on the TMNT front lately. There’ve been several re-releases of the "original" TMNT figures. Unfortunately, primarily just the turtles themselves, and maybe Splinter and/or Shredder. But other early figures–Slash, the Triceraton, April, Casey, Metalhead–early characters that I would not imagine would have any creator tie-ups (that a number of other early figures might) have not been re-released.

That said, there IS some sort of "villains" set upcoming–but it’s more "limited release" stuff that has to be bought well in advance and in bulk…and not hitting the shelves of any mass retail. And I suppose that’s a matter for some other post or rant.

Something I was not expecting was a set of the "Movie Star" figures. Of all the "turtles variants" from the Days of Old, these were probably the ones I was most interested in tracking down. (and a couple years ago, I had a heckuva time deciding between a loose Movie Star turtle and Hothead…went with Hothead since I couldn’t afford multiple figures at the prices).

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So Playmates did this box set–the third I’m aware of (one previous was the originals, a more recent was a re-release of the "original Mirage" turtles and variants of the original Shredder and Splinter, and now this).

This Movie Star set is apparently a Target exclusive…and a "mere" $44 or so…probably for the leverage a big-box store can bring to the table.

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Like those other 6-pack sets referenced earlier, these figures come tightly packed into a box with cool art–this time based on the subway car from the second ’90s film.

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And we see images of all four turtles as we look around the box.

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The bottom of the box tells you what’s IN the box…

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My original vintage Movie Star turtle that I had back in the day was Donatello. I’d just had the figure handy in the not-too-distant past but couldn’t locate it to include a photo in this post, so that’ll likely be something for a future post with these, and out of the packages.

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Raphael has become my "new favorite" as an adult–exceeding (matching?) Leonardo. I’m pretty sure I’d wound up with a second Movie Star turtle…but while I’m quite certain that it was not Michelangelo, I don’t recall if it was Raph or Leo.

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OF these four turtles, Leonardo’s maybe the weirdest-looking to me with the dots all over standing out more than most of the others. They seem to have more contrast…and maybe I notice it more on this one than Donatello because of the nostalgia factor of my original vintage figure lasting in my possession to present day.

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A glaring thing about this iteration of these figures–and where Playmates is "milking" the stuff–rather than re-do the original "Movie Star" weapons, they’re reusing these classic "weapons racks." Better than nothing, sure, but a bit of an anachronism.

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Super Shredder looks quite good, and I suppose these accessories are a better fit. I did not remember him being part of the "Movie Star" set…ditto for Tokka and Rahzar (and adding them to this would have really made a bit of an "ultimate" Movie Star set!)

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The weirdest one–and even more an anachronism–is this repainted ’88 Splinter posing as a "Movie Star." I’d’ve been great even with them using the 2007 film’s Splinter mold…even drop this one and Super Shredder to include Tokka and Rahzar for the set of 6. Whatever…

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And here’s the cardback. Another drawback to this particular release is that these were put on generic cards. And it’s the individualized cards that (to me) really helped set the classic figures apart, and one of the greater nostalgic things for me of older toys vs. modern. This just reeks of the "modern" rather than having individual turtle profiles (even if they’d skimp and put Splinter and Shredder on a shared semi-generic).


But hey…for a $44 or so set; we’re under $8 per figure in a world where figures half the size of these (in bulk) cost upwards of $20 apiece, so there’s that.

And as someone who is mostly content and glad for "re-issued"’ figures over modern prices of vintage figures…getting a figure for $8 that looks and feels more or less like an original, and is a "genuine" product…I’m pretty ok with it not having travelled through time for the past 30 or so years.

I referenced a villains set earlier, so tucking a link to a local-ish (to me) toy store’s page showing it: TMNT Retro Villains Mutant Module 6-pack. Unfortunately, those weigh in at more than double the price of this set, which makes this set all the more appealing just for value. But the price seems to be all around…it’s the same price as the big bad toy store many think of for online stuff.

