Tomorrow Mattel will be hosting its second annual Mattel Creations Revealed, a livestream giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the design process, Mattel will celebrate fan collectors and have them join the fun. The virtual event takes place Thursday March 6, starting at 9am PT. New items featured by each brand will be available at MattelCreations.com at the start of their segments. During the virtual event, fans and collectors will be sharing their passions for Mattel’s various brands. Among them is Brian Fisher who has been collecting Masters of the Universe (MOTU) action figures and collectibles for over four decades.
Ahead of the livestream, The Beat had the opportunity to chat with Fisher about his MOTU fandom and his excitement about participating in the livestream.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Taimur Dar: I guess the obvious first question is how did your MOTU fandom begin and how has it grown over the years?
Brian Fisher: I’m 53 years old. This started right back when it came on the shelves. In 1982, I was 11 years old and went to a KB Toys store and remember seeing this brand new line of Masters of the Universe. It was different than anything that had come before. It was a little scaled up because the popular action figures were Star Wars and G.I. Joe as far as the pocked-sized heroes. I was really drawn to get something a little chunkier and muscular. And of course, the bad guy, Skeletor, I had to get. With the cartoon coming out a year later was interesting because usually cartoons came out first and then the toy line helped strengthen the cartoon. Then when they relaunched it in 2002 with that Cartoon Network cartoon, that rekindled that passion. I was actively on eBay at that point trying to fill in the holes of my original collection. From there, I just continued the legacy.
Taimur Dar: How did this opportunity to appear on Mattel Creations livestream come to you?
Brian Fisher: Honestly, it was kind of a fluke. I follow Mattel Creations and purchased a lot of figures they put out online. They were advertising a reveal like they did last year and they said submit a short video of your collection for the opportunity to be featured during the live reveal. I got a pretty decent collection that’s like a museum. So I filmed a video and submitted during the summer. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it. I received an email saying I was the runner-up for the possibility to go there live. Initially I thought it was a scam. I had my wife look over it. I had to do all this paperwork and I jumped right away and submitted it. They said I was the brand winner amongst six other finalists to fly out there live. It’s like my own little Toy Fair to go out there. I’m beyond excited.
Taimur Dar: So I guess collecting isn’t your full-time career?
Brian Fisher: I’m a fan by heart. I’ve been collecting since I was in fourth grade. I went to art school. I was thinking about going to toy design. I’m originally from Maryland and then I moved to New York in the late ‘90s. I have a social media presence but I’m not an official YouTuber. My buddy has a podcast about toy nostalgia so I joined him on a chat but never really did this as a living or profitability. It was more of a passion and something I enjoyed and sharing my collection.
Taimur Dar: In recent years I’ve begun to appreciate the enormity of the MOTU fanbase. There are definitely some notable fans like Adam F. Goldberg who produced The Power of Grayskull documentary. Have you been able to connect to others through this mutual fandom?
Brian Fisher: I follow two different groups on Facebook. There’s been a bunch of friends and contacts I’ve made through conventions. I haven’t been fortunate enough to go to specific MOTU fan conventions. I’ve definitely connected to different fans through social media.
Taimur Dar: There’s definitely been a resurgence of the MOTU brand in the last few years with the animated series on Netflix and the upcoming live-action movie. Why do you think now is a good time to revitalize the Masters of the Universe brand?
Brian Fisher: I think there’s definitely a lot of nostalgia for ‘80s stuff like Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Everyone can relate to it at some point or another, either they had the figures or watched the cartoons. Everyone kind of knows of it. The toy line has been the continuous strength of the franchise. They’ve tried comics which were pretty strong. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough strength to keep it going. The fanbase is there and that’s what’s helped encourage new stuff coming out. The first season of the animated series was a bit heavier critiqued whereas I thought the second season was nice balance of giving fans where they want and more true to the essence [of the franchise]. There was also that animated CG animated He-Man [series] which went two season as well and to a younger fanbase. It brings us back to that time when life was simpler, and we looked forward to Christmas and birthdays to get these things.
Taimur Dar: There’s definitely been a resurgence of the MOTU brand in the last few years with the animated series on Netflix and the upcoming live-action movie. Why do you think now is a good time to revitalize the Masters of the Universe brand?
Brian Fisher: Again, it was interesting. I watch everything just to give it a shot. I don’t get too deep into critiques. I liked some of the styles of the characters. I definitely some of the action figures that came out. But I can appreciate anything introducing such a passion of mine to a new generation. There is a little something for everybody. If you entice them in one media like the cartoon they might be interested in watching the original cartoons and looking into the toys. It stirs this interest which eventually, hopefully, leads into the movie coming out. I think all these little steps in the ladder have helped us get to another live-action movie.
Taimur Dar: On the subject of movies, the original 1987 Masters of the Universe film is quite infamous. It’s definitely garnered a cult following in the decades since its release. I’m curious about your feeling towards the film?
Brian Fisher: As a kid, it hit a little different. It was nice to see. It was definitely far off from what we were used to from the toy line and the cartoon. He-Man was pretty true, Man-At-Arms, Teela, and Skeletor looked pretty good. But there were characters I wish I would’ve seen like Trap Jaw or Tri-Klops. We had an Evil-Lyn and a different Beast Man. Being more on Earth it took us out of the element of Eternia and Castle Grayskull where it was a little surreal. But as a kid, you enjoyed it. It wasn’t until adulthood where you could break it apart and see where they could have done better and the shortcomings.
Taimur Dar: To wrap it up, any last things you want to share with our readers about the Mattel Creations Revealed virtual event?
Brian Fisher: It’s coming up March 6th from 9am to 11:30 PST. It’s a live event revealing all of Mattel’s licensing and products that are coming up. They’re doing a ThunderCats merge with Masers of the Universe which I’m assuming is due to the success of their Turtles of Grayskall. I also heard Mattel is licensing with DC next year. So it’s really exciting to see what they have in store for us. I enjoy that anticipation and making my little checklist. It’s going to be pretty exciting. To be there live is definitely an honor and a privilege.
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