Skeletor
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Image:Skeletor-from-the-series-he-man.jpg In the toy, cartoon and comic book series Masters of the Universe, Skeletor is a fictional character and arch-enemy of He-Man. He is the greatest threat to modern Eternia. Skeletor's origin is generally unknown, but there are several possibilities given.
Pre-Filmation series minicomics
Image:ClassicMinicomicSkeletor.jpg The first minicomics that accompanied the 1981-1983 line of Masters of the Universe toys presented the earliest version of MOTU continuity and are fascinating for their many differences from the more widely-known continuity of the later Filmation cartoon and the later minicomics which sought to complement it. For example, there is no royal court of Eternia (Eternos), no King Randor and Queen Marlena, and certainly no Prince Adam. Instead, He-Man is depicted as the scarcely-superhuman champion of a tribe of stone-age jungle-dwellers.
These very first minicomics (which were actually more like storybooks, with a single image per page footed by prose) stated that Skeletor was originally an inhabitant of another dimension, populated with others of "his kind". During "The Great Wars" (an ambiguous and intriguing concept which was largely ignored in later continuities) a hole was opened in the dimensional wall and Skeletor was thrown from his world into Eternia. Significantly different to the lonelier and entirely self-serving Skeletor of later depictions, the villain's key motivation in this first story was to reopen the rift between his world and Eternia, thus allowing Skeletor's race to invade and conquer Eternia alongside him. This was the initially-stated reason behind Skeletor's desire to obtain the powers of Castle Grayskull, not merely seeking power for its own sake as was generally the case in later depictions.
However, as this first incarnation of MOTU continuity was particularly short-lived, many questions about this version of Skeletor's origin were left unanswered, particularly as this original story remained vague about Skeletor's people. What was Skeletor's status amongst his own kind? Did they all look like him or was he the only one with a skull face? Were they all sorcerers? Did they all share his evil dreams of conquest? None of these questions were ever answered. Of course this particular origin of Skeletor occurred in a different continuity from that of the better known animated series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Filmation animated series
Image:He-man 03.jpg In the original cartoon, Skeletor supposedly came from the dimension called Infinita. He is a blue-skinned, skull-faced warlord who rules the dark side of Eternia from Snake Mountain with an iron fist. He learned black magic from Hordak, the powerful warlord of Eternia's sister planet Etheria, of whom he was once the second-in-command. In the animated movie The Secret of the Sword, it is revealed that Skeletor betrayed Hordak after his forces were defeated, by telling The Sorceress and Man-At-Arms the way to Hordak's secret base. The two have been bitter enemies ever since.
Skeletor's portrayal in the series was generally comical, as the show's writers were forced to use villains mainly for comic value to keep the show suitable for young children. As the series progressed, Skeletor was treated as more and more incompetent, often bordering on a pantomime villain. However, several episodes still showed the greater extent of Skeletor's evil, such as "The Problem With Power" in which he tricks He-Man into thinking he has killed a man with his own power, knowing that He-Man will exile himself in shame for his mistake.
He was voiced by veteran voice actor Alan Oppenheimer.
Post-Filmation series minicomics
In the minicomics that followed the cancellation of the Filmation animated series (which can be seen as following on from the same continuity as the Filmation series, although there are still various contradictions) it is hinted that Skeletor is in fact Keldor, King Randor's long lost brother.Image:SearchForKeldor.jpg This inference occurs specifically in 1986 minicomic entitled "The Search for Keldor" a story that involves Prince Adam and Randor searching for Randor's lost brother Keldor. When Skeletor learns of their quest, he muses that "they must never discover the secret of Keldor", as the truth will lead to his (Skeletor's) destruction.
In this story King Randor announces that Keldor disappeared years ago. "He thought to master magic-- when his experiments went wrong and he was lost in a dimension beyond time!" One of the few elements of Skeletor's back story that had remained consistent throughout the various MOTU continuities was that he had come to Eternia from another dimension. It is likely that Randor’s statement about Keldor disappearing to another dimension was an attempt to reconcile Skeletor being He-Man’s uncle with his Extra-Eternian origins. Image:SearchForKeldor2.jpg To find what happened to Keldor, Randor and the Sorceress attempt to peer through the dimensional veil. Randor announces "I think I see Keldor… Or is it…" Before he can see anything else, Skeletor appears, determined to stop them from finding out any more. Although Skeletor is defeated, he is able to prevent Randor from discovering Keldor’s fate.
