Description

Contents:

• Our Warriors - An introduction to the Action Figures of the Heroic Warriors, with bios. Some of the figures were the prototype versions. Characters Included: He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, Stratos, Zodac, Man-E-Faces, Ram Man and Zoar. (Page: 5)
• Skeletor and his Allies - An introduction to the Action Figures of the Evil Warriors, with bios. Some of the figures were the prototype versions. Characters Included: Skeletor, Beast Man, Mer-Man, Evil-Lyn, Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops and Faker. (Page: 8)
• Feature Story #1: "The Traveler" - Prince Amberis of Auriconia, had been traveling for days and had finally crossed the Ice Mountains. Is journey on foot to Eternos is a long journey to complete. Traveling into the Sands Of Mystery, he never felt so hot in his life, because the Kingdom Of Auriconia was always cool. Plants grew everywhere, lush and green, and the waterfalls and streams, which bubbled through the marble streets kept the air cool and clear. He is determined to see what the rest of Eternia looks like. All the same, he felt a pang of regret for the pain and anxiety he would be causing his mother. She would fear for his safety, would imagine that he had been kidnapped or injured in some way. Her worry would be the worse because she had no other children. His grandmother, the old queen, was disappointed that he was not a female child and the Kingdom Of Auriconia had never had a queen. In the next two weeks he traveled across the Eternian Flatlands, the Mountains Of Perpetua, the Mystic Mountains, the Vine Jungle, the Evergreen Forest and finally he arrived in the Kingdom Of Eternos. From a cliff side, he could see marshes to the east, mountains bordering it on all sides, hills and valleys, woods and rivers, that look like silver ribbons threading their way through a mosaic. Right in the center lay the great City Of Eternos, the royal palace crowning it like a diadem. With that he began his travel to the city. On the streets of Eternos, was the sight of a fair that has come to town. As Prince Adam, Teela, Orko and Cringer arrived at the fairgrounds, they noticed that the bigger pieces of equipment, were not set up yet, but the vendors and stalls were alive with hustle and bustle. The four observe all the collection of creatures, which were sitting miserably in small, cramped cages, while their keeper poked and prodded them with a cruel stick. The four found that the treatment of the animals, were cruel. They begin to think of a way to set them all free. Teela urges Adam to buy one and when people see the prince do this, they may fallow. With the help of Orko, they decided on the creature, which turns out to be Prince Amberis. But before they were able to purchase him, they noticed that the merchant was talking to a mysterious cloaked man. Adam called the Merchant over and gave him five gold coins. After expressing his feelings on the treatment of the animals, Prince Adam picked up the cage and the four of them strode off. Back at the fairground, the Merchant turned back to the cloaked man. At the Royal Palace Of Eternos, the four bring the creature to Prince Adam's room, where he is brought water. Adam then opened the cage a let the creature out and was told to not be afraid. He found that the creature was indeed very intelligent and was able to have a conversation with him. As Prince Amberis drank and washed up with the water that was given to him, he told Adam the story of his journey. Adam was surprised to hear that Prince Amberis came from Auriconia, because it was believed that the kingdom was only a legend. Adam told him that he is to be his honored guest. He sat on the floor and began to cry, because he misses his home. He than told Adam how he went to a cabin in the foothills of Eternos to ask for water and the cloaked man, who had a skull face, tricked him and locked him up in the cage. The cabin belonged to the Merchant that sold him to Prince Adam. He than told him that he was part of the skull-faced man's plan to try and lure a man named He-Man, to him, where he would be ambushed. He pretended that he couldn't speak, because he knew that the hooded man wouldn't allow the Merchant to sell him. Teela promised to bring Prince Amberis back home, but thought that He-Man would be needed if Skeletor is involved in this. Prince Adam goes to pretend to find He-Man. In a hidden part of the palace, Prince Adam changes into He-Man. Upon the Wind Raider, Teela and He-Man, travel to bring Prince Amberis back to his home. Within a few hours, they arrive at the Ice Mountain and with Prince Amberis' directions, they find the Kingdom Of Auriconia. Prince Amberis thanked He-Man for his help and asked if he could thank Prince Adam for him. He than thanked Teela and gave her a beautiful emerald ornament to put in her hair. Prince Amberis hurried towards the kingdom and disappeared among the mist. As the two arrived into Eternos, they find Skeletor and the Merchant crammed inside cages by the crowd, looking miserable, with the Havoc Staff out of reach. The crowd has been throwing eggs and moldy cabbages at him! He-Man decides to inform Skeletor, that he had locked Prince Amberis of the Kingdom Of Auriconia. With the news, Skeletor's eyes begin to burn red with rage and fury, that he had such an important prisoner in his possession and he let him go. He curses He-Man and tells him that he will get his revenge. (Page: 11)
