As a big MOTU fan (tied with the DC Universe as my favorite peoperty of all time), I did find this very illuminating. Scott/Toyguru is an interesting personality, and a little polarizing to folks who suffered though Mattycollector, but this is the sort of thing he's good at. It does genuinely sound like he has the answer here. Still love my Wundarr with his loaf of bread, though.
I am glad to see the "mystery" has been solved, but even though I was uncertain as to where the figure originated from until now, I did know it was indeed a legit figure. Prior to the recent discovery, I heard some talk about this figure having never existed and of them all simply being repaints created by people trying to cash in on the myth surrounding Wonder Bread He-Man. However, I can recall visiting with my cousins when I was a child and they had the black-haired He-Man with no armour. They also said they had to mail away for him, but as a kid I didn't question anything further, I just assumed it was coloured differently to differentiate it from the actual store-bought He-Man.
It's cool that this conundrum can now finally be classed as being resolved.
Looking for one CAH Mego Comic Activator (working or non working).
Sorry, I call BS on this whole thing. ToyGuru is notorious for lying and the dude has been desperate to drive attention to his Youtube channel. Very little of his content gets noticed (he makes videos using other people's photos of toys, it's really shoddy but the sort of thing you'd expect if you've followed his career) and suddenly he manages to solve the Wonderbread/Savage He-Man controversy?
And how does he do it? Well, when he actually WORKED at Mattel and was hounded by this question and did tons of research on this subject, he came up with NOTHING.
But now, many years later, we find out he just happened to steal a bunch of letters from Mattel (seriously on a couple of these he seems to have the "masters" [no punintended] of the copies) and subsequent letters back and forth between the head of Mattel and the VP and designers and they also included the lady's letter as well?
And her letter goes to GREAT lengths to explain what the figure looks like and how she got it as part of a very specific promotion and yadda yadda.
Why did ToyGuru have these letters? Why is he just now reading them? I get that he claims he had a stack of these old papers, but why did he even steal them, uh, borrow them for his art book, if it wasn't worth keeping to begin with?
And to make matters even more bizarre... The actual PRESIDENT of Mattel saw this lady's letter, read it and put his team on the case? Feels like the sort of thing that would have never even made it to him (even if it was addressed to him) and that there would be so much correspondence for a single complaint about someone not liking their free He-Man.
Anyway, it's all very suspicious considering the source. I'm sure a lot of people will say TG would never fake something like this, but anyone who has followed his career would know, he in fact would. Hell, he stole the name Toy Guru lol. Dude is a pretty big fraud.
Unfortunately, even if this is all 100% true, it honestly answers nothing. It's been known for years that this He-Man figure very likely came from this promotion. The letter mentions him not having his gear, but it doesn't say there wasn't some gear included. Also how the hell did this lady know about the "force field" armor which was only in the mini-comic that came with a He-Man that she claims he son never bought?
ANYWAY, again, assuming this is all on the up and up, it really doesn't answer the most basic question... WHY DID THEY MAKE A HE-MAN THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS?
Clearly they made him for a reason and were dumping him for a reason in a free figure promotion... Which has ALWAYS been the most important part of the "Wonderbread" He-Man mystery, not if he came from Wonderbread or not.
So yeah, I call BS.
If you have proof of your claims, present them and blow him out of the water. He presented evidence, he worked for Mattel, he had access to this stuff. I believe him.
Looking for Green Arrow accessories, Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver, and Japanese Popy Megos (Battle Fever J, Battle of the Planets, Kamen Rider, Ultraman)
I didn't make any claims that I had proof he was lying. I said I personally don't believe him, and I find a lot of parts of his story highly suspicious, especially since he's a well documented huckster.
I'm happy that you believe him. I don't think all the details add up, myself. But I'm mostly calling "BS" on the idea that this solves anything. Since it doesn't answer the most basic question, WHY?
Last edited by ODBJBG; Nov 24, '20 at 10:52 PM.
Not everything is a conspiracy. And what purpose would faking this serve?
Looking for Green Arrow accessories, Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver, and Japanese Popy Megos (Battle Fever J, Battle of the Planets, Kamen Rider, Ultraman)
I was a bit confused about why the Mom was upset by the figure she got, but beyond that, I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me as bogus. From the sounds of things he went back over the material he had that was used for the coffee table book (and you can question why this isn't back in the Mattel archives, but maybe he copied everything), and found this hidden smoking gun. There's documentation that surfaces all the time, rewriting history in all sorts of subjects. I guess my questions would be; Did this promotion PROMISE a special He-Man? Did this family WANT a special He-Man, or a regular He-Man? My understanding was the kids had a He-Man, and that's why they were upset that this one didn't have the power harness, because as related in the mini-comic that came with He-Man, that was his power source. If the kid came to his Mom and said "He doesn't even come with his armor, that gives him power", I can see a Mom putting this in a letter...if she's already disposed to write one.Sorry, I call BS on this whole thing. ToyGuru is notorious for lying and the dude has been desperate to drive attention to his Youtube channel. Very little of his content gets noticed (he makes videos using other people's photos of toys, it's really shoddy but the sort of thing you'd expect if you've followed his career) and suddenly he manages to solve the Wonderbread/Savage He-Man controversy?
And how does he do it? Well, when he actually WORKED at Mattel and was hounded by this question and did tons of research on this subject, he came up with NOTHING.
But now, many years later, we find out he just happened to steal a bunch of letters from Mattel (seriously on a couple of these he seems to have the "masters" [no punintended] of the copies) and subsequent letters back and forth between the head of Mattel and the VP and designers and they also included the lady's letter as well?
And her letter goes to GREAT lengths to explain what the figure looks like and how she got it as part of a very specific promotion and yadda yadda.
Why did ToyGuru have these letters? Why is he just now reading them? I get that he claims he had a stack of these old papers, but why did he even steal them, uh, borrow them for his art book, if it wasn't worth keeping to begin with?
And to make matters even more bizarre... The actual PRESIDENT of Mattel saw this lady's letter, read it and put his team on the case? Feels like the sort of thing that would have never even made it to him (even if it was addressed to him) and that there would be so much correspondence for a single complaint about someone not liking their free He-Man.
Anyway, it's all very suspicious considering the source. I'm sure a lot of people will say TG would never fake something like this, but anyone who has followed his career would know, he in fact would. Hell, he stole the name Toy Guru lol. Dude is a pretty big fraud.
Unfortunately, even if this is all 100% true, it honestly answers nothing. It's been known for years that this He-Man figure very likely came from this promotion. The letter mentions him not having his gear, but it doesn't say there wasn't some gear included. Also how the hell did this lady know about the "force field" armor which was only in the mini-comic that came with a He-Man that she claims he son never bought?
ANYWAY, again, assuming this is all on the up and up, it really doesn't answer the most basic question... WHY DID THEY MAKE A HE-MAN THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS?
Clearly they made him for a reason and were dumping him for a reason in a free figure promotion... Which has ALWAYS been the most important part of the "Wonderbread" He-Man mystery, not if he came from Wonderbread or not.
So yeah, I call BS.
I have heard Toy Guru is very divisive, but other than the horrors of ordering from Matty Collector, and his somewhat flippant attitude toward fans who were frustrated with the services, I'm unaware of any supposed crimes he's committed within the industry and fandom. If you could relate some, I'd appreciate knowing what's been said.
Chris