Vykron action figure from the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. 

Canon

Vykron lived fifty years before the birth of Prince Adam. His legend began in the gladiatorial arena of Lord Choloh. With each victory, Vykron gained new skills and combat techniques from his vanquished opponents and their weapons. Aware of the spectators’ demand for entertainment, Vykron performed theatrically with outlandish armor and ostentatious displays of his fighting skills. Soon, Vykron became Choloh’s greatest gladiator and amassed an arsenal of weapons claimed from fallen adversaries. This allowed him to adapt to any environment or foe. Vykron met his end against the fighting gorilla Gygor. He was ripped apart to the loud and heartless cheers of the crowds he had entertained.

Bio

Fifty years before Prince Adam™ was born, Vykron™ the Warrior fought in the gladiatorial arena of Lord Choloh, ruler of the Vine Jungle. Learning from each defeated opponent, he became a master of many combat techniques and weapons. As much a champion as a showman, he would often dress in outlandish garb to rouse the crowd and show off his skills. In his final match, he fought against the great Gygor™. Before a cheering crowd, the evil fighting gorilla ripped Vykron’s body in half – at long last defeating the arena champion. Following this match, Gygor™ claimed not only the arena championship but rule of the Jungle itself, forcing Choloh to abdicate his throne. In life, Vykron™ was the greatest of Choloh’s gladiatorial warriors, fighting in any environment at any time.

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.