Galactic Protector He-Man!...

He-Man: Galactic Protector

By the power of Eternia, the Galactic Protector He-Man (that's what the sticker on the front part of its packaging said) or better known as the 'NA He-Man' (referring to 'New Adventures') was so full of controversy back in the days that many fans of the original 80s TV series shunned the New Adventures of He-Man run when it made its debut in 1990. Many were dissatisfied with Mattel's decision to plunge He-Man into a futuristic planet while battling space mutants when Mattel had already brainwashed us kids in the early-mid 80s into believing that He-Man could only pick his fight on Eternia (or Etheria in some cases). I even remembered a childhood buddy of mine dissing the new 'pony-tailed' He-Man and swore he'd never watch an episode off the series. But for me, he was still He-Man and didn't stop me from watching the shortlived 65-episode series on the tube. I gotta admit, I was pretty excited when Matty announced that they'll be releasing figures from the NA series but it took us quite some time before we'd even see the release of He-Man. Matty opted to release Optikk, Icarius and Karatti first before the most important character off the series. Anyway, he's here so let's see how he fares...

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Let's not talk too much on the packaging. We've seen this hundreds of times before. It has the 'Galactic Protectors' faction sticker. The thing is I wasn't able to clearly see the extra head and the armour at the bottom until I rip the packaging open. Minor squibble really.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

At the back of the card is the usual 'collect-em-all' thing, but it's just next to impossible to get most of the figures here as they're not widely available through brick and mortar. Defeats the purpose doncha' think?

He-Man: Galactic Protector

Here's the usual bio at the back. They make a good read while you decide just how to rip the figure out. I love it that Matty tries to inter-connect the classic MOTU lore (i.e. 'Second Ultimate Battleground') to the New Adventures story arc.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

Okay, this was not how He-Man looked like in the packaging. I immediately stripped his harness thingy off him just to show him prior to showing him with both display options. Yup, really...that was the real reason. It's not like I wanna check out his pecs or something...haha.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

And.....here he is with his harness and sword. Dig those 'gold' harness, boots and gauntlets. Goes well with his gold-ish sword hilt. They're a lot more elaborate than how I remembered them from the cartoon show but you gotta appreciate how Matty put a lot of effort into these so yeah, thanks Matty!

He-Man: Galactic Protector

His 'laser' sword fits snugly into the slot/insert/sheath at the back of his harness. Wouldn't be too practical to do so in real life as the laser sword will definitely burn through his harness and ultimately his sheath ain't it?

He-Man: Galactic Protector

Besides the 'normal' pony-tailed head and the harness you've seen earlier, we also get the helmeted head to go with the excellent armour. There's also the 'laser' shield to go with the 'laser' power sword. Truly great stuff from Matty. Lots of accessories this time. It could almost make you wonder why some MOTUC figures came with just one measly accessory (or at times none at all). All future MOTUC figures should come with this amount of accessories!

He-Man: Galactic Protector

Love the laser shield!

He-Man: Galactic Protector

Officially, this is the first time that a He-Man figure is able to properly hold his power sword aloft to mimic his transformation process from Prince Adam. No Cringer this time to join him. This figure comes with wrist articulation on both arms that will definitely put previous He-Men to shame. I've seen how some customisers already switching the hands with previous He-Men so that those earlier versions could have NA He-Man's capability.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

I don't know about you guys but I'm really into this figure.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

If you compare the head sculpt with that of the previous He-Men, you'll find that the NA He-Man has a slightly narrower and elongated head shape. I didn't take any comparison pics unfortunately.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

His pony tail is the subject of many hate threads but I'm not too bothered about those disgruntled fans. I thank God that Matty's giving us figures from the NA series. Wonder if they'd be able to give us characters off the '87 film now that the line's gonna end in 2015?

He-Man: Galactic Protector

He-Man: Galactic Protector

Pop on the extra head and the alternate body armour...you'll soon find that he looks like a completely different character! In fact, he reminds me quite a bit to Captain Power, another one of my favourite character off another excellent 80s TV series! The armour has intricate details so you can imagine how many man hours Matty invested into making this for your collection!

He-Man: Galactic Protector

There's some sort of a funny-lookin' 'port' a the back of He-Man's helmet. I wonder if there was an action-feature on the original toy in the 90s (honestly I can't remember) or was there some sort of use for it in the cartoon series? Appreciate it if anyone can enlighten me on this. Too lazy to do my search on google.

By the way, you can also stow his sword at the back of the armour just like you could with the harness. Either way, you'd be able to store his laser sword when not in use.

He-Man: Galactic Protector

I only have Slush Head from the opposing 'Space Mutant' side thus far since I never really cared to get Optikk or Karatti previously. But NA He-Man here has convinced me to take a second look at those villains. He deserves some worthy opponents over at my display shelf!
 
He-Man: Galactic Protector

THE REBEL'S VERDICT: Let's face it. This version of He-Man isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea. A lot of cherry pickers might even skip him. Some of you MOTU fans might even want to erase the memory of the NA series completely out of your mind. But come on, it ain't all that bad. The cartoon series had its moments. As I've mentioned before, I honestly remember the NA cartoon series better than the 200x series because NA wasn't an attempt for a reboot, but it's a continuation of the 80s classic series. Whatever it is, I totally love this version of He-Man....much better than the Thunderpunch version (I didn't get that one) and this one's right up there with the Battle Armor version in my books! You get two (2) options to display him with the different accessories and that alone will make you feel you're getting your money's worth. I strongly recommend you to get him even if you're just a 'casual' New Adventures of He-Man fan. After all, he IS He-Man and you can never go wrong with the titular character!
 
He-Man: Galactic ProtectorHe

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