The Secret Origin of Skeletor Mini Comic Thread - Spoilers

[Barezz]

My 'Outsiders' advice to Toyguru is still sound though:

If something is poorly received - drop it, or tone it down, I'm aware your hands are partially tied on many things but please, take that advice as much as you can. There are people who like Spector yes, there are people who are indifferent to Spector (like me, "he exists so use him when sensible" is my view) but either the majority or the vocal minority (though it genuinely does seem like the former) have responded negatively to him and either way those people sway the fanbase, they affect the line's sales and it's reputation. Tone done on the Mighty Spector - it can only benefit you now mate, trust me.

I was thinking something similar. Look at Jar Jar Binks. When Episode 1 came out, Jar Jar received a lot of hate. When Episode 2 came out Jar Jar was present...but not nearly as much and toned down quite a bit. In Episode 3 blink and you miss him.

I think we can go full spoiler, the thread has *Spoilers* in the title even.

[Nemisythe]

Thanks! Ok here we go....

Scrollos works for the Overlords of Trolla

WE HAVE SONGSTER!!! (Although I wish he would've been evil like my fan fiction) It works well for this particular story

Like the tension the Gar race has seemingly created within the lands.

REALLY would've wished Miro's wife was Gar, it has more of an effect for the overall plight and state of the palace Eternos!

Killing the "Queen" pretty vague and meek for Keldor as that wretched servant goes running to Randor in a accusative manner rather than appearing to search for help or call for assistance.
- I think the proper dialogue for that scene would've been:
Servant - "Prince Randor you must come it's the Queen... She's....." rather than flatly condemn his King. If I was Keldor, I'd be coming back for him!

The apparently one eyed old man... QUICK somebody call the Scoobies!!!

Pretty weak on Randor's part (or merely extremely ambitious) on his part to not enforce the law of the kingdom and possibly hold a trial for Keldor as he quickly banishes him. What would've made Randor seem strong and just is commanding the moment even though it was pretty hostile and chaotic.

Now the traveling scene between Keldor and Panthor I guess the letterer missed placing some Keldor calls in the scene cause I don;t see anything that appears to summon Keldor to Hordak's temple???

Hordak "You will address me as Kur" I think has a little more effect than "My name is Kur" IMO

Now A dialog box should have been out on the next page (Skeletor training) stating, "As time passed Keldor studied and trained under the being Kur" so you can get an idea that this was a process as Kur tells him how he seemingly has progressed.

I actually appreciate the fact that King Hssss', He-Ro's, The Faceless One's, Evil Lyn's and the Sorceress' staffs all somehow can access and channel the power of the Star Seed. As it goes back to the idea the Power of Grayskull / Eternia is up for grabs (although it's preferable that the forces of good control it). I'm just curious as to how Evil Lyn came to accessing it and why maybe Marzo's amulet couldn't since it seems to be a truly powerful piece as well.

I don't have a problem with TMS showing to retrieve the baby. As I know it says Evil Lyn sends her baby, doesn't take him herself so no foul there. You could possibly infer that her father warned her of that moment and she would have to choose when the "Spector" arrived.
Skeleteen.... hmmm maybe his face should be painted like war paint in the image of a skull and not a mask (may try a redesign of this myself). Though the mystery to why the needed to send him I guess will be the mystery until we get his bio....

CONTINUITY FAIL Begins Here....

After he acquires the Havok Staff, Keldor turns on Hordak and amasses his forces. The final act of the Great Unrest concludes with him getting acid in the face and somehow returning to the ruined temple asking Hordak for help, thus transforming into Skeletor seems to hit a plothole. While this is going on, the sorceress and Duncan put up the Great Barrier which I know he eventually uses his Battle Armor to penetrate it and kidnap Adora and clone () the Sorceress. So in these order of events what the hell did he do to Adora if he already cut ties to Adora? Now the only thing I can piece together is that was Keldor's fee for his rebirth? Maybe but it doesn't help create the buildup with the Great Unrest as my suggestion would....

