Mattel is offering a new wave of its Cartoon Collection subline with Masters of the Universe: Origins. These include Whiplash from He-Man and Masters of the Universe, as well as Bo and Shadow Weaver from the 1980s She-Ra: Princesses of Power series. These are based on comics, so the design is different from vintage toys. This is because in the 80’s everything was hand-drawn and it was easy to design simplified characters with less detail each time a slide was drawn.
Thank you to BigBadToyStore for sending me Mattel’s Masters of the Universe: Origins Cartoon Collection Bow, Shadow Weaver, and Whiplash figures for review.
BigBadToyStore offers flat rate shipping for $4 and the Pile of Loot feature shipped at a later date. Use this link to start shopping.
Launch: October 2025
Each figure is packaged in a standard Origins-style blister card with the appropriate logo on the top, Hordak and Castle Grayskull above it, and even more amazing artwork on the back. The wave is shown below, and its characteristics are shown to the right. Includes instructions and Final Fright mini-comic.
Bow was inspired by her appearance in the 1980s comic She-Ra, and appears in a classic outfit of dark blue pants, a black belt, metallic orange boots, and a bracelet, with an orange circle on the front of the belt. The cloak is mostly red with a sculptural texture, and the front of the chest is metallic orange and white with a red heart.
His head sculpt closely resembles this cartoon appearance, with well-finished facial details including red hair and mustache, painted eyes and eyebrows. The grooves are also carved to express the impression of the hair, which is a nice touch.
Bow comes with a bow and arrows. Unfortunately, the arrow cannot be connected to the bow and can only be placed in the hand. Because the arrow is small, it fits loosely in your hand, so it can easily fall off if you’re not careful. The top of the ribbon includes a horse design, which is a small detail but looks defiantly appealing.
He is also fully articulated and includes a ball-jointed head, ball-hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, swivel hips, ball-jointed hips, swivel-hinged knees, swivel calves/boots, and hinged and rocker ankles.
Here’s a comparison between Bow and She-Ra, and this is the first time they’ve appeared in a toy lineup since Masters of the Universe Classic.
Shadow Weaver is also inspired by her appearance in the classic 1980s She-Ra comics, wearing a pink robe, with a skirt made of hard plastic and a cape made of soft plastic. She has no legs, replaced by a long skirt that is hollow on the inside. She has a dark red Horde logo on her underbelly and a greenish-yellow skin tone on her hands.
Her head sculpt has a hood, her face is mostly black, and her eyes are yellow.
Shadow Weaver contains a book of otherworldly spells that is mostly gray with some black magic and mostly green with yellow markings and black. The pages contain unreadable pictures and lines that appear to be spells.
Her articulation includes a ball-jointed head, ball-hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, and swivel-hinged hips. The legs and feet were replaced by a non-articulated skirt.
Here’s a comparison between Shadow Weaver and the 7-inch scale Masterverse offerings, as well as the Reach, Grizzler, and Hordak figures from the Cartoon Collection.
Whiplash is probably the most similar of the three, with a light green skin tone, dark green torso and tail, blue pants with a green belt, and blue boots and bracelets. The tail is bendable, must be assembled from the package, is carved with grooves, scales and details, and twists towards the bottom.
His head sculpt is great, with two shark teeth, painted eyes and eyebrows, and a dark green fin on top.
Whiplash comes with a rocket launcher that appeared in the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode “The Betrayal of Stratos”. It is mostly light gray with an orange tip. Can only be held with one hand.
His articulation includes a ball-jointed head, ball-hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, swivel hips, ball-jointed hips, swivel-hinged knees, swivel calves/boots, and hinged and rocker ankles. The tail has no joints and only bends.
Overall, all of the figures are great choices for this line and look a lot like how they appeared in the 1980s comics. This is definitely a wave to add to your cartoon collection figures. Order now at BigBadToyStore.
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BigBadToyStore offers flat rate shipping for $4 and the Pile of Loot feature shipped at a later date. Use this link to start shopping.
