I remember when MOTU Origins first debuted in 2019 – I was very excited for a new retro-style 5.5″ line, but what I really wanted as a return to the simple six points of articulation of the vintage line. I’m a simple man and I’m pleased by simple things.
Of course Mattel already did that back in 2001, when they released the Commemorative Masters of the Universe line. They didn’t get all that deep into the vintage roster and stuck mainly to figures that didn’t have many unique parts on them. And the Commemorative line certainly didn’t explore prototype designs or mini comic looks for the figures. But it was a nice little series of toys. Notoriously though, the face of the He-Man in that line didn’t much resemble the 1980s original figure. His head almost looked like it had been squished in the pantography process.
Commemorative He-Man, 2001
Mattel has recently released the “Retro Punching” He-Man and Skeletor two pack, which once again goes back to the original form factor of the vintage line. This is in celebration of Mattel’s 80th anniversary, so it’s far from clear that this represents a new line of Masters of the Universe figures. I do sincerely hope that we get more of these though! These are apparently considered Origins figures, despite the simplified, vintage bucks.
Here are the official Mattel photos of the packaging. The artwork was done by the excellent team of Axel Giménez (line art) and DC Alonso (colors).
When these figures were announced, Mattel released a photo of the prototypes, which we can compare with the final production figures:
Prototype Retro Punching Skeletor and He-Man
He-Man
Once you open up the external packaging, what you find is a collector-friendly card reminiscent of the 1980s packaging. It’s not an exact reproduction, and it has darker colors and modified graphics. The back of the card features a great scene that fills the whole card, reminiscent of Errol McCarthy’s artwork on the 1983 and later He-Man packaging.
The figure includes a replica of the 1982 mini comic, Battle in the Clouds, written by Don Glut and illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. The back of the comic has Alcala-style cross sell art again by the team of Axel and DC:
The figure itself is an attempt to create a plussed-up version of the vintage He-Man. He has the spring-loaded waist of the original figure, and even has a soft, hollow head as well, although it’s not as squishy as his ’80s counterpart. Unlike the vintage figure, he has some extra paint on his boots, and his bracers are painted orange. His harness and weapons are also cast in a shiny metallic silver plastic.
Compared to previous Origins releases, He-Man gets a new harness, a new vintage toy-accurate axe, a new vintage toy accurate shield, and a re-release of the MOTU Origins half Power Sword. I should note that the shield fits on his arm very loosely and falls off easily.
Retro Punching He-Man accessories (left) vs vintage He-Man accessories (right)
While the Origins line was mainly based on the vintage figures, the Origins He-Man was really more based on a prototype version of He-Man as well as his appearance in the first mini comics. Fans have been waiting a long time for vintage toy-style accessories for He-Man. We’ve got that now for all but the Power Sword. The prototype Retro Punching He-Man image shown at the top of the article actually showed the figure coming with an extra Filmation-style Power Sword, but it wasn’t included in the final product.
So how does Retro Punching He-man stand up to his vintage counterpart? I’ll say it definitely doesn’t knock the vintage He-Man off the throne of Grayskull. While the new figure has some nice extras in terms of paint applications, the head is a little too large with a softer sculpt. It doesn’t have the detail or intensity of expression of the vintage head.
One thing the MOTU Origins team has struggled with, from my perspective, is color, and unfortunately that also applies to the Retro Punching He-Man. The colors of the body and hair are too light and make the figure look washed out. The metallics on the accessories are nice, though. I also appreciate the power punch feature and the soft head. The legs have a more durable ball joint instead of the vintage rubber connectors. That will give him long term stability, but the leg joints seem pretty stiff.
One thing to consider is that the face paint on this He-Man seems to vary from figure to figure. I found four of these sets at Target. Two had misapplied eyebrow paint, and one had some bleed from the white teeth paint going into the corners of the mouth. I picked the best of the group.
Another difference compared to the vintage figure is the harness. It’s a bit larger in front than the vintage version, and it lacks the raised/embossed shape on the front where the cross sits. Also it has four red squares going up the top straps instead of three. Also, as on seemingly every other modern harness, the red squares are true squares, and they lack the angled rhombus shape of the vintage version. No one seems to get that part right.
Skeletor
Skeletor has the same collector-friendly card as He-Man. As before, it’s not an exact reproduction, with darker colors and modified graphics. The back of the card features a great scene that fills the whole card, reminiscent of Errol McCarthy’s artwork on the 1983 and later Skeletor packaging.
The figure includes a replica of the 1982 mini comic, The Vengeance of Skeletor, written by Don Glut and illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. The back of the comic is the same as shown previously.
