This Earl Norem poster features an interesting blend of toy and toon continuity. Hordak is in toon colors, but features his cape and "shield" from his toy. He's also using magic lightning, unlike the techno magic he used in the show. Imp and Fright Zone are exclusive toon designs. The description suggests the toy continuity, in which Hordak ventures to Eternia to fight Skeletor AND HeMan. Perhaps at some point, Hordak would've retreated to Eternia after being defeated in Etheria - capturing Grayskull would be a last resort, and a perceivably simpler task than keeping an entire planet under his control.
Journey to Mizar is the second mini comic in the vintage Princess of Power toy line in 1985. It was packaged with Angella and Catra, and depicts Angella in the MinEtheria Continuity for the first time. This mini comic continues to establish itself as a separate and distinct entity in comparison to its better known cartoon counterpart. The story is quick and to the point - it's a mini comic of course! That it's geared towards little girls is also a factor that should be kept in mind. The story starts with Adora and Spirit enjoying the break of spring, apparently returning home from a trot through the country. They notice a troubled winged woman in the air near the Crystal Castle, and they change to She-Ra and Swiftwind to rush to her aid. Angella introduces herself as the Queen of Mizar, and states that her kingdom is under attack by Catra. Through the story, we never learn Catra's motivation for attacking Mizar - was there a power source in Mizar? Were there enemies she wanted to take out? Was she simply trying to expand her territory?
She-Ra, Angella and Swiftwind rush to Mizar to take out its attackers. eventually, they are attacked by Catra's catbirds - who are apparently sapping Swiftwind's strength. She-Ra fends them off, and decides that the weakened Angella and Swiftwind will make it to Mizar faster if she moves forward on foot. She-Ra lands in the Dark Forest, and is soon met by The Seer. This magical being provides cryptic clues that will help She-Ra defeat Catra. If she wants to get to Mizar quickly, she'll need the Map of Light to do so - in order to get the map, She-Ra must face a protective dragoness. Before leaving to face the dragoness, The Seer gives She-Ra a magic net with which to defeat her enemies later - a little bit of foreshadowing, eh? Strange conundrum - Angella and Swiftwind are weak, they'll likely be no match for Catra's forces, so why send them ahead? Was it luck that brought The Seer to She-Ra's aid? What if The Seer didn't present herself? She-Ra faces the dragoness, whom she refers to as ugly - very uncharacteristic for She-Ra methinks. The Princess of Power offers to trade a beauty spell for the Map of Light, to which the dragoness happily agrees. Catra, ever watchful, sends minions to retrieve the Map of Light, and prevent She-Ra from reaching Mizar. She-Ra thwarts the villains, but upon reaching the path to Mizar, Catra appears in cat form, and snatches the map. Though the villainess has claimed a prize, She-Ra succeeds in stealing away with Swiftwind, and defeating the attackers at Mizar with a spell that turns them into gargoyles, and prevents Catra from attacking Mizar again. We never hear of the Map of Light again in the story. Comments: There's some confusing moments in this story. Why is Catra attacking Mizar? Is She-Ra supposed to be Adora or She-Ra from scene to scene - does it matter? What is the fate of the Map of Light? She-Ra's abilities to cast spells seem to wax and wane throughout the story - at one point, she's powerful enough to summon a water storm to swallow up all of her enemies. So why are these minions a threat to her at any other point in the story? Aside from this, Catra's depiction as a power hungry sorceress is delightful. She-Ra's turn as a sorceress is interesting as well - unfortunately, she's very powerful, and there's very little sense of danger or threat. Understandably, this is a story not written to be overly complicated with Campbellian themes. Observations:
One of the figures I hope gets an entry in Masters of the Universe Classics Collectors Choice line is the Horde's answer to Rio Blast - his "brother" Colonel Blast. Based on the same preliminary concept, the "Blast Brothers" are essentially the same entity, separated into two different characters along the developmental track. According to the Power and Honor Foundation catalog, the Brothers Blast started off as "Firepower Man" in a concept by Ed Watts in 10/3/1984. The concept was passed on to Filmation, who used the character as a Hordesman, and modified his design accordingly. In the 1985 Season, the 52nd She-Ra episode "The Wizard" featured Colonel Blast as a primary antagonist. He was only featured in the series this one time commanding Horde Troopers at the outpost of Moorstone. The toy concept continued to evolve beyond this cartoon appearance, and became the interstellar sheriff Rio Blast, who was an ally of He-Man in the vintage 1986 wave of the Masters of the Universe toy line. Though developmentally the