Big Jim and Masters of the Universe

Posted on July 5, 2025July 19, 2025 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Way back in 2008, there was a Retro Junk article outlining many of the connections between Big Jim and Masters of the Universe. Overall it was very informative, although there are a few errors in it. Understandable, given more limited information available at the time, compared to today! I thought I would do my own overview of the connection between MOTU and Big Jim, with some updated information. The connections between the two properties are many, and range from subtle to blatant!

Battle Cat & Panthor

It’s well known that Battle Cat was made from recycled tooling from previous Mattel toys. The first release of this sculpt was the Big Jim Tiger, an unarticulated but well-painted and sculpted toy that came with the Big Jim on the Tiger Trail set. Both the tiger figure and its packaging were marked 1976.

The first reuse of this mold came with the Tarzan and Jungle Cat set from 1978. The inner back leg of the cat figure is marked 1978, although it looks like the “8” was made in the tooling by simply creating an extra loop on the 6 from the previous 1976 Tiger.

Below is the proof card for the Tarzan and Jungle Cat set. It bears a 1978 copyright date and a printing date of 1977. The artwork is actually by Mark Taylor, who designed most of the first wave of Masters of the Universe toys. The plants in the illustration were based on some of the plants around Mark’s house!

This set appears in Mattel’s 1978 catalog below:

The earliest Battle Cats are marked 1976 on the inner back leg, just like the Big Jim Tiger. In fact, the earliest version of Battle Cat, which had a striped tail, has almost the exact same painted patterns as the Big Jim Tiger, only with a different color palette. Versions after the first short run didn’t have the striped tail and had a simplified color scheme, but were still marked 1976. Other releases of Battle Cat can be found stamped 1978 and 1982. Panthor figures are usually molded in the same black as the Tarzan Jungle Cat. However, Panthor’s teeth were painted only on the front, unlike the Jungle Cat’s teeth. Some Panthors were molded in green like Battle Cat. In both cases they are covered by purple flocking, which usually obscures the date stamp.

There is a popular graphic going around showing the evolution of these cat figures. However, because it was based on the Retro Junk article, it copies a mistake on the date of Tarzan and Jungle Cat. Years ago, NLogan, the author of the article, reached out to me on Twitter to let me know that he had been wrong about his date for the Jungle Cat, which he originally gave as 1971. My 2015 Battle Cat article had also relied on his information, and so had the incorrect date until he reached out to me. The correct date for the Jungle Cat, as previously mentioned, is 1978.

Zoar & Screeech (1983)

Zoar and Screeech, both released in the fall of 1983, were based on the Big Jim Eagle (1974-1975) figures, which came in a few different paint variations. The Masters of the Universe Zoar and Screech figures reused the mold, but were done in much brighter colors. They were also given removable armor and perches to stand on. These birds were scaled realistically to the 10″ Big Jim line, but in the 5″ MOTU line they were giant birds.

Man-E-Faces (1983)

Man-E-Faces typically gets compared to two Big Jim figures. The first is Zorak (1975), who had a face changing ability. While the action features are similar, the designs of the two figures have nothing in common. You might also notice, the Big Jim figure in the ad below has the same face-changing feature. This feature was also used for the Princess of Power Double Trouble figure.

Man-E-Faces has also been compared to the Big Jim Vektor figure. If anything, the influence would go in the opposite direction, because Man-E-Faces (1983) was released before Vektor (1985). Vektor seems to have been designed by Errol McCarthy, while Man-E-Faces was designed by Mark Taylor. However, I don’t believe Vektor was intentionally copying Man-E-Faces – instead I think they are both drawing from the look of old fashioned deep sea diver equipment (more explicitly in the case of Vektor).

*Left: Man-E-Faces concept art by Mark Taylor. Right: Vektor/Prof. Obb concept art by Errol McCarthy*

Skeletor (1982)

Skeletor is sometimes compared to the Big Jim Captain Drake figure, released in 1977 or 1978. He also had a face changing feature, like Zorak. However, because one of those faces is a skull in a hood, he gets compared to Skeletor. I think both Skeletor and Captain Drake are both drawing on older mythology, pop culture and archetypes, and I wouldn’t really connect the two to each other.

