Masters of the Universe X Thundercats

[Ashtalon]

That's a good point about Mattel being willing to make new molds. They certainly did for the TMNT crossover line. So the kittens and mutants aren't off the table due to molds. It's interesting these waves are 3 figures and not 4 like the TMNT one. Yes, wave 1 is 4 because of the deluxe Mumm-Ra, but wave 2 only seems to have 3 figures.

 

[canprime]

That's a good point about Mattel being willing to make new molds. They certainly did for the TMNT crossover line. So the kittens and mutants aren't off the table due to molds. It's interesting these waves are 3 figures and not 4 like the TMNT one. Yes, wave 1 is 4 because of the deluxe Mumm-Ra, but wave 2 only seems to have 3 figures.

Probably has something to do with case counts. Classified was going to be 5 figures in a wave and then went back to 4. Retro Classified is usually 3 figures, but the last wave of 2025 will be 2 figures because of army building.

I figure Mattel has some reason for just 3 figures per wave. I'm just hoping we see some of the Mutants and the Kits. I mean the Kits could probably be done with the same mold for each of them with some minor tweaks. The bigger question for me is will be see someone like Snarf?

 

[Damien]

I'd be very surprised if this line only went two waves. I can't imagine there isn't an audience for this - especially given the TC characters can all be stripped to their core looks, which is how I think a lot of people will want to display them. Moreover, we've seen the great creativity in the TMNT crossover line. I'm sure the Mattel team has some interesting stuff cooked up for this line as well.

A humanoid Panthor? Probably. At least one more version of He-Man and Lion-O? Probably. An Ancient Spirits of Evil version of Skeletor? Wouldn't surprise me. A de-powered Mumm-Ra? Seems likely. More A- and B-List TCats characters with random barbarian bits stuck on them? I'd imagine so. More key MOTU characters with cat-themed gear? Obviously. We haven't even seen Teela in this line yet. I don't think the team responsible for this stuff is going to run out of ideas in two or three waves. The issue is whether or not they can sell people on them in this economy, at ever-increasing prices.

 

[NORM]

I don’t think lack of ideas is the setback, it’s whether or not enough people will want to buy those ideas. I would love for them to go deep with every TCats character I know and love. But I don’t have confidence that many other people will feel the same.

 

[Damien]

Oh, for sure. I just meant that I'm sure they've got more planned and there's no -intention- for this just to be 'throw out a few main characters and call it done.' Like with any line, it's going to come down to how much support it gets. As was said before in this thread, TCats does not have even a tenth, I'd wager not even a hundredth, of the fanbase that TMNT has among toy collectors. But I'd also argue TCats has a really toy-starved fanbase and probably crosses over with MOTU a bit more naturally than TMNT. So it's possible people that were sitting out TMNTxMOTU because it just didn't work for them won't feel the same way here. Especially since we can actually just have regular-looking TCats with our MOTU figures.

Long way of saying I do think this particular line has different strengths (and weaknesses) compared to the TMNT crossover. It could surprise us with how many people show up for it. I don't imagine Mattel dove into it with at least two waves ready to go without having some idea of how they think it's going to sell.

 

[cmoney]

Any of us would have predicted it, but ToyHabits is saying they've confirmed that a Panthor in the style of Battlecat-Man is coming to this line.

Panthor Coming To MOTU Origins ThunderCats Line

We've found some hard evidece that a Panthor MOTU Origins ThunderCats figure will be making it to the line!

toyhabits.com

 

[NORM]

Besides Lion-O, He-Man, Battle Cat-Man, Cheetara, Skel-Ra, Panthro, and Panther-Man, there aren’t too many more I’d want to add, besides maybe Beast Man, Catra, Man-At-Arms, Tygra..

 

[canprime]

Besides Lion-O, He-Man, Battle Cat-Man, Cheetara, Skel-Ra, Panthro, and Panther-Man, there aren’t too many more I’d want to add, besides maybe Beast Man, Catra, Man-At-Arms, Tygra..

While I find wave two a bit lackluster compared to wave one I am, so far, all in on this line.

Also by going off of what they have done with Turtles of Grayskull, I am confident that if the line goes on long enough, we'll get some great surprise looks for figures that will probably change your mind.

 

[canprime]

Any of us would have predicted it, but ToyHabits is saying they've confirmed that a Panthor in the style of Battlecat-Man is coming to this line.

Panthor Coming To MOTU Origins ThunderCats Line

We've found some hard evidece that a Panthor MOTU Origins ThunderCats figure will be making it to the line!

toyhabits.com

Definitely makes sense as he would be an easy counter to Battle-Cat Man. I wonder if they'll do a paint swap, mostly, for Panthor-Man, or give him a bunch of new parts.

 

[cmoney]

If you count box art as teases, Beast Man and Trapjaw both appear on wave 1 packaging.

 

[NORM]

So far, I'm not recognizing any "mash up" qualities that are really overt. I did see that Panthro has asymmetrical armor and a chest plate similar to Man-At-Arms (makes sense, as they serve similar roles in their respective universes). Are there any other visual cues like that on the Thundercats' removable armor, or is it mostly generic Eternian design?

 

[canprime]

So far, I'm not recognizing any "mash up" qualities that are really overt. I did see that Panthro has asymmetrical armor and a chest plate similar to Man-At-Arms (makes sense, as they serve similar roles in their respective universes). Are there any other visual cues like that on the Thundercats' removable armor, or is it mostly generic Eternian design?

Well Battle Cat Man is a pretty big mashup with his bipedal form factor reflecting Thunderians. Also the He-Man in wave two has the combo Sword of Omens/Power Sword. Skell-Ra has some mashup cues as well. They did try and make him two-for-one, but it did require some sacrifices on both Mumm-Ra and Skeletor. Then there is He-Man who I don't think is a mashup per se, but his design cues may have some clues as to where they are going with the line. I guess the mini-comic will tell us more.

 

[Ashtalon]

Beast Man on the packaging artwork just looks like his default look, so it would be disappointing if a normal Beast Man is in this line. The TMNT one was just Beast Man with a samurai helmet. Was kinda lackluster compared to other figures in the line.

Wild thought. We get a deluxe riding animal (or two with repaints) in this line. Ala Battle Cat. But instead of Battle Cat (and who is now humanoid), we get Beast Man as a riding animal. Would be a nice change-up. Or at least make him large like the Slaker. Maybe even more apelike, and able to walk on all fours. Do something wild with him.

What kind of other mashups or alterations would you like to see? Damien mentioned a mummy Mumm-Ra and ancient Skeletor, but would they maybe be the same figure, like the deluxe, and come with alternate heads? Someone like Catra seems an obvious one to turn into a cat-person with an actual feline face. Maybe that's what Teela will look like? I wouldn't mind seeing some MOTU good characters be turned into felines. Clawfist, Fisto with a metal claw hand instead of a fist?

 

[Justice]

Pixel Dan got a review sample of Lion-O from Mattel. I do have to say I don't like the claw shield's new look either, at least with the classic design. They really should have included a smooth version for the swap-out to the classic Lion-O.

 

[docsilence]

I was tinkering with the handful of Super 7 Thundercats I have last night and it really just made me even more interested in getting these in-hand. I feel like these are going to have better ROM even in an Origins style figure.