As with He-Man, Retro Punching Skeletor is a plussed-up version of the vintage toy, complete with spring-loaded waist and squishy head. Unlike the vintage figure, he has some extra paint applications on his chest armor, removable belt, and even on his toes (which should be covered by his boots really, but there you go). Compared to the prototype his paint was dialed back considerably. The prototype was probably over-painted, although I wouldn’t have minded if they had kept the painted bat emblem.
Interestingly they gave him the “orange cheeks” face paint, which was from the first release of Skeletor. That version had purple trunks and half boots. This figure has black trunks and fully-painted boots, however. In fact, the boots are painted a bit differently, with extra paint going up the back of the calf, with some dips inside the calf. The paint follows the sculpt, while the vintage figure’s boot paint went around the leg in a straight line. (I’m referring of course to those versions of Skeletor with fully painted boots – read this article for more information on that).
I’m pretty sure this new Skeletor is reusing accessories from his highly-articulated MOTU Origins counterpart. For the most part that makes sense, since the Origins accessories are nearly identical to the vintage accessories. The exception is once again with the sword, which is based on the Alcala look rather than the vintage toy.
Retro Punching Skeletor (left) vs vintage Skeletor swords
So how does this new Skeletor measure up to the vintage version? Reasonably well, I would say. The face is a bit wider than the vintage version, but it’s not that noticeable. The biggest differences come down again to color – the skin and face coloring look flat and pale compared to the vintage toy. If the Origins design crew at Mattel would pay more attention to their colors, they would save obsessives like me a lot of frustration. Still, despite those flaws, I think Retro Punching Skeletor is a cool-looking figure overall.
Despite my few gripes with this set, I still like it a lot. I really hope we will see more in this vein from Mattel. Imagine a line of these figures that included figures based on original prototypes. Or how about reissues of expensive and hard to find figures like Scare Glow or King Randor? There’s a lot of potential here, and I’d like to see these Retro Punching chaps expanded out into a full new line of toys. Time will tell if that’s in the cards.
Vintage Battle Cat & Vehicles
Since publishing this, it has been requested that I show Retro Punching He-Man riding on Battle Cat and in some vintage vehicles. There was some concern that the new leg articulation might pose a problem. Here he is on vintage Battle Cat, Wind Raider, and Battle Ram. It’s true that the figure doesn’t have quite as much range of motion as the vintage figure with the rubber leg connectors. He does fine on Battle Cat and Battle Ram, but he just barely fits into Wind Raider. He is not able to ride the vintage Dragon Walker, which requires the legs to be at a 90 degree angle to the body.
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As a kind of sequel to my previous article about the Masters of the Universe Power Promo that I wrote last year, I’d like to talk about a similar document I came across, the Masters of the Universe “Power Play” trade ad. Like the Power Promo, it gives a preview of Mattel’s marketing campaign for the first year of the Masters of the Universe line. The point of this information was to assure retailers that if they bought MOTU products for their stores, Mattel would be providing plenty of marketing to help make the line a top seller.
Unfortunately I don’t know where this was actually published – I’m sure it was in some industry magazine (perhaps Playthings Magazine?). The seller doesn’t divulge where these things come from, as they make their living on finding and selling rare vintage ads.
First Page
The first page of the Power Play trade ad shows the cover for DC Comics’ Fate is the Killer, which was released as an insert/preview inside other comics on August 26, 1982. The previously mentioned Power Promo didn’t have any artwork for the DC Comics despite mentioning them, so I’m guessing this “Power Play” trade ad came out a bit later, when some of the early DC Comics artwork had been completed. The colors on this art are a little different than on the actual published comic – the main difference being Skeletor is holding a gray Power Sword. By contrast the published comic showed him with a purple power Sword. This unique version of the cover did appear later in a digital edition of Fate is the Killer.
Second Page
This page is very similar to a page in the Power Promo, except photographs have been replaced by drawings. The ad talks about some of the planned promotions, including TV ads, national print ads, the free mini comics included with figures, something called a “Power Sword National Sweepstakes,” shelf strip marketing, and cash rebates.
There is also an illustration for the Power Sword National Sweepstakes, which appeared on a different page in the Power Promo. The page says that the Sweepstakes was to be promoted in a Sunday comic strip advertisement. However the actual comic strips that came out in 1982 don’t say anything about a Power Sword National Sweepstakes, and instead they give readers the chance to win free copies of the DC Comics MOTU issues, or to even appear in them. Incidentally, no fans appear in the DC Comics MOTU issues to my knowledge.