Skeletor’s frantic effort to cover up what happened to Keldor, combined with the fact that Keldor vanished to another dimension when attempting to become a master sorcerer, is taken as heavy inference that the two characters were indeed one and the same. Unfortunately, because the original MOTU toyline came to an end before the story could be resolved, it was never fully disclosed if this was officially intended to be the case.
However Steven Grant, the writer-for-hire of the minicomic in question, stated in a he-man.org interview that "As far as I remember, Keldor was Skeletor ... But, I don't think that was ever going to be revealed ... I seem to remember it as one of those things Mattel came up with out of the blue ... Slur Keldor and you end up with Skeletor ... His back-story wasn't really worked out. Some sort of evil cosmic energies altered him. I think they were going for a Darth Vader thing, but it was a tack-on... The main idea was that if they found out Skeletor was Keldor, they'd be able to find out what had changed him and might find some way to reverse it."[1]
In the new continuity of the 2002 animated series by Mike Young Productions (see below), Skeletor’s original name is definitely Keldor, his appearance as such is shown and his exploits partially depicted. However it seems unlikely that he would be related to Randor in this continuity, as he has Skeletor's blue skin and some other slightly nonhuman features whilst still Keldor.
Once A Hero cameo
On the short lived TV series Once A Hero of 1987, Skeletor made a brief cameo appearance. It was towards the end when Captain Justice returns back the "Real Earth", a bunch of comic book characters can be seen cheering him on. It that group shot you can see Spider-Woman, Firestar, and Skeletor. stx-superhero-report
Masters of the Universe The Motion Picture
Image:Skeletor3.jpg In 1987 Cannon Films released a feature film version of Masters of the Universe. The role of Skeletor was played by acclaimed actor Frank Langella, who arguably gave the best performance in the film, and in the opinions of some fans, this was the best overall depiction of Skeletor. Due to the film's PG rating, this Big Screen Skeletor was given license to be much darker than his cartoon counterpart ever could. At one point he casually incinerates one of his henchmen as punishment for failing him. Langella's Skeletor was given a depth that had been absent from all prior interpretations. Perhaps the best glimpse given into the villain's psyche occurs when he is torturing a captive He-Man. Leaning in close to the hero, he inquires "Tell about the loneliness of Good, He-Man... Is it equal to the loneliness of Evil?"
This Skeletor is clad in slightly different attire than traditional representations of the character. Rather than dark purple he wears all black, his costume is less scant, covering his whole body and he has a flowing, regal cape.
Cinema Skeletor is also able to achieve that which his previous incarnations could not. He unlocks the powers of Grayskull and becomes a living god. As he receives ultimate power Skeletor makes a dramatic speech worthy of the culmination of his life's evil dreams. Image:Godskeletor closeup.jpg
- "People of Eternia! I stand before the Great Eye of the galaxy, chosen by destiny to receive the very powers of Grayskull! This inevitable moment will transpire before your eyes, even as He-Man himself bears witness to it... Now. I, Skeletor, am Master of the Universe! Yes! Yes... I feel it, the power... fills me. I feel the universe within me! I am... I am a part of the cosmos! Its power flows... Flows through me! Of what consequence are you now? This planet, these people. They are nothing to me! The universe is power! Pure, unstoppable power! and I am that Force! I am that Power!"
- (Addressing He-Man) "Kneel before your master! Fool! You are no longer my equal! I am more than man! More than life! I... am... a... god! Now. You... will... kneeeel! Kneeeel!"
Interestingly this tirade bears some resemblance to a speech that would be made much later by Frank Langella in another film, The Ninth Gate, when his character Boris Balkan attempts to become a master of black magic.
Imbued with cosmic power, Skeletor transforms himself into his own concept of a god. He is clad in radiant, golden armour and crowned with an opulent, horned head piece, which partially resembled the brief glimpse given of the exterior of the cinematic version of Castle Grayskull. He discharges beams of pure energy from his eyes. This moment in the film is strikingly similar to a storyline in Marvel Comics, Captain America, where another skull faced super-villain, The Red Skull achieves godlike power through possession of a device called the cosmic cube. Like Skeletor the Red Skull gives himself a suit of golden armour and like Skeletor he fails to achieve his final victory, despite his supposed ascension to godhood. Both also make the same mistake of trying to make their enemies live in slavery to them, rather than just killing them. The two villains even suffer a similar defeat, the Red Skull falling off a cliff into the ocean and Skeletor plummeting into a watery abyss below Castle Grayskull.
