THE SAME, BUT DIFFERENT? Masters of the Universe 2027 Origins, Chronicles and Kids Core action figure lines feature Minicomics on the packaging, Movie Figures without actor likenesses and more.

2027 will be an interesting new year for the “Masters of the Universe” brand.

With the new feature film not performing up to expectations, for the first time in years the franchise’s march towards the future feels unclear… and without direction.

And perhaps the future of He-Man action figures reflects that lack of clarity as well, as Mattel’s latest waves of their current three action figure lines are now up for pre-order at fan channel retailers.

With the Origins (Vintage) line complete, Mattel seems to be starting the vintage line over again, refreshing main characters in new packaging, hoping to lure the longtime Origins (Vintage) collectors along with the new by adding a Build-A-Figure function… where fans can collect 6 individual figure parts to complete an oversized bonus figure (this time a Shadow Beast).

And instead of minicomics, apparently the packaging will feature a “comic-style back panel” (that) visually tells the story of The Most Powerful Man in the Universe, while the series of panels can be placed together to form a full comic strip.”

Next, the 2027 Kids “First Ones” Core action figure line appears to be moving away from filling out the “Masters of the Universe” Movie character roster with actor’s likenesses… with notables still not realized in plastic like movie Evil-Lyn, Sorceress and Fisto.

Instead, it at least appears that the Kids Core action figure line is being refreshed with a more movie generic aesthetic… framing this new direction as the “Battle of Subternia, the ongoing struggle of good versus evil.”

Hopefully the Masters of the Universe” Movie Kids/Core/First-Ones action figure “CELEBRATION 4 PACK” with “End of Movie Looks” (announced at this year’s SDCC) is still coming out.

And finally, when it comes to the Masters of the Universe Chronicles 2027 action figure line, while not entirely abandoning their offering of new movie figues at least for now (with Mekaneck in the wings)….

…Chronicles will be mainly focusing heavily on new interpretations of Masters of the Universe characters… a cross between Masterverse “New Eternia” and Mythic Legions… where characters like Clawful now strangely appear unrecognizable.

So how has the fan base reacted to all of this? Overall, among the Masters of the Universe fan community, reactions have been mixed towards this new yet similar direction of action figures, so it will be interesting to see how the year progresses… and how these action figure lines perform.

Thanks to the always awesome @cosmic for making sure we are in the know.

We’ll see you next time.