Toy prototype details
Name: MuvaranTM
Subtitle: wicked sorcerer
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure (dual figure) - Nº 4 in the line.
Character details
Name: Muvaran
Classification: the reanimated corpse of a human
Sex: male
Home: unknown
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: sorcerer priest.
Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #1 - The Destructomorph legacy
Brief bio: once an apprentice to a society of priests devoted to the God of the Sun, Muvaran hid a desire for authority from his mentors and eventually betrayed them by stealing magic from an enchanted solar disc under their protection and by trapping it in a mystical sceptre. He then led a savage sect that worshipped the God of the Storms, but perished fighting his original group. After stealing his corpse, the Storm Order tried to resurrect Muvaran and to transform him into a mighty immortal warrior using the power of the sceptre. The resurrection ritual was stopped by the members of the Sun Society, and the magical relic could not bring him back to life completely, making him instead a monstrous entity confined to another corner of the space-time. While he yearned for one day reclaiming leadership of his cult, to which he was still bound by the mystical sceptre, the mysterious creature was forced to make Tahron his new home. Possessing a strong and sharp intelligence and powerful supernatural abilities that included tracking the location of people or objects over great distances, Muvaran, by contrast, had a rotting and decrepit body that was shrouded by bandages, so his survival depended on him living inside a set of powered armours. Later, he joined forces with the dark sorcerers MohrdaxTM and PsadimyrTM, and, with his slyness and leaderly ambitions that had not faded, became the mastermind of the restored Destructomorph faction, helping the evil Nemhetra do her bidding in defeating the Therioms.
Articulation
Standard, except that the armoured form lacks the hinged abdomen, and the wrists of the mummy form are ball jointed.
Description
As it will be explained in the action feature section, this set includes two figures, which, despite representing the same character, render two alternative forms and appear very different. Although it's not clear whether these figures will be released individually or in a multi-pack, I'm going to describe them separately.
Armoured form
Head: he sports a shiny gold helmet with glossy dark-blue details, which is seemingly composed of a sculpted headcloth (covering the ears and the nape of the neck) and a Khepresh topped by the insignia of a vulture. His face is concealed under a devilish gold mask, which reminds me of the mask of Tutankhamun a bit, with dark-blue inlays, evil wadjet-like red glowing eyes and a spiky false beard; strangely, the mask doesn't appear to have a sculpted mouth
Body: his limbs are painted in a dull, flat golden-yellow colour, and are covered in hieroglyph-like ornamental inscriptions. He wears four bands, each made of small incised glossy dark-blue tiles laced together, around his upper arms and thighs
Wearables: a metallic dark-blue non-removable armour with shiny gold details (including a wesekh-like broad collar and two large spiked, reinforced spaulders), two metallic dark-blue bracelets with gold spikes sticking out of the sides, two metallic dark-blue boots with sculpted ornaments imitating sandal straps as well as fan-shaped tops, a studded dark-blue belt with a triangular gold buckle, and a short gold shendyt embossed with four-pointed stars all the way around.
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| Muvaran's stylised armour. |
Mummy form
Head: reptile-like face with rotting out dark-taupe flesh wrapped in ecru bandages, evil solid red eyes, nose cavity peeking out just a bit
Body: ghoulish clawed hands and feet. The dark-taupe mummified muscle tissue that is visible underneath his bandages here and there looks decrepit and rotting
Wearables: the ecru bandage wrapping is sculpted to make it look like it has several layers, and the paint/wash over it gives it a dirty and worn look. The strips of bandage flare off from certain parts of his body, making him look like he's losing the wrapping.
Action feature
In the comics, the mummy form of Muvaran controls a human-sized armour made of metal. These are the two figures that we get with this set. Even if obviously it's not possible to place the former inside the latter, the armoured form's chest plate has a quadrangular central piece that can be removed, to reveal a sculpted detail of the mummy's torso within.
Moreover, each time he needs more power, Muvaran jumps into an additional larger coffin-like armour made of painted wood; for maximum-strength amplification, he can further enclose himself in an even larger sarcophagus-like armour made of carved granite. I really hope one day we'll see the large scale prototypes of those two additional forms. And maybe also the mummy's "unwrapped" bituminous inner body that in the comics is capable of shapeshifting powers, including the ability to form spikes or expand his size.
Weapons and accessories
The armoured form of Muvaran comes with a sceptre composed of a long straight gold staff with a hooked top and a forked end. The hook (with the point flared outwards and shaped like a snake head) surrounds a blueish-grey steel disc (with a greenish-blue glassy gem in the centre) and is topped by a large fan-shaped, polished granite blade (which is engraved with a stylised vulture head); the cross-shaped opposite end has an oval loop with a greenish-blue glassy scarab mounted in it and a pair of outstretched vulture wings that form the prongs of a fork. But there is a twist... literally. The other side of the sceptre is painted with alternative colours, to reflect the original concept design of this weapon: light-grey for the staff, shiny gold for the disc (without gem, but grooved with some light rays) and scarab, and blueish-grey for the blade. I like both colour schemes, but I think the default one looks more realistic.
The mummy form comes with an alternate gripping right hand (if you want him to hold the sceptre weapon) and with two seemingly stretched forearm extensions made of a dark-taupe bendy rubber and covered in loose, dangling strips of ecru bandage.
Furthermore, although I'll always remove them when the figures are on display, the package includes a set of additional accessories that are inspired by the concept art workflow for this character: a purple glowing gemstone that can replace the vulture insignia (tiny pieces meant to be lost easily) of the armoured form's headdress, and a triple-string necklace of bony beads with snake head terminals/clasps, a gold armband and a pair of gold clip-on shin guards, all ornamented with blueish Destructomorph symbols, for the mummy form (I think a belt also had to be included, but it has been cut for budget reasons).
Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ Muvaran is an interesting choice for the line, and not only does he have some memorable appearances in the comic books of the Horizon series, but also has such a unique design that it’s hard not to love it
Articulation: ♥♥♥ Apart from the absence of the ab crunch in the armoured form (for a good reason!), both figures have all the articulation we’re used to with KR prototypes. Most of the limbs are pretty solid with nothing too loose, nor too tight
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ The armoured form is an excellent figure with a superior likeness to the source material and fantastic sculpt and paint work. The mummy form is also one of the best sculpts I’ve seen under the KR|Horizon flag and I hope to see many more surprises like this down the road
Accessories: ♠♠♠ Although most of the accessories are awesome, only my armoured Muvaran will be posed with his sceptre on my shelf
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ I really could not be any happier with Muvaran - since I always wanted an Egyptian-looking pharaoh/mummy character in the KR world, adding either figure to my shelf is a dream come true long in the making
Overall: ☺☺☺☺ Muvaran is a perfect candidate to join Nemhetra's ranks, and the concept of an evil army of muscled-out nesting dolls works well for the Destructomorphs. Both his forms came out great, and I especially love the detail that went into these figures.
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