Flying Fists He-Man: Heroic Leader with the Arm-Swinging Action! (1986)

Posted on September 13, 2023September 8, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Flying Fists He-Man
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: February 12, 1986

I think I only encountered Flying Fists He-Man once as a kid. I don’t remember being all that impressed – I thought the transition between his neck and his head looked very strange, and the head itself looked off to me. Certainly the action feature was far less interesting to me than his immediate predecessor’s, Thunder Punch He-Man.

*Image source: Nathalie NHT*. *From the 1986 Mattel dealer catalog. This appears to be a hand-painted hard copy/prototype*

Design & Development

In terms of visual design, we get our basic look for Flying Fists He-Man from Ted Mayer. The illustration dates to December 8, 1983, and may be the genesis for both the Battle Armor and Flying Fists He-Man variants, in terms of their appearance.

The action feature itself seems to originate with Roger Sweet, who illustrates it in a concept using the standard He-Man look, and a swinging ball weapon (the page below comes from the Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog):

Update: You can see an early mockup for the figure on the side of the Eternia playset packaging, made using a regular He-Man figure – note the unpainted bracers from the original He-Man. In fact the armor almost looks like it was cropped into the photo somehow. Thanks to Nate for pointing this image out.

In the cross sell art below, we can see the finalized look for the figure, including gold and silver metallic armor, mace and shield. The mace and shield elements would spin as the figure was made to swing its arms back and forth, something that happened automatically was the waist was twisted.

One interesting note on his design – the lower edge of his chest armor features a mirror image of the standard male belt design. This was also something that showed up in an early incarnation of Tri-Klops, as captured in the cross sell artwork:

Figure & Packaging

The first First Flying Fists He-Man newspaper ad appears on February 12, 1986, and he was probably available in stores shortly before then. The packaging of the figure announces him as the “5th Anniversary” He-Man figure, which isn’t quite true. He-Man was originally released in 1982. Maybe their reasoning was that it was the “fifth year” of the line.

Flying Fists He-Man was released on an extra-large, deluxe card. As with the previous year’s Thunder Punch He-Man, the instructional panels are right below the artwork, and then the 12 characters in cross sell art are squeezed in at the bottom. The artwork at the front of the card is by William George, and the scene on the back is by Errol McCarthy:

Subsequent releases of the figure featured a color change to the font on “Flying Fists” on the front:

The figure featured modified arms that were similar to the original He-Man, but subtly different. He also featured greatly enlarged feet for greater stability. He had a lot of vac metal on his costume and accessories, which in toy language is the universal signifier of a “deluxe” figure. He also featured a removable clip on his back that functioned both as a way to store his weapon, and as a handle to help kids get a better grip when using his twisting waist/arm swinging feature. He also had a hard, solid head, which in my opinion reduces the quality of his face compared to the original hollow polyvinyl head. The images below come from eBay, as I don’t have one of these on hand to photograph.

One notable international variant is the Leo India version, as shown by spiritofsnakemountain on Instagram:

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Flying Fists He-Man was also released in a gift set with Terror Claws Skeletor (images via LCG Auctions):

Advertising

Below are a selection of Flying Fist He-Man ad appearances:

*French catalog featuring Flying Fists He-Man*

Flying Fists He-Man was featured the trade ad below, which was originally unearthed at the excellent MOTUC Figures site.

He also appears in the Mattel rebate ad below, which was originally posted on the Battle Grip site:

Artwork

Flying Fists He-Man is featured in a few posters by the following artists:

There was also an unreleased piece by William George that features Flying Fists He-Man and Terror Claws Skeletor fighting over the cosmic key, which was shared some years ago by Roger Mahafy:

Minicomics

The primary minicomic for this variant is The Flying Fists of Power. Interestingly it features Roger Sweet’s rather minimalist concept for the figure, which just looked like a standard He-Man with a spinning mace weapon (updated to three ball ends) and an updated shield. In the story the Sorceress awards He-Man with an additional gift of “energy and spirit.” When He-Man summons the Flying Fists, he will get have additional punching abilities and his spinning mace and shield will appear in his hands. (All minicomic images come from the Dark Horse minicomic book.) (Update: Matthew Martin and Øyvind Meisford note that Flying Fists He-Man also appears in King of the Snake Men and Enter: Buzz-Saw Hordak.)

In The Terror Claws Strike he get a rather amusing visual depiction of He-Man’s flying fists power. In this comic the ability isn’t necessarily tied to the weapons. It’s really unclear how this is a new ability for He-Man, because he did similar things in the Filmation cartoon all the time. It doesn’t make a lot of sense narratively, although it does get the action feature across.

