MOTU Origins | Ram-Man

Ram-Man is the Human Battering Ram as described in the tagline under his name in the original packaging of the 1983 figure. Despite being totally different from the other Masters his portrayal in varying media gives you a diverse idea how the character has evolved over the years. But one thing is constant is the kind-hearted individual he was in the classic Filmation cartoon. There have been less than handful depiction of the character in toy form. The most recent ones varying in how he was portrayed stayed true from how he was depicted.

For the MOTU Origins toyline Ram-Man takes inspiration from the vintage version that was part of the second of third wave of characters produced by Mattel. But this modern take is one of the first deluxe figure for the Origins range.

Most of the Origins figure that were recently released are standard in nature due to the swappable buck design for the male and female body types. By the time the third wave has been revealed this was where Ram-Man was introduced not as part of the basic release, but for the deluxe editions that features some extra gimmicks or accessories not found in the basic releases.

For Ram-Man, his nature of design and appearance makes this figure special and unique. Mattel certainly made sure he’s not just a straight up reproduction of the original. But an improvement if this character was released with modern and updated design aesthetics. This is evident in the packaging that Ram-Man is an entirely new figure not borrowing the same male buck that other figures are based from.

Ramming to your Evil Warriors

Ram-Man like most MOTU Origins figures have the same cardback, but since this is a deluxe edition it’s a little bit bigger with additional character art at the upper right corner of the packaging. This also displays the product showing the individual accessories that came with it not bagged with the rest unlike the basic figures.

At the back the usual card art on top sees Ram-Man battling Skeletor and Faker, with the later riding a Roton despite the later has not yet been released. But the Mattel team has mentioned before that every character or vehicle featured could appear in the future down the toyline as they can confirm with the previous card arts.

This also shows his gimmick as blurb in front and the back of the packaging. Besides the cross sell art from Wave 3 the consistent set up of the back of the card back also explain the character’s main feature.

Up-close and ramming it

When you open up the packaging you see Ram-Man bulky and entirely a new figure having his upper armor made of soft rubbery plastic on his sleeves that includes two versions of his axe, and extra left hand, and an extra weird head that looked almost the same as the standard head.

The figure still features some swappable body parts as explained what can be detached from Ram-Man unlike the previous released figures that doesn’t have this sheet of paper. It’s impressive enough that this Ram-Man is a bruiser though it appears to have very limited articulation as you can see here.

Featured Articulation:

• Head on the Ball Joint (Limited Movement)
• Ball Joint at the Shoulders
• Swivels/Bend at the Elbow
• Hinges at the Wrist
• No Turn at the Waist
• Swivel Knee Joint
• Spring/Lock Legs

Jumping to Ram You

The figure retains the gimmick he’s known for, and just like the original figure the ‘ramming gimmick’ is still there. But the way it was portrayed takes a new meaning of playful strong character. For once, the ramming gimmick is still intact where you push him down, but unlike the original there’s a button at the back of his feet to execute that ‘jumping ability’.

This Origins figure don’t have the button to make it jump, but you need to push down the figure and then push it again to release in executing what could have been the ability to ram the bad guys, but instead he just jumps.

Overall Ram-Man is a must have figure for MOTU fans who knew the character with the compassionate heart. The figure may not have the same leaping ability, but Ram-Man is a fun figure having that gimmick still part of him. The figure is not common in Philippine retail and that’s the challenging part why he became sought after.

The figure is considered a big hunk if chunky plastic that has weight to it (due to the mechanism for the gimmick) with limited swappable parts, but still retains and carry that nostalgia why he’s in good company with the Heroic Warriors.

Ram-Man is part of a third wave in the deluxe assortment with a higher price point that features extra accessories and "ramming" gimmick, which retails for at ₱ 1,299.75 (**$ 35.42 AUD | $ 25.99 USD) from Mattel locally distributed by Richprime Global Inc., and was available at Ollie & Co Glorieta. For more about MOTU Origins and the store that carry this toyline, like & follow them on their social media via Facebook!

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