Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!

King Randorâ„¢ Bio

Real Name: Randor of the House of Miro

King Miro’s second-born son, Randor, came of age during the Great Unrest, a time when conflict returned to Eternia following the Count Marzo Uprisings and the subsequent betrayal of his half-brother, Keldorâ„¢. After the disappearance of his father, Randor was appointed Captain of the Guard and lead Miro’s troops in battle against Keldor’s growing rebellion. Randor eventually ended the battles by fatally wounding Keldorâ„¢, and locking him and his evil warriors behind the Mystic Wall. For this act, he was appointed King by the Council of Elders. King Randorâ„¢ raises his staff, exulting in his rule over all Eternia!

Portrait Art Source: Original card back

I’m going to break this one down into bullet points. Why? Because I can.

• Randor of the House of Miro–“House” is supposed to refer to the family line beginning with the original patriarch. So while “Randor of the House of Miro” makes perfect sense, why is Adam “of the house of Randor“? That only makes sense if the Miro line somehow ended, which isn’t the case since Randor is Miro’s son. It’s just weird, and part of me thinks it’s simply because the BW didn’t know any better. A better authority on royalty than me can correct me if I’m wrong, but just because you’re the second son doesn’t mean you get to start a new line.
• This bio departs immediately from the Millennium canon by making Miro a king, rather than a captain. I like this–it was always weird to me that the Elders just appointed Randor king and then transmogrified into energy beings. I mean, who was even there to verify Randor’s coronation by the Elders, other than Randor, Duncan and a few warriors? The people of Eternia must have been a bit skeptical–for all they knew, Randor had slaughtered the Elders in a bloody coup d’état and declared himself king. But I suppose he was popular enough that it didn’t matter. But I digress: the MOTUC bio corrects this issue so it doesn’t matter.
• This is, I believe, the first mention of Randor being the second son, strongly implying that his brother Keldor is the first and, therefore, the true heir to the throne. An interesting twist that gives Keldor a realistic motivation for hating Randor so much, without diluting his evil (the reason he didn’t get to be king is because he was evil).
• Again, we learn Keldor is a half-brother. So who were their mothers? Were either of them bastards? Wouldn’t it be a delightful twist if Keldor were the actual queen’s son and Randor the bastard?
• I’ll get into this more with Keldor’s bio, but I’m still confused as to the order of this sequence of events: the disappearance of Miro, the defeat of Marzo, the betrayal of Keldor, Randor being appointed Captain of the Guard, and Keldor mounting a rebellion.
• Randor being Captain of the Guard, a position subsequently given to Teela, does open up the tantalizing possibility that Adam was deliberately passed over for the title due to his affected “goofy” persona.
• Do people like the Mystic Wall concept? Val Staples (JVS3) of the Roast Gooble podcast hates it, and I kind of agree with him. It’s very much an obvious plot device.
• If Keldor was the heir to the throne, how could he even mount a rebellion? Wouldn’t he automatically be king? No matter how many people were on Randor’s side, wouldn’t he technically be the one leading the rebellion? Or do you only get to be king if the Elders appoint you? Is Eternia ruled by a monarchy or an oligarchy–especially once the leaders have dissolved into energy beings?