JCC Amph Masters of the Universe: Castle Grayskull

Any other MOTU fans here? I'm a huge MOTU fan and just got my preordered Masters of the Universe Classics Castle Grayskull in the mail yesterday. I took a ton of pictures of this beast (it's 24 1/2 inches tall) and wrote a FAQ/ Review of it.

While I have since repurchased a vintage Castle Grayskull along with the 200x, in 1996 I sold my original vintage Grayskull and Snake Mountain to buy Star Wars stuff. I love Star Wars, but I wish I had my castle still, y'know? Anyways has anyone else gotten their Castle Grayskull yet? If so, how and where are you displaying it? I've got an old TV stand that I'm using to display mine open in my study/ smaller hobby room with the rest of my MOTUC stuff.

 

The opening theme for the TV show is, simply put, the most glorious theme tune in the universe.

 

Wow. Just wow.

Especially considering Skeletor is He-Man's uncle.

 

I am a huge He-Man fan, You'll have tell us what the castle is like when it comes

 

You're welcome.

 

I am actually a He-Man fan. The show was originally going to be Conan but it never came to pass, I think it was a rights issue. So they made He-Man instead whcih was cool because it came with its own mythology. There was a similar show called Blackstar which I liked too.

 

The theory I heard is that where afraid to make a toyline based on a rated R movie. So they gave Conan blonde hair and called him He-Man

 

In the 90's there actually was a Conan cartoon. I remember liking it quite a bit even if it did have little to nothing to do with the Schwarzenegger movies.

Side note: I just spelled Schwarzenegger correctly on the first try and am quite proud of myself.

 

I'm pretty sure the 'He-man was meant to be Conan originally' idea is actually an urban legend. Here's one blog post that goes into it in detail:

http://ultimateconanfan.blogspot.com/2008/10/conanhe-man-myth.html

I loved He-man as a kid, but haven't watched it in years. As I understand it the 1990s series was actually even better than the original. Anyone seen both and can comment?

 

Yeah, the Masters of the Universe cartoon made in the early 2000s was pretty great, with continuing storylines from episode to episode (Skeletor wonders what's just so darn important about Castle Greyskull at first, then when he does he goes after it with his usual zeal), not to mention Orko isn't the grating comic relief he was on the old show (He has his funny moments, sure, but they don't make you hate the character's existence). They also did a smart thing and not have Cringer/Battle Cat talk.

It's a show worth checking out.

 

I have a much better version of this but can't share on the boards.

 

I had a couple of friends, they were brothers, that were not allowed to watch He-man because according to their very religious mother the show was blasphemous because God's realm is called Eternia.

 

That mother must've seen Deception of a Generation, this Christian video made in the 1980s that shows why He-Man. Transformers, Star Wars, and other kid's shows and toys of the day are "bad" and ungodly, for pretty laughable reasons. Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob) did a pretty good takedown piece on it, and I recommend watching it, because you get that video's "best" stuff with his insightful snark and commentary.

 

Thanks for that info, I'll have to check it out myself - I wasn't aware Brad had done it. Sounds awesome.

 

he-man was my favorite toyline back in the day. i was always impressed by he-man's immense talent for finding non-lethal solutions to bad guy problems.

 

Yes, everything I've read and everyone I've talked to have pretty much confirmed that Mattel did not simply take a Conan line already in production and then turn it into He-Man. They did apparently turn down the rights to the film Conan the Barbarian due to it being rated R. Since sword and sorcery was really in vogue at the time and Mattel was really looking for a boys toyline to rival Kenner's Star Wars, He-Man came to be.

While it's not the most accurate book, Roger Sweet's Mastering the Universe is an interesting look at the creative process that lead to He-Man. A far better (and different) resource is the Power & Honor Foundations first art/ history book. Very even, thorough, and well researched.

 

I'm still gutted the MYP 2002 He-Man got cancelled. Great stuff, was that.

 

On my site (in my signature) I've actually reviewed almost every MOTUC figure released this year. I'm currently waiting for my Plundor and Strong-or/ Strong Arm. Filmation isn't my favorite MOTU era (I really like the pre-Filmation/ concept stuff and 200x) but I'm pretty happy that these guys are on my way.

I've also got a Granamyr shipping to me. Since I cleared off some space to display Castle Grayskull, I've got plenty of room for a giant red dragon now. I'll now have everything except for Standar, which I really have no interest in, and the original SDCC King Grayskulls.

 

I am a huge MOTU fan, but 80's only. No 90's or 2002 for me. All I have is a few figures, but I watch episodes on Hulu fequently. My favorite character is Evil-Lyn.

 

Not just secret powers, but fabulous secret powers, mind you.

 

I've been meaning to read it for a long time. I know I read somewhere (Possibly He-Man.org, where I'm a member but haven't posted in quite a while) that there are several mistakes in it, though I don't know if Sweet was intentionally trying to be misleading or if he just didn't do due diligence.

I'm a huge MOTU fan from back in the day. I never got into the MOTU Classics (Too expensive considering my already bloated collecting habits), but I collect actual MOTU vintage figures. So far I have 13, plus Battle Cat. A few more figures and a couple of vehicles (and, of course, the actual vintage Grayskull) and I'll be done with what I want. Mostly just trying to pick up the stuff I had as a kid. I also have 12 figures from the 2002 line and the entire original series on DVD.

 

With Sweet's book, I get the idea that a lot of the details for Sweet were just lots to time. There are times when Sweet talks about toy or character specific items and messes up names. I assume that while he remembers certain stories and details he's obviously not obsessing about the property details like fans. The book actually reads a lot like a court deposition, as if Sweet is making some sort of legal case to prove he created He-Man. He certainly has some interesting points, stories, and outlook on the creation of MOTU and Mattel corporate culture at the time.

I don't know but for some reason I just find the history of MOTU to be so interesting. It just always seems so shrouded in mystery. It's such a bizarre, unusual property.

 

Jeez I'm glad I didn't have parents like that. I went to church, but never had religion used to suppress anything.
For my generation I got into Masters of the Universe rather late, Christmas 1985 with Thunder Punch He-Man, I guess because I clung to STAR WARS exclusively for so long and until then didn't live around a bunch of neighborhood kids to really have the knowledge of the cartoon series being on in the afternoons until then, if it was. I remember looking in the Christmas catalog a year or two before that and shunning the He-Man stuff as silly "fantasy". My mother asked "what do you think Star Wars is?"
Anyway over the next year while watching both Masters of the Universe and She-Ra, in addition to that one He-Man, I amassed a few Evil Horde figures and a couple of sets and vehicles like the Blasterhawk, the Slime Pit, and something else.