The shot of Skeletor falling to his apparent death is somewhat derivative of the Emperor's demise in Return of the Jedi. This may be due to the fact that the film's visual effects supervisor, Richard Edlund had worked on the original Star Wars trilogy. Image:ConceptualArtSkeletor.jpg The movie also contains a hidden ending, in a post end credits sequence Skeletor resurfaces from the water and announces "I'll be back". Despite this a sequel to the Masters of the Universe movie has yet to manifest itself.
Numerous parts of the previously-accepted history of the series are ignored in the film, one such inconsistency is the vastly more effective evildoing of Skeletor, a previously somewhat inept villain. In particular, Skeletor had never previously been depicted as having command of a vast army of black-armoured soldiers.
Some fans, however, counter with the observation that many of these apparent inconsistencies with the "main" cartoon/minicomic canon could be easily be explained by interpreting the film as simply being set some time after the events of the regular canon. Apart from obvious inconsistencies of design (all the character's costumes and especially the Power Sword and Castle Grayskull), there is little in the film which is wholly irreconcilable with the cartoon & minicomics if one applies this rationale. There is virtually no material in the film which directly contradicts past canon; rather there are merely few references to it.
This theory points to the fact that at the start of the film Skeletor has already conquered Grayskull (and much of Eternia), which could easily explain the absence of many classic characters such as King Randor, Orko etc. Such characters can easily be supposed to have been captured, killed or driven into hiding prior to the start of the film. More importantly, this argument maintains that the lack of a depiction of (or even references to) Prince Adam does not by any means preclude his existence, and some would argue that under the drastic circumstances of the film's plot He-Man would have no time or reason to adopt his secret identity.
Furthermore, while Skeletor's shock troopers admittedly had no previous depiction in the MOTU-verse and although their origin or precise nature are not divulged, the very existence of such an army makes Skeletor's unprecedented victory all the more plausible. Furthermore, such a shift in the nature of the conflict could well explain the Heroic Warriors' own escalated use of high-tech weaponry, which was, after all, always an element of classic MOTU, going right back to the earliest toys. Given the vague similarity between Skeletor's armoured soldiers and Hordak's robotic Horde Troopers, some have even speculated that Skeletor's rise in martial prowess could possibly be accounted for by his having defeated his former teacher and rival at an earlier point and, as a result, taken control of his armies.
The New Adventures of He-Man
Image:NewAdventuresSkeletor.jpg The New Adventures series sees Skeletor with a new costume, an armoured chest, cybernetic implants and a pink cape. Skeletor fools the Galactic Guardians, Hydron and Flipshot, into thinking he is the force of good they need to save their home planet Primus, when in fact they came looking for He-Man. Unable to decide who was good and who was evil, Skeletor and He-Man are both transported to the future, where Skeletor reveals his true evil nature to the Primans as the Mutants attack. Skeletor and the Mutant leader, Flogg, come to an agreement, Skeletor will help Flogg conquer Primus in return for Floggs help in destroying He-Man. One of Floggs terms is that he will remain in charge of the Mutants, Skeletor agrees, and is able to manipulate and control Flogg from behind the scenes, while making himself a force to be reckoned with among Primans and Mutants alike.
In the episode "Sword and Staff" Skeletor finds a powerful crystal on Moon Nordor and absorbs its power, making him more powerful and evil than ever before, and changing his appearance drastically, including a yellow face with red eyes, and different armour and helmet. Throughout the series, Skeletor concocts various schemes to destroy He-Man and conquer Primus, when Teela arrives in the future she tells Skeletor Eternia has been peaceful since he left. Skeletor actually succeeds in conquering Primus after a clever scheme fooling Primus and its ruler, Master Sebrian, into thinking the Mutants wanted peace. Flogg is able to proclaim himself King of Primus and the Mutants seize control of the planet, with Skeletor in pursuit of He-Man and the growing rebellion against the Mutant invaders. The Mutants remain in control of the planet for some time, as Mara states in the episode "Skeletors Victory" that she and He-Man have been in the wilderness for weeks. The Mutant invaders are eventually forced to flee Primus when the entire planet rises up against them and their Mothership is forcibly removed from the planet. Skeletor and Floggs dominance over Primus and victory over the Primans lasts for a total of five episodes including "The Gift", "Skeletors Victory", "He-Man in Exile", "The Seeds of Resistance" and "The Battle of Levitan". Image:NewAdventuresSkeletorToy.jpg Skeletor also has an admirer among the Mutants named Crita, an attractive and ruthlessly evil female who works aboard the Mothership, she and Skeletor become closer throughout the series, leading Skeletor to often show flirtatious behaviour around her, even dancing with her, his advances are often interrupted by Flogg, who tends to become jealous he is not being paid more attention. However, Skeletor shows in 'Escape the Galolotia' that he would be perfectly willing to destroy her if it suited him. Despite the events of that episode, Crita apparently forgives Skeletor, who arranges for her to be sent to Nekron to assist the evil Gleanon warriors in their war against the peaceful Mytes.
