MOTU Classics Temple of Darkness Sorceress

Presenting the Temple of Darkness Sorceress from the He-Man & Masters of the Universe (MOTU) Classics toy-line.

Okay I have to admit that when I got this I thought that she was really hot and sexy and all that which is why I got her to begin with.

Then I realized that I had purchased one of the nicest drag queen action figures ever made for the toy market.

Not only does the Temple of Darkness Sorceress come with a Cher inspired headdress, she also comes with a cape that spreads open when she raises her arms and is all shining, shimmering, splendid when shot in a reflective white photo-box with indirect white light.

The Sorceress had me singing Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory before the shoot was over.


Priscilla Queen of the Desert, er.... the MOTU Temple of Darkness Sorceress' blister card reads "Temple of Darkness Sorceress Heroic Guardian of Castle Grayskull. Real Name: Teela'Na. To safeguard the Power of the Universe after their secret bargain with the Trolla, Grayskull's Elders transfused the power from the Sword of He into a giant orb, which they hid deep within the abyss below Castle Grayskull.

There, Grayskull's widow took up the lonely duty of Sorceress, guarding the castle to prevent the power from falling into the wrong hands. For five millennia her students continued this role while the castle faded from memory into legend. At the end of the Great Unrest, a new Sorceress named Teela'na helped the remaining Elders combine their wisdom to tap into Eternia's magical secrets with the orb, creating a new unified force which would be called upon as the "Power of Grayskull" named for the castle which hid it."

What's to like about the He-Man MOTU Classics Temple of Darkness Sorceress?

Teela's mother comes with everything you see here - in a shoot that we had to do with a black background to prevent all the shiny-shimmering-splendid-ness of her wings: A Falcon motif-ed staff, and a brazier that we'll talk about in a minute.

There is absolutely no difference between the Temple of Darkness Sorceress and the regular Sorceress from the MOTU Classics line aside from the obvious change in color and except for the fact that the Temple of Darkness Sorceress adheres more to her appearance in the He-Man mini-comic book where she gets her namesake and bears boots quite similar to those of Teela's. This is a quite accurate depiction of the Sorceress as she appeared in the comic book of the same title as can be seen here.

Now remember that brazier? If you have the King Grayskull - the heroic ancestor of He-Man - figure (Not the one that came with Castle Grayskull), then you have the Grayskull Power Orb that just pretty much lies there and/or collects dust in storage. Here finally is a place where you can put the Power Orb. And it's a nicely detailed brazier that seems to transform from crystal/energy at the base to a solid stone cup. The base is festooned with Eternian runes and what looks like symbols for He-Man and the Sorceress. Check out my friend's King Grayskull review here. So anyway, the Temple of Darkness Sorceress therefore provides the base for a wonderful possible He-Man diorama: Simply give the Sorceress King Grayskull's orb and translucent power sword and you have what looks like the Sorceress pulling the sword from the orb.

Another really nice thing to like about this figure is the crystalline wings - as opposed to the solid feathery wings of the regular MOTU Classics Sorceress. I think the use of crystals fits more with the MOTU Grayskull lore giving her a more "magical" look. Also you have to love the engineering that went with the figure. Simply raising her arms unfolds the wings behind her. It's not perfect, but it's something that you just have to appreciate.

And you can get quite a lot of nice poses out of the Sorceress's cape - if you forgive the drag queen appearance:

So you see, the cape actually acts like a solid weapon that can be used for forward attacks as well. Now throw in the her Falcon Staff. It's great that the Temple of Darkness Sorceress can dual wield her staff.

.And the figure is flexible enough to do this:

What's NOT to like about the He-Man MOTU Classics Temple of Darkness Sorceress?

The fact that everytime I now look at her "Dancing Queen" goes off in my head.

And as mentioned, there it is: moving her arms forward also means moving her wings forward. It's an incredible design so I hate to dis it, but it is a problem and it does limit her poseability. Perhaps in the future someone will figure out how to fix this little problem.

And as with her daughter, Teela, she does tend to be a bit masculine and unable to kneel.

This particular He-Man MOTU Classics Temple of Darkness Sorceress was purchased from Land_Orys on Ebay for PhP 999.75 (Roughly US$ 23). She is available on Amazon for US$ 46.47 (Roughly PhP 2,045 plus shipping).