KR|Origin Review #8: Myneran

The KR|Origin line is picking up steam and I'm starting to develop a deep interest in its figures. I'm praising most of the design choices and Myneran^TM is no exception.

This seventh dual-action figure prototype of the Origin series is special for a few reasons. Firstly, like Galamars and Tah-Ron, the character is a completely new concept, which is always exciting. Secondly, Kai-Xi is not any longer alone in the roster of the warriors endowed with powerful helmets and halberds. Finally, his bio is one of the most detailed we've gotten so far, letting us learn a bit more of the history behind Tahron and what led up to Masq-Lor's and Fai-Rha's time.

Details

Name: Myneran

Subtitle: bull-horned warrior

Classification: human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 520 years before Masq-Lor's time (now renamed Foundation)

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: service warrior.

Background

First appearance: KR|Origin #1 - An arduous venture

Brief bio: the son of a brave gladiator and a powerful sorceress, Myneran was gifted with exceptional combating skills and cursed with uncontrollable paranormal powers. Orphaned as a child, he was taken by the sage master Ki-Shudan^TM to the stronghold of the nascent Theriom alliance and eventually endued with the ability to contain his powers using a mystical headband. In gratitude, he swore to help free Tahron from the reptilian forces and defend the mammalian people alongside the great King Khon-Uhr^TM. Given the prodigious artefacts forged by Galamars, Myneran was tasked, together with other valiant warriors, to trap Bi-Harr's mental powers beyond the multiversal walls. After the death of Kai-Xi, to whom he had initially been hostile due to her obscure origin, he took up the onerous duty of establishing diplomatic relations with the Reptonoids.

Articulation

Both figures have the standard articulation.

Description

In the comics, Myneran wears a magic helmet that in certain situations gives him incredible abilities and changes his look. Despite the two figures represent the same character, they render the two alternative forms and appear very different. Although it's not clear whether these figures will be released individually or in a 2-pack, I'm going to describe them separately.

Normal form

Head: Indian features, dark brown skin, black hair, brown eyes. He wears a metallic purple headband bearing an oval glossy black gemstone in its centre

Body: the arms are exposed and show dark brown skin, while the legs are covered with black trousers

Wearables: a purple vest with black edges and armholes, a black leather strap wrapped around the left wrist and part of the forearm, a metallic purple wrist guard fastened around the right forearm using two black leather straps, a metallic purple armband around the right biceps, two purple leather boots (with turndown lapels that have black leather straps wrapped around) and a purple belt. The vest, which resembles a kurta, falls just above the knees, features a stand-up mandarin collar and is decorated using a style that is similar to traditional chikan embroidery. The armband and the large belt have some metal studs and an interesting intertwined flowing lines motif that ties in nicely with the ornamental design on the vest. The belt also bears two small pouches of black leather hanging from the sides. Finally, he wears a long embroidered red silk scarf loosely around his neck; this stole is fastened off centre, at the left side of his chest, by a big gold brooch that recalls the Ashoka Chakra.

Enhanced form

Head: similarly to Kai-Xi, Myneran wears one of the silver magic helmets, which in certain circumstances produces a silver half mask (or visor) and gives him incredible physical and mental powers, changing his appearance significantly. The figure comes with an helmeted head, characterised by the silver visor activated, fierce eyes and dark brown skin around the mouth. The helmet also features two long whitish horns at the sides, which, according to Myneran's subtitle, should be reminiscent of those of a bull, but instead have a more complex three-branched structure

Body: covered from neck to toe with a purple&black armour, whose style reminds me of the Knights of the Zodiac very much

Wearables: a metallic purple cuirass with glossy black details, two metallic purple gauntlets, two metallic purple boots with knee guards, two criss-crossed studded metallic purple belts and two medieval-style glossy black armoured tassets. Besides these basic components, he wears various purple&black pieces of armour to protect the rest of his body, such as shoulder guards, rerebraces and thigh guards. There is an impressive amount of intricate decorative features all around the various components of this protective covering; I especially like the small gem-ornamented Theriom emblems on the wrist and knee guards, and the little gaps here and there that reveal silver chain mail details beneath the armour. The cuirass displays a few chikan-inspired decorative patterns, an oval glossy black gemstone (similar to the one seen on the headband of the normal form) on the collar and a golden Theriom emblem on the breastplate. Myneran also carries a translucent red cape, which fastens at the cuirass by two black leather straps next to the collar and sports a cool stencil-like dark version of the Theriom symbol on its surface.

Myneran's stylised helmet with top crest.

Myneran's stylised cuirass; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the Theriom symbol.

Action feature

Neither of Myneran's form has any action features, although in the comics it is mentioned that he's capable of transmitting thoughts to other people and of knowing their thoughts. Since these telepathic and mind-reading abilities are ungovernable, he normally wears a headband with a magical gemstone that restrains such paranormal powers. It's a pity that the smoky appearance of the gemstone shown in the comics couldn't be reproduced in the action figure.

Weapons and accessories

Myneran comes with two weapons, one for each of his forms. The normal form is equipped with a very simply designed sword, which has a silver blade and a black hilt. This sword can be stored in a beautifully carved ebony case that was fictionally donated to Myneran by his father.

The enhanced form is endowed with a silver halberd, which is one of the four components of the Key (the one whose blade has four tips) and a shinier version of the halberd that belongs to Tir-Hing in the regular series.

Moreover, there is an alternative head that displays a daring expression and wears the inactive helmet, i.e., with neither the silver visor activated nor horns. This head works as the necessary bridge between the unhelmeted and the helmeted-with-visor heads.

Overall, I’m really glad that one of the figures I had been curious about got its prototype. Myneran is absolutely gorgeous in both his forms. It is also great that the bio added him in such a detailed way into the continuity of the KR universe. I’m a big fan of most of the aspects of this figure, but my enthusiasm for it is brought down a little by the absence of an action feature in the enhanced form... it ruins the figure for me a bit. My expectations are high for the next prototypes though.