People had issues with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon CollectionEvil-Lyn. Mattel did a pretty good job overall, with the figure mostly meeting my expectations. There was some fuss over her skin color - a little yellow, but not very - and her lack of a cape.
I think Mattel more or less got it close enough - but we're in an era where a B- figure means the manufacturer might go back to the well to do version 2.0 later. Her boots are very close with the fuzzy tops, but the straps are a little different. The skin color strikes me as close enough that I wouldn't fuss - some cels look closer to this color while others look a little more peachy. Were it 2005 I'd say "they'll probably never do another one," but today? It's anybody's guess, and I'd say this figure is a decent buy. She's widely available, and if you want a cape, there are people who make capes. Given how both she and Teela's figures and animation models are largely cut from the same cloth, what we got makes a lot of sense.
Given that the figure is meant to evoke a sense of classic barbarian swords-and-sorcery nonsense through the lens of 1983, I'd say Mattel did a good job. Given NTSC's never-the-same-color resulting in kids having slightly different ideas of what video games or cartoons should look like, it's tough to say if this is right or wrong. Looking at pictures online, the colors of this figure are a little more saturated than most cels or illustrations. This means the blue and purple are a bit more colorful, and her skin is as well. This isn't unique to Evil-Lyn - the entire Mattel Origins pantheon feature figures with brighter, bolder colors that don't quite match the original toys. I don't think the various bright red, bright blue, or striking blond characters stand out as much, but I guess if you've got a magical astronaut witch from Earth you may as well make yourself look however you want.
Not content to merely swipe Teela's figure's costume, Mattel gave Ms. Lyn a distinct (but separate) outfit. Sure, she shares arms and legs with the red-headed captain of the guard, but Evil-Lyn's onesie is much closer to the action figure and cartoon with the distinctive triangle abs above her belt. Below the belt she's a tiny bit more simplified, losing one of the waist triangles inside the larger one, but retaining the straps to the legs. It's not a 100% match to the animation model, but it's close enough to read as the character pretty nicely.
Her hat mimics the cartoon nicely, with a bigger crest than the toy figure design. That's good! The arm braces all look right, and her articulation is typical for the line. This is to say, it's good enough to make you feel you got your $20 worth. Rocking ankles, bend-and-swivel wrists, and a ball-jointed head mean that while it isn't the most articulated figure on the market today, you'll be glad it's also not the most expensive. Twenty bones for a cartoon version of something you may have watched when you were four or five is a pretty good deal, especially since she can sit in appropriate vehicles or creatures from that era too.
Her accessories are good, but fans will undoubtedly be right to complain she doesn't have her cape. I might need to buy an aftermarket one if the line ends without a revised version of this character. On the bright side, Mattel did give us two accessories and they're good. Her classic wand has a short grip in blue with a darker blue gem on the head. It looks like what I picture when I think of her holding up something and shouting something at the heroes, so I'm glad to have it.
Her bonus accessory is the Shaping Staff, a yellow artifact from an episode of the same name. It looks a lot like the toy, and I appreciate these little details being brought into the world of toys without being part of an accessory pack. Also, it helps her stand apart from the Mattel Filmation Evil-Lyn [FOTD #1,596] which did have a cape, and whose colors do tend to match fans' memories of the show a little more closely. Were this version to come out first, maybe it would have been the colorway fans think of when it comes to the cartoon design.
Scale issues aside, the 2016 version of cartoon Evil-Lyn is probably going to be the one fans prefer. Each has its pros and cons, and at this point in my life I'm willing to trade accuracy for something that takes up less room. Also, fans may just want to get what is cheap and easy to find - you can still find this Evil-Lyn in some stores for retail price, or online at a lower price. She's great at a discount, so if you feel like you need another MOTU figure I'd happily recommend this one. Having to buy a cape isn't necessarily the worst thing.
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