Power-Con 2016: Meet She-Ra, the Mattel MOTU Exclusive for SDCC

Mattel designers (and twins) Garrett and Darren Sanders were at Power-Con to share the Masters of the Universe exclusive for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the premium Princess of Power She-Ra doll. And while they confirmed that this would be the sole MOTU exclusive for the show, they did present an upbeat discussion of the origins of the She-Ra exclusive and plans for it moving forward.

The twins have been fans of Masters and PoP since childhood. Their first experience with the property was The Secret of the Sword, and as there weren’t many toy lines featuring twins, always played with the two toy lines together. At Mattel, they’ve worked on product and packaging design across their doll lines, including Barbie and Monster High, and last year they were presented with the opportunity to design this year’s exclusive. The directive was to create the toy they’ve always wanted.

This is not, they explain, intended to be a Barbie version of She-Ra. The design intent is to bring to market a high quality but less expensive version of a Hot Toys figure. So what we’ll be getting in package is a more full-fledged package that includes the figure in the classic She-Ra look, as well as two alternate costumes – for her alter ego Adora and the original She-Ra look from the vintage toy.

The Sword of Protection was given a slight re-design to be “functional” as a sword, while staying true to the original design.

The She-Ra figure is roughly 11-inches tall, and highly-articulated. If I’m not mistaken, this is a Gentle Giant designed body, and has double-jointed elbows and knees, hip swivels, and even toe joints. The movement on the base body felt pretty good – not what you’d expect from Mattel in this size. “Doll” is probably not quite the right term for it.

I do think the clothing apps are not quite up to par with their intended Hot Toys aesthetic, but I suppose that may be a byproduct of the $75 price tag.

In addition to the two alternate costumes, the exclusive will also include a new mini-comic, covering the story of She-Ra’s origin as originally depicted in The Secret of the Sword. While they considered crafting a new story, given that this is kicking off a new expression for the MOTU/PoP brand, revisiting the origin seemed appropriate. Plus, it was very easy to get approved.

Depending on interest levels at San Diego Comic-Con, this could be the start of something exciting for PoP fans. Garrett and Darren have submitted a six-year plan for a companion toy line, covering the entirety of the Princess of Power character set. The line would be subscription-based and ship about four figures a year, plus exclusives. And if there’s enough demand, they’d love to create an accompanying male body and make the Masters of the Universe.

So, what do you think? Does this exclusive (and possible toy line) have the power?