• Featured Story #2: "The Shrine of the Iron Mountains" - There is a legend in Eternia, that high up in the cold, windswept Iron Mountains, there is a shrine. Those that live there and keep the shrine for their god, never come down from their bleak home, and no one has ever been up to the shrine and lived to tell the tale, for the mountain's face is very sheer, and those who tried, fell to their deaths. Many have tried, for the legend says that the keepers of the shrine, guard priceless treasures, chalices, goblets and jewelery, which have remained in their care for centuries, safe from the thieving hands of the greedy. The guardians of the shrine remain there, alone in their exalted isolation, the subjects of countless rumors and legends. At Snake Mountain, Skeletor, Beast Man and Tri-Klops plan to ascend the mountain and capture the treasures. With his magic, Skeletor believes that the three of them could accomplish this task. Tri-Klops' eyes will be very useful for spotting He-Man and the Heroic Warriors. He believes that word wouldn't get to He-Man of their plan, not even the Sorceress flies that far. At the Royal Palace Of Eternos, Teela demands to know where Prince Adam is off to. He tells her that he was going to have a picnic with Orko, in the Evergreen Forest, and asks if she would like to come. As Prince Adam's bodyguard, Teela has no choice but to go. Prince Adam shouldered the big bag of food with ease, and raised one eyebrow at Teela. With an exasperated groan, she fallowed him out of the palace and into the shady woods. Soon, the three set up in the shade of a tall oak tree, where the breeze stirred its branches high above his head. Teela became weary, that she sensed that something was wrong, somewhere on Eternia. The three lazily rested under the tree and eventually fell asleep, watching a falcon glide overhead. Later, when Teela woke up it was growing dark. The trees cast their long shadows like long shadows like fingers on the ground, pointing at her. She was alone. Looking wildly around for Prince Adam and Orko, she cursed her own stupidity for falling asleep. It gave Adam and Orko a chance to slip away and get into some mischief. With a growing worry, Teela began to make her way through the trees towards the palace, calling Adam's name, hoping every moment that he would turn up. At Castle Grayskull, He-Man and Orko talk to the Sorceress about the Shrine in the Iron Mountains, where priceless treasures are guarded by the members of a religious order. She tells him that Skeletor plans to steal the treasures of the shrine, in order to buy more mercenaries, that he would use to defeat He-Man. He-Man must stop Skeletor. He worries on how he will climb the mountain, with the face is as sheer as a mirror. The Sorceres tells him that a way will be found. The entrance to the shrine was a cave mouth, gaping and dark. In front of it stood Tri-Klops, with his eye fixed on the valley thousands of feet below the ledge on which he stood. Inside the cave, Skeletor and Beast Man travel into the shrine. Tri-Klops notices movement in the distance and realized that it was Stratos, with Orko holding on tightly. Tri-Klops's eye was fixed upon the flying, darting swooping Stratos in the sky above him. He watched him so intently, that the light of the sun shorted out a circuit in his eye. Skeletor and Beast Man were still inside the shrine and it was unknown to Tri-Klops what was going on inside. As Tri-Klops watched Stratos as he performed a spectacular series of whirls and somersaults in mid-air, He-Man approached him from behind. He-Man was amazed with his strength, being powerful enough to climb the sheer mountain. With one swift, fluid movement, He-Man haulded himself up and on to the ledge. Tri-Klops became angry, that he had been fooled. The two began to dual with their swords. He-Man knocks Tri-Klops' sword out of his hand and found himself on his back, on the cold ledge. Stratos landed near Tri-Klops, to watch their prisoner. He-Man darts into the cave, to find Skeletor and Beast Man demanding that the Monks tell then where the treasures are. When they refuse to respond, Skeletor tells Beast Man to take them one-by-one, outside and throw them off the cliff. Before Beast Man could do anything, He-Man announces his presence. Skeletor turned swiftly and uttered a scream of rage. Skeletor rushed at He-Man with his sword. As the two combatants attacked, defended and thrusted, He-Man sent Skeletor's sword, spinning out of his hand and onto the floor. Unarmed, Skeketor looked wildly round for Beast Man, he finds that he had gone. He-Man leads Skeletor outside, where Beast Man and Tri-Klops are tied up with rope. The heroes depart to bring their enemies to prison. Back at the Royal Palace Of Eternos, Teela is relieved to find Orko and Prince Adam, who she scolded for disappearing like they did. (Page: 18)