I think the Power Sword promotion must have been cancelled, since it has never turned up outside of a marketing plan, as far as I know.
Third Page
Most of the third page text content also appears in the Power Promo document mentioned earlier. It covers DC Comics, Halloween costumes by Ben Cooper, and the Western Publishing Pop Up Game. This time a redrawn illustration from the Alcala mini comics is included, as well as an illustration of the MOTU Pop-Up Game. However, the part shown above about Merchandising Displays appeared on a different page in the other promo. It shows an illustration of an end cap display for Masters of the Universe, which also shows how the toys would be arranged in the display
Below is the actual final art by John Youssi for the shelf talker/shelf strip promo that was shown in the third page of the ad (image courtesy of John’s son, Andy Youssi):
Because the art is so wide and short, I’m chopping it up into two pieces to make the art easier to appreciate:
Here are pages 2 and 3 combined:
Fourth Page
This final page is an illustrated version of a toy photograph page that appeared in the Power Promo. I had actually seen this illustrated image years ago out of context, posted to Facebook without explanation. It’s nice to finally learn where it came from! This version includes an inset illustration of the back of the castle, which wasn’t in the photo this was taken from.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the interesting “Power Play” trade ad and Mattel’s marketing strategy for the first year of Masters of the Universe. See you next time!
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With the arrival of the new Mondo Goddess figure, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the history of the character. We’ll cover her original concept design, her appearances in comics and toys over the years, and provide a look at the new 1/6 scale Mondo figure at the end of the article.
The name Goddess or Green Goddess, historically, did not apply to the character under discussion in this article, at least not originally. She appeared in exactly one comic and in one piece of concept art in the 1980s, and in both instances she was called the Sorceress. Nevertheless, since the name/title Sorceress has come to refer to the falcon-themed guardian of Castle Grayskull who appeared in the Filmation He-Manand the Masters of the Universe cartoon, we’ve used the name “Goddess” in the title to avoid confusion.
Mark Taylor’s Sorceress
The Sorceress/Green Goddess was created by Mark Taylor for the original Masters of the Universe line. In her original design, she was not green-skinned, but actually wearing a green body suit, similar to Man-At-Arms. Her allegiance isn’t specifically stated, but she does have a slightly evil or at least crafty look to her.
A black and white version of the above artwork with green Pantone stickers is dated June 8, 1981, shown below. Mark notes that she was to use the same basic body as “Female Warrior” (Teela). Note that Teela’s gold decoration on her white tunic was supposed to be a separate overlay rather than something sculpted to her torso. So this figure would have gotten the snake headdress but not the gold fleur-de-lis-esque costume elements.
Years ago, I asked Mark Taylor what his original intent was for the character:
Adam: Teela and the Sorceress/Goddess (the one with the snake armor) were originally separate characters. Whose decision was it to combine them into a single action figure? How did you feel about that? Did you intend the sorceress character to be a hero or a villain?
Mark: She was actually supposed to be a changeling but the comic book guys had a hard time with that. Also, the head of girls toys wanted to rip her off for Princess of Power (because now the line was very hot!). She was intended to be like a spy and play both sides with some magic but the “professionals” felt that was too complex (I guess they don’t get Game of Thrones either).
Goddess/Sorceress face close-up
As Mark has explained in public appearances, he didn’t want to give up on the idea that Sorceress was a “bad person”. Her personality is perhaps mirrored in her stern, cold facial expression in Mark’s concept art. Mark has also said that, though initially “bad”, he had the idea that Sorceress could at times team up with either Skeletor or He-Man.
He-Man and the Power Sword
In the original Masters of the Universe mini comics, the green-skinned Sorceress appears only in the aforementioned He-Man and the Power Sword. Contrary to Mark’s conceptualization, she is unambiguously heroic, providing help for He-Man and defending the Power Sword and Castle Grayskull from Skeletor. Note that in this story her face is green, indicating that she’s not wearing a green body suit, as originally designed by Mark.
Alfredo Alcala’s illustration of Mark Taylor’s Sorceress
I’ve talked before about how Mattel elected to produce only one female figure for the 1982 Masters of the Universe debut, and so combined Teela and Goddess into one figure. In some early stories, when you are seeing what looks like Teela wearing her snake armor, it’s actually the Goddess (or often called the Sorceress). But in other early stories it’s just Teela with snake armor on. It could be quite confusing, and so the Sorceress character was redesigned by Filmation with a totally different look to make things clearer. You can read more about that in the two articles below. In this article we are focusing only on the green-skinned version of the character.
