Secrets of the MOTU Classics Demo-Man action figure. Skeletor's Origins and Concept Art as a toy!

[@Skyescavernlibrary]

I always liked how bright neon green he was! Neat figure.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He keeps me awake a night but I like him

[@johnmorey720]

Demo-Man is absolutely one o my favorite MOTUC figures, and I love the neon color!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Neon makes the man. Err. Toy

[@rolandkatsuragi]

Being able to say to had such an impact on redefining Skeletor's origins must be a great achievement

[@spectorcreative1872]

And one that was a labor of love

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

This was a great figure, with so much added value to it. The Four Horsemen really exceeded my expectations on it.

[@spectorcreative1872]

They are so talented

[@robertwishin2868]

I am still amazed that he doesn't actually glow in the dark with as bright as he is. But his story does go to show how evil Hordak really is. Sit in this jar until I need you. Now that I need you, be a prisoner in this body and act like a magical battery. I bet the Unnamed One's sales pitch was just "I won't stick you into anyone".

[@spectorcreative1872]

Try plugging him in. Makes a great nightlight.

[@JediJunkie247]

I just rewatched Pixel Dan's review of this figure last night. Your timing is impeccable.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I aim to please

[@micshork]

Imagine a spin-off series where Vikor is the main hero and Demo-Man is the villain.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I would so watch that

[@michaelwegman722]

The Alcala Skeletor head sculpt is by far my favorite pack in among all the Classics accessories. I popped that head on my Skeletor figure and haven't removed it since.

[@spectorcreative1872]

My default Skeletor head too

[@michaelwegman722]

@@spectorcreative1872 the Four Horsemen did a brilliant job sculpting those jagged teeth. He looks like he stepped right out of the mini comics. Thank you for everything you did for this line. Classics is by far the best MOTU line in my opinion.

[@williamthompson5504]

I’ve always wanted this figure. It has a very EC comics vibe. He could have been pulled from any number of their horror comic covers.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He does have the EC vibe!

[@nathanilsaenz8178]

Such an epic figure !

[@spectorcreative1872]

Truly! And he will keep you up at night

[@SirRosser]

So, boring fact - a few weeks ago you mentioned that MotU figures were once again being sold in stores. Specifically Target. Well, I went to Target today. Now I have a new slightly off-model He-Man and Skeletor! I know it's a bit taboo for collecting, but I'm really looking forward to popping these bad boys open and posing them on my shelf...

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is not bad at all! Plus Origins needs support!

[@SirRosser]

@@spectorcreative1872 Okay, read the mini-comic that it came with, and it had a couple of references to the 80's series, so I'm pretty happy about that... Edit: They seemed to be incorporating the character designs from the 200X series, too, which was also pretty cool.

[@goldenrootsnet]

Can you tell something about the influence of aftermarket prices and why or why not toy companies would re-release figures/lines?

[@spectorcreative1872]

See this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foS2hIuHpLprapI

[@goldenrootsnet]

Thanks, very insightful. You did mention checking the forums to gauge demand, but I would expect a much higher correlation between aftermarket prices and demand (as well as number of transactions of those items on online marketplaces). These performance indicators would not be subject to bias introduced by loud voices.

[@SimbasGuardWT]

I actually like that You made the concept characters actual characters. It gave Me better reason to buy them. Variants of are a harder sell for Me.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thanks, that was very deliberate

[@arichutfles]

Demo-Man was one of the few MOTUC figures I was able to get. I had to have the Alcala Skeletor head and also just liked the look of Demo-Man.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A great bonus head!

[@Slitheringpeanut]

Neat stuff as always.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I do go for neat!

[@TheCastellan]

11:40 That's the head I use for my Skeletor. Used the Keldor body, gave him the sky blue sword and axe from that weapons pack. I wonder just WHO that person was, who's that helmeted skull.........

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was a guy name Nick the Worst Warrior ever who lived up to his name.

