I love accessories. In my Toy Room I have more than three chests of drawers full of well-organised, catalogued, ziplock-bagged accessories from my decades of collecting. There’s something appealing about owning a miniature armory of tiny weapons, or scaled-down shopping trolleys and cupboards that wrestlers can hurl at the Simpsons, or little fake body parts that can be strewn around a gruesome horror display. (more…)
Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
Snout Spoutâ„¢ Bio
Real Name: JaxtonA peasant from Etheria, Jaxton was one of three athletes abducted by Hordak and cast into his experimentation matrix. There, like the others, Jaxton was grafted with cybernetic parts giving him both amazing powers and a bizarre form. After crossing through a Laser Gate to Eternia with The Evil Hordeâ„¢, Snout Spoutâ„¢ escaped and joined with the renegade Masters of the Universe. Self-conscious about his appearance and called “Snout Spoutâ„¢” for his abilities to blast water from his cybernetic trunk, Jaxton often feels that everyone is always laughing at him. But when the Snake Menâ„¢ slither out and enemies attack, Snout Spoutâ„¢ blasts them back with a super jetspray!
Because he joined the MOTU toyline after the Filmation cartoon had ended, Snout Spout was incorporated into the She-Ra cartoon, which is presumably why he has an Etherian origin here. But even the cartoon version was confusing; of the three episodes he appeared in, sometimes he was depicted as an Etheria resident (and was even referred to by his original concept name of “Hose Nose”) while other times he was Prince Adam’s friend from Eternia.
Finally, issue #26 of the United Kingdom MOTU comic featured the story “The Unknown Warrior” in which Snout Spout was an Etherian peasant who was experimented on by Hordak and transformed into an elephant-headed freak who later escaped to Eternia and joined the Heroic Warriors.
This bio synthesizes elements from all these origins, but adds the interesting wrinkle that Snout Spout evidently served as a Horde member for at least a little while. It raises the question as to whether “Jaxton,” like so many other Horde members, wasn’t simply brainwashed. Maybe they hadn’t worked out the kinks yet? Did Jaxton do any evil deeds as a Horde member? Did he kill a fat barkeep?
I love the lack of resolution to his bio, too: “Jaxton often feels that everyone is always laughing at him.” Oh, and he fights the Snake Men. So we’re left to think either people are laughing at him or he’ll continue to suffer crippling paranoia that they are.
As for that last bit, why the Snake Men, you ask, rather than Hordak or Skeletor, either of whom would make more sense? Because the last sentence has to come from the card back, people!
What many childhood fans of Masters of the Universe remember about Kobra Khan is that when his vintage figure was produced in 1984, he was just another one of Skeletor’s Evil Warriors (specifically the “Evil Master of Snakes”). Legend has it that when the Snake Men were introduced two years later, Kobra Khan was re-released in Snake Men packaging with a new tag of “Evil Snake Men Henchmen”; however, I have not been able to track down a photo of Khan in Snake Men packaging, so I’m a bit skeptical it exists.
The various media depictions of Khan often address the Evil Warrior/Snake Men question. The Snake Men hadn’t been introduced by the time the 1980s cartoon ended, so Khan was merely one of Skeletor’s lackeys, albeit a fairly intelligent one; but Khan worked as a spy for Skeletor among the Snake Men in the vintage minicomics (“King of the Snake Men”). In the Millennium cartoon, he was a descendant of the Snake Men who joined up with Skeletor so he could delve into Snake Mountain and free his ancestors from the Void (“Snake Pit”). It’s notable that in both cartoon depictions, Khan had a cobra hood not present on his toy version. However, the Four Horsemen added it to his Millennium figure. (more…)
Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
Icarius Bio
Real Name: TC Icarius Kaz
A great pilot from the cloud city of Levitan on planet Primus, Icarius is equipped and ready to “flip” into battle at a moment’s notice. After his 18th birthday, he left home to join the Galactic Protectors. Rising to the rank of Lieutenant, Icarius traveled with Captain Hydron on his quest to find the legendary twin warriors prophesied to defeat the Horde Empire. Arriving on the distant planet Eternia shortly after the end of the Second Ultimate Battleground, they recruited not only He-Man and She-Ra, but several other Masters of the Universe who were eager to pursue Skeletor to the stars. Nicknamed “Flipshot,” Icarius utilizes a battle helmet, back mounted jet pack and concussion grenade wrist rockets in battle against Skeletor and his new Space Mutant army.
