The Scrolls is quickly approaching its second anniversary - only 3 more months to go! I'd like to do something fun to celebrate. If you have any ideas, please e-mail me.
The usual administriva: If you'd like to unsubscribe, e-mail ctyner@cs.clemson.edu with Unsubscribe in the subject of your message.
As always, I'm always interested in hearing from you. E-mail me at ctyner@awod.com with your comments, suggestions, and content!
See you next month,
-Adam
[Mailing List]
The distribution list for the Guardians of Grayskull listserv was accidentally deleted in an attempt to remove an unruly list member. If you subscribed to this list, you need to resubscribe by e-mailing heman-list-request@hypenet.com with the word 'subscribe' in the body of your message.
The Scrolls of Grayskull is a totally different list, so if you aren't a member of the separate list mentioned above, you have nothing to worry about. For more information on the Guardians of Grayskull, take a look at http://www.he-man.org/ctyner/scrolls.html
[The Archive Has Moved!]
The Scrolls of Grayskull Archives has moved to the following address:
Please update your links and bookmarks accordingly.
[Bringing Back The Cartoons]
I received the following letter from Scott White, who maintains the newsletter archives.
In support of the bring back He-man and She-ra cause, I created an animated GIF image a while back. I am asking that if you have a He-man or She-ra site, that you consider placing this image on your site somewhere to show your support for He-man and She-ra. Also, please link it back to one of the many petition sites that are currently out there.
It's a petition to bring back the cartoon, and more signatures are desperately needed.
[Mattel Responds!]
This is fantastic news. A few issues back, there was a call for people to write Mattel about the possible Grayskull Tales series which has been discussed here in the past. Thanks to Oscar "Orko" (Orko2351@aol.com) for transcribing this.
Thank you for your recent letter. We too have a fond attachment to the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" line.
The timing of your letter is interesting in that we continue to explore ways to bring him back. We appreciate receiving input from loyal consumers.
Thanks for your interest.
Sincerely, Matt Bousquette [actual pen signature]
I'm very excited about this! Bear in mind that He-Man's 20th anniversary is only a few years away...maybe Mattel has something planned!
[He-Man Companion Guide]
Matt R. has put together a program called the He-Man Companion Guide.
It's an indispensable resource for any He-Fan running Win95. You can get more
information on it at its official homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~man9/
[New Skeletor!]
For those of you who receive the file attachment version of the newsletter, here is a customized Skeletor by Stacy Mealer (samhain@upper-cumberland.net). Stacy says "it's a simple revamp", but I think it looks very nice.
I'd like to see more customized figures! All pictures sent to me will definitely be sent out with future newsletters.
How to make a Batros figure: First take a Webstor figure and give him the clothes he needs. For the bat on his chest, cut the Horde sign from Hordak's chest plate. You could use a Beast-Man figure, but you would have to paint him. Tough luck! By the way, with the Horde sign cutting, good luck!
[Merging Old And New: Part II]
Here's the follow-up to last issue's letter from Matthew "Faker" Martin (mlmartin@coe.edu) on explaining away the continuity gaps between the various forms of media. A third article will appear next month.
The First Four Mini-Comics:
As you know, the purpose behind these articles is to try and pull together the numerous strands of MotU fiction into a single, reasonably coherent whole. And again, as you've just seen, I often have to stretch the published material and invent my own concepts to paper over the gaps.
Once in a great while, though, something shows up that's impossible to explain, rationalize, or even ignore. The best example of these is the origin of He-Man, Man-at-Arms, and Teela as presented in the first four mini-comics--"He-Man and the Power Sword", "The Vengeance of Skeletor" (?), "Battle in the Clouds", and "King of Castle Grayskull".
For those of you not familiar with this material, He-Man is a warrior from a tribe of primitive jungle-dwellers, and IIRC, Teela is his 'girlfriend'. Man-at-Arms, meanwhile, is a hermit mechanic.
There's no real way around it, seeing as these mini-comics are quite clear in describing this origin. Therefore, with great regret, I'm forced to declare the origin material (and only that material, really--the adventures probably happened more or less as described) 'non-canon'. The best way to explain it is that these are legends that sprang up around He-Man and his allies among people far from Eternos (those who didn't know who Man-at-Arms and Teela really were).
There are numerous He-Fans who consider these mini-comics as good or better than the cartoon series, and I have little doubt that I've just offended them greatly. While everyone is free to construct their own canon (elements of these articles actually differ from my own 'personal canon'), there are two very good reasons for choosing the Prince Adam origin over the barbarian one.
1) Accessibility: Nearly everyone's seen the cartoon or read one of the later comic or storybooks, while the first wave mini-comics are rarer than hen's teeth. Even I, someone who's familiar with almost every different incarnation of MotU, had never seen or heard of them until I got online.
2) Quantity. There are vast amounts of material that either explicitly support the Prince Adam origin (all three cartoon series, both mass-market comic books, all mini-comics and storybooks from 84 onward) or at least don't actively contradict it (the '83 mini-comics, which were written while the MotUverse was in a state of flux, and the movie). The first wave mini-comics stand alone against this crushing amount of material.
Thus, again, for purposes of my attempt to create a Unified MotU Continuity, the origin stories in the first wave mini-comics are left out. My apologies.
The Power Suit:
The DC Comics and first wave mini-comics both described He-Man's powers as coming largely from his vest, which granted him great strength and/or a force field. The Power Suit isn't too hard to work in, but it should be noted anyway.
