Hey, remember when I used to do reviews of MOTUC figures? Hey, no problem, I barely do either, since I haven't been able to snag a new release figure in almost five months. It's okay though. As much as I love Moss Man, Trap Jaw, Evil Lyn, and even Optikk, all these characters were small peanuts compared to this month's release.

My love of She-Ra started when I was about four years old. You see, during a book fair, a cover caught my eye featuring a beautiful painting of the Princess of Power herself, soaring through clouds atop her winged steed, Swiftwind. I knew nothing about her short of her relation to He-Man, and that, if possible, I wanted her to be my best friend. I wanted one of her toys, to fight alongside my He-Man figure but it was soon it was brought to my attention that She-Ra toys "weren't for little boys." It was a concept I didn't fully understand, yet didn't question, as a certain quartet of reptilian mutants had recently begun to catch my attention. 

A while back, when I learned of the Masters of the Universe Classics line, one of my first thoughts was, "When do I get She-Ra?" Well, it took a while, but she's here.

Was she worth the wait? Find out after the jump.

Like every other figure in the line, She-Ra is packaged on the standard MOTUC bubble card. As with her alter ego, Adora, She-Ra's bubble features the logo of Mattel's "Princess of Power" toy line that accompanied She-Ra's animated series.

The back card profile contains a bit of backstory on She-Ra and how she fits into the newly established MOTUC canon. According the Four Horsemen, the last part of the bio (describing Hordak's invasion of Eternia) was the proposed storyline for the third season of the 2002 series, but was sadly never realized due to its cancellation.

If you are only a casual She-Ra fan, your first reaction is probably that her tiara looks a little ... off. Well, its design is based on the classic figure's look as you can see here in this comparison shot.

The tiara (which is connected to the forehead with a peg) can be removed, flipped, and worn as a mask. The mask/tiara concept originated in the line's original mini comics. While it makes sense to have a mask hide Adora's secret identity, according to Mattel's Scott Neitlich, the mask play-tested poorly with little girls and was basically abandoned for the more common "tiara mode."

While I know many He-Man fans could care less about this classic-styled head due to its "doll" connections, it's a great inclusion for She-Ra die-hards and a wonderful acknowledgment of the character's past. Also, I'm a sucker for holographic foil. Sue me.

As you can see, removing the tiara leaves a head with a quite noticeable hole in the forehead. While many fans have scoffed at this design choice, it seems to be the most logical solution for the accessory.

For those fans of the Filmation cartoon series, an alternate head is included with "winged" tiara depicted in the show. Both head sculpts are very similar to that of Adora (as they should be) and are identical to each other short of their unique headgear. 

I feel it's also important to point out how beautifully She-Ra's hair is sculpted. The flowing locks add a sense of movement to the figure are a perfect reminder of how good the Four Horseman are at sculpting these figures.

Speaking of hair, She-Ra comes with 3 accessories: A shield, the Sword of Protection, and ... the much maligned "axe-comb"; a stand-in for the classic figure's hair comb accessory. While this figure obviously lacks the rooted hair of his classic counterpart, Mattel seemed to want to update the comb for the Classics line

Despite understanding the connection to the classic "Princess of Power" figures,  I originally thought the axe was an incredibly stupid idea. After seeing it in person however, I've got to admit, it's grown on me despite its silliness. I especially like that She-Ra now has her own analogue of He-Man's classic axe.

She-Ra's shield is a nice update to the one that came with the classic figure, replacing the rounded center area with a jewel that perfectly matches the one in the Sword of Protection.

Filmation purists will probably be slightly annoyed with the non-silver deco chosen for the Sword of Protection, but I dig it. Not only does it fit in better with the overall "gold-red-white" color scheme but original sword included with the "Princess of Power" figure was gold, as well.

When it comes to the figure, Is pretty beautiful. The sculpt is feminine, while still conveying a sense of strength. The skirt does make her hips look a bit broad, but it's honestly not as much of an issue as I thought it would be, based on her promotional photos.

Though I've done little but sing the figure's praises throughout this review, She-Ra isn't without her share of flaws. My biggest gripe is switching between the alternate heads. Frankly, not only is it difficult, but it is honestly a little scary. Removing or attaching one of the heads from the neck requires an amount of force that I'm not comfortable exerting on an action figure. I finally got so aggravated that I took a hobby knife and slightly increased the circumference of the hole in the base of each figure's head. It alleviates the problem, but it's a fix that I, nor any other collector, should have to make.

She-Ra's skirt is also a point of contention. The plastic is slightly, but when it comes to posing the legs, the above shot is about as dynamic as it gets. I'm also worried about how the most powerful woman in the universe is going to sit on her trusty steed, Swiftwind, considering that her skirt seems to prevent her from sitting ... at all.

Last but not least, I have to address the quality control on this release. Out of the 3 She-Ras I purchased on May 15th, one had paint slop near the center of the sword, two had several spots of glue residue around the jewel setting of the sword, and one figure had a large trail of glue slopping out of the crown on the Filmation head. To a point, I understand the first two defects, as they are somewhat small, but something as obvious as a rope of glue dripping down a head is inexcusable. Look at it! How did this leave the factory!? This is not the type of problem you should encounter on a figure that costs more than US$20. Sure, I can send this back for a replacement, or even try to fix it myself, but why should I have to? Get it together, Mattel.

Despite these flaws however, I am immensely fond of this figure. She-Ra is an excellent representation of the character, blending elements of both the character's toy and cartoon iterations to create a figure worthy of the MOTUC line. It took about 20 years, but finally I have the She-Ra I always wanted! Naturally, she sold out in minutes on MattyCollector.com, but if you are a She-Ra fan, I'd suggest braving eBay, to add this exemplary Etherian to your collection.