Warning: Contains spoilers for Masters of the Universe: Revolution #4!
Lords of the Universe has streamlined Skeletor’s origin, and in the process making He-Man’s biggest villain even more tragic. Dark Horse’s Masters of the Universe: Revolution Miniseries retold Skeletor’s origin, and also stressed his connection to Hordak. In number four, the conclusion, Skeletor gets a new story that not only makes him a tragic figure, but consolidates elements of his various origins that the franchise has given.
Skeletor is voiced by several different actors, including Alan Oppenheimer and Mark Hamill.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution #4 was written by Tim Sheridan, Rob David and Ted Biaselli and drawn by Daniel HDR. Hordak, who manipulated Keldor (the future Skeletor) throughout the miniseries, hooked him up to a machine that would “scrape” his memories. Hordak intends to break Keldor and mold him to his desires. While in the car, Keldor had a vision of a race of skeleton men attacking.
Hordak continues to torture Keldor, finally turning him into SkeletorA memory of his past life.
Skeletor’s origin was a long-standing one Lords of the Universe Mystery
The original Lords of the Universe Toy line only hinted at the origin of Skeletor.
Skeletor is one of the primary antagonists of the Lords of the Universe Franchise. His striking appearance captured the imagination of fans, but unfortunately, his origin was never depicted in the original cartoon produced by Filmation. However, the first wave of mini-comics bundled with the toys gave Skeletor a backstory: during an event known as “The Great War,” a dimensional rift opened, bringing Skeletor to Eternia. Seeing it as ripe for conquest, he sought the power of Grayskull, who would reopen the rift and bring his men through to help him.
A few years into the first run of the toy line, the mini-comics, now under new creative direction, began to hint at an origin for Skeletor, one that stressed a familial connection to He-Man.
A few years into the first run of the toy line, the mini-comics, now under new creative direction, began to hint at an origin for Skeletor, one that stressed a familial connection to He-Man. Although the toy line was canceled before the story could play out, it was implied that Skeletor was, in fact, He-Man’s uncle. Skeletor was believed to be King Randor’s brother, who disappeared while studying magic. Something happened to him that turned him into Skeletor, but it was never revealed. The New Adventures of He-Man Cartoon, debuting in 1989, did not pick up this plot point.
Skeletor didn’t get an origin until the early 2000s
Hordak’s role in creating him cannot be overstated
The 2002 Lords of the Universe Reboot picked up this thread and laid out Skeletor’s origin in detail. Picking up on the idea that Skeletor was related to He-Man, the cartoon confirmed that he was indeed Prince Adam’s uncle. Burning with a desire for power and control, Keldor led a rebellion against the elders. During the fight, acid spilled on his face, disintegrating it and giving him his distinctive appearance. Hordak, who was present in every beginning of Skeletor, was his mentor. The revival made a connection only hinted at in the original series canon.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution is a direct sequel to the original cartoon, and it also adopted the Keldor/Skeletor story, but gave it a twist of its own. The creative team kept the Skeletor-Hordak connection and strengthened it further. Hordak took an interest in Keldor from an early age, and successfully manipulated him into joining the Horde. But Hordak saw much more in Keldor than his other saints, and cooked up big plans for him. The original Lord Cartoon stated Hordak trained Skeletor, and Revolution Shows just how brutal and disturbing it was.
Skeletor’s origin has seemingly contradictory elements
The limitations of 1980s cartoons kept him from getting a backstory
Skeletor’s new beginning, depicted in Masters of the Universe: Revolution #4, also brings in another lost element: that he was an alien from another dimension, and there were others just like him, and just as bad. While under the influence of Hordak’s memory machine, Keldor sees skeleton-like people. While this is just a hallucination on Keldor’s part, it’s also a very subtle shout-out to Skeletor’s first beginning as depicted in the initial wave of mini-comics. Bringing Skeletor’s “people” into the new origin story is an easter egg for fans.
Related
Beyond fan service, it also consolidates and streamlines the origin of Skeletor. During the original run of Lords of the UniverseHardly any character, even He-Man, didn’t get on-screen, canonical backstories. At this point in children’s television history, the cartoons were essentially 30-minute toy commercials, with little emphasis on narrative and characterization. Skeletor, with his terrifying and distinctive appearance, practically begged for one, but the cartoon did not provide details. The show’s writers’ Bible has a few origins, but since they were never shown, their canonicity is debatable. As a result, multiple, contradictory origins coexist.
Skeletor’s streamlined origin makes him a tragic figure
Skeletor is beyond redemption – and it’s Hordak’s fault
The streamlining of Skeletor’s origin also makes him the most tragic character in the Lords of the Universe Franchise. As seen in the opening pages of this issue, Keldor was a sweet and kind boy, but subject to prejudice that made him easy pickings for Hordak later in life. Hordak manipulated Keldor even before the torture that turned him into Skeletor. But what Hordak failed to realize was that he was about to create a monster even he couldn’t control. Hordak converted a good man to evil, creating a legacy of terror in the process.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution #4 is on sale now from Dark Horse Comics!