Trap Jaw

Trap Jaw is often compared to the unreleased Big Jim Iron Jaw figure. The Big Jim design had a very similar face and jaw shape to Trap Jaw, and even would have included various mechanical arm attachments. Iron Jaw was supposed to be a part of the Big Jim Spy Series, which went from 1980 to 1982. However Iron Jaw was never released – perhaps because Mattel wanted to take advantage of the concept in the more lucrative Masters of the Universe line. Trap Jaw was released in 1983.

Further cementing the connection between the two characters is his printer’s proof Man-E-Faces cardback (courtesy of Luis Villagomez), which shows Trap Jaw with the name “Iron Jaw.”

Beast Man

Beast Man famously recycles his whip from a Big Jim character named The Whip (1975). An early promo picture for Beast Man actually shows him with his own unique sculpted whip handle. But, perhaps the small handle was considered a choking hazard, and so he was given the larger Big Jim accessory instead.

The final Beast Man figure was not based on any Big Jim character, but early concept sketches for Beast Man were based on the Big Jim Gorilla, originally released in 1973.

*Left: Big Jim Gorilla. Right: Beast Man concept art by Mark Taylor.*

Fisto

Fisto has been compared to Boris from the Big Jim Spy Series (1980-1982). Boris had a spring loaded and telescoping fist feature. Fisto had a giant “metal” fist on a spring-loaded arm. Fisto’s arm would swing forward, but the fist didn’t pop out of the arm. I don’t think there’s really a significant connection between these two figures – lots of toys have had punching features, after all.

On the other hand, the 1975 Big Jim Torpedo Fist figure does seem to have some visual cues in common with Fisto:

Jitsu (1984)

Jitsu has been compared to Dr. Steel (1975-1976) from the Big Jim P.A.C.K. line. I think that’s a fair comparison, considering both had metallic chopping hands and a chopping action feature.

Attak Trak, Point Dread & Talon Fighter (1983)

The Big Jim line had two vehicles that had some things in common with the Attak Trak and Talon Fighter from Masters of the Universe. The Big Jim All-Terrain Vehicle had the same track flipping mechanism as the Attak Trak. That mechanism was actually licensed from a third party invention company, and Mattel opted to design two different vehicles around the mechanism. There was also the Space Spy vehicle, which had roughly the same profile as the Talon Fighter, although without the bird theme. It even had the radar dish on top. However, both the Space Spy and the All-Terrain Vehicle seem to have come out in 1983, the same year as Attak Trak and Talon Fighter. Perhaps they were both derived from the same root concepts at the same time.

One other connection exists. Errol McCarthy did the sticker art for the All-Terrain Vehicle. It appears that some of the unused art he did for Big Jim ended up on the the MOTU Point Dread cardboard insert. This information and the images below come courtesy of Alessio Di Marco:

Original Sticker sheet design copy for ATV

Webstor (1984)

While Webstor himself seems to have been based on an earlier Masters of the Universe design by Mark Taylor, later adapted by Roger Sweet, his grappling hook comes straight out of the Big Jim Pirate Boat (1978). The grappling hook was used by Big Jim’s Alpinist Joe (1981).

Gygor (unreleased)

Gygor was a proposed reuse of the Big Jim Gorilla from the Jungle Adventure set (1973). The idea was to cast the gorilla in yellow and give it a black costume and red cape. Another version of Gygor was drawn in red with silver armor and guns.

*Image via The Power and the Honor Foundation*

Mark Taylor’s “Big Jim He-Man”

This piece was recently put up for auction among a number of concept art illustrations by Mark Taylor. It was called “Big Jim He-Man Variation” on the front, and “He-Man & Horse Int.” on the back. This was apparently an exploration of doing He-Man in the Big Jim scale. This idea never went anywhere, but it’s a striking design. The only visual cues for the traditional He-Man design are the shape of the shield and the colors on the warrior’s costume.

“Good Female” Big Jim concept

Errol McCarthy worked on some Big Jim concepts as the line was winding down. One of them was a female character who had a jet pack, a feathered flight cape, and a pet mechanical falcon. She seems like a cross between the Sorceress and Stratos, both of whom predate McCarthy’s concept here. The similarities are probably coincidental, but I thought it would be worth mentioning.

