Man-At-Arms is the name of this Masters Of The Universe figure from the early 1980s. He is also known by the name Duncan. He is the best friend of He Man and is a soldier, inventor and the foster Father of Teela from the series. He is one of the few who know the true identity of He Man, as explained in the introductory pages of the original cartoon. Man-At-Arms is a central figure and appears many times in the series. He is labeled a “good guy” and fights against Skeletor for the Castle Grayskull. He is given a gentle disposition but is also labeled the “Master of Weapons” for his excellent handling of arms. Mattel made an action figure out of him during the early eighties as well.
Being the best friend of He Man is a great honor. The basic power of Man-At-Arms is his knowledge of weapons. Mattel describes his position as one who is master and combat instructor to the royal family. He was trained by the renowned tactician “Dekker” and a veteran of the “Great Unrest”. He is the person who was asked by the ruler of Eternia to create an elite strike force against evil. With his knowledge he created an electronic version of the power sword that He Man uses. He later joined the broken halves of the sword of King Grayskull. He can not transform like He Man but his mechanical abilities make him a valuable asset to Castle Grayskull.
Man-At-Arms is like other 1982 Masters Of The Universe action figures and is 5 ½ inches tall. This was a departure from the standard 3 ¾ inch figures of the day. The original Man-At-Arms came with green skin for some reason. He was, as his name reflects, armed well. His orange chest armor went all the way up to his chin and nearly down to his belly button. He comes equipped with a maul and extra body armor, including a shoulder and arm protector. One leg has armor covering his boot as well. All of Man-At-Arms’ armor matches in color. His tiny shorts are a darker orange and match the color of his boots. Man-At-Arms does not have a sword like He Man, but he does have a blue helmet.
The Man-At-Arms action figure does a twisting action thanks to Mattel creating him with an upper and lower section. This is advertised as the “power punch” because an elastic band brings the figure back to his original position with a snap. The movement is diminished over time because the elastic band loses its stretchiness after repeated “power punches”.
The Man-At-Arms Mattel action figure does not have different versions for series one. There will be differences in the packaging though. There will be “8 back” and “12 back” bubble packs that tHe Man-At-Arms figure was shipped in. The term refers to the amount of Mattel action figures depicted on the back of the card he ships in. If there are eight depicted, the card is considered a 8-back. If twelve are depicted, it is a 12-back. The 8-backs are rarer and collectors will want to seek those out before a 12 back.
Man-At-Arms and the Masters Of The Universe series were extremely popular with kids and are therefore still very popular with collectors. Some of the figures are very hard to find and you’ll have to pay a pretty penny to get them in high grade condition. Sale prices for the 1982 Man-At-Arms action figure range from $800 for a unopened “8 back” figure in average condition, to $1,300 dollars for a “12 back” in perfect condition. A loose figure will be much less depending on the condition of the toy. A perfect “8 back” will be the highest priced.