• Featured Story #3: "The Fight for Prison Star" - (To come in the future)
• He-Man's Vehicles - An introduction to the Vehicles of the Masters Of The Universe That included: Battle Ram, Attak Trak & Wind Raider (Page: 34)
• Featured Story #4: "The Time Portal Opens" - Queen Xerxa was an ancestor of Adam, whose spirit and those of her people were in modern Eternia as the Time Portal had been shut by an ancestor of Skeletor. It's not fully known where on the family tree she was, but she did say she had been trapped for centuries, so anywhere from 200 years or more would be my guess. (More To Come In The Future) (Page:36)
• Featured Story #5: "The Lodestone of the Iron Forest" - He-Man comes to the rescue of the Dwarves of the Iron Forest. It seems that skeletor is after is after the magic Lodestone, that the Dwarves posses, and if the evil one gets it, he could become stronger than He-Man! He-Man and Battle Cat engage Skeletor and Panthor in battle, and drive them off. The Dwarves are grateful, and thank He-Man for saving them. Back in his lair, Skeletor broods over his defeat. There must be a way for him to steel that stone! Evi-Lvn gives him the answer — trick the Dwarves into handing it over to one of Skeletor's secret allies, and to do this by taking advantage of their well known tendency to boast. With a magic spell, Skeletor transforms the witch Evil-Lyn into a beautiful young girl. She tells the Dwarves that she has wandered far from home and become hopelessly lost in the Iron Forest. She gains the Dwarves sympathy, and they take her into their fortress. Once inside, she tells them that she has heard stories of a magical Lodestone they are guarding, but she knows that it couldn't be true. The Dwarves can't resist the opportunity to show off, and they take her into their secret vault. Evi-Lyn reverts to her nasty self, grabs the stone and escapes. The Dwarves send out a desperate call to the Sorceress, who in turn alerts Prince Adam to the situation. Prince Adam once again becomes He-Man, and Cringer onto Battle Cat. Together, ride out to retrieve the Lodestone from their enemies, but they are too late, for Evil-Lyn has already delivered the stone to Skeletor. As. Skeletor chants the magic spell, Evil-Lyn keeps He-Man busy by bringing an army of Rock Monsters to life, and sending them into battle against our hero, He-Man. He-Man reduces them to rubble, but then he finds he has the super-strong Skeletor to deal with. During their battle, He-Man seizes Skeletor's magic stone and smashes it. With his source of super-strength gone, skeletor knows he can't fight He-Man and win. He vanishes with Evil-Lyn, vowing to return someday and destroy He-Man forever! Later, He-Man celebrates the victory with the Dwarves of the Iron Forest. They have learned their lesson, and next time promise to be less vain in the future. (Page:44)
• Feature Story #6: "The Crown of Tarn" - (To Come In The Future) (Page:52)
• The Race to Castle Grayskull - (To Come In The Future:62)

(The first annual dated 1984, but released in late 1983, was very much like the early minicomics that came with the figures. The stories were very He-Man/Skeletor orientated, and included characters such as Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw and even Faker acting as cold-blooded warriors. Prince Adam was in the stories, but not like his cartoon self. He is slightly more heroic. Orko, too, appears in this book, but only in a few stories, and his name is "Gorpo." Gorpo was the original name of Orko as dictated by the He-Man bible. This means that this book was based around the series bible in some aspects. Very interesting things to note in this particular book. Prince Adam can only become He-Man by striking his sword against stone! I don't know where they came up with this origin, but it was never seen anywhere else. This book features some excellent shots of the action figure prototypes. I'm not sure why they chose to have shots of the toys that did not resemble the final ones, but they did. The artwork in this book isn't too bad, but it's strangely printed mainly in black, white, and shades of red and pink. The color pages are the prototype action figures and few of the actual art pages.)