Flying Fists He-Man, still in his concept look, also appears in the unpublished Return From Terror Island Comic:

Flying Fists He-Man in Action

Øyvind Meisfjord has shared the following image, and video of Flying Fists He-Man in action. Enjoy!

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Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters!

Philip O.
MOTU Origins Cork
Bryce W.
Ben M.
Matthias K.
Max I.

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

Licensing Kits

1982 Licensing Kit: “Fast Male Action For Licensees”

Posted on August 27, 2023September 11, 2024 by Adam McCombs

*Fun fact: the blond boy in the flannel shirt is MC Bat Commander from the Aquabats! He is playing with a prototype Battle Ram (which would have been sculpted from wood) and a prototype Man-At-Arms.*

Written by Adam McCombs

The 1982 licensing kit was, to my understand put together prior to the release of the line in stores and first given out at New York Toy Fair on February 17, 1982. The kit includes artwork by Errol McCarthy, and product photographs featuring prototype toys in various stages of development. Its purpose was to serve as a guide to manufacturers of licensed MOTU-themed merchandise on the world of He-Man and on the correct use of Mattel’s trademarks. This document was scanned by Michael Jay, and a copy of Michael’s scan was sent over to me by Ben Massa (check out his fascinating Facebook page, Orko’s Keep) Thanks to both Michael and Ben for their willingness to share!

*Front cover.* *I’ve always thought it was interesting that Skeletor is shown here with light purple skin, rather than blue skin.*

The inside cover features a collage of different MOTU prototypes, with child actors playing with them. The scene at the top left recreates a panel from the first minicomic, “He-Man and the Power Sword.” The Castle Grayskull is a very finely painted version that shows up in many commercials and catalogs. The vehicles are wooden prototypes, and the Teela prototype is an early unarticulated model that would see many revisions prior to release.

This page emphasizes a few themes, like how He-Man toys were market tested and were very popular with boys. They mentioned the aggressive marketing campaign Mattel was going to use to promote the line, which included TV and comic book promotions. All of this is to say that MOTU was a valuable brand and that licensees should jump on board the He-Man train.

The bulk of content in the licensing kit is there to provide reusable images and product names in the correct font that could go on licensed products and packaging, and to provide a very basic outline of the world of Eternia. The focus early on was very much on the idea that both halves of the Power Sword were needed to access Castle Grayskull, and that would form the basis for many early stories. Whoever gained access to Grayskull would be “King.”

We get very basic, generic depictions of our main hero and villain on this page. There is no indication that He-Man has super-human strength. Instead, his “weapons of unearthly power” were mentioned. He’s really just a very strong man at this point.

This is one of the more interesting pages of the kit for several reasons. Here we get a depiction of Stratos as evil, which is hinted at in the first minicomic. Zodac is portrayed as bounty hunter character, which is unique to this document. In actual media aimed at consumers, he is never called a bounty hunter. Teela is treated as a prize for either He-Man or Skeletor, a common cliche in older adventure tales. There actually was a 1982 coloring book with a plot based in exactly that idea. Mer-Man is called a battle-hardened warrior, but is not specified as good or evil, which is pretty common in some of the earlier Mattel material about him.

*Here we have Man-At-Arms and Beas*t *Man* *pitted against each other as opposites and potentially rivals, which exactly fits how Mark Taylor has described the two characters in the past.*

*This page emphasizes physical combat – the heroes and villains seem equally matched, and it’s anyone’s guess who will ultimately prevail.*

*The emphasis of this line is not so much on telling explicit stories, but in setting up a world and characters that lend themselves to the child creating his or her own stories.*

*This pages emphasizes the logo and brings in the full Battle Ram. The Wind Raider is the only 1982 product not illustrated in these pages.*

*This page sets up guidelines for correct usage of Mattel’s trademarks and logos.*

*Back page, of the licensing kit, which is a continuation of the scene on the front cover, with drama filling every inch of the page.*

I do have scans of some of the later licensing kits and style guides, which I will post later. They aren’t as nice as this scan, so thanks again to Michael and Ben for sharing!

Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters!

Philip O.
MOTU Origins Cork
Bryce W.
Ben M.
Matthias K.
Max I.

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

Formo Toys

Formo Toys Barbaro

Posted on August 20, 2023September 10, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

At the most recent Power-Con I got the chance to check out the Formo Toys Legends of Dragonore table, and even watch the table with my son while the Formo crew were busy with their panel. I got to play with the wave 1.0 figures on the table and absolutely fell in love with them. Below you can find some images of some of the wave 1.5 and 2.0 prototype figures they had on display:

I picked up a Barbaro figure while I was there, and I thought I’d share some photos and a few thoughts. The figures are inspired by the 5.5″ Masters of the Universe line, but they maintain their own unique style. The packaging is familiar in shape but otherwise doesn’t borrow heavily from any vintage toyline. The front slightly recalls the Powers of Grayskull packaging that would have been used for He-Ro and Eldor in the vintage line, but the back is really its own thing, with a parchment and stone theme. Featured is an illustration of Barbaro, complete with a bio and cross sell photos of all of the figures in the first wave.

