Well, Power-Con happened a couple of weeks ago – the sometimes-annual He-Man convention!  And Mattel didn’t show.  They had no official announcements about the future of the line.  But Scott Neitlich, the former brand manager, attended!  He wore a “He’s Killing the Line” t-shirt, and played the violin while making Nero jokes.  So what I’m saying is, this doesn’t look good.  It’s not officially bad news, not yet, but… yeah.  Let’s enjoy these toys while we’ve got ’em!

Anyway, Darius was May’s figure, but shipped a month late – just like the last few.  Darius doesn’t come with a bio, which really stings in this case – it’s not like you can track him down in the cartoon!  Basically, Darius was meant to be the leader of the Galactic Protectors, sort of like the King Randor of the New Adventures of He-Man series.  However, this didn’t pan out, and Master Sebrian kindasorta took his place.  As previously stated, Darius had a planned toy, but… yeah.  Never happened.  But he did show up in a few comics, apparently.

So, the real question is, how did the figure turn out?  It’s not like this line hasn’t adapted obscure or concept characters before, so let’s look at the end result!

 

PACKAGING: ****

My bad, I forgot to take a picture of the exact same packaging that every single figure in this toy line has used!

SCULPT: ****

For a Z-list character, they really put a ton of effort into Darius’s sculpt!  Well, Darius is one of the “realistic” figures, not cartoonish (like Vultak).  And even though he’s a little different in style, he certainly fits into the line.  Darius’s face is one of the best humans in MOTUC, too, easily up there with greats like Fisto.  The Horsemen really have a gift for beards, it seems, and it shows with this guy!

Well, I accidentally had text from the Dog Alien review here.  Ahahaha.  Guys, Darius looks great.

PAINT: ****

Paint can make or break  sculpt, and Darius is fantastic – all his human parts look appropriately human, especially the face.  His outfit is built on gold, red, and blue, but it’s pretty cleanly-done – my figure has no real slop that I can see, and although it’s not the most complex in the line, it’s very good for what it needs to be.

And hilariously, if you remove his breastplate, he looks like he’s wearing PJs.

ARTICULATION: ****

Darius has the same articulation as any MOTUC figure!  His cape gets in the way of his legs a bit, but it’s easy to adjust.

ACCESSORIES: ****

For Darius, they gave him all of his theoretical vintage items – hey, the figure has prototypes, so we know what he came with.  He’s got his mace, which absolutely fits the He-Man theme of futuristic space-man bludgeoning each other with primitive weapons.  It’s a ball on a plastic cord, whihc is fairly flexible… though it can deelop stress marks, so don’t mess with it too hard.

10

He also has an art deco futuristic shield.  And you know, giving these guys shields is a thing, and even though Darius’s doesn’t use lasers or anything, it looks like something out of the Raygun Gothic era of Science Fiction.  You know, before lasers were discovered.

Darius has a removable helmet, and it’s about as plain as it can get.  It’s not bad, and in fact it fits with his shield, but

Darius’s cape is removable, which is a thing – but the way it connects to his armor is pretty unique!  It clasps in securely, and honestly look spretty cool.  Now, the cape is huge, and can influence how well he stands, but it looks good stretched out, at least.

VALUE: ***

These figures now cost slightly less, and even though they are kinda expensive, it’s worth complimenting a step in the right direction!

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Be careful not to stress or damage Darius’s mace, but otherwise the figure is sturdy.

And that’s the thing.  This line has had plenty of flexible whip-type weapons, so why use this kind of plastic with his mace?  I honestly can’t answer that.

WHERE TO BUY:

He’ll be on the secondary market forever… and maybe even on Matty!

OVERALL: ****

Obscurity, thy name is Darius!  Look, he’s a Z-lister.  There’s no denying that.  But despite being as bottom-barrel as he is, Darius is a pretty well-made figure.  In fact, it looks good enough to make up for the obscurity, immediately – this may be the closest we will ever come to a Captain Randor, as well!

So, is the line dead?  Dying?  Alive?  I do not know.  Nobody outside of Mattel does, that’s for sure!  If you love He-Man, I suggest you make some noise to Mattel – but don’t make it too angry or nasty as we have verified info that complaints do not endear Mattel to the line.  But SDCC is coing up, and I guess we’ll see soon!