Man and Beast

The second of the review will focus on Skeletor's number two.  Although many would like to claim that spot, none fits the bill better than Beastman, Skeletor's evil henchmen.  Beastman, together with Merman were the two evil warriors that debut with Skeletor way back in 1983 and this time around, it's not different.  However, this time around, the remake of Beastman for the new millennium means that Beastman is no longer the wimpering cutesy creature that he was in the eighties.

Beastman,  like Skeletor and Merman, the other two figures of the first wave of evil warriors have at least three major packaging variants.  The one shown above is the version with the trading cards.  The original version had just the sticker, while an intermediate version had a VHS tape of a classic Filmation episode.

This Beastman comes on the typical trilingual card.  The front is similar for most of the figures and the feel does not stray far from the original line's card.  Here, the background is the power sword.  The back of the card though is very much different from those of the second and latter waves.  Here, Mattel attempts to introduce the story of He-Man to the masses by printing it in three languages on the back of the card.  The new figures are arrayed on the sides of the text, almost as if to create a border to hem in the text, with the instructions for Beastman's features included right at the bottom.  The two pictures at the bottom are small and the text accompanying these pictures may be difficult to read.  The whole arrangement seems very cluttered.

It seems that a sticker is included with every figure produced and Beastman is no exception.  There is nothing special about Beastman's sticker than that of the other figures, and the plastic that the sticker comes on, is similar to that of Wave 2 (e.g. Mekaneck's).

Like all other characters in the series, the name of the character is not printed on the card, but instead on a piece of plastic which is placed around the figures feet inside the bubble.  The bottom flap contains all Mattel's legal disclaimers and the contact details.  Like all the other figures, the red lower half of the printing is textured, fading to clear as it goes upwards, so as to obscure the character's feet but not to obscure his thighs and furry pants.  The picture of beastman seems rather unattractive, although the moving whip is rendered rather nicely.

There is a sticker on the bubble just below the Logo sticker proclaiming the inclusion of the trading card.  It is offset to the right so as not to obscure the actual card itself.  The sticker, like all other text, is tri-lingual.

The trading card itself is a foil card, and comes wrapped in its piece of plastic, so as not to scratch the foil.  The art is passable, although the visage of Beastman's growl and his posture makes him look lethargic, drugged and sleepy instead of looking aggressive, as I suppose is the original intention.  The back of the card gives us Beastman's name and rule and the name of his weapon.  It would be better if the card credited the artist that drew it.

The first thing about Beastman that is striking is that he is huge.  Consequently, he feels large and heavy in the hand.  Because of this, Beastman stands rather solidly.  Beastman retained the orange fur look, although his hump is now brown and has jagged protrusions.  It is still removable though, but underneath that there is still a sculpted furry hump.  The blue jewel on the classic figure has been replaced with a green jewel, this time hung on a chain around Beastman's neck.  The chain and jewel is scuplted into the removable brown fur.

His furry loincloth is still green, although more aquamarine than the cyan that the classic figure had, and unlike the classic figure this pair of loincloth hangs almost to the floor.  His knee and elbow armour are still there, although the red has been dulled to brown to match the hump.  The main change here is that these armour aren't removable, but are instead sculpted as part of the arms and the legs.

Beastman is bootless this time around, and the details on the toes are sculpted with care, with individual toe-nails being visible on examination.  Beastman has limited articulation, the wrists, shoulders, legs and head are the only areas which can be rotated.  It is a pity that the waist though is not articulated.  The right hand is connected to the button on the back such that pushing the button will cause the hand to lower.  When the whip is attached to this hand, it causes a whipping action.  Without the whip, Beastman can be seen to perform a hurling action.

The whip itself have undergone a change that makes it more interesting.  Gone is the string on the end of a handle of the classic whip, in comes a one piece rubbery whip.  There are grooves on the whip section to allow it to bend and to change shape.  These grooves are well designed and solid, ensuring that the whip doesn't break completely if bent too much.  All in all, a change for the better.

The differences between the new figure and the old one is highly obvious, and more so if the two figures are placed side by side.  The new beastman is at least an inch taller, due to the longer legs and then more protuding hunch back.  The new figure is wider too when compared to the classic figure.  The orange fur on the new figure seems more natural, as opposed to the bright orange fur of the classic fugure.  As with Mekaneck, Beastman is changed from a left hander to a right hander, as can be inferred by the arms that the whips can be attached to.

Overall, the new Beastman is a radical departure from the classic feature, while still retaining many of the elements that distinctly marks this figure as beastman.  The colour scheme has been improved, the details on the body more refined and there are two extra points of articulation at the loss of one.  The increase in size makes Beastman more menacing this time around.  Sure, it could be better, articulation of the knees and waist would be welcomed.  For Nostalgia value though, it gets a five and a half out of ten.

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