Action Figure Review: Stratos from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Mattel

 
   

   I've only watched two episodes of the second season of Netflix's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe so far which has introduced me to the new take on Stratos for this incarnation of MOTU. I will absolutely admit that Stratos has never been one of my favorites. I never had the vintage Stratos as a kid and I've always found the figure rather boring. My favorite version of the character is probably the 200x Stratos from Mike Young Productions as he had a cooler jetpack and the cool Sean Conneryesque voice.  Otherwise, despite him being one of the original eight I'm just not a big Stratos fan. Maybe that's why I'm more accepting of a pretty radical new take on Stratos. I think when most folks saw this new take on Stratos their first thought was "he looks like the Falcon." I agree. Black guy, tactical looking flight suit with goggles, wings; definitely a very Falcon/ Sam Wilson/ Captain America vibe here. Maybe that's why it was decided to change up Stratos' traditional red and blue color scheme to blue/gray and yellow? Otherwise, he'd look even more like Falcon/ Captain America. Stratos also has more of a personality here, too. He has loads of personality. Voiced by Zeno Robinson, King Stratos is definitely cocky and full of himself. Seriously, between Stratos, Ash Williams, and Gilderoy Lockhart, you'd have a tough time deciding who has the biggest ego. Stratos, like Ash, can definitely backup most of his bragging, though, which makes him quite comical while also being a solid new ally for the Masters of the Universe/ Heroic Warriors. I received the 8.5 inch figure of Stratos over the weekend so let's take a look at one of the newest Masters of the Universe toys out there....

Height: 8 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel knees, swivel/hinge hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel wrists, and a balljointed head. 

Accessories: 2 wings

Non-Scalper Price: $13 dollars

* This version of Stratos does not look like the bird man that the vintage toy did. the original Stratos even had some unusual, non-human features, but this version of Stratos seems like a regular human in an elaborate costume. His outfit is made up of metal looking parts, like the boots, gauntlets, and shoulder pads, with a blue outfit that has a feather like design. There are some feathers at the ends of the wrist bracers but it's tough to tell if they're actually Stratos' feathers or just part of his costume. The paintwork is clean here and he does have a rather cool design. It's a different design from the classic depictions of the character, but I like it.
* Stratos' portrait matches the look of the character model from the animation nicely. He's wearing goggles that go all the way around his head and they're given a white paint app on the lenses to represent the way his goggles glow in the show. 
* I love the design on the loincloth of his uniform. The loincloth is made from a softer piece of rubber and the design is printed on. It's an interesting pattern. Does it match anything else in the design of the Avionians and the city of Avion from the show?
* the wings are cool, too. They're simple, but cool. They plug into the bracers and can rotate freely. They're translucent, giving them a neat see-through effect that makes them look like they're made of energy. 

* The back of the figure is just solid with no paint work. Bland and boring. There are definitely some shortcuts taken in this line for sure.
   How's Stratos? Well, he doesn't exactly look like the classic Stratos at all so I imagine some folks will definitely ignore him. That's fair. About two thirds of the Netflix He-Man characters are recognizable as their classic counterparts while the other third aren't (Teela, Ram Ma'am, and Tri-Klops come to mind thus far). Stratos does resemble the character in the show, though, which is the important thing here. He's a Good figure that's really only hampered by the budget feel of this line and the lack of features on these 8 1/2 inch figures. Hopefully a 5.5 inch figure will come out soon and have a bit more play value to it. That's the one I'm looking forward to.