Ggripptogg
As the Four Horsemenkick the renewed Power Lords into production in the coming months, I will be revisiting the classic figures.
Power Lords
The Power Lords is a strange property. In 1983, Revell, the ubiquitous model company, threw its hat into the action figure ring with the Power Lords, a fantasy-themed series roughly in the vein of Masters of the Universe. Revell enlisted the talents of science fiction illustrator Wayne Barlowe to develop the designs. Barlowe’s designs are some of the strangest ever realized in a mass market product. The Power lords were creepy, sinewy, organic space aliens, more like nightmares than the muscle-men of the He-Man roster. I remember being disturbed and intrigued by the toys as a child. I was too fixated on the Transformers and G.I. Joe to pay much attention, and the Power Lords were on shelves for about a half an hour, but they were some of the first figures I picked up off of ebay as an adult.
Ggripptogg
GGripptogg’s card is typical PL fare, with cool illustrations front and back. The bubble is, typically, yellowed and brittle.
From the back of the card:
Ggripptogg is a fearsome brute whose four war-arms and double faced head hold entire planets in the grip of fear. His empire stretched from one end of the galaxy to the other until Arkus captured it from him. He now exists as a mindless yet hateful follower of the Evil Dictator.
In short, Ggripptogg is Evil Dictator and series antagonist Arkus’ muscle. He’s a brutish thug with four arms. The Power Lords used multiples as a recurring design motif. Ggripptogg has both multiple limbs and double-sided features.
Ggripptogg’s sculpt is awesome. None of the moving parts is obvious or expected. The arms articulation is unique, the backward leg joints are unusual. The striated day-glo muscle nicely contrasts with the chest, which resembles cooling pates of magma. Note, the soft rubber belt/harness piece is often missing from loose specimens.
The feet are like puddles of lava.
So GGripptogg has tons of funk and presence. Put this think on a shelf with any assortment of his contemporaries and he’ll stand out. He looks good from any angle.
Like Adam Power and Shaya, Ggripptogg has a double-sided head. His second face is less menacing, more fishy. While this character is a bad guy, the design is surprisingly sympathetic.
He comes with a laser mace, which fits nicely between his hands.
GGripptogg is definitely a stand-out piece from a remarkable line. He is generally easy to find loose, though finding him complete with accessories is still a challenge.