So today was going to be rapid-fire DVR reviews but there was a power outage so I didn’t have any access to my DVR, instead I spent some time taking pictures and doing some other reviews. I’ll post one today, and then the other one tomorrow if possible. The only reason why I chose King Randor as the first male figure review was simple, I had all of his accessories already on the figure and with the power out I really didn’t feel like digging through my closet in the dark looking for pieces to other figures that I don’t display everything with.
Randor is pretty much the personification of the Burger King mascot and this figure isn’t really an exception. It’s based off of the toy from the late 80s only updated with more articulation that is pretty much standard with any of the Classics figures released so far. The only hint of 200X comes in Randor’s sword which is pretty much a re-colored less detailed version of the 200X King Randor statue that was released a few years ago. The Four Horsemen did a good job of tying it together though; the hilt of the sword matches the re-imagined spear, which is now more a staff than anything, along with the symbol on the armor. There were a few other tweaks to the 80s design most noticeable in the chest armor, it only goes halfway down the torso, and the crown, the original figure had a removable crown but the Classics figure doesn’t.
I’m kind of glad that the FILMation design was off the table when it came to Randor, it would have looked too comical compared to even the most outlandish looking of figures (I’m talking to you Mer-Man!) The good thing about this figure though is that there have been a lot of villains released so far and the good guys are seriously lacking in numbers, especially considering that Zodac doesn’t really ‘fight,’ Zodak isn’t really ‘active’ and that King Grayskull, He-Ro, Tytus and Wun-Dar are all dead, it seems like Green Goddess and Moss-Man are also ‘dead’ but it’s not specifically said, and Adora is on Etheria. So that just leaves Teela, Man-At-Arms, Stratos (who is kind of useless anyway) He-Man, Battle Cat and Randor against Skeletor, Beastman, Merman, Evil-Lyn, Faker, Scare Glow, Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops and Webstor. That’s 5 against 9, 10 if you count Hordak, 11 if you count Marzo. So Randor’s presence alone helps to bulk up the Masters side just a bit more.Now on to the bio:
Real Name: Randor of the House of Miro
King Miro's second-born son, Randor, came of age during the Great Unrest, a time when conflict returned to Eternia following the Count Marzo Uprisings and the subsequent betrayal of his half-brother, Keldor. After the disappearance of his father, Randor was appointed Captain of the Guard and lead Miro's troops in battle against Keldor's growing rebellion. Randor eventually ended the battles by fatally wounding Keldor, and locking him and his evil warriors behind the Mystic Wall. For this act, he was appointed King by the Council of Elders. King Randor raises his staff, exulting in his rule over all Eternia!
I don’t see much that they could have done with the biography so for what it is, it’s good. They can’t really touch on if Randor knew about Adam and Adora being destined for greatness, but it would have been nice to explain if Randor’s bloodline is what is tied to Grayskull’s bloodline. The only thing ruled out is Keldor because his biological mother has nothing to do with Adam and Adora, but it’s a possibility that Marlena’s heritage could be tied to Grayskull. This I find odd too, there is NO mention of Marlena whatsoever in Randor’s bio, or He-Man’s, or Adora’s or She-Ra’s yet she’s Randor’s wife and Adam and Adora’s mother, she needs to be mentioned if for nothing more than to tied fans over until if and when we get a Classics version of Marlena. Another odd thing is the mention of Miro, I don’t remember much of the early mini-comics that came with the 80s figures, but I do rewatch 200X and FILMation series’ off and on and he was featured in both the 80s cartoon of Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power, but as much as I remember at best he was only in once in 200X. I get that they need to mention him because of the fact that Keldor is Randor’s half-brother, so at some point they would need to address their biological father, but still.
The package is the same as the ‘non faction’ figure packages so there isn’t much to talk about here. But the back is something that bothers me a little bit. The figures pictured on the back are supposed to some how be connected to the character. Pictured are: He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, Scareglow, King Randor and Webstor. You can justify Teela because she’s the captain of the royal guard, and Man-At-Arms because he’s the weapons master, He-Man obviously because we don’t have a Prince Adam yet and he’s Randor’s son, but I can’t figure out why Scareglow or Webstor. I can see why they don’t put Adora on the package because she wasn’t released yet but why not Skeletor? He’s Randor’s half-brother after all, he should be pictured instead of Scareglow, and Webstor I don’t get why he’s on there at all other than the fact that he came out a few months previously, it should have been Hordak since he tried to steal Randor’s children and kept Adora from him.
The articulation is a little different than the females of the line so since this is the first male figure review I’ll list them all here: swivel biceps, ball heck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel wrists, hinged elbows, hinged abs (not on the females), swivel waist, swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, hinged knees, swivel calves, hinged ankles but it doesn’t have the rocker ankles like the females of the line.
The bone of contention has been the ‘half armor.’ Mattel said they wanted to do the half armor in order to keep the abs articulated but it kind of doesn’t work with Randor considering the cross sculpted onto the armor hangs well below the end of the actual armor making it almost impossible to bend the abs while the armor is on without the possibility of warping. It does work a little better than with Hordak though because the painted abs that match the color of the armor doesn’t really look as odd as Hordak’s black painted torso. The cape limits the articulation a little bit also, but that’s mostly due to the length of the cape than its bulk so I can’t really fault that because capes are supposed to be long.
Like every figure with Classics there are quality control issues which is a shame considering when you ad taxes and shipping the minimum a classics figure bought through Mattycollector.com will cost you would be around 30-31 dollars. There aren’t that many paint errors, there’s some gold on his left wrist and a spot of darker blue on the back of the cape. The one thing that looks really odd tome though is that his cheeks are really red, it almost looks like he’s trying out for a Cover Girl commercial or something, and his cheeks have more red on them then all of the females cheeks combined.
Figure Rating: B
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