At the end of the series, Skeletor and the Mutants took part in the Galactic Games where they fought the Galactic Guardians and He-Man, the Guardians won the games, but the organisers of the games trapped them. During their imprisonment, Flogg finally decided to attack Primus with everything he had, including having the Gleanons, under Critas leadership, assist them. Skeletor intended to have his final battle with He-Man, and destroy him when he arrived, as Skeletor knew he eventually would. The Mutants were able to conquer Primus once again, with the Galactic Guardians and He-Man absent, but the Guardians escaped their captivity and returned in the Starship Eternia, the Primans were once again able to defeat the Mutants and Flogg, realising he had finally lost, agreed to surrender all his forces. Skeletor flew into a rage, finally expressing his true opinion of Flogg, Flogg attempted to shoot Skeletor, but was stopped by Crita at the last moment. Skeletor then transported himself, Crita, He-Man and Mara(who had become Critas own arch enemy and leader of the Mytes) to the ancient ruins of the Oasis on Primus and challenged He-Man to their final battle, Skeletor was caught off guard and Mara tossed Crita into him and knocked the two off a cliff ledge and into a shuttle pod, He-Man was able to take Skeletors staff after their battle and use his power sword to trap Skeletor and Crita within the shuttle pod and exile them into space, with Skeletor promising Crita he would return to destroy He-Man.
Although The New Adventures series follows the continuity of the Filmation cartoon, Skeletor is quite a different character. He is a far more maniacal and insane character, he possesses a sarcastic sense of humor and often jokes and laughs, taking his own failures much better than in the previous series. He has a genuine friendship with Crita, and works well with Flogg, Slush Head and the other Mutants as part of their team as well as having a pet named Gur. Though often showing a more relaxed attitude he shows that when angered he simply becomes a maniac and lashes out in anger at anyone around him, he is able to instill fear into Flogg, despite being perfectly willing to take his orders when it suits his own purposes. In an interview, Campbell Lane, the voice actor for Skeletor, claimed he based his portrayal of Skeletor around The Joker from Batman.
Mike Young Productions animated series
Image:KeldorCartoon.jpg Skeletor was formerly a warlord known as Keldor who trained under Hordak. He gathered a small band of warriors (Beast-Man, Kronis, Mer-Man, Tri-Klops, and Evil-Lyn) to attack the Hall of Wisdom. They encountered resistance from Captain Randor and his officers; Keldor fought Randor personally, wielding two swords with astounding proficiency, but when Randor disarmed him, Keldor threw a vial of acid at him. Randor deflected it with his shield, and the acid splashed on Keldor's face.Image:MYPcartoonSkeletorCape.jpg
Kronis called the retreat, and Evil-Lyn took Keldor to Hordak's sanctuary, where Keldor summoned Hordak to save his life. Keldor agreed to pay whatever price Hordak wished for his life, and Hordak transformed him, stripping the damaged tissues from his skull and dubbing him Skeletor; Keldor's head had been completely stripped of soft tissues, leaving only a floating skull. When Keldor saw his new appearance, he laughed maniacally.
Trapped in the Dark Hemisphere by the Mystic Wall, Skeletor designed a machine that would smash it, but it needed the Corodite Crystal as a power source. When Mer-Man retrieved it, Skeletor destroyed the Mystic Wall, and returned to menacing Eternia.
Skeletor was not concerned with Castle Grayskull until a giant fish-monster headed toward it and the Masters (Eternian warriors led by Man-At-Arms and He-Man) stopped it, forcing Skeletor to ponder what could be in that ancient pile of stones worth dying for. (At the time, the Heroic Warriors seemed ready and willing to let Grayskull fall, and would likely have done so, if not for the urgings of Man-at-Arms, who had been swallowed whole by the monster.) Image:KeldorToy.jpgHe directly attacked it with his Council of Evil (himself, Count Marzo, Evilseed, the evil Giants, Kobra Khan, and Webstor), but was defeated by Zodak.