Changing Outfits

Finally, the other Big Jim theme that was a minor part of MOTU was the concept of characters changing outfits. The early “Fighting Foe-Men” mini comic treatment by Don Glut emphasized the changing of outfits in order to obtain different powers. Below are some examples from the text:

BEAST-MAN — Another native of Eternia’s jungles whose tribe — or pack — has seemingly always been at war with their natural enemies, the human tribe of He-Man. Beast-Man has formidable strength, but it is his ferocity that makes him a natural leader. He has the agility of a gorilla. But when he dons his various costumes, he takes on the powers of other animals — the speed of a gazelle, the charging force of a rhino, etc. Beast-Man, though he despises He-Man’s tribe, yearns to take one or more of its females as a bride. He is totally evil and corrupt. His only redeeming quality is the “love” he bears for his own race, though it is actually more like instinct than any real emotion. His voice is gutteral, almost a growl.

WING-MAN (alternative name: Air-Man) — One of the last of a race of mountain-dwelling beings who have mastered the air. Wing-Man is a denizen of mountain peaks hidden high above Eternia’s clouds. He utilizes a flying craft equipped with various weapons resembling characters of flying creatures — a deafening bird’s cry siren, a hornet’s sting, etc. But he can fly without use of the craft, thanks to a set of foldable wings — including a set of bird’s wings, bat’s wings, insect’s wing, etc. He has a good sense of humor and is a natural practical joker, which makes him bearly [sic] tolerable to such brooding characters as He-Man.

He-Man — A native of Eternia, raised by his jungle-dwelling tribe. He is a mass of muscle, with incredible physical strength and a short-fuse-temper. His prowess got him awarded, by the tribe’s elders, a series of fantastic weapons and costumes which they had found in the ruins of a fortress once occupied by Eternia’s pre-war scientists. The costumes augment his strength, each one giving him a single new power — a forcefield, the increased strength of a Hercules, etc. He-Man loves his people, but he craves excitement and adventure, and so has set off on his own. He does not always fight fair and often resorts to underhanded methods to get the job done.

Big Jim came with an assortment of Action Sets that would transform Big Jim figures into different athletes and adventurers. Of course Barbie also came with many different outfits, as did G.I. Joe.

The “change outfits to change powers” idea didn’t go very far in Masters of the Universe. It’s mentioned in some of the first few comics written by Don Glut, but the idea doesn’t really appear again after that to my knowledge. There were eventually a few spare outfits available for the figures, in the form of the 1984 Weapons Pak and the 1986 Jet Sled and Stilt Stalkers sets. The outfits themselves didn’t give the wearers any special powers, however.

*Left: a page from King of Castle Grayskull*. *Right: a page from Battle in the Clouds*

Hopefully this has been helpful in making clearer some of the many connections between Big Jim and He-Man! Because of that connection, I’ve gained a greater appreciation for the Big Jim line, even if I missed out on it as a kid.

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

Adalberto V.
Adam A.
Allen B.
Allison T.
Andy Y.
badtaste®
Ben M.
Chris C.
Chupakaibra
Cory from Make Shape Create
Dane R.
Eric H.
Erik B.
Garry H.
Gianluca V.
J Man
JackieX
James Z.
João S.
Johnny L.
Jon E.
Juan P.V.
Kris K.
Lyca
Max I.
Michael M.
Mike G.
MotuOriginsCork
Nate B.
Orion W.
Ove K.
Øyvind M. (Patreon & Facebook)
Patrick F.
Philip O.
Rich S.
Robert B.
Scott B.
Steven K.
Tate W.
Todd G.
tupalev

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

Heroic Warriors

Zoar: Fighting Falcon (1983)

Posted on June 21, 2016September 8, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Name: Zoar
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: September 23, 1983

Zoar, released in 1983, is at once a toy with a fascinating history and a character with a conflicted set of origins.

I was given Zoar as a birthday gift along with Ram Man and Man-E-Faces. I had endless fun zooming around the house with him. There was something fascinating to me about the rubbery texture of his wings and his surprisingly effective wing-flapping action feature.

Like Battle Cat, Zoar was made from a previously existing mold. The Fighting Falcon started life as The Eagle in the Big Jim toy line. Released in 1973, the Eagle featured realistic colors and was packaged in several different configurations.