[@andrewgrant2990]

Another awesome video chock full of good info! I love how sometimes even the minor references & 1 panel wonders have such an interesting story. It will be interesting to see if any of this stuff is picked up on in Revelations or the RPG multiverse thing. On a side note, any idea how often toy companies court or send free stuff to celebrities? I imagine if the person is a fan (like Kevin Smith) he might just ask. Thanks for making these videos & so many peoples lives better!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Many more to come! We are just getting warmed up

[@ioncewasmikey]

I'm pretty sure KS has said he was never a big fan of MOTU. How he got the job for Revelations is beyond me given that admission.

[@RhinoRobM]

Skeletor to Hordak "AHHHH I burned my face! Do you have an salve in any of them jars?" Hordak " Let me check...nope but I have this demon in a jar, it'll work just as good"

[@spectorcreative1872]

You should get a job with Robot Chicken!

[@ioncewasmikey]

Wow! I can really see the design elements they pulled from this guy for the Barbarian Skeletor Masterverse figure! Haha I thought this new Skelly design was pretty great but now I wish they'd have been a little heavier handed with some of the borrowed elements, i.e., made his beard longer, maybe used some of either the green or red colors for his palette, some head spikes maybe. I was wondering where a Skellybeard arose from, easy to see now! It's just too short on Barbarian Skelly. The sword design is straight D. Man though and his armor has some similarities. Haha Mattel even included a bonus hooded Skeletor head with the Barbarian figure too! This won't be the last time I say this, Scott, but you and the small crew you worked with (including the Horsemen) did unparalleled work with this line. So much thought & care & effort can be seen just looking at the figures, but your commentary really shines a light on how special this line was. If only I'd been interested in MOTU at the time, but I'd moved onto Star Wars in a big way by that point. Now I'm hooked on both, but MOTU is infinitely more interesting for me as a collector these days I have to say.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes. Based on the same art

[@adamkember]

That battle ravaged Roman armour and red tunicreminds me of Ram-man. Over the years as a fan I've noticed the Greek, Roman, and Germanic influences in the figures armour, as well as the almost Shakespeare-like influences in the stories.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes it all gets tossed in there. Even Deadpool's old jammies.

[@Redbearart]

These are always so good and make me want to hunt figures, I started my He-Man collection with Motu origins Skeletor and thanks to your channel I now have a much fuller shelf

[@spectorcreative1872]

A figure that is shelf worthy

[@wretchedthe638]

Hes so really bright 😅 I hope you do shadow weavers origin she has the similar power upgrade with keldor on filmation story she was blasted by a ray that turned her that But one that i read hordak infused her with one of the throllan character that i do not know the name

[@spectorcreative1872]

Her figure video is coming up soon!

[@destroyerofheroes]

The first time I saw pics of this figure, I immediately thought "Whoever sculpted this made the face look like Mark Taylor himself". Always thought that was one of the coolest things about this guy.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I wouldn't put it past the 4HM to have done that on purpose. But we sure didn't tell them to!

[@stevensteviepryde5888]

I commented in another video of yours once I had my own Skeletor origin story and upon discovering about Demo-Man I thought I'd rewrite the origin to include him. My original explanation for why Skeletor drew power from Castle Grayskull and how he split the power sword in half was because of a backfired curse of his. My new idea is that Demo-Man was the final opponent of King Grayskull and had proven too powerful for the king to defeat in combat so was left with no choice but to seal both away within Tower Grayskull (which the overflowing magic would transform the tower into the castle we all know and would now have a fitting explanation for it's eerie exterior). Demo-Man's power would grow to become a dark side to Castle Grayskull (which can bring back the idea that the castle was a place of good or evil depending on who wielded its magic power) and would grant Keldor a fraction of its power and like how Adam calls apon the power, and takes the appearance of, King Grayskull, Keldor will call upon the power and take a similar form if Demo-Man.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Head cannon is just as cool!

[@nerdrock8087]

I always thought Demo Man had the scariest looking headsculpt in MOTU Clasics, with the possible exception of Megator with rooted hair.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Likely he does.