While I can’t guarantee I won’t get sidetracked…I will hopefully in the next couple weeks get a post up showing the "retro" movie figures with the modern NECA movie figures. Time will tell for sure, though!

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Resumption of X: Purchase #9

This purchase was part of a MUCH larger purchase overall…at the Winston World sale at Carol & John’s the weekend of March 5-7.

I had attempted to attend the March iteration of that show I went to back in October, but they were "at capacity" before I even got there with no signs of that changing and a long line down a hall, through the lobby, and down another hall in the hotel, and that with a $5 "cover charge" to even gain admittance.

So I went to CNJ instead…and wound up spending my entire "show budget" on primarily X-back-issues…current AND back to the ’90s.

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With these nine issues…I’m now down to missing Excalibur #12, New Mutants #s 13 & 16; X-Force #s 3, 4, 8, & 13; Wolverine #6; and Hellions #s 3 & 5.

That’s about 33% less than the number of issues I bought in one go back in early February.

Of course, that excludes Deadpool 2-9 of the latest run…but I don’t count that the same way as it’s not a "branded" Dawn of X/Reign of X title with this semi "digital"-looking style to the logos.

And several of these missing issues are early X of Swords chapters…where I’ve passed on 2nd prints. I do want first prints…the "actual" issues, all the way through…it’s my OCD and desire for consistency.

But with the comic shops in the area not having them…I had counted on the comic show to find more…and I suppose now we’ll see how things are for one in the area next month and how compatible that is (or is not) with some real-life situations going on at present.

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Resumption of X: Purchase #8

Another Lonestar (mycomicshop.com) purchase netted another 11 issues of the Hickman-era X-books. 10 shown, as I promptly after that bought one of the same issues, totally having forgotten to mark it in my ever-dwindling checklist!

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Finished off the Fallen Angels 6-issue mini or whatever it was. It sounds (from what I gather from Chris Sheehan (Chris is on Infinite Earths / X-Lapsed)) that the current Hellions is largely a continuation of this book, possibly "rebranded" or some such (my phrasing, not his). Either way…nice to knock an entire run off the "missing issues" checklist!

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And then four of the five Giant-Size X-Men books from last year; got the Nightcrawler one from Midtown as detailed in my previous post in this series of "Resumption of X" stuff.

Annnnd Juggernaut #1, which completes that limited series. I suppose one thing about such an "unconnected" series is that whenever I go to read it I’ll probably binge the entire series, rather than trying to read through in roughly publication-order hopping across 6-10 books.

Nine purchases in–7 of them ranging from "large" to "huge"–and that being after buying 2/3 of X of Swords in one go–I’m down to a pretty-manageable list of missing issues from this era of X-stuff.

As of this typing (though not sure when this post will go live) I’m a few days out from a possible comic show that I’m hoping might allow me to pretty much be totally caught up to current.

So as always…time will tell for what’s next. Suffice it to say that I think the primary binge-buying is done, now, outside of what I might be able to get at the show–I’ve exhausted what I can find at four local comic shops and two major online shops…which pretty much leaves stuff like a show or otherwise happening across issues.

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A New Grail: Ultimate Spider-Man #1!

A couple weeks back, more or less on a whim, I decided to check mycomicshop.com to see what Ultimate Spider-Man #1 was going for these days. I remember at some point back in the early 2000s seeing it listed in some guide (probably Wizard) for something like $160!

Considering at the time I balked at $2.99 an issue…yeah.

But there was a copy listed for significantly less than that–and I decided that as an issue I was frustrated to miss out on back in 2000, and lamented umpteen sub-standard reprints and such, and yet otherwise stayed with the series for several years…I’d go ahead and order it.

I think I may also have had a bit of a "feeling" about not making it to the March 7th show, too…so this helped make up for that, for me.

