The lesser-known MOTU Characters.....

These are the MOTU characters who not many people know of….. so here I bring you to light on these little-known characters!

STRONGARM
Strongarm was one of the characters who appeared in the cartoon, but never had a figure made of him. He made his appearance in the episode "She-Demon of Phantos", on the side of Skeletor. Strongarm is a cyborg with a huge metal extendable arm, with a massive fist which can shake entire buildings and is even a match for He-Man! Since this character seemed like he could be such a threat to Eternia, it seems rather strange that he was never used again after this episode! I guess that it would have been too hard to make a toy of him, since he’d have trouble standing up with that massive arm. Another problem with this guy is that although he looks great at first, when you view his design as a whole he looks rather silly- like a bunch of different characters all combined into one! There's been a lot of dispute over whether or not this guy should be taken seriously, and he remains an obscure and unusual added content to the series.

LIZARDMAN
Lizardman was another cartoon-only character, with no action figure. He appeared in two early-season episodes- "She-Demon of Phantos" and "Song of Celice". He is a short, scrappy fellow who is always eager to battle Skeletor, and also has the power to run great distances and scale walls with great speed. After seemingly vanishing from the series after the early episodes, his appearance was reused for an unnamed slave in the episode "Orko's New Friend"- or was it perhaps him returning to his homeworld? After that, he was seen in the background of the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special. He is probably the most well-known of the non-toy characters in the show.

FANG-MAN
This cartoon-only villain was only in one episode, "The Time Corridor", and he was a henchman of Skeletor with large, sharp fangs. He travelled back in time to ancient Eternia, to help Skeletor destroy Grayskull with the wheel of infinity. He had the ability of controlling the Dragosaur. However, Fang-Man seemed to vanish from the episode about halfway through, and Skeletor returned to present-day Eternia without him- so Fang-Man seemed to have been left in the past! Tri-Clops was also left in the past, but he was seen in later episodes, whereas Fang-Man never appeared again! Interestingly enough, it seems that this guy was actually an early version of Kobra Khan, as the Series Bible states that he had the power to spray a sleeping mist from his throat. So it is likely that Filmation featured him in "The Time Corridor" to promote a possible upcoming figure, but Mattel scrapped the design and modified it to become the more familiar form of Kobra Khan.

ICER
Icer was another villain who only appeared in the cartoon, and only in one episode "The Ice Age Cometh". He was an evil minion of Skeletor who lived in the icy regions of Eternia- and as you’d expect, was freezing cold. He had one of the most deadly powers of any evil warrior- he could freeze any living being simply by touching them! He was also capable of melting himself into a pool of cold water and slithering along the ground, as well as blending into the ice. This guy is, in my opinion, of the best villains in the whole show, and it would have been great if he had been used in more episodes, or had a figure made of him. Icer is one character who really deserved some more recognition!

KARG
If you haven’t seen the MOTU movie, the name Karg will probably sound unfamiliar to you. Because, of course, Karg made his debut in the movie, but when Mattel got round to making toys of the movie characters, they strangely ignored Karg. I’m not sure why they did this, perhaps they just couldn’t think of any special features for his figure, or thought he would be too difficult to make. The movie seemed to depict Karg as being one of Skeletor’s most important warriors, as he was the main commander of Skeletor’s robot soldiers. He had a hook in place of a hand, but there was no explanation as to how he lost his hand, or anything of his background. Since there was never a figure made of him, his character was sadly never developed any further. To give this guy a boost I’ve delved into his background more in my Karg’s Underworld fanfic.

DRAGSTOR
If you were never an avid collector of the toy range, or stopped collecting after 1985, then you probably won’t be too familiar with Dragstor. He had a figure made of him, but sadly never made it to the He-Man or She-Ra cartoon. He was a member of the Horde and was also the fastest evil warrior, able to transform into a vehicle using the wheel on his chest. Before he became Dragstor, he was an ordinary peasant who was captured by Hordak to be used in his fiendish experiments. He was the best friend of Extendar, who is convinced that Dragstor's true self is still trapped within his evil exterior, and has vowed to return him to his true form.

MOSQUITOR
Mosquitor is what I call a really awesome character….. hence the nickname. He was one of the last MOTU figures to be released, so he was too late to make it to either cartoon and he is relatively unknown. Few people seem to own his figure (I never even managed to get hold of him myself) which is a shame as it sounds really cool, with his chest pumping up with blood. In many ways, he is the Evil Horde’s vampire- he is the evil energy-draining insectoid who sucks the blood out of his prey, draining the life from them. Excellent character.

SCAREGLOW
Scareglow is another character whose toy was released too late for the cartoon. He is an evil skeletal phantom who is invisible in the light, but in the dark gives off a terrifying glow that automatically makes anyone scared. He is often referred to as ‘the ghost of Skeletor’ which I’m not quite convinced by, as Skeletor isn’t even meant to be dead. In the ‘Search for Keldor’ mini-comic, he is brought to Eternia by Skeletor from another dimension, which I find a bit lame, and another origin I’ve seen is him being created by Skeletor from light energy. In my opinion, he is one of the best characters, but I’ve yet to see a dramatic enough story to feature him!

CLAMP CHAMP
Clamp Champ was another of the last ever toys to be released, so very few people know of him and he didn’t appear in the cartoon. The only black character, he was on He-Man’s side and was the master of capture, with a huge clamp which could tightly grip an evil warrior- one of the best weapons in the toy range!

BLASTATTAK
Blastattak is an evil blast-apart robot who works for Skeletor. He was one of the last figures to be released and is not widely known. In one of the mini-comics he is created by King Hiss, which I find unconvincing- surely he’d have been snake-like if this had happened? Another origin story that I find more convincing is that he was an android from another world, who was summoned by Skeletor. His action figure is one of the best in the toy range as it blasts apart when you click a wire to his back….. and his power to explode and then re-form makes him one of the deadliest of the evil warriors!

ROTAR AND TWISTOID
Rotar and Twistoid, I think, were possibly the last MOTU figures ever to be released. Because of this, they are rarely heard of. They are robot-like ‘energy zoids’ who can spin and twist along the ground, supposedly making them tough opponents but quite frankly, they are pretty useless. Rotar is on the side of good- he was once an ordinary soldier who was turned into an energy zoid by a machine made by Man-At-Arms. However, Skeletor stole the machine and used it to create an evil energy zoid of his own, called Twistoid. Interestingly, there was going to be a vehicle made by Mattel called the Gyratakker, which would launch Rotar and Twistoid into battle, but in the end it was never made. Quite unfortunate, as these figures were amongst the least most playable figures in the toy line since they would never work how they were meant to!

NINJOR
Ninjor is almost like a darker version of Jitsu- he is a ninja warrior who keeps his face hidden by a black hood, and also fights with a sword. Released too late for the cartoon, he appeared in the mini-comic ‘Search for Keldor’ where he was brought to Eternia from another dimension….. possibly somewhere on Earth, since that’s where martial arts originates? His outfit suggests he comes from some sort of ninja clan, but his origins have never been fully explained. Nevertheless, he’s one of my favourite characters, and is a good example of how much more sinister the MOTU characters were becoming towards the toy line’s later years!

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