She-Ra

Look, someone's made a retro throwback figure of Dorina Onoris! When an ancient island once occupied by the First Ones rises out from the sea, Hordak sets out to invade it and steal its treasure. She-Ra calls Sea Hawk to her side and sets out to stop Hordak! I don't know why "The Treasure of the First Ones" is the credited inspiration for this figure - there's nothing special about that episode, either in production order or story, and the figure doesn't come with any episode-specific accessories. Did they just pull that name out of a hat? She-Ra has already appeared in the MotU Origins line, but that was an update of the vintage toy, which looked nothing like the more familiar animated version. Now she's back in Origins' "Cartoon Collection," and looking the way you'd want her to. One of the oddities of the '80s She-Ra toy was her flippable tiara/ mask combo. I guess the original notion was that, just as the only physical difference between Adam and He-Man was the clothes he wore, the only difference between Adora and She-Ra was whether or not you could see her cheekbones? The animation model gives her a winged headband that frames her face, and this toy has sculpted hair rather than rooted, because that's the only way to ensure it has the right shape. She-Ra wears a white minidress with some kind of leafy golden pattern on the front and gold wings coming up off the bust. Unlike other Origins figures, this one can't really look like the vintage version, but it's fun to imagine a world in which Mattel actually made a toy that looked like this 40 years ago. (Super7 did make one in 2018, for what it's worth, so we do have some idea of what it might have looked like.) The figure's cape is removable, if you're willing to pop her head off first - it's not difficult to do, and it'll go back onto her neck just as easily. That certainly wouldn't have been a feature on an older toy! The Super7 She-Ra had vintage articulation, because that's what they were doing with their line, but Orgins is actually good: swivel/hinge ankles, swivel boots, swivel/hinge knees, swivel/hinge hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge wrists (so you can point the sword up high), swivel/​hinge elbows, swivel/hinge shoulders, and a barbell head. Her skirt is split up the sides so it doesn't impede the legs, and her cape is short enough - hanging just slightly lower than the edge of her skirt - that it won't block anything either. The head has a decent amount of poseability; how is it Mattel can get this kind of neck joint right, but Hasbro can't? Paint is simple, but nice. Her dress is pure white, rather than having any fake shadows on it, and the gold used for her boots, bracers, belt, and various other bits is a lovely yellow shade. Gold can sometimes get too blue too easily, but not here! Her skin is equally bright, and he rhair is just as yellow as He-Man's would be. How about that! The cape's solid red, but with gold painted on the ring that fits it to her neck. Since the cartoon didn't have the budget to give its main character fancy makeup, this toy doesn't have any blue eyeshadow and thus doesn't look as trampy as the Mo2K release. She does get a blue gem on her stomach, however, and in the center of her sword. She-Ra's Sword of Protection has the same basic design as He-Man's Sword of Power, but it's slimmer because it's being wielded by a girl. Did whoever made the swords know that was going to happen, or does the sword change to fit its owner? After all, one of the powers it displays on the cartoon is changing shape and becoming other types of weapons at She-Ra's command. Like, the shield this figure includes? That's not actually a shield - that's still the sword, which is why it has the same big blue gem in the middle of it. The gray used for the accessories is very light, so it contrasts with all the gold on the figure's outfit. She can hold either accessory in either hand, or both at once if you want to ignore that they're both technically the same item. Although the Princess of Power characters were desigend simultaneously for both the toyline and the cartoon, She-Ra was still too complex for animation and needed to be simplified. Filmation's Diane Keener was responsible for the final approved version, which dropped all the gauzy parts and made the pattern on her chest symmetrical rather than a pinwheel (so the studio could just flip the animation horizontally instead of having to redraw it). Frankly, the cartoon's version looks better, so we're glad to have it as a toy. This isn't the first "cartoon style" She-Ra there's been, but it's certainly the best. -- 02/17/25 When will we finally get toys of the Netflix She-Ra? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.