Evidence of Masters of the Universe Classics coming up with new ideas and having effectively eaten its own tail, Despara is Adora from the DC Comics reboot - and also reworked into the MOTUC storyline as a "possessed" She-Ra, or so they tell me. There's a lot new here, and some of it is good - the new head sculpts have a lot of personality, and the neck seems to be interested in keeping her looking down. It's not great, but it's good - the same can be said of the figure as a whole. There are tons of great ideas and new elements, and not all of them work.
She-Ra's great, and Mattel has given her some nifty new costumes - the Galactic Protectors suit was out of this world, and also included pants. Despara also has pants, as well as the kind of black thigh-high boots you've come to expect from your various fantasy and sci-fi stories. And superheroes. But do you see them out on the street? Nope.
There's a lot to like here, but no thigh swivels. The new rocker ankles are here and work great, but her hips aren't exactly as mobile as you might like - perfect for posing. Not so much for sitting. Since there are no thigh swivels and very limited lateral movement, so you won't get supremely great action poses - but she will stand! This is important. The arms are on par with previous releases, and come complete with stripes and cool armor. Her fingers appear to be gloved, which is good, because otherwise you'd have weird grey fingernails. I like the robbing on the grey body suit, and the outer underwear piece basically works - it's a flap like furry shorts, just tighter than usual. The cape fits on her shoulders, and other than the head looking down I have no real complaints. The face is sharp, and the helmet is sharper - and doesn't seem as inclined to look down.
Despara's staff is too big for her hands, and the swords are too small. She can hold them, but you may want to use some hot water or a dryer to re-shape them to reshape the grip. Both swords look fantastic and fit in holsters on her cape, whereas the staff needs to be held or dumped in a bin. Silver and red highlights make the black grips look even better, but at this point in the toy line there's not much Mattel can do to make them amazing. They're as good as we've come to expect - not stellar, not bad, just perfectly normal. The staff in particular looks like it has more of a She-Ra Great Rebellion motif going on with the whole faux-wing thing, but the colors are pure Horde. I mean, this is basically she-Hordak here.
As any line goes on, it starts to move away from its "classic" origins and begins to incorporate things which are new since it began - this is one of those things. You didn't know you wanted it 10 years ago, but now you totally do - she looks cool and is a great way to do She-Ra as a new character. Or is a neat way to do a new character as She-Ra. Take your pick. Right now she's quite expensive, being the subscription incentive and brand new and all, but with time these things usually get cheaper. Don't miss her if you have a Horde collection, because she turned out nice enough to fit in with that crew.
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