In fact, the Power Suit is more or less explicitly described in "Evil-Lyn's Plot" (I believe that's the episode; it introduces the Widgets and their strength-boosting mineral). That accounts for the strength boost. As for the force field, the best explanation is that the stresses of the events in the DC comics (Superman's pummeling it, the power fields protecting the Talisman of the Cosmos, and numerous and sudden dimensional transports) eventually ruined it beyond all hope of repair.
"The Tale of Teela":
For those of you unfamiliar with it, "The Tale of Teela" was a 1983 mini-comic that describes a curious half-step between the original Goddess/Teela equality and the later mother/daughter relationship. In this mini-comic, Skeletor says Teela is a clone of the Goddess/Sorceress (hereafter referred to as the Goddess) created by Skeletor as an attempt to enter Castle Grayskull. Recaptured and brainwashed by the Prince of Darkness, Teela was used by Skeletor to enter the castle. Eventually, Teela and the Goddess 'reunified' for a moment to throw Skeletor out.
Trying to fit this into the later continuity caused several headaches, but in the end, it's easily fixed with a simple explanation.
Skeletor lied.
Think about it--this is a black-hearted, conquest-loving, self-centered tyrant and usurper. Don't you think he's willing to lie in order to make himself look good? Skeletor was aware of some sort of metaphysical link between Teela and the Goddess, at least (this is testified to in the 1985 mini-comic "Grizzlor--The Legend Comes to Life!", where Hordak tells Teela that Skeletor told him about such a link), and thought he might be able to use that to enter Grayskull. The story about Teela being a clone created from the Goddess's essence was created by Skeletor in order to crush Teela's resistance (although he undoubtedly created a contigency to wipe all memory of it from her mind if she were to break his control) and make himself look more competent and his plan more plausible in the eyes of his minions.
As for the Teela/Goddess 'unification', the best way to explain that is that the Goddess was able to touch something deep in her daughter's heart, breaking Skeletor's spell _and_ tapping Teela's magical potential in order to overpower Skeletor. The 'unification' bit is caused by the fact that, for that moment, the two of them were so tightly linked that they appeared to be one. (The Goddess later makes reference to being whole again, but a couple of lines is easier to ignore than the climax of the mini-comic.)
Whither Orko?:
Orko's non-presence in the earlier material can be explained. He didn't join He-Man on _every_ adventure, after all, and for the earth-shaking events in the DC mini-series, we can assume he was busy with something else.
He-Man--Hero or Berserker?:
The personalities of He-Man and Battle-Cat in the DC Comics differ substantially from those shown in the cartoon. Prince Adam in the DC Comics is a hedonistic womanizer eager for a brawl, and both He-Man and Battle-Cat are willing and eager to kill. (Cringer, thankfully, remains a constant.)
This is one of the biggest differences. The best way to explain it is to assume that He-Man and Battle-Cat grew and learned over the course of the early events. While the evidence of the change took place 'off camera', Adam and Cringer probably learned a lot both from their battles against evil and from the Sorceress. Indeed, while many Eternians probably expected hard carousing and easy killing from their 'heroes', it's tough to say whether Adam's heart was truly in it or if he was just trying to live up to expectations. (I don't think either of them ever 'really' killed--demons, especially the mindless or near-mindless sort that they fought, don't count.) By the start of the cartoon, IMHO, we see Adam's true nature--a wise, merciful, courageous, reasonably temperate, and forgiving young man--shining through.
[Trivia]
Here are this month's trivia questions, courtesy of Scott White (Cringer). As always, the answers will be posted next month.
(1) What does Prince Adam say in order to begin his transformation into He-man?
(2) What are 2 of Cringer's least favorite phrases to hear?
(3) Where is the Sea of Eternity located?
(4) Where does Stratos live?
(5) What is the Royal Archeaologist's name?
(6) What color is Man-At-Arms' hair?
(7) In the episode "Eternal Darkness", who is the evil villain who was trying to take over Eternia?
(8) In the episode "Dree Elle's Return", Orko and Dree Elle had to sing in order to defeat the evil coming from a horn. What is this horn called?
(9) In the episode 'Origin of the Sorceress', the Sorceress and He-man must stop an evil wizard from coming to Eternia. What is his name?
(10) What is the name of the episode in which Teela temporarily becomes the Sorceress of Grayskull?
Here are the answers to last month's trivia questions:
(1) Q: On what planet does Prince Adam's sister live? A: Etheria
(2) Q: What wizard had a crush on Teela and kidnapped her to try to make her his woman? A: Malack
(3) Q: Name two episodes that Cringer performed an act of bravery in. A: Fraidy Cat & "A Beastly Sideshow"
(4) Q: Orko has another robe which he sleeps in. What color is it? A: Pink
(5) Q: Name the only two part He-man episode ever made. A: "House of Shokoti" Part 1 & 2
(6) Q: Name the Evil Sorceress from the two part He-man episode. A: Shokoti
(7) Q: What is Skeletor's cat's name? A: Panthor
(8) Q: Name the cosmic inforcer who travels the galaxy. A: Zodak
(9) Q: What forest is Castle Grayskull located near? A: Evergreen Forest
(10) Q: In what episode did Queen Marlena hint that she knew Prince Adam's secret of being He-man? A: The Rainbow Warrior
[Classifieds]
If you'd like to submit a *short* classified ad, e-mail it to me at ctyner@awod.com for inclusion for the next newsletter.
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any claims made in this section.
- Looking for loose, complete Rotar, Twistoid, & Laser figures: e-mail Jon at ezjh25b@prodigy.com
- Searching for Scareglow's cape! E-mail Lori Volpe (lvolpe@snet.net)
The Scrolls Of Grayskull: Issue 21 by Adam Tyner and Scott White (Cringer) No copyright infringements were intended in the publishing of this newsletter.