At least this bio does give us a little background on Icarius himself (the “TC” in his name is a tribute to former MOTUC project manager TC Chen, who worked on both the 1980s Icarius/Flipshot and the MOTUC version). Not a lot of background, but we know he’s a pilot, that he’s from Levitan on Primus, that he’s a lieutenant and that he’s nicknamed “Flipshot” (a reference to his 1980s American toy name; the toy was called Icarius on international packaging because “Flipshot” was too difficult to translate effectively).
Of all the various MOTU iterations awkwardly jammed into the MOTUC storyline, none seem quite as contrived to me as the New Adventures stuff. As I recall, Skeletor defeats Hordak and immediately takes off into space to take over the Horde Empire and conquer the galaxy. Enter the Galactic Protectors, who recruit He-Man, She-Ra and other Heroic Warriors to fight the Skeletor-led Horde. If you’re trying to figure out how the MOTUC timeline works out, this thread on He-Man.org does the job as thoroughly as possible right now.
I wonder if Icarius ever sailed the seas of cheese.
Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
Hurricane Hordak Bio
Real Name: Hec-Tor Kurâ„¢After being released from exile in Despondosâ„¢ by Evil-Lyn, Hordak returned to Eternia with his ageless army to once again claim its hidden magical properties for his own. Finding his former pupil Skeletor on the throne following the apparent “death” of King Randorâ„¢, Hordak upgraded his armor with a Hurricane Blaster which he used to challenge the Evil Lord of Destructionâ„¢ and drive the Snake Menâ„¢ back into hibernation. After ripping through the walls of Snake Mountainâ„¢, Hurricane Hordak casts off his battle shield and advances on Skeletor whirling his thunderball mace!
This bio spends more time moving the story along than explaining the figure itself. That’s not as big a deal in this case, since the figure’s just an alternate guise of Hordak.
I’m a bit confused, though; Hordak returns from Despondos to find Randor gone and Skeletor on the throne of Eternia, so he upgrades his armor and challenges Skeletor while “driving the Snake Men back into hibernation.” How do the Snake Men figure into this? Has Skeletor defeated King Hssss and is ruling the Snake Men at this point?
If I had written this bio, I would have tried to give a little back story to the Hurricane Blaster. How did he make it? Where did it come from? Did he sacrifice anything for it? As it stands now, all we know is he “upgraded” is armor – which I do all the time in Mass Effect 3 by pressing “A.” So maybe that’s how he did it.
The first thing I need to discuss about Demo-Man is his name. “Demo-Man” was not attached to the sketch this figure is based on; the sketch was nameless. Rather, “Demo-Man” was the working title for Skeletor for much of the early development of the Masters of the Universe line in the 1980s. The “Demo” was meant to invoke the word “demon.” I’ve long suspected the name might originally have been “De-Man,” a demonic counterpart to “He-Man,” but somewhere down the line someone decided to make it more obvious by adding the “mo.”
The sketch this figure is based on was drawn by Mark Taylor very early in the development of MOTU; its heroic counterpart has already been immortalized as Vikor. Like Vikor, Demo-Man is the MOTUC equivalent of a Star Wars Concept Collection figure. Also like Vikor, Demo-Man has been shoehorned into the Motuthos. I’ve discussed this at length here and here (including Mecha-Shiva’s amazing art showing Hordak merging Demo-Man and Keldor into Skeletor), so I won’t rehash the debate again. (more…)
“The guys in Masters of the Universe don’t have superpowers…they have deformities. “
I’m unable to think about Fisto without immediately recalling that quote from a twelve-year-old old X-Entertainment review of the Filmation episode “Fisto’s Forest.” As Matt writes, “The show’s a lesson in overcoming adversity more than anything else. If these guys can get over the fact that there’s something wrong with all of them, so can you.”