Freezing down here in Texas 😫

[@spectorcreative1872]

We lost our power for 2 days here in NC due to ice

[@favoritemustard3542]

Month shmunth! Obvious to a stump the *Master Classics Team* "pushed the line" 😉 got'm in an _envelope_ to travel that "extra mile" out to the lucky SUBs!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah!!!

[@goldblade6729]

Since he's a sort of spirit/demon, did the design team ever consider using translucent plastic + shading for this figure - or was it a cost restriction?

[@spectorcreative1872]

I think after the whole Green Goddess issue we tried to stay away from clear plastic.

[@goldblade6729]

​@@spectorcreative1872 Did it have to do with the material integrity of translucent plastic? I thought the issue with GG was the sonic welder. Spirit of Hordak came out great.

[@yellowmartian]

Hey Scott, could you do an interview with any of the 4 horsemen? Maybe talk MOTUC/DCU Classics and even talk about their current line in Mythic Legions? I'd buy that for a dollar!

[@spectorcreative1872]

I don't really do interviews on this show, but if I ever have the chance I'll try to.

[@rashidalmutawa9538]

I was looking for this type of content for ages! Amazing! One question if I may, does mattel still keep molds related to their Dc comics licensed figures?

[@spectorcreative1872]

No. Most molds (tools) are discarded after 3-5 years anyway, but for a line they no longer have the license to their is no reason to pay to store them

[@rashidalmutawa9538]

@@spectorcreative1872 Thank you for the reply :)

[@FunKorpseZombiePops]

Is Skeletor everyone’s favorite MOTU character? 😎 I’m casting this one to my tv, I think that’s what Skeletor would do, lol, WWSD That is awesome that you guys included the original Skeletor look from the mini-comics as a bonus for skeletor with Demo Man, much in the same way you incorporated He Mans power suit with the Goddess. Awesome video, I was like number 100 I’m looking for a European ps2. There is a He Man and the Masters of the Universe video game you can get for a PlayStation 2, but it will only run on a European ps2, is what I was told. Does anyone here maybe know about this MOTU ps2 video game?

[@spectorcreative1872]

And here I thought it was Snout Spout

[@FunKorpseZombiePops]

@@spectorcreative1872 as everyone’s favorite? Lol, maybe. Does Funko make a Snout Spout Pop? I have the Freddy Funko He Man, but I still need to get the Freddy Skeletor.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Skeletor is one of my favourites, but I think my absolute favourite is Trap Jaw. Best value for money in whichever iteration of MOTU he shows up in.

[@FunKorpseZombiePops]

@@Beedo_Sookcool yeah Trap Jaw, yellow and green variant, are cool. I like the OG henchmen, I’m not sure if Trap Jaw and Tri Clops are from wave one or two of original baddies, but he has definitely been included since early on in the franchise and is awesome, I always kinda thought of him as an Evil Eternian Pirate, but that may be because of his peg arm and jolly Rodger type skull image on his championship belt.

[@TitularHeroine]

@@FunKorpseZombiePops Yeah, pretty sure Wave 2. I remember being a kid and saw some box art on some other thing before the character hit the shelves. I don't care for the all green skin iteration personally, but think the yellow could look pretty cool.

[@snakebrown3755]

Thank you for another video, Scott! I have a topic request: I seem to recall a 3rd party company releasing accessories simultaneously with the MOTU Classic line. They would have a weapon with a thinly disguised description of which character it would "go with," but not mention the character by name. The one that really stands out was the "Witching Axe of Destruction," intended for Skeletor. Think they made a big ol' hammer for Tytus, too. They were really cool. SpyMonkey or something, maybe? Was Mattel or the Horsemen aware of these guys? Did anyone care about, or like their work? Just wondering how you feel about these 3rd party outfits.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Personally I love to see fan's creativity! From a legal standpoint I am not a lawyer but I do play one on KZbin

[@TitularHeroine]

I wasn't aware of these *so down that rabbit hole I go!* I love the 3rd party accessories, mounts, and so forth (ex. the old Imperial line). Since they're using some MotUC (which I never got into) accessories for Origins, then some must be compatible.

