I recently gave my two cents about He-Man action figures over at TMA Toys, but after I wrote it and thought about it more, I think there is a “deeper” reason I just don’t like He-Man.
I couldn’t relate to He-Man
What's not to like about Beach Head?
It has nothing to do with the action figures, at least not directly. The action figures have their own flaws, as I noted in the review, but my biggest problem with He-Man overall is just the theme and characters. I was a GI Joe kid and the reason I was (to my best guess) is because I wanted to be a GI Joe guy. For the most part, GI Joes were all human…I could relate to them all on that level at least. Whether it be a ninja, a machine gun guy, a medic or an fighter pilot, they were all recognizable as people with talent and skills, and that gave little kids like me dreams of being all the above.
I wanted to dress like GI Joe guys and have all their equipment and guns. I wanted to fly a helicopter and have a kick ass backpack filled with stuff. I wanted a laser gun and I wanted a helmet like Cobra Commander’s. When I watched He-Man or played with the toys, I didn’t feel any of that. I didn’t want to be He-Man.
I admit, transforming from dork to hero is appealing no matter what, but I couldn’t picture myself as a over-muscled blonde with a loin cloth and giant sword. Nor did it excitement to think about riding a giant green tiger. What little I paid attention to He-Man as a kid, I think I wanted to be Man-At-Arms more than any of them because he seemed the most realistic. He didn’t have any powers to speak off, he was just a normal dude that kicked ass (but he did have an awesome mustache).
For most He-Man fans I’m sure their defense of this is the exact opposite…they didn’t want to be a normal guy with a gun and a flashy costume, they wanted to be something extraordinary with super powers fighting off bug-eyed monsters and skeletons. To each his own, I guess. I just know it was easier to imitate GI Joe than it was He-Man. I didn’t run through the woods at the park pretending I was chasing down Skeletor and his goons. I was ducking behind fallen trees and hiding in trenches thinking I was fighting off hordes of Cobra infantry while keeping a keen out for Storm Shadow.
I’m with you. I had a single He-Man action figure… Man-At-Arms (though, riding around on a giant green saber-tooth tiger would still have been pretty cool!)
I did have a bunch of the MOTU action figures, but I think I got them before GI Joe and the Transformers.
You’re right, they weren’t relate-able, but they were creative. And I think that was the big draw. Of course, once I did get those GI Joe and Transformers figures, that’s where my attention went.
On a side note, the Beach Head image reminds me of something- I must have been in second grade, playing GI Joe with a bunch of friends. Someone had just gotten Beach Head and I asked what those things on his chest were. “Magazines” was my friend’s answer. To which I replied “how would he get time to read on important missions?”