When King Hiss and the Snake Men were freed from the Void, Hiss imprisoned Skeletor, having him devoured by a giant snake, but Skeletor escaped after the Masters defeated Hiss.
Despite owing his life to Hordak, Skeletor destroyed Hordak's sanctuary to prevent Evil-Lyn from freeing his trapped master there; perhaps Skeletor fears Hordak's vast powers and what he will do to him if he is freed.
King Hiss revived Serpos, the Serpent God, who had been transformed into Snake Mountain by the Elders; Skeletor and his minions were inside the mountain at that time. Although Serpos was defeated and restored to its Snake Mountain form. Had season three of the cartoon been produced, it would have seen Skeletor and He Man dealing with the Horde invasion and the powerful Hordak, who it was said Skeletor would eventually have defeated.
As with all the Mike Young Productions series' characters, Skeletor's appearance was based on his figure from the Four Horsemen-designed toyline for which the cartoon was produced to promote. Skeletor was the character that received perhaps the least-extensive redesign from his original toy/cartoon version. However, when this new design was then translated into animated form, MYP's artists (usually) gave him a voluminous cape, something which neither the new toy nor the original incarnation of the character ever wore, but may have been influenced by Skeletor's costume in the 1987 film. When a later convention-exclusive figure of Keldor was made using the existing Skeletor body, a removable cloth cape was included. As the figure came with three swappable heads including his Keldor face; his burning, acid-splashed visage; and his final Skeletor head, this figure could thus be configured into a "show-accurate" caped Skeletor.
Image:He-Man and masters of universe2002.jpg
The question of Skeletor's head
Image:Skeletor'sFloatingHead.jpg The Hordak scene described above is the only depiction to date of a completely hoodless "classic"-style (i.e. not the film, not New Adventures) Skeletor. Thus, the MYP series' clarification of nature of Skeletor's head as a magically floating skull with no visible connecting tissue (or even any exposed spinal column for that matter) was the first such explanation of how Skeletor's fleshy body actually connects to his skull. However, this "magical floating skull" version is not necessarily what was intended for previous depictions of the character, who may have had neck tissues which reached to the base of his skull before giving way to exposed bone in either a withered or grisly manner (which could well explain the wearing of a concealing hood on an otherwise scantily-clad body). Image:NewAdventuresSkeletorToyCloseup.jpg Interestingly the toy version of Skeletor in New Adventures, which was intended to be a continuation of the original 1980s toyline/Filmation cartoon continuity, does have visible flesh on his neck which even reaches up to cover the back of his head almost to the crown, as if having regrown. However, since the original Skeletor was never actually shown without his hood it is conceivable that this flesh had always been present and merely hidden. The only apparent contradiction to this appears in the debatably canonical storybook-comic The Power of Point Dread/Danger at Castle Grayskull in which Skeletor's hood falls back but is still rests only just past his crown and thus is relatively inconclusive about the status of his neck.
It is also noteworthy that although the Filmation and MYP cartoons (and all comic books) have depicted Skeletor's visible skull as a uniform colour of yellow or bone-white, both of the original 1980s and the initial 2002 toys of Skeletor actually feature a skull that is only yellow in the centre of the face. These toys, which are after all what the surrounding media are all based upon, actually show the head coloured green around the edges of the face, perhaps suggesting that the rest of the hooded skull might be green. Interestingly however, the New Adventures Skeletor's aforementioned flesh on the back of his head does not directly give way to the yellow bone, but rather has an intermediary area of green colour. This could explain the green edges to the classic Skeletor toy's face and is entirely consistent with the above theory that he may have always had only his face devoid of flesh rather than his entire head, although it is unknown (and probably unknowable) whether this was the original intent. Image:Skeletor'sHead.jpg It has never been clarified as to what extent any version of Skeletor is supposed to have any remaining fleshy matter in his head at all, and thus to what extent Skeletor retains normal biological functions, if any. All versions of Skeletor (apart from the 1987 film) depict him as having clearly empty eye sockets, sometimes with either permanently or intermittently visible glowing points of scarlet energy instead of actual biological eyes. However it has never been clarified whether he has a tongue and thus if he talks by magical means (because while it is possible to speak without lips one still requires a tongue), or whether he even *needs* to eat or drink. The last pilot episode of the MYP series did however depict Skeletor enjoying some manner of warm drink. Although Skeletor can clearly hear, he has never been depicted as having ears, even on the New Adventures toy. He does seem to have a sense of smell though, as he is shown in the 2002 MYP series attempting to block his (nonexistent) nose when Stinkor appears before him to beg a boon, which has some logic as his skull would still have nasal passages permitting him to breathe, if he in fact still needs to.
