I have been playing with action figures since I was a baby. I have been collecting action figures since I was a teenager. I went through many phases throughout my life. I didn’t want to just name my personal favorite action figure line as the best of the best. I wanted to pick the one that stood out above the rest.
When I was a kid I played with G.I. Joe, Go Bots, Transformers, He-Man, TMNT and Star Wars. At first I suspected once I sat down and analyzed all the evidence I would pick a winner from this list. I lost interest in TMNT when I discovered X-Men. I lost interest in G.I. Joe as soon as Power Rangers came along. I lost interest in Go Bots once Transformers overtook them in the market. I lost interest in Star Wars when Disney started making its fanfiction. That left me with Masters of the Universe, a toyline I despised my entire life. I was a trans girl forced to live as a boy. My dad pushed He-Man off on me, so I never had any interest in that line in the slightest.
What makes the best toy line? Do I value longevity, variety, depth, scale, vehicles or cultural impact?
If I was going by cultural impact I would have picked Star Wars. If I was going for longevity I would have picked Transformers, the only of these toy lines to never have a break in its run from introduction till today. If I put the value on depth I would have to give it to Ninja Turtle of course. That leaves vehicles which would go to G.I. Joe and scale which leaves us with Masters of the Universe. I decided to weigh these different factors against one another to determine which toy line fit the most categories even if it lacks in others.
A few years ago I got back into toy collecting after I had spent the previous 15 years devoted to retro video games. When I found myself getting back into action figures I decided to broaden the range of my collection. I decided I didn’t just want to focus entirely on Transformers, I wanted to pick from the best of the best.
Then a new toy line entered my world. It was called Fortnite. This felt like a true successor to the legacy of G.I. Joe. The figures are the same scale, same articulation and similar variety of colorful characters. I also briefly considered the impact Wrestling has had on toys but I quickly dismissed that once I learned of the over all lack of quality in that franchise.
I never thought I would say this but I decided the absolute best action figure line of all time actually is the one I least expected, Masters of the Universe. Let me explain. First you have scale. At a whopping 5-8 inches depending on toy line these toys are massive. They are muscular. They are tough guys. The very definition of an ACTION figure. They came with top notch articulation, for the time, all the way back in the early 80s. The line has struggled throughout the years coming and going, reinventing itself over and over again. While Transformers has existed in an unbroken, continuous state since its inception, He-Man has had extremely large gaps in its offerings. However this has actually worked in its favor. Unlike Transformers, which largely just retools the same figures every couple of years forcing kids and collectors alike to “double dip” every time, He-Man actually made major alterations to the line up each iteration. While the core group of characters has been maintained throughout, the toys have a history of trying new things.
I also picked He-Man because of cultural impact. While Star Wars is the clear winner in this regard, He-Man has nonetheless managed to enter the cultural lexicon without a string of big budget live-action movies to push the toys. It has maintained it’s popularity on its value solely as a toy without major media pushing it. It doesn’t even benefit from regular comic books like G.I. Joe has. It sells on its merits alone. That was a huge factor for me. As a TOY line it wins hands down because it sells TOYS, based exclusively on them existing AS toys. Literally the toys sell themselves. Even TMNT can’t say that. That is a tremendous accomplishment all things considered. Sure it has had some cartoons to help over the years, but by an large the toys have existed on toy shelves sans media to drive sales.
He-Man also has another edge over the others. It sold tremendously well in its initial run. As a result the toys are plentiful. A collector can purchase vintage Masters of the Universe toys for considerably less money than comparable G.I. Joe or Transformers figures would run you. They remain affordable for collectors of all ages to this day. This was another huge factor for me. As I turned to ebay to fill out my toy shelf I found myself buying one MOTU figure after another simply because I could afford them. TMNT figures are relatively inexpensive too but they have had a stronger media push relying heavily on help from movies, TV and comics to keep kids and collectors interested. He-Man, as I have stated, sells the toys largely on its own merits.
Then there is the durability. Retro Transformers had a lot of hard plastic and die cast metal parts. They break easily and are next to impossible to repair. This leaves collectors having to choose between buying sub-par figures or shelling out exorbitant amounts of money on the secondary market. Now that’s not to say MOTU toys don’t break, they have a major issue with the wires holding the legs together breaking. However this is actually a quite easy fix. I have had to repair a few MOTU figures in the past and it was tremendously easier than my many, failed, attempts at repairing broken Transformers figures. G.I. Joe toys break, that’s it throw it in the garbage and hold a memorial service for your now lost figure.
The other reason I picked He-Man despite my contempt for the character is the toys themselves. They were doing the massive mutants and monsters that TMNT would become known for long before TMNT was a concept. These toys are massive. They are durable. They are well made. They are fun to display. They are fun to play with. They are well sculpted. Over all they just kinda, well, rock. I know I really thought I was going to pick Star Wars but the 3 inch line does not hold up well standing next to a MOTU figure that towers over those puny Star Wars figures.
There is one final reason I gave the win to He-Man. In a word, Castle Grey Skull. The mother of all toys. The holy grail. The playset to be all playsets. The other toy lines had play sets but none of them have been as iconic as Grey Skull. So there you have it my arguments for why He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is the greatest action figure toy line of all time.
Stephanie Bri 