Raygoth

Review by The Enthusiast

As the Four Horsemen kick 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.

Raygoth

The back of Raygoth's card informs us that:

Raygoth was born on Flozar VIII, but was bred by Arkus to be a shock trooper in his army and obey all commands. Raygoth eats silica crystals and collects them in his chest cavity to reflect deadly laser rays.

Raygoth is easily the weakest of the first wave of Power Lords figures, As a kind of anonymous soldier, his sculpt is less distinctive than his peers. His gimmicks and accessories are bare bones and don't really work.

Raygoth's character design is awkward. The arms are too long, the legs too stumpy, the head too nubby.

One of his gimmicks, the silica chest, consists of a holographic sticker, which looks cool enough, but is still a little cheap. Where Sydot's head sculpt is loaded with endearing detail, Raygoth's diminutive head is a featureless blob.

The main gimmick of the figure is a nearly complete failure, in that I've never seen it actually function. I own four of these figures and they are all broken. The idea is that Raygoth extends his arms, the figure winds up 180 degrees at the waist, and is released by the tab at his waist. Doesn't work. Ever. Even in working order, it's not a great gimmick. Adam power has the same gimmick, but it's more purposeful.

The sculpt is still pretty decent, with thoughtfully crafted detail throughout.

Articulation is not terrific. The arms are floppy when they should be firm, and the range of motion isn't satisfying. The legs rotate on a bias, but towards what end?

I get a very Zoidberg vibe from him.

His single accessory, an angular gun, easily falls out of his claws. I had to hold this one in with wax. It sorta looks okay.

If I'm down on Raygoth, it's only because I so love his peers. He's still interesting and compelling as an action figure in some ways, just an inferior member of the otherwise transcendent Power Lords. They can't all be brilliant.