So far, I’ve profiled two toys I still have (Rose Petal and Medley) and one I had when I was little, but gave away as a teenager (Hubert the Harris Bank Lion). This week, I wanted to switch things up a little bit and cover a toy I did NOT own: Catra from Princess of Power.
My decision to cover Catra this week was mainly inspired by the recent announcement of the latest wave of Masters of the Universe Origins figures. I was very impressed that the upcoming Catra figure looks like she did in the 1980’s Filmation cartoon because most of the original figures looked very different from their animated counterparts.
When my fellow TRN staffer Stacey (@geeky_vixen) offered to loan me her pictures of her Catra figure for this article, I was thrilled. It’s actually like when I was little and my friend from the other side of my subdivision used to come over to play. I remember this friend had Catra, Bow, and Double Trouble.
My friend and I only had the chance to to play with our Princess of Power figures together a couple of times. At some point, my friend ended up moving away with her family. She was the only one of my friends who also had Princess of Power toys. However, my brother had a bunch of Masters of the Universe figures.
I remember after my friend moved away, I tried to find a Catra figure for a while, but for some reason, she was very difficult to find at that point. Then again, there was also overlap with several other lines I was interested in at the same time as Princess of Power. Some of those other lines were twice the size (and price) of the Princess of Power dolls/action figures.
When was this toy produced?
The original wave for Princess of Power was produced in 1984, but there were three Catras produced during the run: original (1984) Scratchin’ Sound (Wave 2 in 1986) and Shower Power (Wave 3 in 1987).
Was there a cartoon?
Yes, She-Ra: Princess of Power was a spin-off of Masters of the Universe. Many of the characters introduced in the animated motion picture The Secret of the Sword.
Catra was the only member of the Evil Horde manufactured under the Princess of Power line in the first wave. In the second wave, Mattel also produced Entrapta. Shadow Weaver, Octavia, and Scorpia weren’t available as figures until 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively.
Who was the Villain?
On the cartoon, Hordak was the leader of the Evil Horde. Hordak was available in the Masters of the Universe toy line. To get access to a Hordak (or any member of the Evil Horde) figure, a girl would either need to brave the boys’ toy aisle or have a brother. I don’t remember if my brother had Hordak, but I do remember that he had Mantenna.
When my friend moved away, I found myself playing with my brother and his action figures more frequently. We did a lot of crossovers, so there were times where She-Ra had to rescue her friends from Serpentor.
MOTU and PoP were special toys for us because they were the only lines both of us could play with in their original context.
Where did I acquire this toy?
As I mentioned at the top of the article, I never had a Catra, but my fellow TRN staffer Stacey (@geeky_vixen) did and generously offered me her pictures of Catra to use for this article. I asked her about her experience acquiring the “Jealous Beauty”:
I received my original Catra for Christmas in 1985, along with She-ra, Swift Wind, and a few other characters. Catra was my mom’s favorite because she had dark hair like her, so when she played with me, she always wanted to be Catra. Sadly, I gave away my original toys when I was in high school. I always wanted to collect them again. My husband found a whole set of figures, horses, and Crystal Castle in amazing condition several years ago, including a bunch of toys I didn’t have as a kid. It was the best day ever.
What’s in the photos:
Original Catra, masked and unmasked
Catra with her horse, Storm
Scratchin’ Sound Catra on Clawdeen
Catra with Clawdeen
Did anything surprise me while researching this toy?
It wasn’t so much a surprise, but I had somehow forgotten that there was a Catra variant released in each wave of the original Princess of Power line. I also forgot that she had a fuzzy tail as part of her skirt.
I hope everyone enjoyed this week’s article about Catra. I’m hoping to be able to add the new one to my collection at some point this year. I’m also hoping MOTU adds more Princess of Power characters to the Origins line, but I am going to have to make some space on my shelves before I add any more figures.
Earlier this month, I profiled Hubert the Harris Bank Lion, so it’s highly possible March will end with some kind of toy lamb. Will it be Shari Lewis’ hand puppet friend Lamb Chop or Care Bear Cousin Gentle Heart Lamb? What about Strawberry Shortcake? Did any of her friends have a pet lamb? Or is there another sheep themed toy I could profile for this column?
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