Battle Ram vehicle from the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line.

Battle Ram

In Classics, the Battle Ram was a two-occupant ground assault transport with handles on the rear section of the vehicle as well as the driver’s controls on the front. As in previous incarnations, the front piloting module could detach and fly as a Sky Sled. Continuing the transport’s traditional association with Man-At-Arms, an unhelmeted version of the character was included with the Battle Ram toy in the Classics toy line.

Sky Sled

Again called the Jet Sled, the vehicle was still a one-person flying attack craft used by the Masters of the Universe and the army of King Randor. The heroic airship adventurer Sky High was an expert pilot of the Jet Sleds, which he upgraded for faster acceleration and smoother landings. Jet Sleds made up Sky High’s small fleet of escort fighters that guided the Starship Eternia as it carried He-Man home to the Eternos Palace after his long sojourn in space. Sky High flew a Jet Sled several months later during the Third Ultimate Battleground against the Unnamed One’s forces. As in the Filmation series, the Jet Sled had two different figurehead designs, one with a griffin’s head and the other with a snake’s head. In contrast to the two designs’ use in the Filmation series, the snake version flown by the Evil Warriors appeared connected to the Battle Ram’s launcher when it was sold as a toy.

The Masters of the Universe Classics line, launched in 2008, is a new line of action figures based on the classic characters from all aspects of the Masters of the Universe franchise. Available solely from Mattel’s website and aimed purely at collectors, the line also includes biographical descriptions of the characters designed to tie the diverging aspects of the mythos together.

Based on the look of the original 1980s MOTU toys, this new toy line was aimed primarily at the adult toy collector market, often available only through subscriptions (from MattyCollector). Sculpted by the Four Horsemen, these toys were updated versions of previous figures as well as characters that never before had an action figure made of them; such as Filmation’s Queen Marlena, Fang-Man, Lizard-Man, Count Marzo, Granamyr, and many others. The toy line featured many redesigned and updated action figures from the original action-figure line from the 1980s, but it also included characters from She-Ra: Princess of Power (Adora, Madame Razz, Scorpia, Shadow Weaver, and others), The New Adventures of He-Man (Mara, Crita, and more), and the Mike Young Productions series from 2002 (Faceless One, Chief Carnivus, King Chooblah, Ceratus, and others). As the line progressed, characters from all versions of MOTU lore were included, from such things such as prototypes and concept art (He-Ro, Eldor, Demo-Man, Gygor, Vykor, and others), box art from vehicles and model kits (Sky High and the Fighting Foe Men), mini comics (the Goddess, Geldor, and Procrustus), and other books, comics, and media (Despara, Strobo, Goat-Man, and more). There were also newly created figures, exclusive to the Classics toy line, such as Draego-Man, Cy-Chop, Castle Grayskullman, and others. In February 2010, the figures of He-Man and Skeletor were available as Toys “R” Us exclusives packed in two-packs with Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively, from Mattel’s DC Universe Classics action figure line; with this dual line expanded to include two-packs featuring Aquaman/Mer-Man, Hawkman/Stratos, Bizarro/Faker, Supergirl/She-Ra, and Green Lantern/Zodac.

Masters of the Universe Classics surpassed the original 1980s toy line in terms of length, running continuously for seven years with more than 150 different figures produced since its launch in August 2008. Along with the Classics series, MOTU Minis and Giants figures were also released in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Mattel ended production on the MOTU Classics and MattyCollector.com’s Club Grayskull series, with the production company Super7 now taking over the Masters of the Universe license.