The figure comes with a few accessories – a removable horned crown, a battle axe, removable armor and the right arm of the Divine Armor. Each of the six figures in the first line has a piece of it – you can collect all six to complete the Divine Armor, which works as the McGuffin of the story. In MOTU parlance, the Divine Armor is like the two halves of the power sword.

In every Universe exists an ancient Secret Well. These Wells are portals between worlds and dimensions. Passageways used by heroes, monsters, and adventurers to explore new realms across the galaxies. Through Castle Dragonore™, the fearless Barbaro has left both his tribe and world to enter the Well, leading a group of Heroic Champions in a quest to retrieve the ancient Divine Armors of Power™ scattered across the dimensions. During their adventures, the Heroic Champions will encounter the dark magic apprentice Oskuro™ and his Evil Masters, who possess the power to transform the heroes into terrible monsters! Who will attain the Divine Armors of Power™ first?
– Formo Website

Part of the fun of the line is that you can mix and match parts between figures. There are the usual five points of articulation on this figure, plus extra swivel joints at the boots and right gauntlet (the left one seems to be glued into place). The figure is also backwards compatible so you can mix in parts with the vintage Modulok or Multi-Bot figures, if you wish.

*Barbaro with his portion of the Divine Armor*

*Complete Divine Armor. Image via Formo Toys.*

*Barbaro with my custom prototype-style Castle Grayskull*

To me this feels like a lost MOTU figure that never was. It has a high amount of detail, like you would see in the old Tony Guerrero sculpts. In many ways I prefer this style to the MOTU Origins figures – I find I prefer the higher level of detail, and I don’t miss the extra articulation, personally. I find these to be quite charming and I look forward to collecting the series!

Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters!

Philip O.
MOTU Origins Cork
Bryce W.
Ben M.
Matthias K.
Max I.

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

Cardbacks

MOTU Cardbacks: 1988

Posted on August 10, 2023December 25, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Recently one of my connections on social media was asking if there was a resource of all of the vintage cardbacks collected somewhere. While most of them are scattered throughout my site, I thought it might be helpful to collect them in one place.

There are lots and lots of cardback variants, both by country and by release order. My objective isn’t to provide every single last variant (and I certainly do not have scans or photos of them all). My objective is to do all the US cardbacks, and any major variants. Major variants would include things like 8-back vs 12 back reissue versions of the earliest cardbacks, or any major updates to the artwork on the scene at the top or the illustrated instructions on the back of the card. I generally won’t provide variants based on different cross sell art featured on the cardback. For example, a 1983 He-Man 12-back would have different cross sell art compared to a 1984 He-Man 12-back. The character selection changed to reflect whatever was new for the year.

Let’s define cardbacks: for my purposes this won’t include the backs of boxes on large items like Castle Grayskull or Battle Ram. You can find those in my previous “Box Art From A-Z” series. This is the back of the individual figures on blister cards, for the most part. I’ll also include the cardbacks of smaller accessories like Jet Sled, since the back of the packaging was in a very similar format to the standard figures. I’ll also include the backs of the Modulok and Multi-Bot packages, for the same reason. I’m not including gift sets with the regular carded figures – I plan to do a separate article about those later.

I’ll sort the cardbacks in chronological release order to the best of my knowledge. Please note, however, that some figures, like He-Man and Skeletor, were released at the same time. From 1986 to 1987, many figures featured artwork on the front of their cards, so I’ll include shots of the front as well.

Photos and scans in this article come from: He-Man.org

1988 only had two carded figures, released in Europe only (the giants were released in boxes rather than on cards). However, I will include the card art for the “lost wave” of figures that had been planned for 1988, but were not released.

Laser Power He-Man

1-back action scene art: Unknown
Cross sell artwork: Unknown
SKU Number: 7060

Laser Power He-Man was released on a deluxe-style card, and features artwork on the front and back. The artwork on the front appears to be by William George, but I don’t know who did the action scene on the back. The only cross sell artwork on the back is for Laser-Light Skeletor.

Laser-Light Skeletor

1-back action scene art: Unknown
Cross sell artwork: Unknown
SKU Number: 3024

Laser-Light Skeletor was released on a deluxe-style card, and features artwork on the front and back. The artwork on front appears to be by William George, however I don’t know who did the scene on the back. The only cross sell artwork on the back is for Laser Power He-Man..