My fix: Would be once Keldor acquired the Havok Staff and returned to the temple, Hordak then gave Keldor his price... a child of Randor! With his new power Keldor does so and kidnaps Adora, but during the abduction he is injured (and angered) when he returns to the temple. As Hordak takes the child Keldor pleads for his life since he stresses that this easy plan went wrong. Hordak transforms him into Skeletor and THUS the treachery ensues! Skeletor still angered with what happened to him on this failed mission to acquire the throne; yet only return with a child that Hordak seems so interested in, makes the newly powered Skeletor revolt against him NOW destroying the temple and turning on Hordak (all the while The Sorceress and Man At Arms create the barrier). And this is where I think it gels smoother this way....

And like I put out there previously how did Songster know that Keldor merged with a demon???

Well, here is my rough cut of this mini....

[Barezz]

Speaking of continuity errors... when Keldor leaves the palace it sure looks like he has Panthor. yet according to Panthor's bio...he finds Panthor as a cub AFTER his exile. Whoops!

[wundarwarrior]

Speaking of continuity errors... when Keldor leaves the palace it sure looks like he has Panthor. yet according to Panthor's bio...he finds Panthor as a cub AFTER his exile. Whoops!

Yeah i reread Panthor's bio yesterday and noticed this as well, but i prefer him saving him earlier on. It adds to the nobility and kindness of Keldor.

[RocketPunch]

I know people don't like Spector and the knee-jerk reaction is to dislike his inclusion, but I would offer that his presence does solve one problem here. It doesn't seem like time travel in MOTUC is a good idea to be something that everyone can do easily. So I'm glad that Evil-Lynn just can't zip her baby to the future by herself.

Believe me, it isn't a knee-jerk reaction. I've tried to like and accept the character but the way he is being force fed to us doesn't make it any easier. Why didn't The Mighty Spector just capture Evil-Lyn when he had the chance? He could given the baby to his relatives in the royal family to raise in the present day. Instead, Spector aids a wanted criminal and enables her to raise her son in the future to become the next big threat to Eternia.

If Spector hadn't been shoehorned into this story none of that would have been an issue.

[Uki]

I read and quite enjoyed the comic, but, as others have mentioned, there are a few conundrums brought up in it:

-PANTHOR: as stated above, his Bio states that Keldor saved him after being banished. (Of course, perhaps a great deal of time actually passes between Keldor leaving the Palace and that first shot with Panthor. It just doesn't seem so.)

-Tri-Klops and Mer-Man appear alongside Keldor, while their Bios state that they joined Skeletor specifically. Now, it could work that each was only working with Keldor temporarily in the minicomic(Tri-Klops is holding some sort of chest-perhaps he was hunting it for Keldor) (Mer-Man could have been granting passage across his realm), and that later, when Skeletor faced Oo-Lar, he hired Tri-Klops to defeat this "He-Man" and after Mer-Man's kingdom fell, he came crawling to Snake Mountain for safety.

-Adora's kidnapping: how did Keldor know Hordak wanted the Twins? We know already that it is much easier to send someone to Despondos than it is to leave the dimension, so that part doesn't bother me. Unless there's a conversation during which this was arranged previously between Keldor and Hordak, or if there's some missing dialogue from the transformation scene, I don't get it.

All in all, nothing that can't neessarily be explained away, but those problems are there, nevertheless. I saw that Irian has already asked about the Scope/Squiddish issue on Matty's forums, so hopefully we get some answers.

[Thrawn29]

I loved this particular mini-comic. I thought it was quite nice. It wasn't the best mini-comic I've ever read, but easily the best of the classics mini-comics.

A big part of the reason I liked it was that is focused on Skeletor/Keldor. He is easily the most interesting character in MOTU.

I had a few nitpicks here and there, but overall no complaints.

The one aspect I very much disagreed with was that they stated without the Havoc staff, Keldor's power were limited.

I don't like the idea that in MOTU the big character's powers are tied to their staves.

I prefer they just use them to channel their powers, and use them as weapons. Not so much that they have to rely on them to amplify them. Anything that limits Skeletor, He-Man, Evil Lyn, or She-Ra in the scope of their powers I don't like. That's my personal preference, but no worries. It's all good.

I still enjoyed the comic.

[snakeeyes0217]

This is my least favorite of the MOTUC mini-comics to date. I'm tired of the "tragic villain" storyline that has been so prevalent lately. Don't ask me to empathize over a villain who does bad things. "Poor Dracula, poor Darth Vader, poor Skeletor, they had such hard lives that drove them to do bad things."

I'll stick to Skeletor's origin from the original mini comic "He-Man and the Power Sword" where he comes from another dimension and wants to bring his people to Eternia to conquer it.