[@noahhenson1669]

I've always enjoyed the green tint of Skeletor's face, it's so ghoulish and weird. Odd that it never showed up in the Filmation series, the 1987 movie or the 2000x series! It's a key component of the character, hinting at his demonic origins, as we see here. I hope the upcoming Netflix series restores it!

[@spectorcreative1872]

I am very much looking forward to seeing what they do

[@dragonosx]

I like to think Demo Man was touring with GWAR for a while after he ditched Keldor. He looks like he'd fit right in!

[@spectorcreative1872]

He does rock a mean violin,

[@richardmark9161]

Demo-Man and Keldor as Skeletor dynamic reminds me of Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein as DC Firestorm

[@spectorcreative1872]

But more evil

[@Tim85-y2q]

Generally, I'm not a big fan of concept figures, but this one is cool.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I agree.

[@AlucardNoir]

That's a very sharp looking bit of plastic... I don't think this could have been done for general release with that scimitar. Am I wrong?

[@spectorcreative1872]

It wasn't physically sharp, just looks the part.Age grade 4+

[@AlucardNoir]

@@spectorcreative1872 I never said it was sharp, I said it looked sharp... and now that I think about it, I think I mean to say pointy.

[@gerrysabron]

Demo-Man, looks like a spawn of Castle Grayskull and beast-man, speaking of w/c, appreciate Mattel for bringing out MOTU Castle Grayskull..that would be a multipurpose diorama for my medieval themed figures like Motuc and LOTR toy biz figures.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wait, Beastman is having kids now?

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

Almost 17K 🥳

[@spectorcreative1872]

Today I think!

[@slacknhash]

"You merged me with some other guy, giving me deformed feet and a neon-green skull for a face?! Seriously, Hordak, what the Hell?" "Hey, next time *your* minions screw up, you'll see the appeal in splicing a couple of 'em together too." "..." "If nothing else, it's a laugh."

[@favoritemustard3542]

**in Skeletor's tangled skein, it would come to be that** **the appliance of this advice would be the closest née-Keldor** **ever approached the concept of **_love..._** that, & kittens**

[@spectorcreative1872]

He will need to file a complain with HR. Which is actually Beastman.

[@WhateverHappenedToFun]

Did you read what Mattel said about Demo-Man origins? "Demo-Man has been made as a figure before, but not by Mattel - until now. Our version pays tribute to comics and concept art for the character."

[@MatticusPrime1]

Why did Mattel contract out to the Four Horsemen? It seems like they should have had their own in-house sculptors.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Mattel does not have in house sculpters

[@mikeyjhilli]

I always found that helmeted skull interested. For some reason I need to know more about it. So I created my on canon that it was the skull of Vikor. Because it was Demo-Man who k*lled him.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was the Skull of Nick the Worst Warrior Ever. He lived up to his name.

[@favoritemustard3542]

@@spectorcreative1872 HA! Pretty dang dang sure I've larped with that dude!

[@davecinelli1068]

Demo Man should be incorporated into The Origins line.

[@Rocket1377]

Mark Taylor actually debunked this on an interview on the Battle Ram blog a few years ago. He intended Demo Man to be a separate character. He was not an early concept of Skeletor or Beast Man.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I had not heard that before! Neat.

[@geechie-don7157]

Seriously though, how effin' old is Hordak?! Defeats the Snakemen, gets defeated by KG, was banished in Despondos for x amount of time, creates Skelly, etc...

[@spectorcreative1872]

See here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3_TfnWugqZqrZY

[@lukebaldock4672]

They should have made the human skin color stratos who was with evil warriors in the mini comic a different character as well

[@spectorcreative1872]

Their are so many should haves in this line!

[@SkullCowboy333]

one can see the concept of an infernal pact in this.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Truly

[@tbcpuebla]

This figure was released on 2011, ten years ago!