So, back to the Sorceress in her appearance in He-Man and the Power Sword. She appears in four pages in the story. She is the first person that He-Man meets when he leaves his home in the jungle, whereupon he saves her from a purple beast that had attacked her.
Interestingly in her first appearance in the story she is holding a staff topped with what looks like an animal skull with horns. Later in the story we see Skeletor holding this same staff, which is not quite the same design as his Havoc Staff. She is not holding this staff in her concept art, but instead holds a snake staff.
The staff in Alcala’s illustration above is somewhat reminiscent of the Skeletor’s prototype staff. However the version in the comic looks more like a cow’s skull than a ram’s skull.
Skeletor prototype
On the page below, we see He-Man fighting the beast, aided by some “mystical bolts of force” from the Sorceress. In this panel we can see that she actually has the same tiara that Teela was supposed to have, poking out from the top of her snake helmet. Perhaps this was taken from another (lost) piece of concept art, because she has no exposed hair in the existing Mark Taylor B-sheet.
After He-Man defeats the monster, the Sorceress rewards him with some treasures she has been guarding. She explains that they were made centuries before the Great Wars by Eternian scientists. The treasures include his harness (which, depending on the model, give him augmented strength or a force field), an axe, a shield, the Battle Ram, and the Battle Chariot (an unproduced vehicle designed by Ted Mayer). We can also see a sword (not the Power Sword), some boots, and a spear.
The Goddess does not show up again in the story until near the end, where she disarms Skeletor by taking the Power Sword from him and splitting them into separate halves again. She disappears and is never seen again in any vintage stories, at least not with this coloring.
Just a note for those not familiar with this comic or this topic- Teela was definitely a separate character from the green-skinned Sorceress, and they both appear in He-Man and the Power Sword. In the story, Teela was a warrior character with apparently no magical abilities who was captured by Beast Man and Skeletor. In the end she escapes and helps He-Man and Man-At-Arms to fight off the Evil Warriors.
Learn the difference: it could save your life!
MOTU Classics The Goddess
The ethos of the Classics line was, for some reason, to retcon concept characters into completely new characters to “justify” their inclusion in the toyline. Or, sometimes two characters would be combined into one. How that would “justify” them is unclear. I suspect this was really done to maintain one consistent and harmonized story in the bios that went on the back of the packaging. The Goddess was released as a figure for the first time in 2009 in the MOTU Classics toyline. Originally she was supposed to have opaque skin, like the Sorceress character in the first mini comic, but Mattel design opted to make her translucent, which lead to problems with the figure cracking at the pelvis.
The color scheme was based on one particular panel in He-Man and the Power Sword where she had white bracers. The white was probably an oversight by the artist – in all the others her bracers were brown, and they are also brown in Mark Taylor’s concept art. She came with a spear that was really intended for Teela, allowing The Goddess to use Teela’s snake staff. She reused Teela’s tunic, which was the only major point of departure from Mark Taylor’s design (recall that she wasn’t supposed to have the gold leaf pattern on her costume). This was no doubt done to save money.
MOTU Classics Goddess Prototype, sculpted by the Four HorsemenMOTU Classics Goddess figure – note the change to a see-through body. She is holding Teela’s staff.
In her bio, she was given the real name of Sharella, a character from the Powers of Grayskull line. Originally there was no connection between these characters, and neither one was produced in the vintage line. This retcon was met with a mixed reception at the time.
The Goddess Heroic Trainer of He-Man Real Name: Sharella
After the death of King Grayskull, the Power of the Universe was transferred from the Sword of He to the Council of Elders who hid it deep within his castle. Knowing the full sword was the key to channeling the power, they split it in two to prevent it from falling into the hands of evil. For five centuries they waited for a worthy heir to be born. During this time their spirit guide, the creature known as “The Goddess” of Eternia, trained secret heroic guardians to keep the two halves of the sword separated. Many of these brave warriors took the name “He-Man” in honor of the sword they protected – giving birth to many different legends of the protector of Eternia.
Note: The Goddess’ real name Sharella did not appear in the original printing. It was added after the fact in a sticker. Image via Toy Habits.
Classics had given the (green) Goddess a “real name” Sharella, and later they retconned the fan-theory about a nameless archer girl, who appeared in the background art for vintage Megator, as Sharella. Classics had a habit of taking elements created by fans, and inserting them officially in the bios (for example in the 2002 cartoon King Grayskull had a lion, which never had a name in the series bible or scripts, other than “Grayskull’s Lion”. Fans coined the term “Battle Lion”, and Classics used that).
