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I like the Masters of the Universe Classics 30th Anniversary spin-off line. Why wouldn't I? The opportunity to finally own the infamous Fearless Photog, coupled with brand new designs from stars like sculptors the Four Horsemen and comicbook writer Geoff Johns, plus a new "Design a Character" competition - what's not to love? Everything, it turns out, if you're a jaded MOTU fan livid about anything that affronts your unique interpretation of Masters, regardless of how different that is from the many other interpretations of Masters that fans also have. Yes, the demands and negativity have finally gotten to me, in part because sometimes those criticisms of Mattel's choices, regardless of how bloated they have been made, are dead-on: for every great figure the 30th Anniversary line has produced, there's at least one disappointment, one figure that could have been better or could have been substituted for a better, more original, more fitting design. Thus, we come today's review, Sir Laser-Lot.
Across the continent of Preternia, the mightiest of King Grayskull's Knights was Sir Laser-Lot, a master of weapons and hand-to-hand fighting techniques. He wore an enchanted suit of armor powered by the great Gem of Tamadge which enhanced his strength and let him unleash
powerful energy blasts. So legendary were his deeds that the future king He-Man sent one of his loyal Time Agents into the past to bring Sir Laser-Lot forward to his time. Here, Sir Laser-Lot became the King's new Man-At-Arms, training both the Royal Guards and the King's young son Dare in ancient battle techniques. Sir Laser-Lot uses his energy blade to fight for chivalry and justice in any time.
I don't really care about the bio or new fiction or whatever - I'm here for the design of the toy, and to be honest, Sir Laser-Lot is pretty neat. The concept of a knight of the past combined with science-fiction-futuristic laser tech is pretty cool, and for the record Sir Laser-Lot actually fulfills a lot of that promise.
He's a striking 7½" figure, predominately blue and red with some
silver highlights, with translucent "laser" weaponry. If he was a figure from the '80s, all of that weaponry might light up, and it'd be a neat little toy for a child. But action features are out for this line, regardless of how cool they might be if they weren't allowed to get in the way of sculpt and articulation, so instead we have what is this somewhat boring figure. It's not necessarily the design that makes him
boring - he certainly looks the part - but the paint is nearly nothing but blue. He looks like some kind of Spider-Man knight, but not nearly as interesting as a Spider-Man knight would be.
The paint is well applied, using a combination of different blues including a metallic blue around the neck and crotch, but that's all there is aside from the fleeting red on the boots, gauntlets and head. The cape is also a plain red that reminds, unfortunately, of Superman. There are several ways the design might have been improved: one, that the cape be moulded in the same kind of translucent red as other parts of the toy, which would have been awesome; and two, that the figure might have looked cooler if it was more silver instead of blue. And the next step - what if parts were molded in glow in the dark paint? That would have been risky, and risky is exactly what this figure is not - it's safe, and it's unfortunately a bit dull.
Sir Laser-Lot has the same impressive articulation as the rest of the MOTUC line and features three cool accessories.
He includes a neat laser sword, with a yellow hilt and red translucent blade, which is nice and solid, alongside a mace with a black handle and the same color of translucent plastic for the spiked ball except softer. I would have preferred harder plastic here, as with every weapon accessory ever made bar whips, but whatever. He also features a cool translucent blue shield with a neat laser-firing emblem on the front in silver, which would have looked amazing in glow-in-the-dark paint, but no matter. This clips onto his hand and looks mighty cool on display.
I'm all over the place on Sir Laser-Lot, to be honest. I want to be kind and positive, and say this is a cool toy, which it kind of is - we've never had this kind of character before in MOTU and I think he fits. He looks pretty good alongside other figures, but by himself it's hard not to be disappointed by him. Compared to Draego-Man, or even Photog, he's dull, a contrast to those dynamic and interesting pieces. The main complaint from fans is that he took the place of what could have been a much cooler and more interesting character, and it's a valid one. I don't hate having him in my collection - far from it - he's just not as great as he could have been, and hardly a "celebration" of the 30th Anniversary of Masters of the Universe.
-- 09/17/12
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