Shield Maiden Sherrilyn action figure from the Masters of the Universe Classics line.

Canon

Sherrilyn was one of the Fighting Foe Men—a group of renegade Eternian pirates who built war machines to conquer the Valley of Gnarl and terrorize the surrounding territories in the years following the Great Wars. Her transport was the all-terrain Attak Trak. When Vikor, the He-Man of the North, fought the Fighting Foe Men and trapped them in a glacier of enchanted ice, Sherrilyn and her fellow pirates were frozen for thousands of years, until Hordak discovered and released them to bolster his

Bio

Orphaned after her parents were killed by bandits, Sherrilyn became a street urchin and quickly befriended fellow orphan Dawg-O-Tor. The two children dreamt of adventure even as they relied on their wits to survive. Their lives changed for the worse when they met the malevolent Ditztroyer, who charmed the orphans by promising them glory and riches beyond their wildest imaginings. Initially distrustful, Sherilyn fell under the charismatic benefactor’s influence when he showed her the underground location of ancient Gar war machines. Fascinated by the Attak Trak, she restored the vehicle and eventually became known as the notorious pirate warrior Shield Maiden Sherrilyn. Although Ditztroyer and his protégés were defeated and magically frozen by Vikor, Sherrilyn and Dawg-O-Tor continued to follow Ditztroyer’s lead when they were freed eons later. However, they did not suspect the heinous act of betrayal he’d conceived millennia earlier. Gravely injured when Ditztroyer attempted to sacrifice them to the Demon from the Beginning of Time, Shield Maiden Sherrilyn and Dawg-O-Tor were saved from the rubble of Thamalia Tower by King Randor himself. Grateful, Sherrilyn later became fiercely loyal to him.

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.