'Vikor vs. Conan' sounds like a legal thing...which I could see, honestly.

This was originally going to be a much shorter post: I tried to buy the Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor figure from Mattel's website, and it sold out in about three minutes. The end. Except, it wasn't: with part of their shipment delayed by the weather, they didn't have all of them available the first time; and had to have another go around. I was a first-time user of MattyCollector.com, but it went just fine. The second time.


There are a ton of good, proper, Vikor reviews out there: Infinite Hollywood, Geek News (with Lemonjuice McGee), It's All True, Michael Crawford's, Poe should have one if he hasn't already. So, as usual for around here, we won't be doing a proper review, but just some impressions. Mainly, comparing him to 2007's Marvel Toys/Legendary Heroes Conan!

I was surprised how closely Vikor and Conan matched up in terms of articulation: Conan has a little more, with double-elbows and knees, rocker-ankles, and wrist-hinges. In practice, they're very evenly matched there. Both even have their neck articulation hindered by their hair, but Vikor does have the option of popping his head off and removing his cape. Supposedly. I haven't yet...Vikor's a smidge taller, even allowing for the unremovable helmet; and a bit thicker, particularly in the shoulders.

Now, the downside: from MattyCollector.com, Vikor is twenty dollars, plus postage. Which was what, ten bucks? And then some tax or something in there, so I believe the total was $31.20. He did arrive really quickly, but even so. Checking my records, I found I bought Conan on Halloween 2007 at Wal-Mart, for $19.45. But, while Vikor came with an axe, a sword, and a shield; Conan came with an axe, a sword, and the Devourer of Souls, Wrarrl. Hell, Wrarrl came with a removable helmet, bag of worms, and a sword.

So, while I am happy to add Vikor to my collection, he all but underlines my misgivings with Mattel's handing of MOTUC. If Vikor was sold in stores, he still might have retailed for fifteen bucks or thereabouts, but without postage; and I have no doubt at all that he'd be a hit with a wider audience. But between the website sales, and the DCUC/MOTUC two-packs (which are running about $35 right now, I believe) I think Mattel has lost faith in the Masters of the Universe reaching a younger audience, especially without a cartoon or movie tie-in; and is content to sell figures to older fans who remember the original show's glory days. And sell them at a bit of a premium price, at that.

That's not to say Vikor isn't a damn good figure: he is, and he's at least the equal of the MT/LH Conan. But Vikor could be more than a figure that was sold online for a couple of days once. In the same vein, while I'm not real up on my Masters of the Universe continuity, I'd love to see Vikor worked in there. Maybe they find him frozen in an iceberg or something...