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is kinda insane

[@The_Cosmic_Yog-Sothoth]

*The premise of this character is based on a falsehood, sadly.* The concept art for "Demo-Man" was not the concept art for Skeletor (also known as De-man originally). It's the concept art for an enemy of Conan, created by Mark Taylor, before he worked on his He-Man concepts. This character had nothing to do with Skeletor. But I guess the character now exists in Classics and Origins canon, so we have to accept that. I personally see Demo-Man as the ghost of the original Skeletor, who came through the portal from the world of other Skeletor people, into Eternia, during the "Great Wars", as stated in the "He-Man and the Power Sword" original minicomic. That original Skeletor maybe died in those wars, and later Keldor found his dead remains, and took his body armour for his own. Then later having lost a fight to King Randor and getting his face burnt, Hordak merges Keldor with the ghost of the original Skeletor (Demo-Man), thus turning Keldor into the new Skeletor. This new Skeletor held the memories of Demo-Man, while he was possessed by him, thus he remembered having a race of other Skeletor people, back on his home world. The reason Demo-Man looks different from one of these Skeletor people, could be that this is the true form of the Skeletor people, before they got corrupted with dark magic. Their skins turned from green to blue, and their already ugly faces became more skull like. This is my personal canon for how Demo-Man should fit with modern canons, and makes much more sense than simply: *He's a random demon from Despondos,* which lacks any level of creative retconning thought.

[@amandamiller94]

Any heavy object attached 2 some kind of a handle by something ( chain, rope, leather ) is called a fail

[@TitularHeroine]

My Masters of the Universe name shall henceforth be.... Cat- O- Flails!

[@spectorcreative1872]

I did not know that. Thank you!!!!! Weapon expert.

[@JurassicRod]

Flail*

[@amandamiller94]

@@spectorcreative1872 I'm no weapons expect I just love history

[@qwertystania]

I'd say his sword is closer to a falchion than a scimitar, but I'm just a sword enthusiast.

[@spectorcreative1872]

So sworded!

[@ehenyor]

Yeeeeahhhhh... I like Demo-Man as a character and figure, but not as part of Skeletor's "origin". I rank this right up there with giving Hordak the name Hector.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey in your imagination he can be anything. Even He-Man's mom.

[@ehenyor]

@@spectorcreative1872 Is that a MOTU mom joke? ;) LOL I like your videos.

[@Rocket1377]

@Spector Creative: Sure, but that doesn't stop crap like this from infecting future comics and cartoons. I still cringe when I see things like Evil-Lyn being referred to as "Morgan" by Teela. 🙄

[@TheLordUrban]

What if Vikor defeated Demo Man in the ancient past by trapping him in a magical vessel which was then cast into a dark portal leading to Despondos?

[@spectorcreative1872]

Then we would all get two more cookies

[@jamalsoward8404]

Vikor looking like Conan!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well yeah, Conan being a protypical Barbarian all Barbarians will look a bit like him!

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

If you were the “one punch,” they were the “two punch!” Of this line

[@spectorcreative1872]

they? Meaning the Horsemen? I would give it to em. ;-)

[@AudioAndroid]

Sometimes I Get the Feeling that everyone is in the Wrong Castle. When it comes to Demo"s, Beta Concepts I sometimes wonder if the original idea was for Skeletor to occupy Castle Grayskull King Hiss to occupy Snake Mountain The The Sorceress to occupy Castle Eternia

[@spectorcreative1872]

Rudy Obrero the original packaging artist thought the same thing!

[@GarbenTheBerserker]

What if Demo-Man was actually killed or sealed in the past and his power was given to Keldor by Hordak? That way there'd still be a connection, but it'd be clear Skeletor is still mostly just Keldor.

[@spectorcreative1872]

All demo man did was increase keldor’s power. Their is no personality transfer

[@GarbenTheBerserker]

@@spectorcreative1872 If you ever got a chance to rewrite the story, making it clear just Demo-Man's powers were in Keldor and not the whole demon, would make it more clear that Skeletor isn't a fusion with a new personality.