Read the story here for yourself.

http://www.he-man.org/publishing/item.php?id=296

Skeletor is portrayed more as a mad magical genius than brooding royalty. I imagine this other dimension that he hails from is populated with Gar...Skeletor is the only one with a skull face. I imagine he got that face when he was "thrown into this world." So if you too like this story but are still looking for his motives, how about getting sucked into another dimension against your will and having your face ripped off in the process? That would make anyone a little mad.

[Rodster6]

I don't have the comic yet so I may be missing something here. How many years into the future did Spector take Skeleteen? If he is the same age as Dare, then I can't see how it was really that many years into the future he was taken. The whole time travel aspect seems pointless. If Skeleteen had just grown up in regular time he would only be a few years older than Dare surely, maybe in his 20s?

[Ayota]

This is my least favorite of the MOTUC mini-comics to date. I'm tired of the "tragic villain" storyline that has been so prevalent lately. Don't ask me to empathize over a villain who does bad things. "Poor Dracula, poor Darth Vader, poor Skeletor, they had such hard lives that drove them to do bad things."

I'll stick to Skeletor's origin from the original mini comic "He-Man and the Power Sword" where he comes from another dimension and wants to bring his people to Eternia to conquer it.

http://www.he-man.org/assets/images/...y/111_full.jpg

Read the story here for yourself.

http://www.he-man.org/publishing/item.php?id=296

Skeletor is portrayed more as a mad magical genius than brooding royalty. I imagine this other dimension that he hails from is populated with Gar...Skeletor is the only one with a skull face. I imagine he got that face when he was "thrown into this world." So if you too like this story but are still looking for his motives, how about getting sucked into another dimension against your will and having your face ripped off in the process? That would make anyone a little mad.

i like what you said. In response I'd say can't he be both? Can we feel a little sorry for him, but then have him come back and do such terrible things that the pity we once felt is now severely diminished because of the horror of his more current acts. I think MOTU has room for both and most characters have room to start out one way and then EVOLVE to another.

and as far as the extra dimensional mini comic part. To me that makes sense as Demo mans position, the merging of Keldor and Demo man was the perfect opportunity for Demo man to come into the dimension of Eternia and gain control.

[Greenskull]

I don't think that TMS is taking Skeleteen to the future. I think he is kidnapping Skeleteen and then kills him and takes his place in the future. That is actually Spector behind that skull mask and it is all part of his plan to become the all time Master of the Universe!

[Sir Reilly]

One thing I also wonder is, does the comic want to accomplish that we feel for Keldor? Cause reading it made me WANT him to claim HIS throne and "show those damn Eternian racists". And later, I thought "aw that poor guy, someone's gotta take away the spell from him". That's not exactly how readers should feel about MotU's main villain, is it?

[IrrepressibleDH]

I don't think that TMS is taking Skeleteen to the future. I think he is kidnapping Skeleteen and then kills him and takes his place in the future. That is actually Spector behind that skull mask and it is all part of his plan to become the all time Master of the Universe!

Grr! Don't give TG ideas!

[Prahvus]

Honestly, the bios, the DC comics and the whole MOTUC-era canon are not my cup of tea at all !

I much prefer the old mini-comics (those that were sold with the figures), Filmation or 200x continuity.

[StrikeoftheBeast]

I read it earlier this morning. I can't say I liked it very much. First of all, I think the artwork is awful. I'm an old Silver Age fan and really have no stomach for digital art.

First thing I didn't like about it was the inclusion of Songster. To me, this seems like something on par with product placement, as if they are gearing up to include this absolutely pointless and lame person into the line. There was also that very self indulgent inclusion of Spector. This is CLASSICS, jack. That character is anything but.

Second, I do like this humanization and rational behind Skeletor. Being the brother of Randor is fine, but I think it was much better to have him as just the bad seed and the embodiment of absolute evil and tyranny that is just his nature and desire to dominate, rather than being some misunderstood guy who "turned" evil.

The writing was pretty weak too. How/why did Keldor accidentally kill the queen?

[wyldman11]

Songster is the one telling the story right (my King He-man is on the way). And he is telling the story to what amounts to young Adam, Teela, and Clamp Champ. While Scott has said the minicomic trumps the bios could this be the classic story time episode which was prevalent in most animated shows up till even now where the story teller is taking some creative license with the story and often isn't even seen as in continuity because of other issues. Like characters hearing the story would shouldn't be present, and information about the story that wouldn't be known by the story teller?

