MOTUC Hurricane Hordak Review + Gallery

Hordak was actually one of the really early figures in this line (and still holds up as one of the better ones as well!) so it was only natural that we would eventually get a quarterly variant featuring him.  A lot of people really wanted a Filmation colors variant to Hordak but at the time it was decided to make this version, Mattel did not have the Filmation rights.  Instead we got Hurricane Hordak, based on the vintage toy that had spinning arm attachments triggered by a cog on his back.

Masters of the Universe Classics – Hurricane Hordak
Release Date: 09/15/2011 (Subscription Quarterly Variant)
Price: $20.00
Faction: Horde
Real Name: Hec-Tor Kur

It was pretty fitting to release Hurricane Hordak and Leech within the same month, it put a nice theme on the month.  Plus you could make the Horde section of your display sizably larger in one sitting.

So the first thing you will notice about Hurricane Hordak (or Hordak for short!) is his vac-metal vest.  I like the idea, but like so many ideas that seem good with toys it has its share of longevity problems.  Some other toys that seemed like good ideas given the character were the rubbery arms on the DC Superheros Clayface, unfortunately those arms rotted away after about six months.  Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s body was made of a white foam that yellows in time.  Lord of the Rings cave troll’s rubber face did not age well.  The vac-metal vest won’t melt on you, but it chips really easy.  You can even see on some of my pictures it has started rubbing off.  Also I would advise against taking the vest off because you will start to get cracking on the top of the shoulders.

Not all changes are bad one though.  The thing that really makes this Hordak stand out is the hand cannon.  Sure it is supposed to be used to put attachments on, but it’s also fun to just pretend Hordak is an evil Mega-Man and fires projectiles out of his arm cannon.  But if you aren’t like me and want to use his attachments … they are pretty cool too I suppose.  He has one that looks like a wheel of spinning swords.  The other is three spinning veined balls, seriously.  In the vintage toy the dial on the back made them spin.  In the modern world we just sculpt a dial onto the back as a homage to the old toy.

Hurricane Hordak is probably not many people’s first choice for a Hordak variant.  But since we have him I found the best I could in him and it definitely starts with the arm cannon.  He also fits in well with the large push of Horde characters we have seen this last year and in the previews for 2012 (Shadow Weaver should be shipping soon!).

Admittedly this is not one of my most favorite figures.  But with this line being so enjoyable, I generally like to find the best in each figure … even the ones I care little about.  Hordak is a solid, but not needed variant.  Thankfully he came in the same month as Leech, who is one of the better MOTUC figures ever released.  I give him a fairly low grade, I don’t believe he’s a failure but he’s one of the few figures I tucked away in my shelf rather quickly.

Overall grade: D+

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