This was a very confusing character to me when I was a child, and it didn’t get better after writing this.

First of all, he wasn’t very present in the cartoon. There is so much info about MOTU out there, that is was easy to find out from this page (amazing!), that he had only two short roles in the cartoon. Also he was never very famous or popular I would say. There are so many more popular figures, that Sy-Klone is just one of the easy to forget ones.

Second: His face and haircut resemble Heman’s a lot. In fact he looks like a wiser, more relaxed 80s version (remember the Jetsons?!) of a future – Heman. This fact was totally ignored in my opinion, it seems almost like the Superman / Clark Kent thing (ok this was recognized by most of us). The name however suggests that he is a clone of someone. As you can read on the linked fandom page, he was considered a cyborg. But the story line wasn’t very straight in the different comics/ cartoon/ books. That is confusing, but also opens the door for your own version, which is great for kids, isn’t it?

Third: His cool sticker shows some kind of universe. But space travels wasn’t a thing in MOTU (BTW the Jetsons were very popular in the 80s). It seemed a bit like a test run whether the customers would ask for more space stuff or not. But was the sticker meant as a screen, or a window to a universe inside him, or just decoration?

Fourth: While I’m writing this, I notice that the name is also very confusing. You’ll find different versions like Cyclone, Sy-Clone, or Syclone. There is a photo of a box on Google with both versions, Sy-Klone and Cy-Klone on it. So maybe there are also regional differences.

Apart from the confusing and weak background story of this figure, this is a cool, high quality toy. I can’t think of any reused parts (except for the face) on other figures. His arms are a little bit like Mantenna’s though… He came with a clip-on shield, that is also unique. It was necessary because of his tiny fists. Sy-Klone is very colorful, in a bright, maybe royal blue, and sun yellow, combined with some wine-red applications. The colors are of very high contrast and exist in almost equal amounts (maybe a bit more blue). IKEA wasn’t that popular these days, so this combination of colors wasn’t prejudiced, though I would say Sy-Klone isn’t exactly beautiful or pleasant to the eye. He is rather flamboyant. The legs got some mold over the years, same as King Randor did.

And there is one coincidence, or maybe a hint from the makers? Other figures with a high amount of royal blue, like Mekaneck, King Randor (the blue cape!), Man-E-Faces, Faker, Two Bad, Dragstor, Roboto have blue combined with red or orange colors. This is much more pleasant than the bright yellow, and obviously very popular amongst MOTU figures. The only other blue – yellow combinations happen on “drums” … Skeletor, and Evil Lyn!!! The standard Skeletor only has the yellow face, but else he is totally blue, same as Evil Lyn. Does this color scheme tell something about the real attitude of the clone Heman space android?! I guess not. Or?

While blue is a standard color for MOTU figures, real yellow is very rarely seen. Buzz Off had to be yellow, sure. Mantenna’s and Mossman’s belt, and even more Panthor’s and Orko’s eyes are really tiny. Heman’s and strangely also Prince Adam’s hair (so similar!) are yellow, but that is it. Merman’s armor is of a greenish yellow. Oh yes, Mekanek’s bumbum weapon is also yellow, but his armor is red, so the contrast is lesser. Not sure why this is the case, in X-men blue and yellow go so well together…

The chest has this 3D like holographic planet-design – which is of good quality and never came off. His wrist can be rotated by a wheel, which works well. His arms have a different joints from the standard figures (and tiny fists!), so that the arms lift up during fast rotation. This means also that he is a bit wobbly, like a doll. This feature is well-made, but also some how isolates him in the MOTU universe. I guess he wasn’t the cheapest in production.

To me his isn’t a standard Master, so for the Titfortat tournament he is one of the special guests…