POST - LORDS OF POWER

TOYS

The first time I heard of the Lords of Power exclusive, I imagined that it would be another package that would pass by in my collection. Many of these firsts are subject to sale only at conventions (Power Con) or toy fairs (Comic Con, Toy Fair), but to the surprise of many and perhaps due to the pandemic scourge of that year, this exclusive was put on sale at one of the largest online toy stores: Bigbadtoystore. Without going into price details, we just remember that for the pre-sale of that little package, a non-refundable deposit of more or less 29 dollars had to be made, after that, to wait. Masters of the Universe fans were very excited to have an exclusive so close at hand, just one click away and that's it.

This five-figure package was announced in 2019 as exclusive to Power Con 2020, but the health conditions resulting from COVID-19 meant that the Convention was held virtually. Both the five-figure set and the She-Ra exclusive one (with curly hair) could be ordered online on the Power Con website and at the aforementioned online toy store (

BBTS).

In 2017, a series of images appeared, incredible shots of what until then were the prototypes of Master of the Universe, which were called “Lords of Power”. The images were shared by Andy Youssi (son of John Youssi). Andy's father takes those prototypes home and this is his experience:

Hold on to your seats for this, but after these slides, Mattel sent the prototypes to my dad for a month so that I could illustrate the characters and Castle Grayskull in detail for some of the promotional posters and display shelves placed in the toy stores. My introduction to loving Masters of the Universe was seeing and falling in love with those Lords of Power prototypes as a 5-year-old boy, before the public knew what it all was! I think the saddest day of my childhood was when my dad's illustration work finished and he had to pack the prototypes and send them back to Mattel... but that month with them made me a fan for life even before they hit the stores! One of the most exciting feelings I had was the anticipation of its launch in stores and the construction of the collection again.

The prototypes presented on those slides were quite different from those designed by Mark Taylor and designs sculpted by Tony Guerrero.

As we have said in previous analyses, we will start from the outside to the inside. Axel Giménez and Nate Baertsch are already the majestic duo that amazes us with the illustrations of Origins; for this set they return with a beautiful work. The brown outer case bears a tribute to Errol McCarthy's artwork on the front. The illustrations on the back are a beautiful nod to the work of Maestro Alfredo Alcala and Mark Taylor, who appeared in the first four minicomics of the vintage

MOTU line.

The detail on the back side bears double homage: the use of parchment, as everyone knows, is by Alfredo Alcala and the position of the illustrations by Mark Taylor.

The prodigious hand of Axel Gimenez portrays, with his particular style, a tribute to Mark Taylor, faithfully emulates based on those creative drawings, giving freshness to the new figures in the Lords of Power line.

The main box of the “LoP” set recalls the vintage “case”, a little larger and more colorful of course. Looking at this old case, we are reminded of its design, a red background, in front of an iconic scene of He-Man lifting Beast Man that appears on one of the pages of the minicomic “The Sword of Power”, on the back a very striking Battle Cat in red

On the front of the “LoP” box, we see again the art that decorates the cover of the brown box.

Axel Giménez made an update in October 2022 of the total illustration of the package, where we can see that it originally included Stratos in its minicomic version.

When we opened the box, we found the figures well protected in plastic bubbles, with a transparent screen in front, some in an action pose reminiscent of a comical image. The illustrations in question come from the mind and skill of Alfredo Alcala and Don Glut.

In the Man At Arms compartment, we managed to see the prototype of Taylor's Battle Ram, before Ted Mayer arrived and did the one we have today. a.

Continuing with the Man At Arms space, the figure is a fairly close copy of the prototype, with sculpted fur around the edge and a closed back. The face is a copy of the vintage and the helmet is quite faithful to the prototype, except for some paint details. The left hand wears a sculpted Man E Faces Origins, simulating the armor of the original design. The deck is a replica of the Classics version. Mark Taylor's original drawing included a knife in his right boot, not so in the prototype.

(Image: Comparison of the prototype with the exclusive version of Power Con)

The armor and helmet are inspired by a Spanish conqueror and originally had facial hair, which was removed from the toy but would be added to the

Filmation series.

Notice how the armour of the arm extends to the hand, in the exclusive version of the Power Con they use a left hand of Man E Faces. The face protector is much more pronounced than the regular vintage version

The final result of this update of the figure, we see that the face of a vintage figure is used, the knife is in the right boot, the armor is closed at the back and a Classics style mallet is used.

We love nothing more than the visual “secrets” that Motu's new arts can bring, transporting us to old times with just a couple of strokes, because all the Origins art made by this dynamic illustration duo (Giménez&Baertsch) are the best thing that could have happened to MOTU. Returning to our LoPs, the background art that comes with Merman brings us to the sea monster that makes its appearance in the minicomic “The Revenge of Skeletor”, a monster created by Alfredo Alcala.

The final result of the figure does not differ much from its graphic predecessor except for color details, but it faithfully maintains visual aspects, the tassels that float on the belt, the design detail of the pants, the decoration of the boot and the protrusion of the glove, very adapted to the figure.

(Comparison of the prototype with the exclusive version of Power Con)

(Final details of the Lords of Power exclusive figure)

Beast Man is perhaps one of the most beloved characters and we would have loved him more if they had introduced us to the “real” Beast Man from the start. The original drawing presents us with a real beast man, with a face according to his name and ferocity, but the final result in the vintage toys was different. The prototype was the closest thing to that idea and it wasn't until this version of Lords of Power that we saw that materialized figure. We see significant differences between the face, the armor and the belt. The illustration that accompanies the LoP figure is that lush jungle portrayed in the minicomic “The Revenge of Skeletor”, drawn by Alfredo

Alcala.

The graphic version of Taylor presents us with a wilder, more robust Beast Man with an upright ape appearance; the monochrome drawing shows us a beast man very similar to his vintage toy counterpart, while the color versions clearly look identical to his prototype version.

A significant difference that would have given a lot of presence to the figure are the feet, the prototype has marked toes, looks like a jumpsuit, while the final LoP version comes with smooth feet.

There is an image of that prototype used in a 1982 board game (Pop Up Game).

(Final details of the Lords of Power exclusive figure)

He-Man is a repainting of the 2019 SDCC exclusive, with fewer accessories than that version (no knife in his boot and no sword). The color of this figure is much pinker and the axe is a replica of Mark Taylor's conceptual art where he is represented with a helmet with horns. The original prototype had closed cuffs and no bracelet on

the left wrist.

We found several differences between Mark Taylor's sketch, the prototype and the exclusive LoP, and the most notable of which is the helmet and the use of the knife that Mark Taylor includes in his drawing.

The final result with respect to the prototype is well achieved, it is a very faithful copy, but if we see the axe, the end of the axe in the LoP version is a small sphere while in the prototype it is pointed. (See next image).

(Final details of the Lords of Power exclusive figure)

Skeletor's exclusive LoP figure comes with new molds compared to the prototype, the face in the most significant, a “corroded face”, the cap is more pronounced in the prototype and the shin guards are identical to the prototype and also to the versions that appear in the Alcala minicomics. The breasted bat is painted in yellow-green, which is derived both from the prototype and from conceptual art. The forearms of the LoP version have a fin while in the prototype they are smooth

In Mark Taylor's initial drawing, Skeletor's staff has an action on the ram's head, which was detached from the base and held by a rope. As for the prototype figure, the harness does not have the straps that surround the back, passing under the arm.

The color of the LoP figure is slightly paler compared to its other versions, including the prototype. There is an image of this prototype used in a 1982 board game (Pop Up Game) (see next image).

(Final details of the Lords of Power exclusive figure)