Indeed, it’s possible that Zoar might have been intended to look exactly like the original Big Jim bird, if this 1982 Masters of the Universe Pop-Up Game is any indication:

Update: Tokyonever has contributed pictures of a potential Zoar prototype. It has a lot of similarities to one of the Big Jim birds, although the exact color scheme is more complex, with a mix of brown, magenta, orange, black and white. Mattel may have been trying out a number of different color combinations for use with MOTU. It can’t absolutely be confirmed the the prototype below is Zoar and not a Big Jim bird, but my opinion is that it probably was, given some of the other authentic MOTU items that were sold to Tokyonever by the same source:

Zoar was soon given a more vivid color scheme. An early prototype image shows Zoar with a reddish color scheme, sitting on an apparently gray perch. The colors don’t show well in the image, so there is some ambiguity here about the exact shades used:

Another stage of Zoar’s design can be seen on the back of this mini comic book. Zoar appears in varying shades of orange, and he’s also wearing green armor outfitted with rocket boosters and bombs:

Notice that Zoar’s tagline here is “Winged fighter” rather than “Fighting Falcon”

As an aside, the cross sell artwork for Zoar was drawn by Mattel artist Errol McCarthy. Here is the original line art:

The red and orange color schemes also appears in some of the 1983 mini comics, which were no doubt produced while Zoar was still in development. Earlier DC comics feature what appears to be a brown Zoar:

The final toy was given a much more colorful paint job, with orange wings and body and blue and white accents. His stand and bomb pack were a bright red instead of the original green.

As with his Big Jim ancestor, a lever on the back of Zoar’s legs could make his wings flap. His red bomb pack somewhat hindered the movement of his wings, but it was removable.

Zoar is featured quite prominently in this commercial from Top Toys (a licensee based in Argentina):

Zoar was sold in a number of different configurations. As a single figure, his packaging featured an illustration by the amazing Rudy Obrero. The artwork catches Zoar in mid-dive in the foreground while He-Man and Skeletor duke it out in the distance, presumably fighting over Castle Grayskull:

*Zoar box art layout sheet. Image via Grayskull Museum*

*Zoar packaging illustration by Rudy Obrero*

Zoar was also sold in a gift set with Teela. It is not known who painted the artwork, but they clearly based their depiction of Zoar on Rudy Obrero’s artwork:

*Teela and Zoar gift set packaging illustration*

Zoar was also sold in a two-pack with Ram Man, although the box itself was nothing to write home about:

Interestingly, in the early 1970s Mattel produced a flying eagle toy named Zorr (thanks to Tokyonever for pointing that out). So the name as well as the figure seem to have been recycled from a decade earlier.

Although Zoar had sometimes been associated with the Sorceress (the version with snake armor from pre-Filmation comic books), it was Filmation that made them quite literally inseparable.

In the Filmation Series Guide, it’s made clear that the Sorceress can only leave Castle Grayskull in falcon form – as Zoar. Until the debut of the Filmation cartoon, Zoar had always been referred to as a male falcon. The Series Guide design for the Sorceress is quite radically different from both previous and final designs, of course. Presumably they were trying to move away from the snake armor version of Sorceress, to avoid confusing her with Teela.

The Filmation cartoon eventually settled on a design for the Sorceress that followed the cues from the toy version of Zoar. Her costume had orange wings, with blue tipped feathers and white accents. When in falcon form, she never wore the bomb pack that came with the toy.

In Zoar’s appearances in the Golden Books, she (as the animal form of the Sorceress) was more or less colored like the toy, but with some additional red accents, and sometimes with a white body:

In later mini comics, Zoar and the Sorceress would be portrayed as white or sometimes pink:

A toy-accurate version of Zoar eventually made it into the mini comics in 1985:

Notice that Teela rides on Zoar (hat tip to Jukka Issakainen). In this 1983 Kid Stuff audio book, Man-At-Arms is also said to ride on Zoar:

Man-At-Arms also rides on Zoar’s back in the Kid Stuff audio book, He-Man and Battle Cat:

Like Battle Cat before him, Zoar’s existence is probably due to the desire to flesh out the MOTU toyline with minimal capital expenditure. Despite the cheapness inherent in that philosophy, a lot of truly great figures came to us in that way. I think that says something about the creativity and ingenuity of the Mattel design team.

*Zoar battles his nemesis Screeech in this illustration by R.L.Allen.*

*Zoar in the Mattel 1983 dealer catalog*

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!

Evil Warriors

Beast Man: Savage henchman! (1982)

Posted on November 26, 2015September 14, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Beast Man
Faction: Evil Warriors
Approximate US release date: May 13, 1982

One of the great evil underlings of 1980s children’s entertainment, Beast Man was among the first four Masters of the Universe figures released in 1982.

