#BRAVESTARR

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[therobotmonster]

Guys I think should be in MOTU: Origins

My love of MOTU Origins is not very hidden, and they've hit tons of great points, but there's so much further to go. So, here's my rundown of what I'd want to see joint the MOTU Origins lineup.

Section 1: Give it the Sun-Man Treatment.

Blackstar

The proto-He-Man of yore, Blackstar as an IP is probably well within the price range for Mattel to sweep up to sprinkle into the line the same way Sun Man's universe was.

For advantages, it's VERY aesthetically compatible and has several strong character designs. It's no more obscure than Sun-Man, and I want hordes of those imp-demons, damnit.

BraveStarr

Again, a no-brainer. Find the character rights holders, get the rights. New Texas is out there in space, use it as an excuse to do MOTU:Origins versions of the New Adventures designs ("space travel" He-Man) and Rio-Blast. If they already own all the rights then them not having already done this is toyetic malpractice.

Advantages are obvious. BraveStarr rocks. You have a POC lead hero, Tex-Frickin'-Hex, and Thirty-Thirty, who would be well worth the extra tooling to make a deluxe figure of (you can always do an upgraded Stridor repaint). You would scatter them through waves to keep from overloading with the Space Cowboy thing, but def a winner.

Also, Rio-Blast. Rio-Blast, Yo.

Skeleton Warriors

It was never strong enough to stand on its own. Give Skeletor some friends. 'Nuff Said.

One-Off Guest Stars

This section is a little different, as these wouldn't be permanent integrations, but more fun crossover one-offs rather than being a whole theme. Characters pulled from other Mattel-owned lines of the past:

Mojo Ken and Thunderpunch Barb-E

Here's the thing. This line is dead stupid, and should remain that way. Give Ken two heads (one 'bad' Mojo head and one 80s toy Ken style one) give Barbie weirdly plausible MOTU gear, the joke alone is worth the parts reuse. Best if nestled in with some Princess of Power characters.

Lets give Captain Power a hand, folks.

Its that live action TV show that interacted with the vehicles that landed in the uncanny valley between family TV and advert-traintment that never quite works!

Captain Power and Lord Dread are pretty much the only ones you'd want to hit, maybe the Soaron Sky Sentry. And really, they're not that hard to do. Captain Power could easily be made with Roboto legs and upper arms, any number of gloved hands, a new chest armor and a new head.

Any newly tooled pieces would be useful in MOTU movie and new adventure characters.

The Construx Alien demands your respect.

I know it makes no sense, I don't care, it's my list. He's amazing and needs to be big and buff with a weird hand.

Major Matt Mason has nothing better to do.

This set's a stretch, as it would require a chunk of new tooling, but again, maybe worth it for the New Adventures and She-Ra applications, plus hey, Astronaut prequel Biff Bestman, Evelyn Powers, and Captain Marlena parts!

He-Man's space-man friend is a role that could still be filled.

Next Up... Crossover Potential.

[1980sactionfigures]

Selling My FILMATION DVD Library

I know this isn't Action Figures, but thought it might be of interest to some of you. I am parting with my collection of FILMATION animated shows on DVD, most of which are long out of print and rare now. BraveStarr, Lone Ranger, Blackstar, Ghostbusters, Zorro, Star Trek, Jason of Star Command and more! 19 Sets in total!

[sandmandaddy69]

[belalugosiseyebrows]

Never beating the old man allegations with this crossover no one asked for, ft. my all-time favorite cartoon space cowboy and comic book space bounty hunter

[fitsofgloom]

Protector of Peace, Mystic Man From Afar, Champion of Justice: Marshall Bravestarr! Filmation's still-stellar character schematic for the titular hero from "Bravestarr." This was an excellent series that due to extrinsic circumstances didn't find its footing in the competive Saturday Morning Cartoon lineup of the '80s. It boldly featured a Native American as its leading man, introduced in a feature-length movie that I can remember seeing. His chiseled design with the form-fitting uniform was very, um, stirring to me even then. There were other series that featured fusions of the Sci-Fi and Western genres at the time, but they hailed from Japan, "Bravestarr" having a certain uniquely American quality to it, very much like the classic Western films and TV series that it drew on. Storylines had the hero turning to both modern technology and ancient mysticism in order to police a planet threatened by malefic outlaws. The show had some key strikes against it, though. The audience that had grown up with the big hit Saturday Morning 'Toons was just starting to age out of the show's target demographic at the time. Critically, Mattel botched the timing of the accompanying toy line -- again, the significance of a Native American hero can't be understated, toy companies often balking at producing non-white and even female characters because their salability was in doubt -- by releasing the action figures too early in advance of the pilot film and series, hurting its recognition. "Bravestarr" would sadly prove to be Filmation's swang song. I don't imagine that I'm the only one hoping for a contemporary relaunch of the action figure line.

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy 

Tex Hex

One of the first prospectors to land on the alien planet of New Texas, Tex Hex was overcome by greed when a large haul of the precious Kerium was discovered. Tex Hex became a bandit, collaborating with the nefarious Scuzz to enslave the native Prairie People.

Following a heist, Tex Hex died when his spacecraft crashed. Yet he was reawaken as an undead agent of the ancient demonic entity known as Stampede.  This entity feeds on chaos and he used Tex Hex to wage a war of lawlessness and discord all across the planet.

Based out of the Hexagon fortress in the heart of the Badlands, Tex Hex runs a gang of outlaws known as the Carrion Bunch.  

Marshal Bravestarr came to New Texas and, aided by The Shaman, has succeeded in foiling Tex Hex’s various schemes.  This has enraged Stampede to no end and Tex has worked desperately to eliminate Bravestarr.  Yet it has been to no avail as the Marshal has proven to strong and cunning and has managed to thwart both Tex Hex and Stampede at every turn.  

Actor Charlie Adler provided the voice for Tex Hex.  The villain first appeared in the second episode of BraveStarr, airing on September 15th, 1987.

[forthegothicheroine]

Not that I need to do yet another run of New Vegas, but I like the thought of playing as Bravestarr. Skill points in Energy Weapons, Survival and Speech, pro-NCR, always traveling with Cass as the intersection of his redheaded love interest and his hyperviolent shotgun-toting sidekick.

[vincentvega0721]

BraveStarr

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[king-hsssy]

German BraveStarr scares me so much WHY ARE YOU WHIIITE????

Brazil isn’t better, he has blue eyes and terrorizes me

[1980sactionfigures]

Heroic Laser-Fire Backpack - BraveStarr (Mattel)

[sandmandaddy69]

[that-glitter-chick]

Surrogate/adoptive father figures, from 80s and 90s cartoons, is a level of comfort I crave.

[vintage1976]

Bravestarr the movie 1988

[latveriansnailmail]

I'm starting to watch the Bravestarr origin movie. I adore the robotic undertaker who keeps sizing people up for coffins.

Badass: the Shaman protects his failing spaceship by fusing it with asteroids and it becomes Star Peak when it crashes and joins with the land.

Eyebrow raised: I get a better look at his people's spaceships and they're totem poles with metal teepees at the base. Not saying it's wrong, but this is indicative of the line they were trying to navigate in the late 80s-- trying to do rad things in a spirit of First People Futurism aimed at eight-year-olds but having so so many pits of stereotype they could easily fall in.

I will continue these observations tomorrow. For, you know, the attentive audience of Tumblr users searching the Bravestarr tag because that's such a prevalent fandom in 2024.