Masters of the Universe Classics minicomic #8 gave us couple flashback panels, where we see Sharella (as archer girl in ancient times) get injured from an arrow by Quick Flix. Then given a blood transfusion from Moss Man. Implying that because of this, she’ll later turn into the green-skinned Goddess.
Masters of the Universe Classics minicomic #8 – art by Jordi Tarragona.Masters of the Universe Classics minicomic #2 – art by Wellington Alves.
Modern DC Comics (2012-2016) – The Goddess Conundrum
When interpreting the world of Eternia for modern comic stories, Rob David took the approach that there was a life force that created the Universe. It was worshiped by different races, each calling it by different names and viewing it through their own lenses, if you will.
So in the stories by Mattel/DC Comics, the Star Seed is “the First Light” and has been called the Life-Force, the Goddess, Zoar, Serpos, Horokoth. The characters refer to the being as The Goddess in the story.
Some fans who may not have followed the comic series regularly may have remembered from the 1980s stories that there was a character called the Goddess or the Sorceress, and were naturally confused when the heroes in this comic were searching a way to resurrect the Sorceress, and needed to go to the Goddess [an entity, not a person] for help.
In He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #12, in a battle with King Hiss and the Snake Men, Teela is knocked into the Star Seed. There she learns that her mother was the Sorceress, and that the job of the Sorceress was to be the oracle of the Goddess. Each Sorceress takes a different form, and Teela is transformed into the Sorceress of Serpos. Like the original Sorceress/Goddess created by Mark Taylor, she has green skin and snake armor (although she shows much more skin in this comic). In this continuity, she is not the Goddess, but a servant of the Goddess.
Teela continued as the Sorceress of Serpos for most of the DC Comics He-Man the Eternity War series, which ran from 2015-2016.
In issue 14 of the series, when Teela in her Sorceress of Serpos form is on the brink of death, Man-At-Arms trades his life for hers. In the process she is restored to her human form.
Masters of the Universe Revelation & Revolution
The Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution animated series have utilized many aspects from the franchise’s long past, taking elements from existing media and putting them into new contexts. In the show, the concept of Preternia (Eternia’s distant past) becomes Eternia’s version of heaven. Or the underground world of Subternia (originating in 2002) with its caves and own inhabitants becomes a version of hell instead.
Revolution takes many cues from the He-Man the Eternity War comic series (thanks to executive producer Rob David). But it was never an animated adaptation of that story, as some fans thought when Revolution trailers arrived. In “Ascension,” Teela is transformed by the Staff of Ka into the green-skinned Sorceress of Ka, based on the Sorceress of Serpos from the 2014-2016 comics, but with several visual updates. Throughout the series we see Teela transformed by the ancient powers of the three primal gods of Eternia in the Revolution series: Zoar, Ka, and Ha’Vok. Eventually, with He-Man’s help, Teela is able to fuse all three powers into one, changing her appearance for a fourth time.
HD Screencaptures by Jukka Issakainen
Masterverse Revolution Sorceress Teela
The Sorceress of Ka was released as a figure in 2024 the Masterverse line as Sorceress Teela. For whatever reason she was produced in very low numbers, and so is difficult to get on the secondary market. The packaging artwork was done by Simon Eckert.
Below a Wallpaper version 😉 -Jukka
MOTU Origins Eternian Goddess
Masters of the Universe Origins brings once again a totally new continuity with its figures and storytelling. They use old official elements mixed with unused concept materials and insert them in the new story they are telling (for instance, Veena is no longer the wife of a King Grayskull). So the Origins stories are not a continuation of the vintage material, but, like the Classics bios before them, they represent a new canon on their own.
Origins has the Goddess appear in the pack-in mini-comic for the 2019 He-Man & Prince Adam 2-pack. The artwork is by Axel Giménez with colors by Val Staples.
She was released as a figure in the MOTU Origins line in 2021 as the Eternian Goddess. Her color scheme was changed a bit from the source material – she was give silver bracers and boot tops and blue bicep rings. Her accessories were also closer to red than to brown, especially in the production figure (the image below is a prototype pic that Mattel released).
The Goddess appeared in the modern MOTU Origins mini comic, Rock and a Hard Place. In the story, Prince Adam is overcome by Stinkor’s stench, and calls out to the Goddess for aid. The images below come from Vaults of Grayskull, and you can read the full comic on their site.
She also appeared in the MOTU Origins mini comic, Lost Legend. In this story she has the “real name” of Sharella, a detail taken from the MOTU Classics bio mentioned earlier in this article. Sharella transforms herself into the Goddess. Strangely, “Oo-Larr” (the MOTU Classics name for the “jungle” He-Man) is retconned as being the same person as “Wun-Dar.” This page comes from Vaults of Grayskull, and the full scan is available at their site.
