Review of Icarius action figure
Masters of the Universe Classics

Introduction

Look, up in the sky - it's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's...Icarius?

In the world of greek mythology, there were actually two Icarius' - one from Sparta, and one from Athens. Neither had anything to do with flying.

Of course, there's the far more famous Icarus, who did fly too close to the son and crash and burn because of it. You assume that this Icarius is named after him, and they threw in the extra 'i' thinking they were being cute, and not realizing that Icarius was such a popular name in mythology. Hey, it's not that deep of a cartoon. But this character is really Flipshot, from the New Adventures of He-man. Rather than call him Flipshot overseas, they went with Icarius, and Mattel decided to go with that name with this release as well. Why? Could be because there's a company called Zing that has a patent on the name, or it could be (as Mattel has stated) that 'flipshot' didn't translate well. Whatever the case, he's Icarius this time around.

Icarius was the October Masters of the Universe Classics release from Matty Collector. Being a purely New Adventures character tends to translate into less demand, so it's probably no surprise that he lasted longer than usual at the site. Does that mean the line is dying? Unlikely. He did sell out, and within a reasonable amount of time. Considering his rather low status as a MOTUC character, I'd say he was still pretty successful.

And don't forget - just click on the photo to the right for a life size rendition of the figure!

Packaging - ***1/2
This package is pretty much SSDD (I just saw Dreamcatcher on cable the other night), but that's not a bad thing. They did add the "Galactic Protectors" sticker on the front, but otherwise it's the same attractive package with plenty of character personalization.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Once again the Four Horseman have taken a relatively bland character and spiced him up just right. While this is an NA character, they've given him enough of a classic look to fit in with the rest of the line.

The two head sculpts both bear more than a passing resemblance to Val Kilmer circa Top Gun. I find that far more amusing than I probably should.

This figure sports far more new body pieces than we usually see. There's the heads of course, but also the torso, pelvis, boots, biceps - there's plenty of new sculpting that increases this score.

Paint - ***
While there's not a ton of detail on the suit, there's enough to give it a little pop. The clear red visor is a terrific touch that sets the overall look apart, and the overall red/blue/silver combo looks great.

The work on the face is spartan as well, and there's a little slop along the hair line. There's some slop o the costume as well - particularly at the blue and silver edges - but it's all fairly minor.

Articulation - ****
I can't really complain about the basic articulation that they've used through out this series. Here, a couple of the joints are really well done, especially the ball jointed neck. There's lots of tilt and turn, although it is a bit disappointing that a character who is supposed to fly can't tilt his head back far enough to make a flying pose really work. Still, the neck has a much better range of movement than we normally see.

Along with all the usual joints, there's also a joint on the visor that allows you to flip it up, and the wings are jointed to each move independently inward and out.

All the joints were tight and sturdy, but I did have to put a little effort into the cut joint at the top of the boots. Take care!

Accessories - ****
This figure has more - and larger - accessories than is the norm with this line.

Let's start with the obvious - his jet pack. As I said, the wings move in and out, and the two small missiles on either wing tip can pop out. They don't really launch, but push hard enough and fast enough on the end of each and they'll pseudo-fly.

He also has an arm attachment for the other two large rockets, which are actually one piece. This can fit on either forearm, and looks great.

Along with these large, detailed, articulated accessories, he also comes with an additional head sculpt, done without the helmet. This works better than having a removable helmet, but I do have to admit that without the helmet on he's a bit pin headed.

Fun Factor - ***
This character is generic enough to fit in with plenty of play scenarios. He's not likely to be the villain though - that chiseled profile just screams 'hero'.

Value - **1/2
While I'm not a huge fan of the $20 price point for MOTUC, I have to admit that with the large jet pack, arm rockets AND an additional head sculpt, this guy is actually worth the price tag.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I did have to apply some force to free up the boots, but it wasn't a major issue and the joints didn't feel likely to break.

Overall - ***1/2
Not being a big fan of the New Adventures (I can't honestly say I've ever seen an entire episode), I wasn't really keen on this figure when it was announced. Just glancing at him, he reminded me of a standard "spaceman of the future", sort of a cross between Captain Lazer, Matt Mason, and Buck Rogers. On top of that, the whole technology/sci-fi angle doesn't really fit in that well with the rest of the more fantasy styled figures.

Once I had him out and started shooting the photos, my opinion quickly changed. Yea, he's still a bit of an odd man out style-wise with the rest of the MOTUC, but the large accessories and extra head add a lot of punch to the overall package, and he'll end up with a place toward the front of the pack on my shelf.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ****
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Obviously Matty Collector was the best route, but you can pick him up at:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Lots of MOTUC figures have been reviewed:

- the last one was Leech, who didn't do a whole lot for me.

- the large Megator was a bit more to my liking, and similar to him is the giant Tytus.

- other figures include Clawful, the Faceless One, Catra,  Sy-Klone, King Hssss, Vikor,  Buzz Off, Grizzlor, Roboto, Gygor, Chief Carnivus, Whiplash, Orko, Count Marzo, She-Ra, Optikk, Evil-Lyn, Moss Man, Trap Jaw, Adora, Scare glow, Teela,  Man-at-arms, Hordak, Zodac, Faker, Mer-man, Stratos, Webstor, Tri-klops, and starting out with He-man, Skeletor and Beastman together in one review.

- I also covered Battle Cat and  Panthor, the big kitties.

- check out the cool MOTUC Display stands.

- I've also looked at the cool custom swords and shields you can get from SpyMonkey Creations.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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