I admit it–sometimes I like to drum up a little debate for the heck of it, no matter how incredibly nerdy or pedantic it may be. This is one of those times.

Mattel posted pics of Keldor in-package a few days ago, including his new bio, which has proven controversial amongst the He-Fans at He-Man.org.

Banished from the royal palace, in part due to distrust for the rare blue-skinned Gar race, Prince Keldor became an outcast. He travelled Eternia seeking knowledge and guidance, eventually discovering the ancient Spirit of Hordak. From him, Keldor learned of the dark arts and came to realize that to truly unite Eternia he would need to take command of the planet himself. He gathered an army of fellow outcasts and led them into battle against his brother, Captain Randor. Eventually defeated and near death, Keldor once again turned to Hordak who, in exchange for his own freedom, agreed to save Keldor’s life by merging him with Demo-Man, twisting Keldor into Skeletor – Lord of Destruction!

Most of the debate has centered around the first couple of sentences. Some believe this casts Keldor as a victim of racism, cast out (“in part”) for his race. His travels then lead him to Hordak, who teaches Keldor the dark arts. Now, of course one interpretation–and probably the one I prefer–is that Keldor eagerly accepted Hordak’s help because he wanted to dominate Eternia. But of course, Keldor was also presumably fairly young at this point, and rightly enraged by his treatment based solely on the color of his skin or the accident of his ancestry, so if Hordak took advantage of that rage and corrupted Keldor, can we really say Keldor wasn’t at least partially victimized by Hordak?

I don’t have any problem with the idea that part of his original hate and anger toward the rulers of Eternia stemmed from their racism (though that “in part” line hints that there may have been other, justifiable reasons for exiling him). Obviously that doesn’t justify his actions as Keldor or Skeletor. But I’m comfortable with the idea that even the most innately evil person could have had some injustice done against him or her, however mild or horrific, that served as the initial spark that fired the flame of their lifelong quest for revenge, domination, or slaughter.

But then there’s the whole thing with “Demo-Man.” Until the point at which he’s near-death and accepts the devil’s bargain offered by Hordak, it could be argued–and I’m definitely playing the devil’s advocate here–that Keldor was leading a justified rebellion against the racist lords of Eternia. But once he’s combined with “Demo-Man,” then, like a vampire in the Buffy universe, the relatively noble Keldor becomes evil incarnate.*

Some of the fans object to this bio because they believe it sets Skeletor up for a Return of the Jedi-like moment of redemption against Hordak or Horde Supreme, particularly if “Demo-Man” is separated from his psyche (like Angel in Buffy). They want their Skeletor to be a creature of pure evil, not someone simply possessed by a demon with an excruciatingly lame name.

The bio is vague enough that you can still imagine Keldor to be an innately evil person, and that his merger with Demo-Man (why not De-Man, at least?) simply increased his power. But the whole thing still has an air of trying to turn Keldor into a kind of tragic, fallen hero. What do you think?

* On a side note, anyone who’s played God of War back me up on this: doesn’t this description of Keldor and his relationship with Hordak, and the subsequent combining with Demo-Man, seem a lot like what happens to Kratos–serving Ares until he’s nearly killed in battle, at which point he offers himself and becomes Ares’s slave, committing horrific acts for him?