Between his giant hand and his made-to-order double entendre name, Poing Super Combat Fisto has the odd distinction of simultaneously being one of the most risible and awesome MOTU characters. Yes, his name and gimmick are ridiculous, but visually he’s a bearded armored badass who would fit in perfectly in most any other medieval fantasy world (well, except for the hand).
The hand of Fisto’s vintage figure wasn’t that big; you could argue it was just a big metal gauntlet. The Millennium version,* in keeping with the exaggerated anime-inspired aesthetic of that line, had a gigantic gauntlet and featured some interesting cybernetic detailing.
And now we have the Classics version, which hearkens back to the vintage figure but does have a few Millennium touches. (more…)
Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
Real Name: K’ull’leusshhhh
A Slebetor Slug-man from deep in the Lake of Gnarl, Leech was called from the depths by a magic spell of Hordak to bolster his forces against King Grayskull and the Snake Men during the Great Wars. Mindwiped by Hordak’s lead witch, Leech became a loyal member of his Horde Army, using his magically enhanced energy-draining powers to suck enemies of their strength. He later played a key role in the Horde’s fight against the Great Rebellion after Hordak claimed Etheria as a new homeworld during their banishment in Despondos. When called upon in battle, Leech sucks the power from his enemies!
For the most part, this is a fairly standard bio. Yes, the real name is ridiculous as usual, and I was unable to find an earlier source for “Slebetor,” so that may be new. The rest of the story (Despondos, the Rebellion, etc.) has already been pretty well established as MOTUC history.
The only serious point of contention here is why in Nyarlathotep’s name they felt the need to “mindwipe” Leech (or for that matter, summon him from the depths via a magic spell instead of just recruiting him). This is the second time we’ve seen this, the first being Grizzlor (and Adora may have been at least partly brainwashed, although I’m not sure if it’s been explicitly stated in MOTUC canon). Is Hordak so uncharismatic a leader that his every follower has to be either brainwashed or is actively plotting against him?
More importantly, why was it even necessary to use this hoary plot device again at all? Now we have to wonder if Leech is a relatively peaceful fellow who’s been pressed into service against his will. Like Grizzlor and Adora (and perhaps Keldor), Leech is now arguably a victim as much as he’s a villain. Skeletor doesn’t seem to have this problem – his followers may be ambitious (Evil-lyn), argumentative (Tri-Klops), or dumb as rocks (pretty much everyone else), but they’re genuine bad guys.
I want to think the odd fact of both Grizzlor and Leech being brainwashed will play into the plot later on – e.g., the brainwashing is somehow reversed and the two turn on Hordak – but I’m afraid I doubt we’ll get a payoff like that.
Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
Megator
Real Name: Moleb the Demolisher
An Eternian giant in service to Hordak, Megator led Hordak’s troops in battle during the Great Wars. He was recruited to help booster the Horde’s ranks after Tytus and several other giants from the Mountains of Perpetua allied themselves with King Grayskull. Megator was killed during the First Ultimate Battleground, caught in the iron jaws of Central Tower when the Three Towers were enchanted to sink into Sub-Ternia. His remains were discovered millennia later by King Hssss who magically reanimated him into a mindless zombie. He served King Hssss and fought against Hordak and the Masters of the Universe in the Second Ultimate Battleground – once again dying on the battlefield.
Not a whole lot to comment on here. We don’t really get a lot of back story to Megator, other than he was an “Eternian giant in service to Hordak.” The story of his reanimation explains the extra zombie head that came with the Megator toy, and allows Megator to exist in the “current” time period of He-Man.
I would have liked more on Megator’s origin, and perhaps his powers or abilities (if he has any other than “giant-strength”), but apparently it was more important to tell the MOTUC story.
I find it interesting when they give characters whose names are already fairly normal-sounding a “real name.” It’s not like he had a codename, like Buzz-Off or Trap Jaw. “Megator” doesn’t mean anything. And “Moleb the Demolisher” sounds like a wrestler with some sort of Old Testament gimmick.