[@jive238]

I like that bit in the text that says Hordak fused him with keldor to manipulate him to releasing him, which made skelletor initially insane. Wish that showed up in the 200x series, closest they alluded to this was skelletor laughing like a maniac at his reflection after transforming..

[@spectorcreative1872]

If only the 200X series kept going!

[@TitularHeroine]

If the story concepts behind Demo- Man and Vikor sprang from their shared real-world history, couldn't that be synched up by having Demo-Man trapped in that jar 3,000 years ago?

[@spectorcreative1872]

I suppose. ;-P

[@rodster6campingprepper]

3rd.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Bronze medal!

[@lennynash8221]

First 👍👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

Not sure if their is a prize, but.... ;-)

[@lennynash8221]

@@spectorcreative1872 the prize is getting to watch the episode lol👍

[@nwobw]

You refused to give us 200x Keldor swords with Keldor because of the "Classicizer Machine". Using one of the stupidest things you've ever said, we should never have gotten that Alcala Skeletor head because when you run the Alcala head through the "Classicizer Machine" it translates to the vintage toy head. --------- I never like Demo Man being steamrolled into Skeletor's origin, but the figure was pretry neat. He looks like a Disney Pirates of the Carribean or Haunted Mansion ghost.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Clearly I am the worst thing to ever happen to MOTU and I regret everything. It would better if I'd just kill myself.

[@nwobw]

@@spectorcreative1872 You'd probably end up in Despondos and that would be bad. Better to beg Uncle Montork for forgiveness.

[@amandamiller94]

A morning star is a mace & has 5 points like u would draw a star

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well there you go!

[@roninreviews4223]

Did the horsemen intentionally make him look like mark taylor? Or am I the only one who sees that

[@spectorcreative1872]

I'm not seeing that, but you never know with them!

[@mikeyjhilli]

As fans when we see a figure a lot of times we go "ok. that means they can and will make X figure(s). Especially now a days I know it's important to watch the $ with a line like Masters and thus the importance of re-usage if you can talk about from a vintage line aspect. How much of a factor was it in creating a new character. i.e. nice character but can't make it cause we've already given the new sculpt to character "c" or use this piece and the character is a go. Because any can and had to come up with a new character but making it is different.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was a balancing act where every 10 partially tooled figures would justify the cost of one fully tooled figure (or something like that)

[@Abhothra]

Silly skeletor trusting an evil overlord. On the basis of designs how did you/the former team, come up with these? Did you just worked your way down from what was cool at the time? E.g. Barbarians/Sword & Sorcery, Insects, Robots etc etc. Since Motu doesn't follow the zeitgeist as much as other things do it seems. (No giant robots, No teams like in Super Sentai things)

[@spectorcreative1872]

Trust no one.

[@Skyescavernlibrary]

327th!

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is the cobalt metal.

[@sadeaton]

Demo-Man could have been inspired by the Grinch too.

[@The_Cosmic_Yog-Sothoth]

I will never accept the idea that the race of Skeletor people, clearly shown in the original MOTU minicomic, is simply a false memory of Keldor. That is an example of an extremely poor retcon, lacking any kind of creative thought or structure. Saying Demo-Man is simply a random demon, and Skeletor's people are a false memory out of nowhere, makes no canon sense. Demo-Man works 100% better as the ghost of the original Skeletor, which then combines with the injured Keldor. *There needs to be something about Demo-Man that makes him special to be part of Skeletor, otherwise it's just very poor deus ex machina crap.* It was a terrible idea to begin with, as his artwork was nothing to do with Skeletor's creation, but now you injected him into the MOTU universe you should've made him somewhat relevant to proceedings. I'm so glad that the Origins minicomic for Demo-Man leaves open my interpretation of things, with one scene showing Demo-Man with his people in Despondos in the background (although those people are just dark outlines and you can't make out any features).

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

2nd

[@spectorcreative1872]

No one is judging!

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!! & comment!

[@spectorcreative1872]

And my thanks as always!~