Whether he even still possesses a biological brain inside his skull is also unknown.
Some fans have suggested that Skeletor may be an undead fantasy creature called lich due to the fact that he (in the MYP version of the mythos) died or came close to it, only to have his mortal body healed kept alive in an inhuman state by dark magic.
In both the classic and modern cartoons Skeletor has one of the most memorably nasal voices in popular culture, despite the fact that he does not actually have a nose. Furthermore, in the MYP series the voice of his former Keldor identity had a markedly less nasal voice, even though he did in fact have a nose at that time. It should be noted that Frank Langella, who played Skeletor in the 1987 film, did not speak in the more familiar nasal voice, but instead spoke in a deep, raspy, growling baritone.
Powers and abilities
Skeletor possesses an array of mystic powers that seem to vary depending on the whims of the particular writer using him at the time. He is usually armed with a magical weapon called the Havoc Staff; a pole crowned with a small replica of a ram's skull. He can discharge bolts of mystic force from the head of the staff. Sometimes Skeletor has displayed the ability to discharge energy from his own body, as is seen in the 1987 MOTU movie where he casts lightning from his hands. In the early mini-comics Skeletor sometimes possessed one of the halves of the power sword. From this weapon he could also project magic energies. He has displayed many other skills also, such as the ability to teleport himself and others over vast distances, send telepathic commands to his minions, open gateways between dimensions or perform remote viewing. He has also shown himself to be a gifted swordsman. As a master of the mystic arts he is also privy to much secret knowledge about the universe. Image:Neca-action-figure-skeletor.jpg Also, some toy versions of Skeletor have been featured in media:
- Dragon Blaster Skeletor: Featured in the 1984 minicomic "Skeletor's Dragon". In addition to Skeletor's powers depicted above, he had some energy-draining chains and was aided by a little dragon who could spray a sleeping mist from its mouth.
- Terror Claws Skeletor: This version of Skeletor had claw gloves known as the terror claws. Strangely, Skeletor wore his "original" costume in all the minicomics in which used the terror claws (including the Terror Claws Skeletor minicomic "The Terror Claws Strike!"). In the only minicomic that showed him wearing the "terror claws" costume ("The Cosmic Key") he didn't use the terror claws!
- "New Adventures" Skeletor: The Skeletor figure featured in "The New Adventures of He-Man". In the minicomics, Skeletor uses that costume after becoming a cyborg. In the TV version, he's only wearing a different costume that the "original".
- Disk of Doom Skeletor: The second "New Adventures" Skeletor version. This version first appeared in the episode "The Sword and the Staff" and became the regular version of Skeletor in the series until the last episode. This Skeletor version wore a skull-shaped chest armor and a white helmet. The figure came with a disk launcher, but in the series Skeletor continued using the Havoc Staff.
- Battle Sounds Skeletor: This figure was made as a "talking" Skeletor figure for the 2002 toyline. In the TV episode "Sky War", Skeletor transforms into his "Battle Sounds" version after eating Ambrosia, a miraculous food made by the Andreenids, Buzz-Off's people. As Battle Sounds Skeletor, he's stronger and more powerful.
- Samurai Skeletor: With the power of the Legacy Stones, Skeletor transformed into his samurai version in the episode "The Mystery of Anwat Gar". This Skeletor wears samurai armor, is stronger and, presumably, has samurai weapons.
- Battle Armor Skeletor: Skeletor dons a battle armor. In the episode "Of Machines and Men", a being called Sortech sends the battle armor to Skeletor. This is the 2003 Battle Armor Skeletor figure, and must not be confused with a 1983 Skeletor figure with the same name, that was not featured in any media.
Skeletor and the Thulsa Doom connection
Skeletor and indeed, the whole Masters of the Universe franchise, owe their existence to author Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories. In the early 1980s Mattel had planned to release a line of toys based on the then upcoming movie, Conan the Barbarian. However, after they discovered that the film was filled with adult content, they decided that a Conan toyline might not be the most lucrative product for the children's market.