Other Versions of the Goddess
The Goddess was released as a statue by Iron Studios, as a ReAction figure by Super7, and as a mini figure included with the Mega Construx Castle Grayskull set.
Mondo’s The Goddess: a short review
Mondo’s Goddess figure went up for pre-order March 2025 and was shipped out October 2025. The back of the package makes clear that this isn’t the original Sorceress from He-Man and the Power Sword, but rather the transformed Teela that appeared in the Masters of the Universe Revolution series. I should note that although her costume is similar to the Revolution Sorceress of Ka, this figure is really its own thing and is a blend of different influences, including the 2015 DC comics, the vintage Mark Taylor design, and even a bit of 200x Teela.
Still, on my shelves she’ll represent the original Sorceress character created by Mark Taylor. That was my approach in the Classics era too, with characters like “Oo-Larr” that were retconned into new characters. I just thought of “Oo-Larr” as He-Man from the mini comics, and I will think of Mondo’s The Goddess as the original Sorceress character envisioned by Mark Taylor. Call me a curmudgeon if you must!
The figure is at 1/6 scale, and is intricately detailed, sculpted and painted. I inspected my example for paint problems and other irregularities, but thankfully I didn’t find any. Her left ankle is slightly loose, but it doesn’t seem to inhibit her ability to stand. Otherwise all of her joints are good, neither too tight nor too loose.
The Goddess comes with three different heads. two of which have a placid expression. The neutral face is available with either a helmet or a snake tiara and long hair. The smiling face is available with the long hair and tiara. Any of the three can be used with the snake headdress. Mondo made the interesting choice of giving her gold eyes with dark red sclera, which enhance the snake theme, but also make her look slightly evil. I’m okay with that – the original concept seemed slightly sinister too!
There is also a removable skirt, although I found it challenging to get it looking right. I wasn’t that interested in it as an accessory, so I put it on for the photo, but otherwise it’s going to live in my parts bin.
The Goddess also comes with a spear, a sword and a shield. To me these are really Teela accessories. I see Goddess more as a spell caster than a warrior, but they are an option if you want them. For me, her snake staff (or Staff of Ka, as it’s come to be called) is her primary weapon.
Speaking of magic, she also comes with a mystical snake magic effect, which can be attached to either hand. She comes with a total of ten hands, so you have plenty of options there.
Adam: Overall she’s a beautiful figure, one of the best Mondo has ever done. There is something compelling about the character itself. Her roots lie at the very beginning of the Masters of the Universe mythos, and I feel she has an important role to play in it. But for a long time she was forgotten, and arguably brought back to life through the advocacy of artist Nate Baertsch back in the MOTU Classics era.
Jukka: I agree, that the (Green) Sorceress aka Goddess has gained popularity in the fandom, due to her striking color scheme in that single minicomic appearance. Big thanks to Nate “Baena” Baertsch for creating fan arts about her, which have spread online and added to her intrigue.
Adam: While I don’t totally sign onto the idea that she’s some kind of Teela variant, I’m happy that the figure is at least getting represented, even if the original character behind the figure is sometimes forgotten. What I’d really like to see though is a faithful figure based 100% on Mark Taylor’s original artwork – we haven’t gotten that yet. But I do have to say that the Mondo version of the Goddess is my favorite version to date.
Mondo Goddess and Sky SledFrom left to right: Customized MOTU Origins Goddess, Mondo Goddess, and MOTU Classics Goddess.
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Rebecca Salari Taylor is an artist who illustrated the labels for the original Masters of the Universe line. She is also the wife of the late Mark Taylor, who designed the first 10 figures in the vintage line, along with Castle Grayskull. A big thank you to Rebecca for answering these questions!
Q: When did you know you wanted to become an artist?
My dad was a graphic designer. He had a studio/room, and I spent most of my time on the floor playing with his pastels and making collages out of his collection of colored scraps of paper. He was fun. It was fun, and I thought, “Yeah, this is it.”
Q: How did you meet Mark?
I walked into a night class in graduate school. I looked over, and this long-haired “hippy” type was watching me, and it was unnerving. I thought… “Oh no, a weird dude, and I’ll bet he doesn’t even know how to draw.” He got the last laugh on that.
Q: What were your first professional projects?
Projects for me were usually part of someone else’s because I was so young. In junior high, my dad started getting me to do travel brochure covers, and eventually, I started freelancing in college with Disney and some of the other entertainment companies around L.A. doing the work no one else wanted to do.
