This is a page from the mini-comic “Danger at Castle Grayskull,” which came with the original Talon Fighter toy. It was the second of a two-story comic, and it came with a record so you could follow along and listen to the story. I’m pretty damned sure I had this as a kid–I know I had the Talon Fighter, and the whole thing with Trap-Jaw locking them up and getting rusted rings a bell.

It also shows just how stupid Eternian residents can be. It seems their incompetence isn’t limited to being fooled by blue guys.

First panel: we have Skeletor acting like a harried schoolmarm, berating his minions as if they were hyperactive five-year-olds.

And they apparently are five-year-olds, judging from the next panel.

Note Skeletor’s world-renowned empathy in his reaction. For all he knows, that pit could be filled with metal spikes or golden poison frogs or an audio loop of Michael Bay DVD commentaries.

However, the part that gets me is in the third panel. Trap-Jaw has been regaling his prisoners with war stories after being splashed with a bucket of water by He-Man, which is the obvious response to such an affront (once, after a friend doused me with a Super Soaker, I proceeded to describe at length how I got an A on a history paper despite writing it the night before).

Alas for Trap-Jaw, the water has made his metal bits rust. First He-Man points out this obvious fact. Then Teela follows it up with a four-sentence explanation that basically rephrases what He-Man said.

Here’s the best part. After Teela’s exhaustive explanation, Man-At-Arms, his eyes squinting in thought, adds his own comment:

Try to keep up, Gramps.