[iron_pride]

I liked it, but I question how people would know of the Princess....I know it's not Filmation anymore where everyone fell victim to the spell making them forget except Randor, Marlena, Man-At-Arms and the Sorceress.....but it seemed odd especially when Adam said "DID NOT"!

[yodafreakmaster]

Despite the continuity differences that others have listed, I must say that I enjoyed this mini-comic VERY much. I love the art and like how this ties alot of canons together to some degree. I would gladly pay an extra $5 per figure for the inclusion of more mini-comics. Hopefully, Mattel will at least continue the trend of including at least one issue with the sub exclusive figure for future years of the line. It is definitely a nice added bonus!!!!

[danielsan52]

I'm wondering if the little girl (not Teela) speaking on the last page is supposed to be someone of significance. Reminds me of Lt. Andra.

[iron_pride]

I'm wondering if the little girl (not Teela) speaking on the last page is supposed to be someone of significance. Reminds me of Lt. Andra.

I thought that too.....

[phantom1592]

This is my least favorite of the MOTUC mini-comics to date. I'm tired of the "tragic villain" storyline that has been so prevalent lately. Don't ask me to empathize over a villain who does bad things. "Poor Dracula, poor Darth Vader, poor Skeletor, they had such hard lives that drove them to do bad things."

I'll stick to Skeletor's origin from the original mini comic "He-Man and the Power Sword" where he comes from another dimension and wants to bring his people to Eternia to conquer it.

http://www.he-man.org/assets/images/...y/111_full.jpg

Read the story here for yourself.

http://www.he-man.org/publishing/item.php?id=296

Skeletor is portrayed more as a mad magical genius than brooding royalty. I imagine this other dimension that he hails from is populated with Gar...Skeletor is the only one with a skull face. I imagine he got that face when he was "thrown into this world." So if you too like this story but are still looking for his motives, how about getting sucked into another dimension against your will and having your face ripped off in the process? That would make anyone a little mad.

Boo YAH!!!! +1000000000!!!!!

i like what you said. In response I'd say can't he be both? Can we feel a little sorry for him, but then have him come back and do such terrible things that the pity we once felt is now severely diminished because of the horror of his more current acts. I think MOTU has room for both and most characters have room to start out one way and then EVOLVE to another.
.

Nope! Anyone with the title of Evil Lord of Destruction doesn't get 'pity'.

Anytime the good guys 'Have this coming' then they have essentially become the bad guys... keeping poor misunderstood keldor from his birthright..

[Ayota]

Boo YAH!!!! +1000000000!!!!!




Nope! Anyone with the title of Evil Lord of Destruction doesn't get 'pity'.

Anytime the good guys 'Have this coming' then they have essentially become the bad guys... keeping poor misunderstood keldor from his birthright..

Point out some things he's destroyed.. just sayin at least with a back story we've got some reasons to start destroying

He-man's a punk anyways

The people in power always want you to believe they're the good guys

[X-Factorz]

The entire comic was completely lack luster with continuity errors running crazy throughout it! I don't understand why a brand manager would have the audacity to think he could do a better job than some of the actual writers he has at his disposal.

[KeldorTheCursed]

Boo YAH!!!! +1000000000!!!!!




Nope! Anyone with the title of Evil Lord of Destruction doesn't get 'pity'.

Anytime the good guys 'Have this coming' then they have essentially become the bad guys... keeping poor misunderstood keldor from his birthright..

I think you can give a villain depth without making them worthy of pity. Just because Keldor "should have" been king doesn't make him the right man for the job. I love the Keldor back story, but I don't like the idea of feeling sorry for him. At least in my canon, with the exception of his first banishment (as a child, along with his mother, before Randor was born), pretty much all of the bad things that happened to him were his own fault.

I haven't read the mini, but judging from this thread and the DC Comics one-shot, I don't think I care much for the "official" origins he's been given. I think I'll stick with mine

[wyldman11]

I view Keldor as the one who is very much the ends justify the means. Yes using black magic can have benefits but what are doing in the process. If he has to kill people in the process he is OK with that. Ending a conflict by poisoning the water of your opponents to him is a perfectly logically win. He doesn't want to talk peace.