Ram-Man

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Krass/Ram-Man is a fictional character from the popular Masters of the Universe toy line by Mattel.^[1]

He is a member of the Heroic Warriors, characterized by his bulky, spring-legged, stumpy appearance and flat-topped metal helmet. Originally tagged by Mattel as the "heroic human battering ram", his special ability is propel himself forwards with his spring-like legs, to knock opponents or obstacles down with his super-hard helmet.

Original line[edit]

The Ram Man (or Ram-Man) action figure was released as part of the line's second wave, and was one of the first figures of the line to break away from the construction design of the standard figures. Instead, the figure has a hollow body, allowing his legs to slide up inside his torso and clip in place. A latch on the back of his boot releases him, causing him to spring forward with a headbutting action.^[2]

The original prototype for the figure gave Ram Man an orange tunic and red legs. The final release had a red tunic and green legs, but his original prototype colour scheme was still used on back of box listings and in a number of appearances in the franchise's other media.

Ram Man's first appearance is in the early Mattel mini-comic "He-Man Meets Ram-Man".^[3] In this comic Ram Man is portrayed as a loner who lives on a stretch of barren land. He will attack anyone who crosses his land, believing their intention is to fight him, and although his past is not delved into it is implied he had retreated to this stretch of land after being continuously victimized by others. The story began with He-Man crossing his land, and despite stating his peace, Ram Man disbelieves him and attacks him. Left with no choice but to fight Ram Man, He-Man fights back and quickly beats him.

Humiliated by this defeat, Ram Man swears to get revenge on He-Man, and his confusion is taken advantage of by Skeletor, who was spying on the fight. Skeletor tricks Ram Man into believing He-Man is evil, and leads him to Castle Grayskull, where he forces Ram Man into ramming the jaw bridge repeatedly to gain entry to the castle, where Ram Man believes He-Man is. When The Sorceress witnesses Skeletor's attempt to break into Grayskull, she calls He-Man to her aid, who releases Ram Man from Skeletor's clutches and drives away the villain. Realizing he had been tricked and that He-Man means him no harm, Ram Man befriends He-Man and joins the Heroic Warriors.

As with several early characters, Ram Man's mini-comic appearances decreased as new characters were showcased.

Popular culture[edit]

In 2011, BBC Online reported that performer Jamie Moakes was trying to create "a new commodity, one to replace gold, silver and copper", by buying as many Ram Man figures as possible.^[4]

Reception[edit]

Ram Man was voted No.9 in The 10 Most Unfortunate Masters Of The Universe Toys by Io9.^[5] Ram Man was voted No.12 in The 12 Coolest Masters of the Universe Action Features by Topless Robot.^[6] Ram Man was voted by Mania.com as the fourth most Crazy Masters of the Universe Figures.^[7] CBR voted Ram Man 14th worst He-Man toy.^[8]

References[edit]