#19: Masters of the Universe Classics - Fearless Photog

A few years ago, pop culture website extraordinaire X-Entertainment did a post on the unproduced MOTU figure Fearless Photog. Mattel had a figure designing contest, and the winning entry was supposed to get made into a real figure, and the winner also got to be president of Mattel for a day as well as a scholarship. Nathan Bitner won the contest with his creation, Fearless Photog, but for whatever reason (probably logistics), Mattel never made the figure. The post spawned a massive amount of commentary from readers trying to figure out why the figure not got made, as well as what had happened to its creator. I'd never heard anything about the story before that, but it stuck with me. Fast forward a few years, and Mattel announces they are finally making Fearless Photog. Now, for various reasons, I'm not a huge fan of this line, but the novelty of this figure and its origin story was enough to make me get one. Although I was obliged to use my phone's web browser to place my order, I didn't have any problems with the ordering process. Although Newgistic's tracking system is woefully out of sync with reality, Fearless Photog soon was delivered.

Photog was totally worth the wait. Yellow and blue is a color scheme I'm fond of, so I dig his look. This is a guy with a camera for a head, a gun that looks like a camera, a shield that looks like a flash, and a belt made of film reels. What's not to love? With this kind of dedication to his theme, he would have made a great Batman villain. The best part? The lenticular sticker on his chest. Lenticular sticker technology is under-appreciated these days.

China: Eternia's weapons forge

Is it a camera? Is it a gun? Is it BOTH?

It is unfortunately common to hear about QC issues with each new release in the MOTUC line. With Photog, it has been reported that the lens is cracked or is stuck and won't extend. Fortunately, my figure was clear on both issues and is overall in good shape. Here's how the lens looks while extended, which is activated by a tab on top of the head. A cool, unobtrusive play feature is always good in my books.