Recommended music: Accept – Fast as a Shark
Greetings MOTU fans! I hope you had a great weekend. For this rainy #MastersMonday, we’re staying on land to look at another 1985 vehicle release from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line: Land Shark!
Roger Sweet came up with the Land Shark ‘Evil Monster/Vehicle,’ which became a classic part of the vintage Masters of the Universe toyline. The idea of a one-man tank with a giant shark head might sound strange, but as a kid, I thought it looked amazing. It was often Skeletor’s main ride, while Panthor watched, probably a little jealous. No cat, even a big purple one, could compete with a vehicle that had tank treads with working wheels on the vehicle’s bottom, a removable seat, a removable engine, two large adjustable guns, and could even let an action figure ‘eat’ your Heroic Warriors.
The TV commercial for the Land Shark used music that sounded a lot like the Jaws theme, which made the toy seem even more dangerous. This was smart marketing, even for kids who hadn’t seen or read Jaws. The Land Shark also appeared in two episodes of the second season of Filmation’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. Besides the MOTU magazine, the Land Shark appeared in many books and comics that were easy for kids to find between 1985 and 1987. These included two Golden hardcover books, ‘A Hero In Need’ and ‘The River Of Ruin,’ as well as several minicomics that came with the figures: ‘The Battle of Roboto,’ ‘Hordak: The Ruthless Leader’s Revenge!’, ‘Leech: The Master of Power Suction Unleashed!,’ ‘The Stench of Evil,’ and ‘The Treachery of Modulok’… Often enough that any young reader would want the Shark in their own playroom armada.
In the 1980s, you could buy the Land Shark by itself for just $9.99, or get it in a box set with Battle Armor Skeletor. Both versions came in large window packaging to preview Skeletor’s new ride and featured box art by William George.
A new version of the Land Shark was released in the MOTU Origins toy line. Another take on the Land Shark, this time driven by Clawful, appeared in the first episode of the Netflix series Masters of the Universe: Revelation.
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