Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Stilt Stalkers
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: July 18, 1986

Stilt Stalkers were an inexpensive accessory for Masters of the Universe figures that never got onto my radar as a kid. They kind of function as a way of giving any figure the abilities of Extendar, although it’s hard to imagine them having much practical use in a battle situation!

Design & Development

Stilt Stalkers were designed by Ted Mayer as part of a series of low-cost accessories for the line, which also included Jet Sled and Megalaser. The concept art below, dated July 18, 1984, shows the basic idea of a telescoping set of stilts outfitted with weapons.

The prototype is a simplified version of the concept art, with a similar color scheme (other than the guns), and flattened feet:

The final prototype appears in the 1986 Mattel catalog, below. The design is more or less finalized, but the example below is hand-painted. You can see that two additional clip-on accessories have been added to the “legs,” including a radar dish and a spinning grabber accessory. The feet in this version are closer to the original concept art. The color scheme has been updated to silver, blue and black.

Toy & Packaging

Stilt Stalkers were sold on a blister card. The action art scene on the back was illustrated by an unknown artist. It includes instructions on how to assemble and telescope the Stilt Stalkers, and also how to store them on the included armor piece. The cross sell art is by William George.

Curiously the Euro/multilingual version of the card featured some nice artwork in front, while the US version did not. This may have been illustrated by either Bruce Timm or William George:

The cross sell artwork for Stilt Stalkers featured only the accessory itself, with no figure. However the 2015 Art of He-Man book showed a draft of the cross sell art that was to feature He-Man:

The armor included with the set was similar to armor that came with with Jet Sled, although the back was modified to allow it to store the Stilt Stalkers. It features a stylized version of He-Man’s cross templar on the front:

Øyvind Meisfjord has shared the following media of Stilt Stalkers in action:

Stilt Stalkers appeared in the Mattel Style Guide, with an illustration by Errol McCarthy. As this was an inexpensive accessory, there wasn’t much of a backstory for them. It just says: “Enables He-Man to walk tall on the battlefield. Blasts enemies from above.”

Comic Appearances

Stilt Stalkers appeared in a single page in the 1986 minicomic, Snake Attack, although it is referenced by name in a previous page. He-Man appears to be using them to navigate through the swamp, although of course Extendar doesn’t need them.

Both Stilt Stalkers and Megalaser appear throughout issue 32 of the UK comics, in the stories The Mantisaur parts one and two. Man-At-Arms develops Stilt Stalkers and Megalaser as a way of combatting Hordak’s new Mantisaur (images come from MOTUCFigures.com):

Stilt Stalkers also appear in the German Ehapa Verlag series, in issue 11, 1988. They are used by He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Fisto to traverse a watery cave. In the story they are attacked by an octopus creature while using Stilt Stalkers:

Other Appearances

Stilt Stalkers appear in the 1986 Eternia poster by William George, featuring Moss Man:

The Style Guide art by Errol McCarthy was also reprinted as a poster for the UK Comics:

Stilt Stalkers also appeared in an ad in the 1988 series of Magic Boy magazines, which featured He-Man comics in Italian:

Stilt Stalkers don’t have a ton of cache in the MOTU mythos, as they were a simple set of accessories released late in the line. It was pretty common for toylines to offer such accessories as a means of getting product out at a lower price point. The first example of this in the vintage line was the Weapons Pak, released in 1984.

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