Masters of the Universe Classics - VEENA!

MOTUC Club Eternia - Queen Grayskull - Mattycollector Exclusive - Mattel 2015

He-Man's 2002 reboot was definitely not my favorite iteration of the Masters of the Universe property.  I tried to get into it, but it just never took root.  One of the biggest disappointments for me was the redesign of my favorite character, the Sorceress.  Instead of the original orange and blue feathered falcon garb, she now wore a gold and teal Egyptian-themed outfit that I always felt looked out of place (I thought it was very Stargate-ish to have a Egyptian-like culture on another planet). Years later I learned that the "Ra" in She-Ra was actually in reference to the Egyptian God of the Sun, but that didn't make me like the 2002 Sorceress any better. This figure is of Veena - or Queen Grayskull - who is a Preternian predecessor of the modern Sorceress.  She helped create the Power Swords and guarded Castle Grayskull after King Grayskull's death.  Her design is a nice median between the classic Sorceress and her 2002 redesign.  It's not overtly Egyptian, but definitely holds to the 2002 style.

Despite my natural inclination to dislike the 2002 redesigns, I think this particular character translated gorgeously into MOTUC form.

Here are a few quick turnarounds without her wings and waist shawl.

I think this figure's biggest flaw is that her upper leg articulation shows from the front.  That dark shadow on her upper right thigh is actually the edge of her hip joint.  The third to the last photo from the bottom of this review shows it more clearly.

Queen Grayskull comes with wings, a staff, and a draping waist shawl.

It's a shame that Mattel ditched the matching cloth detail on the staff.  It really added something to the blue motif.

Her waist shawl is a little unruly and wants to stick straight out like a second set of wings.  In this picture you can see how I used one of the clear rubber bands from the packaging to hold the "cloth" in the intended position.  Hopefully after a few months like this it will stay on its own.

Time for a Comparison Pic!

Here is Queen Grayskull with her classic counterpart, the Sorceress.

Cheers!