same entity, there's no reason why Colonel Blast and Rio Blast can't be two separate and distinct characters.Rio Blast was released in the new Masters of the Universe Classics toy line in 2014. He would be a great expansion to the Evil Horde, and could use the hollow chest technology used by the new Buzzsaw Hordak figure. Colonel Blast could be Rio's estranged brother, who takes an alternate path, and has himself cybernetically modified to spite his brother, and be a match for him. Hopefully, we get a figure of him in the Masters of the Universe Classics Collectors Choice line sooner rather than later. The bios for the Great Rebellion and Evil Horde characters of the 2008- Masters of the Universe Classics toy line were composed from various sources - particularly the vintage Princess of Power Style Guides, vintage mini comics, and the 2002-2004 Masters of the Universe cartoon series. Initially, content from the Filmation cartoon series was unavailable to fashion the bios. The bios were mostly written in bulk before Filmation rights were obtained - this was likely done as a cost saving measure for production purposes. The Style Guide material for the POP characters was different from the Filmation cartoon series. They were written to reflect the toy line, and thus catered to a more "Barbie-Friendly" target audience. Many Classics fans and collectors were sequentially not pleased with the bios, since they did not reflect the vintage cartoon's more progressive female warrior, and iconic interpretations of the characters. Filmation rights would eventually be obtained, as Shadow Weaver was released in 2012, and more Filmation characters like Sea Hawk, Octavia, Huntara, Madame Razz and more were given toys over the years.
Some characters like Vultak, General Sunder and Lord Masque don't have bios. But it's possible that this may change as future waves of figures are released. The 2016 Collectors Choice series is the first time in the MOTUC line that bios were not prepared beforehand, and Mattel is determining if bios will be brought back in future releases. The bios made an attempt to combine multiple sources of lore into one ultimate cohesive continuity - with varying results. Some fans love the bios, others loathe and ignore them. Please visit Celebrating POP on FaceBook to read the collection of POP Classics bios! Double Trouble is the glamorous double agent serving She-Ra in the Great Rebellion. According to Bustatoons, Double Trouble would have been Glimmer's cousin if she appeared on the show. She would've hailed from the Kingdom of Green Glade, and performed a roll not too different from her Masters of the Universe counterpart Man-E-Faces. Unfortunately, she's the only vintage She-Ra toy character that never made it into the show - perhaps because of her ambiguous double agent role in a girl's line...
Prototype pictures feature a preliminary depiction of Double Trouble in different colors - powder blue and purple. This image lines up the first 8 figures of the original POP line - with Catra and She-Ra in the center of the lineup. With Catra being She-Ra's arch nemesis in the toy line, it's very likely that this original lineup was intended to have 4 villains (Castaspella, Double Trouble and Glimmer - those to the right of Catra), and 4 heroes (Bow, Angella and Frosta - those to the left of She-Ra). Due to feedback received in play testing sessions with girls and parents, colors were softened or made more neutral, and most of the villains became heroes. Double Trouble's colors were switched to a more neutral set of greens, and she was only Catra's ally under false pretenses. Though Double never appeared in the show, she was depicted in coloring books, mini comics and children's books. Here limited status has garnered a fan following, and she finally had a figure released in the 2014 Masters of the Universe Classics line. Horde Prime is the Supreme leader of the Horde Empire. An exclusive creation of the Filmation cartoon series, he supplants Hordak as the true leader of the Evil Horde. Many fans resent this character, feeling that Hordak should be the true leader - as the toy mini comics suggest.
Horde Prime's appearance has been a mystery for years. The UK comics did provide a humanoid depiction that was radically different from the show. And despite his action figure's appearance, many think that there's still something missing. He's been described as Hordak's brother, who looks like the same organic race that he hails from. Prime looks to be the same stature as Hordak - the primary explanation for his larger depiction is that it's a type of Wizard of Oz smoke and mirrors to intimidate minions. He has a normal sized humanoid son named Zed, which could support this theory. It could also be a current form - as Horde Prime is thousands of years old. She-Ra seems to be the key to destroying Horde Prime, who is apparently the heart of the Horde Empire. |
AuthorMike Jenkins is a fan of Princess of Power. All posts will explore past and present of the world of She-Ra. Archives
January 2018
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