As we know from the earliest mini comics, 1982 figures were actually split up into two separate sub-waves:

Wave 1a:

He-Man
Man-At-Arms
Skeletor
Beast Man
Castle Grayskull
Battle Ram

Wave 1b:

Teela
Stratos
Mer-Man
Zodac
Wind Raider

When the Masters of the Universe line was under development in 1980 and 1981, some effort was made to reuse sculpts from previous Mattel toy lines, such as Big Jim and Tarzan. Mattel artist Mark Taylor first conceived of Beast Man as a savage bear creature, possibly intending it to reuse the Grizzly Adams “Ben” bear mold.

This creature, known to fans now as Red Beast, was brightly colored and fierce looking. Although he bears little to resemblance to Beast Man as we know him, the spiked armor around his neck, the wrist gauntlets and the metal claws would all find their way onto the final design.

The idea of producing a bear creature was dropped because Mattel executives didn’t want to make something too close to Chewbacca (although it’s hard to see much resemblance between the two, beyond the shaggy fur).

Another existing sculpt that Mattel tried to reuse was a gorilla figure that had appeared in both the Big Jim and Tarzan toy lines in the 1970s. The gorilla’s arms could be controlled with a dial on the figure’s back:

Both Mark Taylor and Roger Sweet tried to turn the gorilla into a new figure for the MOTU toy line. Roger Sweet’s creation, Gygor, was unrelated to the development of Beast Man, and was probably done after Mark Taylor left Mattel in 1982. Roger Sweet, in his Mastering the Universe book, wrote:

I changed the ape’s body color from black to bright yellow and gave him a dark olive-green face and chest.His face in contorted with white teeth snarling in an open mouth of blood red. I gave him a black body harness. From his shoulders I hung a dark maroon cape. When I showed “Gygor” to marketing Mark Ellis said that is [expletive] great!!! Ted Mayer in my design group created a striking full-color illustration of the beast, with He-Man mounted on his back. Gygor was decked out with a panoply of harnesses and weapons.

Mark Taylor used the basic Big Jim Gorilla body design to refine his own Beast Man concept. In this version the spiked armor around the neck from Red Beast is retained in modified form, but the spiked weapons on the hands were removed. The wrist gauntlets actually recall earlier Mark Taylor concept drawings for He-Man. Finally, a belt was added to the character, which featured a compass-like design that would find its way onto the final Beast Man figure.

Here’s another version of the character with gold armor, boney spikes, claw weapons on the wrist gauntlets, and a slightly different face:

*Image source: Rebecca Salari Taylor. Artwork by Mark Taylor.*

This general design was used to create what I believe is the first Beast Man prototype. If it’s not the first, then it’s very early, indeed. This Beast Man (below) follows the general shape of the red gorilla design above, but is colored with the familiar orange fur and red armor. This is not, however, a repainted big Jim Gorilla, as it’s in scale with the other early prototype figures (the Big Jim gorilla is much larger).

Another design that seems to have some features in common with Beast Man is the character who has come to be known as Demo-Man:

Another Mark Taylor design, Demo Man is often thought of as an early version of Skeletor, although Taylor himself says he was a separate character. But if you take a close look at his features, he has elements in common with both Beast Man and Skeletor. In the drawing above, we can see that Demo Man has a hunched, beastly posture, spiked gauntlets, a spiked arm pad, a whip-like flail weapon, a beard, and even a pendant around his neck that vaguely recalls the one on Beast Man’s armor. This isn’t Beast Man, but he might be his long lost undead cousin.

In any case, at some point it was decided that the Big Jim gorilla style body would not be used, even in smaller scale, and so Beast Man was given a unique, updated sculpt. This 1981 Mark Taylor B-sheet shows a synthesis of his earlier designs into an all-new beastly character with simian features. In this B-sheet he is called Beast Man, but he had previously been given the working name of Tree Man:

In the version above we see a call out for the familiar color scheme of orange fur with red armor and blue loincloth. But it appears from the first mini comic (“He-Man and the Power Sword”) that Beast Man’s color scheme was originally dominated by red, like the predecessor bear and gorilla designs. Perhaps they were still playing with color options at this point.

Here is how he would have looked if he had been colored like the toy:

The first mini comics featured cross sell artwork closely patterned after the prototype figures and B-sheet designs. The cross sell artwork that made it onto the back of the packaging was usually (but not always) closer to final.