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But for better or worse…this issue ALSO pushes me into new territory again. It is now THE single most expensive single-issue comic I have ever (to date) bought…especially factoring tax and shipping on top of the listed price. And having spent this much on an issue…it continues to push my willingness TO spend more on a single issue. All the more when I rationalize it against that price in arbitrary new comics, with basically everything except Spawn being $3.99 as a base price, but SO MANY comics being $4.99-$5.99…and more!

By the time I buy a week’s worth of "this week’s new comics" and spend whatever on 7-10 comics…by the time I realize that I have several weeks’ worth of unread comics…and eventually give up and file stuff away…I’d get much more enjoyment out of a singular issue–like this–that I display on a wall and IS a single, special, "key" issue that I appreciate far more than a bunch of already-forgotten single issues.

This one is definitely what I’m considering a "forgotten grail," in that it’s an issue I’ve wanted for more than 20 years, but really until the other week, had simply left as some issue I just was settling with cheap reprints on.

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The Weekly Haul: Week of March 10, 2021

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And here we are…this week marks one week since the company I work for immediately transitioned to 100% remote work. That didn’t affect me too much as I was already working 100% remotely. But it was also only a week ahead of what felt like stuff hitting all the more a week later…and then the shutdowns catching up to the comics world.

And of course…DC. In their (Or rather, AT&T‘s) rush to do stuff, dropping Diamond and all the other shenanigans of stuff…well, look at this image below. NO DC. And of the 8 issues this week…7 of them are Marvel!

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This week starts with MY first new X-book #1 with the obvious trade dress/branding of the Dawn of X/Reign of X stuff since 2019’s X-Men #1…Children of the Atom #1. Not sure what to expect from the title, but as I’m currently all in mostly all-in on these I suppose I’ll find out. And being a #1 maybe I’ll find out sooner than some other stuff. Or save it for when I catch up as I’m (as of this typing) currently plugging through the #4s of Dawn of X wave 1.

X-Factor #8 adds to the X-stuff for the week, and is my first new issue of that title since diving back onto the family of titles!

Amazing Spider-Man #61 boasts of a new costume, and the cover reminds me a bit of one of the Complete Clone Saga Epic tpbs’ cover.

While his latest ongoing series (vol. 8? vol. 9?) just ended…we get a one-shot special issue celebrating Deadpool’s 30th anniversary/birthday in Deadpool Nerdy 30 #1. While–like Gambit and Cable–I missed the character’s actual first appearing, I came in only a couple years after…and have been around and aware of the character for a good 28 or so years of this 30!

Next up, we have TMNT Jennika II #5 (of 5? of 6???). Defffffinitely buying this for the sake of TMNT completion…I miss having other minis telling side-stories and such that dealt with multiple characters or other characters. But with the 3-issue 2020 mini and now this, in less than 2 years as a turtle, Jennika the character has gotten more solo-titled issues than any of the other turtles have in 37 years! (Each had a one-issue micro-series from Mirage; I believe I recall each having a 4-issue series from Mirage in the early-2000s under; and each hada one-issue micro-series early in IDW‘s tenure and then each had one-shots leading up to #100. So that’s 7 each in 37 years while Jennika’s already got 8 and maybe a 9th in a few weeks in only a little over one year…)

Wolverine: Black, White & Blood #4 is newly out this week…and I got taken in by nostalgia over the logo, and decided to go ahead and get it, as well as back-issues #s 2 & 3…which leaves only #1 to hunt down (perhaps this weekend?). I suppose DC has pushed me so far that I’m now forgiving and embracing stuff from Marvel that I shouldn’t (look at all these $4.99 books!) but I think for the moment, the X-stuff is approaching TMNT territory where I’ll give a pass that I won’t just broadly give to "everything."


But time will tell with the X-stuff. I’m not sure what’s up next week, but I think the week after is the first Marvel-published Aliens issue. And then the Omnibus in April or so. Still have to decide if I actually want that or not, given my aversion the last couple years TO Omnibus volumes over smaller, more manageable volumes. That being said…Aliens is probably more likely to get "Exception Status" than a broad pass to every X-title.

Who knows?

