MOTUC Leech: Draining the Life From Your Wallet!
Leech sucks. No really, that's just his "thing"! Yep, Leech is known throughout both Eternia AND Etheria for just how much he sucks. Sucks,sucks, sucks. We could type that all day! All joking aside, this latest figure from Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line doesn't suck at all. Let's take a closer look at K'ULL'LEUSSHHHH (yeah, that's his real name) as he attempts to ambush King Grayskull.
A Slebetor Slug-man from deep in the Lake of Gnarl. Leech was called from the depths by a magic spell of Hordak to bolster his forces against King Grayskull and the Snake Men during the Great Wars. Mindwiped by Hordak's lead witch, Leech became a loyal member of his Horde Army, using his magically enhanced energy-draining powers to suck enemies of their strength. He later played a key role in the Horde's fight against the Great Rebellion after Hordak claimed Etheria as a new homeworld during their banishment in Despondos. When called upon in battle, Leech sucks the power from his enemies!
Leech has the distinction of almost an entirely new sculpt! In fact, the only pieces of re-use that we're aware of are his upper arms, and legs. Like the vintage figure, Leech also has an exceptionally wide torso and, unlike Clawful, this figure has a one-of-a-kind chest rather than a piece that slips over the existing buck. His head has been altered from the 80's representation which featured a huge circular suction cup for a mouth. Instead, this version of Leech is based more from the Four Horsemen Staction that was released after the 2002 toy line ended. His mouth is still wide open, but this time his menacing teeth are sculpted instead of paint on. His suction cupped hands and feet are sculpted nicely and the feet benefit from being wide when it comes to the figure's balance. The Four Horsemen perfectly nailed the look of this figure from head to toe.
Leech's paintwork is on par with anything released so far in the MOTUC line. Most of the figure is molded in various shades of green with paint being added for shading and detailing only. All of the paint apps on the figure we received were clean and without slop and the glossy finish to the inside of Leech's mouth and suction cupped hands and feet help the look of the figure when in contrast to the rest of the more matte-like finish of his body. No complaints here, folks!
Even with his odd shape, Leech manages to have lots of articulation. The power-sucking monstrosity features a ball-joint neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged torso, swivel waist, swivel/hinge hips, hinged knees, swivel boot tops, and swivel/hinge "rocker" ankles. All of the joints are tight and the addition of the hinges to Leech's wrists allows for the use of his wrist-mounted crossbow. His ankles also work well considering the massive cups he has for feet. Surprisingly enough, with his wider stance, he is one of the more expressive figures in the line when it comes to dynamic posing.
Leech is packaged with both his Horde-issue crossbow and a capture net. The crossbow is of the same style seen with the other Horde members, but has had the grip removed in favor of a wrist clip ala He-Man's shield. Due to Leech's hand situation, there was no way for him to hold anything, which begs the question: "How does Leech hold a sandwich?" The capture net is shaped in the familiar Horde symbol bat-shape with Hordak's ugly mug emblazoned in the middle. The net also has actual suction cups on the corners so you can pin characters to windows, refrigerators, the freshly shaved and glistening back of your landlord, the inside of the toilet bowl, or really anything that suction cups were made for. Gross? Yes. Practical? Always.
While Leech made his appearances on TV in the She-Ra cartoon, we remember him fondly thanks to his addition in the vintage Masters of the Universe line. This MOTUC-version hits the Matty Collector website (along with his leader, Hurricane Hordak) on September 15th at noon eastern time.
Stay tuned to MTV Geek! for all your Mattel and Masters of the Universe Classics coverage!
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