Very few toys have such a visceral nostalgic quality for me as the vintage Sorceress figure. I remember a single shelfwarmer Sorceress hanging on a peg in the paltry toy section of a feed store my family frequented in the 80s. The smell of that place was palpable; manure, dog food, hay, aquariums with not-so-fresh water. My siblings would often opt to sit in the hot car. But I would go in every time to stare at this Sorceress figure hanging there amongst random yo-yos and Rubix cubes. My parents were so frugal I don't think I ever even asked to get it, I was content to stare. The Sorceress was my favorite character from Masters of the Universe. Her gentle maternal nature, her mysterious powers, her creepy castle home, and her ability to transform into the falcon Zoar combined to form the most perfect character for my young imagination. I finally purchased her in the late 90s from eBay - being very picky to get one with the torso feather paint. And ever since, she has been a very important part of my collection.
I know these Masters of the Universe Origins toys are meant to invoke the vintage style, both in sculpt and packaging. But I was unprepared for the feelings that washed over me when I found her in Target last month. I've had the Temple of Darkness version since September, so I didn't expect this version to have such a different effect, but the bright colors took me right back to that stinky feed store. She is one of my favorite figures I've purchased in recent memory. Her sculpt is great and she is a terrific homage to the original.
There are some interesting things to note about the coloring of this figure. Her skintone is very orange compared to other figures in the line. It can make her look a bit monochromatic when taken in with the orange wings. The orange of the wings is darker and redder than I expected. It's not a bad thing, just different. And finally, the "widow's peak" part of her headdress is a weird metallic yellow/orange. In the vintage toy, this piece matched the wings. But I think that would look odd on this figure, so I think they adjusted the paint to make it kind-of blend into her skin and not be such a stark contrast.
Her wings can be raised just like the vintage figure, but it is a manual process and not an action feature.
Sorceress comes with her iconic falcon staff.
She also comes with the mini-comic, Challenge of Jitsu.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here she is alongside her vintage 1986 figure.
And here she is with the recent animated Sorceress from the Netflix CGI cartoon.
And here she is with the Temple of Darkness Sorceress that came with Castle Grayskull.
These two figures have very different skintones.
Cheers!
Funny thing is, workers at Walmart and Target have reported that the figures have been sitting on their toy shelves for over TWO MONTHS, unable to be sold. They don't scan with a price when brought up to the register. I even tested it out the other day. None of the "New for 22" figures will let you buy them lol. Sad, as it definitely will have cut into the sales / perceived viability of the line.
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