When Mark and I got together, we continued with some of my clients and some of his. We worked well together in everything.
Q: How did you get started working for Mattel (freelance in your case)?
Mattel was a freelance client that we picked up, and it seemed to suit us well. Mark soared because he wasn’t just an illustrator but a creative storyteller as well. He worked in 3D images and was a good problem solver. His work was just ready to go to the “magic place”.
That to me is when most of your true self comes together, all lights are on. Your memories, experiences, and your culture all start to consolidate, and even your dreams , good and bad, all seem to merge into “that thing” that you just have to do. The passion is stimulating and rewarding.
So we presented at Mattel and started doing freelance for the Barbie group. It was really fun for me because I had one of the first dolls when I was 10.
Q: I know you were more bothered than Mark was about others taking credit for Mark’s work, regarding the creation of Masters of the Universe. I feel like in the last 10 years Mark has gotten much more recognition for what he did. Has that been your perception?
Yes, it’s true. Mark didn’t care about it much; it happens to many artists, especially the ones that produce so much that they are on to the next projects and rarely look back. When I’d get “Latin” he would point to his temple and say, “Don’t worry Babe, there’s more where that came from.”
He was talking to the wrong woman. So yes, he kept me in check for as long as I could stand it, and finally I said “nope,” this is bullshit. $18k a year for He-Man, and then the credit is stolen too?
I made it my quest to get him the strokes he deserved, and with the power of you all, the great fans of the He-Man tribe, fakes fell by the wayside because the evidence became impossible to deny.
Q: Can you talk about anything you remember about Mark’s pre-Mattel illustrations that would eventually influence his designs for Masters of the Universe?
Yes , I have oodles of artwork clear back to before I knew him. His styles were very eclectic. He seemed to experiment (as you should in school) and researched everything; his curiosity was infectious, and it led him into many facets of art. I recall seeing illustrations of monsters and fantasy art as well as lots of figures and portraits. His illustrations at this time were captivating, and he always seemed to surprise the viewer with some different images not seen before.
Mark Taylor’s King of Styx illustration, from the early 1970s. This would influence his Skeletor design a decade later.
Q: When Mark first started working on He-Man at Mattel, what are your memories from that time?
It was an interesting time for both of us. Mark was a packaging director. He didn’t work on any product because it wasn’t in his job description, and frankly, R&D considered themselves the A-Team and guarded those positions.
So he would finish up his actual work and would sketch and develop his stories . People would gather in his office, and the buzz was that this guy was doing “really different stuff” that was exciting and new. Weird is what they called it.
Mark Taylor’s Torak illustration, dating to 1979.
Working at Mattel was like being on a college campus where you could learn from your colleagues who were experts in their own various disciplines. It seemed everyone was just happy to work for a toy company. It was fun, and the friends one made were turned out to be for life.
Q: Can you remember anything about your influences for the label illustrations you did for the Battle Ram?
Yes. My objective was to bring the splashiness look of the castle labels and develop a familial vibe with the vehicles. There were a lot of new ideas in the toy line that whenever I could I would try to give them “that look.” Most labels done at this time were flat graphics with clean, and pretty much all looked pretty similar in style of execution.
It was interesting because I was working on this project that was taking place in the past, future on Earth, in space, and whoa! It’s was boundless. We thought the labels should be different, iconic, and stir up some new “flavors.”
Battle Ram stickers, illustrated by Rebecca Salari Taylor
Q: Can you remember anything about your influences for the label illustrations you did for Castle Grayskull? Some of it was based on Mark’s previous work, correct?
Sort of. The line work followed his style, but the colors and the technique developed along the way were quite different. When Mark gave me the assignment, he said, “ Push the envelope on these. Try something different.” He suggested I have fun and see what happens. So we went for a slightly art nouveau /art deco vibe. First with the castle labels and eventually on anything else I myself worked on later on.
After I did the first one, I believe it was the cross-sword flags. I presented to Mark saying, “I don’t know if they’re going to like these.” He assured me, “Who’s they? Rebecca, I am “they.” So it’s very rewarding to know they “hit the spot” with the tribe.
Q: Do you recall attending any meetings or events at Mattel with Mark when He-Man was being developed?
Not officially, no. I don’t recall ever working on anything MOTU on campus because I was hired in-house to work for other departments like Girls Toys, Preschool, and Games. Most all the He-Man work was done as outside freelance.