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DND Icons of the Realm Adult Red Dragon

I’ve long been a sucker for giant-sized "miniatures." Heroclix Galactus back in the day. vehicles and such in Mage Knight. And even miniatures in general, whether D&D, Mage Knight, Heroclix, Warmachine, Warhammer(/40k), etc.

A year or two back, I bought a (used) box of the D&D game Attack Wing or such (the D&D version of the one Star Wars game)…just for the DRAGONS.

So when I recently learned of an upcoming giant-sized dragon–the Adult Red Dragon–from the Dungeons & Dragons Icons of the Realms line, I was all for it.

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The box wound up being significantly larger than I’d expected! But that also made the figure itself larger than I expected…and i’d been a BIT worried about its pose with the wings, whether they’d make the overall figure seem too "skinny" or be opened out and adding depth and "size."

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I needn’t have worried overly much. This thing is huge.

Appropriately enough, I had a "nano mini-fig" D&D mini handy to pose with the dragon.

While still surely out of scale, it at least shows what a couple-inches-tall figure looks like dwarfed by the dragon!

And in the background you can see a Heroclix Sentinel, as well as the lower part of The Spectre.

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Here’s another angle with the figures isolated on a different shelf…

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And another angle to create the illusion of a greater difference of size!

This is probably my favorite of my dragon "minis" thus far–though the Mage Knight dragons have a lot of nostalgia for me, and are still cool artifacts from the past for me and NOT something I’ll be looking to part with anytime soon.

But all the more for the price I paid–my math was broken, so it wound up even cheaper than I’d mentally budgeted despite having the discount %percentage correct–this is an amazing figure, and I’m really looking forward to the Adult Blue Dragon now, and even considering other Adult _____ Dragons. A definite "grail" piece, though, would be the Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon…but that was a limited-edition thing 16-17 years ago, let alone now!

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Resumption of X: Purchase #7

Here we are…another post in my series continuing to chronicle my "Resumption of X"–the ridiculously-(relatively)-quick resumption of collecting X-books from the Hickman era and trying to be "caught up to current" all the way back to HoX/PoX.

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This was a small order I somewhat gritted my teeth on, ordering from Midtown. Three $5 issues PLUS shipping. I feel like it’s too few issues to place an order–with shipping amounting to 25-30 percent of the entire order!

But the Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler issue was the only one that Lonestar did not have of those 5 specials and for roughly cover price. And they’re a bit on the "older" side, where as with the other #1s…it was Midtown to the rescue in being able to get them (and first prints/regular covers at that!) for roughly cover price!

So the same followed for Hellions #1, which I had missed when I did the earlier order with the #1s for the first wave of titles. And Deadpool as an "adjacent" title (much as Juggernaut and X-Men Legends…stuff typically tied to X-stuff but not necessarily branded with the trade dress/style/etc of the main Dawn of X/Reign of X titles).

As mentioned above about Lonestar, I was placing orders with them as well as Midtown, and that order should be the next post in this series.

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Resumption of X: Purchase #6

In the ongoing "Resumption of X" I’m chronicling the material actuality of my trying to as quickly as possible catch up on the Hickman-era/Dawn of X family of X-titles.

Here’s another purchase from Comic Heaven, with what I call "priced back issues" (that is, comics bagged/boarded, priced, and filed in longboxes–as opposed to "recent back issues" that are still out loose on the "rack" or such simply at cover price).

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This time, snagged a couple more issues of the Hickman "adjectiveless" X-Men core title…as well as another issue of Excalibur.

Unfortunately for me, I had neglected to mark in my phone’s checklist that I’d already ordered the X-Men issue with Mystique on the cover, so…oops. I’m not too keen on some of the duplicates I’m winding up with between mistakes like that, and variants/2nd printings.

But with a couple more online orders supplementing what I’m able to get at the LCS, and looking at another local show coming up, I’m thinking even if I can’t score any "grails", I’m wondering if I might be able to be "caught up to current" on this era of X-books by April?

Time shall tell!

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