Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Serpentine King Hssss

Way back when Battle Armor King Hssss vs Snake Armor He-Man was introduced, Hssss was designed to include an upgraded version of his snake form. Unfortunately, due to higher than acceptable costs, that piece had to be cut from the set with the promise that the piece would be included with a future release. As time passed, fans like myself began to wonder if we’d really see the new snake form. Around Comic-con, it was announced that the new snake form would indeed be released, as part of its own figure, and on February of 2016, we at last have Serpentine King Hssss.

 

This new form of King Hssss is quite interesting from the get go, being in his Snake form, his torso is entirely comprised of serpents of various sizes. Six of these snakes flare out to be arms for the figure, with some open and some closed, while a much larger one is in the center serving as the main head. This design is wicked awesome. While it’s not accurate to the 200x version of Hssss, I would dare say it’s an improvement over that concept. It most certainly is an improvement over the Snake form of the first release of Hssss in this line. When comparing the two, this new snake torso makes the older one look rather dull.  Each snake arm is bendy so you can move them quite freely, the main head has a swivel around the neck to move it left and right, but the mouth cannot open and close. Still, the head sculpt is amazing.

 

The legs are fairly simple. A pair of snakeman legs painted up to match the torso, a golden brown with green patterns, all on a King Hssss codpiece. Basically it looks like Hssss is in his undies, as if his minions stole his pants to hang them on a flagpole or something. Articulation is standard, universal hips, thigh swivels, 90 degree knees, and forward and backward on the ankles.

 

The snake torso is fully compatible with either form of King Hssss. Simply remove the normal torso and peg in the new snake form one. It’s a simple design that works quite well and offers up a few nice combinations. Given how the 200X cartoon was what really hooked me onto Masters, I prefer using the 200X legs with the new snake form torso, although I’m probably gonna be displaying Serpentine Hssss as a whole next the 200X figure.

 

To make up for the wait, Mattel has gifted this toy with a few interesting accessories. First off, he includes repainted versions of the weapons from the Snakeman 2-pack, giving us a new mace, sword, polearm, and shield done in gunmetal grey and metallic green. These will go great with your Snakemen, particularly warriors like Rattlor. We also get a new head for King Hssss, one that looks to be in the middle of transforming into snake form. It's just a repaint of one of the Snakemen Warrior heads, but still a cool add in none the less. This new head will work with either version of Hssss, but the green on the back would suggest it was meant for the vintage styled version of the character. It looks great and can really provide an interesting new look for Hssss.

 

All in all, Serpentine King Hssss is a great figure, which can either complete Battle Armor King Hssss or just as easily stand on its own.  Whether you want to Upgrade your existing Hssss, or just want a snake monster to attack your heroes, Serpentine King Hssss is a figure worth hunting down.