There was a lot of buzz about this packaging guy doing a toy line because the president of Mattel happened to go into his cubicle to look at what the talk was about. The President of Mattel, Ray Wagner, was very interested, and so no one interfered with the first part of the development.
It was pouring out of a designer’s brain, it was new, exciting, and a bit scary. It happened quickly, and because they were both excited about the product, no one messed with his product until later.
He spent many hours at Mattel, late nights and weekends. This was an artist in the ZONE. This was BIG. And those of us close to Mark felt the rush of excitement when the kids at toy testing showed us all what a hit this was. We all got to experience that rush.
Q: What do you think are the main reasons Mark left Mattel after his work on He-Man?
Oh, this one is easy. Are you ready? He asked to go into R&D, and they didn’t want him to crash the party. This big toy hit in male action figures, which they didn’t have in many years, and guess what? You get to stay in package design. Sorry, you can’t get into Special Ops; the club is closed to you.
So together we decided it was time to go, knowing that it might be done again, but it would no doubt have to be at some other company. So he went on to create the toy line for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from a comic book. When he left, it became open season on getting credit for his work. So that’s why the wife was unhappy. LOL.
Q: Can you talk a bit about some of your and Mark’s experiences with fans in the modern era? I know fans really adore both of you!
We are so lucky to know these people. These are the folks that Mark created this line for. He remembered how he was as a young boy. He was thrilled to know in the end how much fun he tapped into you little guys (and girls) and was truly fulfilled as a toy designer because of all of your enthusiasm about the concept. That’s why my quest to get him his due was critical to me.
Mark later became very interested in 3D computer design and was able to dabble with that in the end. He never stopped learning. He made me a better artist and a better person.
Here are some questions from other fans. They asked that I share these with you:
Øyvind Meisfjord: I suppose that Mark never got rich in spite of creating one of the best-selling toylines of all time. But do you feel that he felt proud by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his toyline? And did he feel himself awarded in his later years when fans learned of his contributions to Masters of the Universe and acknowledged him as its creator?
Oyvind, you are correct, I am extremely proud.
He showed no concern about the people trying to take credit because for him I don’t think it was ever about that at all. And of course, you are correct about the money, but this is a common disappointment.
I wanted him to get that recognition. LOL I was in his office in his new job when he got a phone call from the major perpetrator and on speaker phone a couple of us heard this: ”Well, you aren’t here anymore, why don’t you just say I did it. It doesn’t matter now.” I think that’s when the wife “me” loaded my pistols.
MOTUOriginsCork: I’d like to ask her if she already read Nino Ade’s comic and if she could pinpoint any specifics out of it that is directly related to Mark.
I am embarrassed to say I have not read it. I can’t seem to get past the great artwork Nino produced.
This is such a wonderful tribute, and I am so honored and grateful.
L’Kongick J. Fogarty asks: What were some of your favorite moments working on MOTU, and does something really stand out as being the most gratifying, and why?
It was really a fun time. It was like something really different was happening inside Barbie’s house. I felt that there was a buzz, and it became a driving force.
What’s he going to come up with next? What’s a Merman? Why is there a computer and a space suit in a castle? Who are those creatures in the pit?
What the heck kind of vehicle is that? It was FUN.
Lyca asks: I’m curious about her inspiration for the stickers! Did she have guidelines, did she just draw what looked cool and fit the space, did she color them, etc?
Here’s how it usually goes: the art director gives you some penciled areas where the label is supposed to fit, so let’s say you have 6 areas. They might point out that 2 of them are for a sweet princess bedroom or a dark and scary cave for an evil villain.
All those flare lines abreast become the ‘decor” or vibe of the toy.
So for me, as I have said before, was Mark telling me that I shouldn’t worry about making sense of anything but to take each label and try to be mysterious and memorable.
Use a different style (not so graphic) and tantalize with color. I decided to use the brightest inks available , Dr. Martens dyes.
Now I can’t swear those were exact words, but basically, he was saying, “ Have fun, give them something different because this IS different.”
I’m truly surprised that so many of you enjoy these. Thank you.
James Zimmerman asks: Can you ask what element did she add to the art/MOTU that wasn’t there before? When we ed look at the stickers, what story was she trying to tell? And what did she think of the brand?
James, I think I can only take credit for the line work and color. We both chose what might the icons would be.
Many of us got swept into Marks project. He was very specific about who he was going to hire to work on it, and he brought us together, as illustrators, sculptors, and other talented favorites of his.
Sometimes, let’s say, if Mark was sculpting the castle, he might have various secretaries and others visit his office where he might give them a small piece of clay to press into a part of the castle itself. There were many fingerprints.
He loved that.
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