Rio Blast

Rio Blast
Information
Alignment	Good
Affiliations	He-Man Heroic Warriors
Powers/skills	Skilled gunslinger
Weapons	Various secret weapons

Rio Blast is a fictional character from the popular Masters of the Universe franchise. He is a member of the heroic warriors, a cowboy warrior with an arsenal of laser guns and blasters built into hidden cavities within his chest and knees, which he unleashes upon unsuspecting opponents. He also carries a pack of blasters on his back, which he pulls over his head during battle to become a one-man army of laser blasters.

Character profile

Comics

Rio Blast was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1986. His first appearance is in the Mattel mini-comic "The Fastest Draw in the Universe", which portrays him as an old friend of He-Man's, who, for added western stereotype value, is particularly keen on cooking chili.

He makes a few cameos in the comic published by Star Comics, but only plays a major role in issue #4, Snakes Alive, where he is in a constant not-so-friendly rivalry with Snout Spout and is also shown to be deathly afraid of snakes -- which proves unfortunate, since this issue is also where the Snake Men are introduced.

He also makes frequent appearances in the UK comic series by London Editions. These comics give him a background as a member of an alien law team called the Starband Marshals, from the world of Loredos. After being injured defending his world from Horde Prime, he was given his cybernetic modifications to save his life as well as enhance his battle skill. While working in an Astro-Jail, his world was hit by a meteor and destroyed, a chunk of the exploding planet hit him and knocked him towards Eternia. Believing that Horde Prime was responsible for the meteor, Rio joined the Heroic Warriors in the hope of striking back on Prime for the destruction of his homeworld.

Colonel Blast

Rio Blast never appeared on the toy line's accompanying cartoon series, as it had been discontinued by the time his figure was released, to make way for its spin-off series, She-Ra: Princess of Power. However, a very similar character called Colonel Blast does appear on the She-Ra series. Colonel Blast is a member of the Evil Horde who features in the 1985 episode "The Wizard" commanding the ranks of Horde Troopers. Although he is not a cowboy, this character had guns built into his body in the same manner as Rio, as well as sharing the same last name. Given that the characters from the 1986 wave of toys were in their development stage at this time, it is quite likely that Colonel Blast is an early version of Rio, promoted on the show as a possible upcoming figure.

Four Horsemen Studios

Rio Blast was included in Series 5 of NECA's Masters of the Universe mini statue line. On July 20, 2006 at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, the Four Horsemen announced the figure and revealed the prototype.

The line is a continuation of the discontinued 2002 Mattel Masters of the Universe action figures also designed by Four Horsemen Studios, and is sculpted in a similar size and style. Rio Blast's appearance is more cyborg than the original toy's.