After some retooling, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were born. Conan became He-Man and the evil sorcerer Thulsa Doom became Skeletor. Although the Thulsa Doom of the Conan movie is human-looking (played by James Earl Jones), the Thulsa Doom of Howard's Kull series looks very much like Skeletor.
He is generally depicted as having a skull face and wearing a hood. The fact that Thulsa Doom fought with Thoth-Amon for control over the serpent men is also similar to events in the 2002 He-Man series, where Skeletor fought with King Hiss, leader of the Snake Men. Another interesting point is that Skeletor is a necromancer like Thulsa Doom is.
Also what's interesting to see is that Thulsa Doom is one of Conan the barbarian's greatest enemies aside from Thoth-Amon and that both villains control some snakemen, reside in a Snake Fortress and that Thulsa Doom is referred in the Conan the Barbarian movie (which resembles Thoth-Amon) as "the master of the serpent's mountain" just as Skeletor resides in Snake Mountain.
Other antecedents of Skeletor
In addition to Thulsa-Doom, other figures might have served as inspiration for Skeletor. Prior to Masters of the Universe, Mattel ran an action figure line called Big Jim. One of the Big Jim toys, Captain Drake, was a hooded figure capable of switching between two faces, that of a normal man and a grinning skull. It is also rumored that Skeletor was based on the DC villain Dr. Destiny, who was created more than a decade before the Skeletor character. Also, Skeletor bears an undeniable resemblance to traditional depictions of Death or The Grim Reaper.
The Scare Glow controversy
It is also possible that Skeletor’s ultimate fate may have been hinted at by Mattel through the character Scare Glow, Evil Ghost of Skeletor. This, of course, is dependent on Scare Glow and Skeletor being one and the same. Greater exploration of this particular question is available in Scare Glow’s own entry.
Skeletor in popular culture
- As the generation of children raised on Masters of the Universe reached adulthood, Skeletor became a somewhat popular icon in comedy. On one skit on Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell played a husband who said inappropriate things to get his wife to hang up the phone. One of the things he said was "I am Skeletor, Spawn of the Hellbeast! Hang up the phone and pay homage to my awful power!" On another occasion SNL featured a mock historic recap of twentieth century events that never happened. One of these events was Mark Twain and "Skeletor from He-Man" winning the "Battle of Dublin." Skeletor has also been similarly referenced on other comedy programs such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Simpsons, in which Mr. Burns was referred to as that in the episodes Monty Can't Buy Me Love and The Blunder Years.
- In the 1998 UK comedy series This Morning With Richard Not Judy, St. Skeletor's Day was proposed by comedian Richard Herring as the antithesis to St. Valentine's Day, dedicated to the destruction of "lurve" and couples everywhere. The day is still celebrated by single fans every February 15.
- In the 2002 film Ali G Indahouse British comic personality Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) attempts to rally support over the radio to assist him in taking down the film's villain, Deputy Prime Minister David Carlton (Charles Dance). To elicit assistance Ali declares that:
- "Da Prime Minister, check it, 'as been chucked out by a geezer; who iz a massive dong. He iz even more eviler than Skeletor."
- Perhaps the most ridiculous comedic abuse of Skeletor is the music video produced by Bam Margera for his band Gnar Kill. This video features Brandon DiCamillo dressed as Skeletor and Beast-Man. The costumes and props are incredibly crude. For example Skeletor’s desk is a cardboard box with the words "Castle Grayskull" written on it. The video/song is effectively Skeletor and Beast-Man making rather graphic homoerotic and sadomasochistic overtures to one another in a musical style that bears passing resemblance to rap or hip hop. Despite the amateurish nature of the video and the rather out of character behaviour exhibited by Beast-Man and Skeletor, DiCamillo achieves a surprisingly accurate simulation of the voices and mannerisms of the two characters as they appeared on the Filmation series. Everything from Beast-Man's trademark grunt to Skeletor's use of the phrase "Furry Fool" is present.
- In the song "Cartoon Capers" by Dan the Automator and Kool Keith, Keith raps "I know his boys, yo. Look, they down with Skeletor." several times as the hook.
- Skeletor was recently featured in a Penny Arcade comic that pokes fun at MOTU and Wikipedia.
- Skeletor is frequently the focal point of the comic series Skeletor Is found at www.morphinenation.com. The series is 'penned' by comic writers Morphine Jim and Fat DJ.