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

Demo-Manâ„¢ Bio
Real Name: Uqquz’ Zekul-Mshqx

Realizing his pupil Keldorâ„¢ had no intention of releasing him from Despondosâ„¢, Hordak merged him with an extra-dimensional being called Demo-Manâ„¢. While this saved Keldor’s life, it also drove him temporarily insane and convinced him to open a portal to Despondosâ„¢ and lead what he thought were “his people” to Eternia. Hordak intended to use this ruse as a means to escape once the portal was opened, but the new merged being “Skeletor” was quickly defeated by Oo-larrâ„¢, the jungle He-Man, and Hordak remained trapped. Soon after, with the help of Evil-Lyn, Skeletor gained control of the powerful spirit inside of him, increasing his abilities ten-fold. He was now the true Overlord of Evilâ„¢ and one of the most dangerous men on Eternia!

I’ve previously discussed the Demo-Man/Skeletor angle here and here. This bio adds some new information to the story: we learn it was Oo-larr “the Jungle He-Man” who first defeated the emergent Skeletor. This is an attempt to bring the “Preternia He-Man” of the early, pre-cartoon minicomic “He-Man and the Power Sword” into the MOTUC Bio Universe.

It’s also further confirmation that Prince Adam and Oo-larr were contemporaries; so a version of “He-Man” definitely existed prior to Prince Adam’s first transformation.

The bio also gives a sop to the anti-Demo Man contingent by making it very clear that Demo-Man has no measure of mental or emotional control over Skeletor, meaning Keldor/Skeletor is evil all on his own. It still seems like way too much complicated and pointless to me – why can’t Demo-Man just be an evil monster? Just because he was an early sketch of the primary antagonist for what eventually became the toy line known as Masters of the Universe does not mean he has to have an origin that’s somehow tied in to the character who did become the antagonist – especially since there doesn’t seem to be any sign of an aesthetic connection (or rather, evolution) between the two designs.

Or perhaps the bio could have been written in a way that connected Demo-Man to Skeletor without literally “connecting” them…something like, I don’t know, this.