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

Zodakâ„¢ Bio
Real Name: Kar-torâ„¢

An ancient and powerful enforcer for the Council of Elders, Kar-torâ„¢ studied the teachings and mystic fighting techniques of the Cosmic Enforcers and knows how to instantly identify an opponent’s weakness. After his mentor, the original Zodac, left Eternia to fulfill the Elder’s bargain with Trolla, Kar-torâ„¢ took his place on the Council and helped lead them in battle against the Snake Menâ„¢, eventually trapping King Hssssâ„¢ in the Void with the power of his staff. Although he prefers a solitary life of meditation in the Mystic Mountains, when he is called to battle, Zodakâ„¢ attacks his enemies using all the power at his command!

Portrait art source: Character model sheets

Though he appeared to be an innocent repaint of Zodac (with He-Ro’s boots), Zodak had one of the most lore-intensive bios in the line to that point. Some quick background info: In the Millennium cartoon, Zodak was not intended to be a separate character from the vintage Zodac–he was the updated Zodac. But thanks to the fortunate difference in spelling, Mattel was able to concoct the notion that Zodac and Zodak were two different characters and incorporate the fan favorite Zodak into MOTUC.

As mentioned in the Zodac bio discussion, Zodak’s bio raises some interesting questions. Zodac’s bio says he retained his human form, which implies that the rest of the Council turned into energy or spirits or whatever. But Zodak’s bio says he took Zodac’s place on the Council, so…did the Council turn into pure energy or not? I suppose the Bio Writer (BW) was thinking of the Millennium version of the Elders, who were long-lived spiritual entities who only turned themselves into pure energy during the final battle with Keldor–however, Zodac’s bio clearly states that he chose to keep his human form after the death of Grayskull. (The aside about the Elders’ “bargain with Trolla” is explained in the Eternia Map bio, which I’ll get to later.)

Another question is when Zodak’s life began and ended; if he never became a Cosmic Enforcer nor a spiritual entity, how long did he live? The bio says Zodak took Zodac’s place on the Council, and Zodac left “after Grayskull’s demise.” Now, it’s possible that, for example, Zodac didn’t leave the Council until hundreds of years later, and Zodak “took his place” on the Council hundreds of years after that, but I think the implication is that all these events–Grayskull’s death, the Council becoming energy, Zodac becoming a Cosmic Enforcer, and Zodak taking his place on the Council– happened within the same few weeks or months. Of course, on the Millennium cartoon Zodak had been around since the defeat of the Snake Men, so it’s probably safe to assume he’s just immortal, in some way or another.

The part about Zodak battling the Snake Men and trapping King Hssss–as well as the meditation in the mountains–comes straight from the Millennium cartoon, though it leaves out the part where King Hssss ate his brother.

As for the “real name”…this is a goofy one. My guess is it’s how he was referred to by his pupil, Vin-Cent Barbarinor.