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Series: Masters of the Universe Masterverse
Year: 2024
Prelude: What other toy line could possibly feature a cyborg firefighter with an elephant’s head that uses his steel trunk to blast both fires and bad guys with streams of water? Okay, maybe Turtles. But Snout Spout here is part of the Masters of the Universe franchise and this is his biggest incarnation yet from the Masterverse New Eternia line. So raise up your trunks and let’s say go!
Review: Where do I even start? It’s an elephant-headed cyborg. A fire-fighting elephant-headed cyborg who carries a huge axe. Shouldn’t that be enough all by itself? Okay, maybe a few more details. This New Eternia toy is part of the seven inch collection of Masterverse characters, meaning Snout Spout is a bit bigger than most other Masterverse figures (see picture no.13). He adheres to the high-level of articulation that the Masterverse line has, so he can pose very nicely. In theory, at least, because in practice he is hampered in a few areas.
Let’s start with the most obvious one, the head. Snout Spout sport a huge robotic elephant head with big ears, tusks, and a long trunk. The ears can wiggle back and forth, the tusks can twist, and the tusk is multi-jointed as well. Unlike the original toy (see below) it doesn’t feature an actual water-squirting gimmick, but there is an effect part you can attach to the end of simulate a water blast. Nicely done, but as I said, the head is quite big, so moving it usually leads to the big ears bumping into the shoulders.
Apart from his big head, Snout Spout also carries quite a bit of equipment. He has a chest harness with shoulder pieces, a big belt, a large rucksack (meant to be a water tank), and three hoses to combine all three. The equipment is fully removeable, plus you can leave out the hoses if you want, but once he is fully equipped, that’s quite a bit of kibble he carries. Plus, there is the big axe, which features several scars in order to look used, and a separate pair of hands, so each hand can either be a closed fist or holding a weapon. Very nice.
Overall I must say that Snout Spout looks over-the-top weird and I love it. His belt buckle is a twisting dial to (I assume) regulate his water pressure, which is so retro-sci-fi that I can’t help but adore it. So bottom line: this new figure fully captures and celebrates the absurdity of Snout Spout. Very nicely done.
A quick word on the package, too. A beautiful box with multiple great artworks, including a gorgeous snake-temple backdrop. Don’t throw it out!
Remarks: The original Snout Spout toy was released in 1986 and contained a fully functional water squirting gimmick. The toy arrived too late to be featured in the He-Man cartoon, but he did have cameo appearances in the She-Ra series, as well as the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special. No character development during his TV appearances (he was actually called Hose Nose during his first one), but in the comics he was a man called Jaxton who was turned into a grotesque cyborg by Hordak. Hordak’s experiments were to blame for roughly half of the new characters introduced during that time, I believe. Anyway, he turned on Hordak and joined He-Man to fight against the Horde, hoping to somehow regain his human appearance one day. He also had something of a friendly rivalry with Rio Blast. More recently he had some cameo appearances in the MotU: Revolutions cartoon.
As for this toy, I love it. It almost perfectly combines the weird mix of absurdities that make up the MotU franchise, being an animal-themed cyborg fighting demonic baddies on an alien planet alongside a guy with a magical sword. The New Eternia figure is big, bulky, and sports a wonderfully shiny cyborg elephant head. What more do you need? So bottom line: if you like absurd, weird, and strange figures, Snout Spout is a must for you.
Rating: A-
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