*Mini comic cross sell art (Alfredo Alcala)*

There are a couple of different “final” prototypes for Beast Man. The first is the version that made it into Mattel’s 1982 dealer catalog and onto the side of the packaging for Castle Grayskull. That version (below) has very nicely applied paint on the compass-like design on his chest armor, with each part individually painted blue:

There’s another prototype that seems to have a paint pattern designed for mass production, with a messy blob of blue on the center of the chest armor, which would become a spray of blue on the final figure:

That version seems to have been the model for Beast Man’s finalized cross sell artwork, shown below:

*Cross sell artwork used on cardbacks. Image courtesy of Axel Giménez.*

Note the compass element on Beast Man’s armor, the spikes around his neck, and the spiked weapon on his hand – all elements from previous Mark Taylor designs.

The name “Beast Man” may have been consciously or unconsciously borrowed from the Beastman figure from Mattel’s Flash Gordon line.

Beast Man came with three separate armor pieces and a whip weapon recycled from Big Jim’s The Whip action figure:

As a side note, the accessories count seems pretty methodically planned for the first wave of figures. Figures in the first half of the first wave (He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Skeletor and Beast Man) were packaged with four accessories each, in various combinations of removable armor, weapons, and/or shields. The second half of the first wave was somewhat cost reduced, with two to three accessories included per figure.

In any case, Beast Man’s armor is the characteristic soft plastic used throughout 1982 and 1983. His whip (designed for a 12-inch figure, it’s technically too big for him, and he has to hold it by the hand guard) has a plastic handle and a cloth string. He is one of only three 1982 figures to be given a paint application on his armor (the others are He-Man and Zodac). The compass-like shape on Beast Man’s chest armor is painted blue. There is an unpainted, smaller version of the compass on the back of his chest armor.

I always found Beast Man’s face intriguing. He has a white face with blue markings under his eyes and over his upper lip. I’m unsure if this is supposed to be his actual face coloring or war paint (there has been some debate among fans about this over the years). As a kid I assumed it was makeup of some kind, maybe because I had been exposed to enough 80’s music videos to make that connection. Perhaps the intent was to give him an appearance similar the golden snub-nosed monkey:

Beast Man featured shorter legs and longer arms than He-Man or Skeletor, befitting his ape-like appearance. His legs, arms and chest were later reused to make Stratos and Moss Man (the latter also reused Beast Man’s head).

Beast Man was originally released on the “8-back” card, featuring cross sell art on the back of the card of all of the first wave characters:

Reissues were produced on the “12-back” card, featuring a striking battle scene between He-Man and Beast Man. This is one of my all time favorite pieces of MOTU art:

The artist responsible for that piece, Errol McCarthy, did most if not all of the card back art for the carded figures. He also did licensing kit artwork for Mattel that was used in various products produced by third parties over the years:

Aside from the single carded figure, you could also pick up Beast Man in the 1983 “Evil Warriors” gift set, featuring Skeletor, Beast Man and Faker:

*Reproduction based on vintage packaging*

Beast Man is probably the most essential evil warrior next to his master, Skeletor. So, it’s no surprise that he was heavily featured on the box art, appearing on five of the six boxes released in 1982.

He also showed up periodically on other box art over the years:

*Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation/Dark Horse*

Beast Man was also a permanent fixture on the Filmation cartoon. Early in his development for the show, Beast Man featured very heavy fur on his lower legs that resembled bell bottoms. This design is actually kind of a halfway point between Beast Man’s first and second prototypes, at least in terms of his costume.

*Image source: He-Man Official Youtube page, courtesy of Josh Van Pelt*

In the Filmation-produced MOTU toy commercial, Beast Man looked very close to his action figure counterpart.

That same toyetic quality is equally evident in the model sheets for the Filmation commercial (thanks: Dušan Mitrović):

The final Filmation design was simplified. The number of spikes on his armor was reduced. He was given red boots and he lost most of his furry detail:

Filmation portrayed Beast Man as having the power to control some types of animals. This comes from the Masters of the Universe Bible, written by Michael Halperin in December of 1982. The back story where Beast Man was originally an earthling and part of Marlena’s crew of space explorers was never used.

Biff Beastman’s cruel nature spilled on the outside and he became a true BEAST MAN with a lion’s mane, fangs and the power to communicate and command bloodthirsty creatures such as dragons, gorgons, ogres and snakes.

In the DC Comics-produced “To Tempt The Gods”, readers were treated to a whole race of beast men. In most mini comic and Golden Books depictions, however, Beast Man was kind of a standard issue henchman character, something of an Igor to Skeletor’s Doctor Frankenstein, portrayed with varying degrees of intelligence.