Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
Keldorâ„¢ Bio
Real Name: Keldorâ„¢ of the House of Miro
Banished from the royal palace, in part due to distrust for the rare blue-skinned Gar race, Prince Keldor™ became an outcast. He traveled Eternia® seeking knowledge and guidance, eventually discovering the ancient spirit of Hordak™. From him, Keldor™ learned of the dark arts, and came to realize that to truly unite Eternia®, he would need to take command of the planet himself. He gathered an army of fellow outcasts and led them in battle against his brother, Captain Randor™. Eventually defeated, and near death, Keldor™ once again turned to Hordak™ who, in exchange for his own freedom, agreed to save Keldor’s life by merging him with Demo-Man™, twisting Keldor™ into Skeletor® — Lord of Destruction™!
Portrait Art Source: MYP Model Sheet
We’re quickly catching up to these things! Only a few left.
Anyway, Keldor–where to start with this one? I recommend you revisit my original discussion of the Skeletor bio, along with this follow-up. Probably wouldn’t hurt to check out King Randor’s bio too.
While we saw quite a bit of Keldor in the 200X cartoon, the bio fleshes his story out even more. We learn he spent at least some time in the royal palace because, like Randor, he was of the House of Miro. So he’s Randor’s brother, or half-brother (we still don’t know which was the elder and thus, presumably, heir to the throne).
Someone banished Keldor from the royal palace, however. As I’ve mentioned before, the question of Keldor and Randor’s mothers raises all sorts of possibilities for Shakespearean machinations and betrayals, but the line about the “distrust for the blue-skinned Gar race” confuses some of those thoughts. I mean, how could the King’s own son be banished for what sounds a lot like racism, unless his own father was actually a racist? Or if not the King himself, then his closest confidants?
The timeline here is very tricky, but here’s my latest guess:
- Count Marzo starts the Great Unrest and causes King Miro to vanish;
- Keldor and Randor team up to defeat Marzo;
- After Marzo is defeated, Keldor–the elder brother(?)–prepares to claim the throne and is somehow betrayed and “banished” from the royal palace (my favorite suspect for this is Randor’s mother, presumably the Queen, but we don’t know who did it);
- Keldor gathers his army and attacks the Elders;
- Randor defeats Keldor’s forces, Keldor is mortally wounded and driven beyond the Mystic Wall and becomes Skeletor;
- The Elders appoint Randor king.
The fact that the Elders have to “appoint” Randor king suggests that Keldor is indeed the elder brother, and thus the rightful heir to the throne.
A lot of fans have felt that this bio “softens” Keldor/Skeletor and makes him more sympathetic. It does this in two ways.
First, by bringing up the whole “Gar racism” angle, it paints Keldor at least partially as a victim, and puts some of the responsibility for his evil acts on those of the royal palace who wronged him. Some people really dislike the idea of Skeletor having even the slightest justification for his hatred of Eternia, preferring him to be a being of true evil. I myself tend to think of Skeletor as a personification of evil, but just by introducing the Keldor angle, that concept is weakened. Having Keldor help banish Count Marzo further confuses the issue (though perhaps at some point we’ll learn that Keldor did it solely for his own ends, i.e., removing a major rival for control of Eternia).
The other thing is this “motivation” for Skeletor’s attempted tyranny: that he wishes to “unite” Eternia, for what is implied to be positive ends–i.e., uniting people of all skin colors, so Gar don’t get banished from royal palaces and denied their birthright. Here’s where my mind really starts to split. On the one hand, I do like Skeletor as a being of pure evil; on the other, I tend to hate it when villains actually think of themselves as villains and have no understandable motivation for their evil actions. So I’m actually OK with Skeletor’s belief, however deluded, that he’s trying to unite Eternia for its own good.
Of course, I’d also like to know more about this “disunity” he’s seeing. We saw a lot of this in the 200X series, actually–the feuds between the Andreenids and the Avians, for instance, or the Caligar and the Speleans.
So, lots of ideas introduced in this bio. Your thoughts?
Snarf! Snarf!
As I said before on Bonehead's Bio:
While Keldor might've a great idea of uniting Eternia; he does not seem to be the one who does thing in a most heroic way. I wouldn't be surprised if he used his cunning and deceptive ways to try and get what he wants. Something along the lines of creating false revolts in order to remove Miro and take his rightful place on the throne. Then exploiting the Legends of the He-Men and King Grayskull in order to "save" Eternia as some sort of "Messiah" and clearing the name of the Gar.
(Holy crap I just gave Mattel an explanation with some semblance of continuity for using the crappy half swords instead of his true swords!)
I think that Keldor could be the mastermind behind the whole "Marzo uprisings."
He probably was banished either when someone found out about his true intentions… OR Randor's mother made a move against Keldor in order to secure Randor's place as king. Who knows… The bios won't tell us that.
After being banished; He probably used the whole "They hate me because I'm different" angle to rally more troops against the "Racist" Eternos…
On Keldor/Hordak's Ghost Rider-esque merging of Demo-Man: I stated before that Hektor isn't doing the merger out of niceness… (cause he's the evil ruler of the evil horde.) The dying Keldor took it as a second chance to do fulfill his "destiny": Rule Eternia. Turning into Skeletor did NOT change Keldor's goal, but it Changed Keldor. He is no longer bound by the ties of mere men (Love, family, etc,). Hence the lack of attachment towards Evil Lyn.
Once again an Absolute HELL NO! to Keldor's Redemption
Novelty
I wonder if there are fans out there who actually liked this bio. Besides Toyguru and his team that wrote this that is, they don't count.
oansun
When it comes to Skeletor, he is a main character of MOTU and should have an ounce of sympathy as we all already love him. I like the idea of a Magneto type motivation, he is wronged, and looks to right this for all potential future victims. But then something goes terribly wrong, and their brain gets switched to the wrong setting. Evil is default, despite the good intentions. And Skeletor (like Magneto) is ruthless and should always revert to evil. It is why he continues doing the same thing over and over, defeat He-Man, take Grayskull and use its power to rule Eternia. This makes him insane/evil. And that's the way I like my sympathetic and evil villains, caught up in a tragic means self destruction. This bio really calls a lot of psychological reasoning for his madcap ideas. And yes, its writing on the back of a toy, but that's why we love this stuff, it inspires our imagination. Skeletor is like all the best villains in the world, its what makes him so beloved and cherished. Like Dr. Doom, Magento (as stated), Two-Face, Zoom (either), Luthor, Sinestro, Darth Vader, im sure im missing many past mythological and non comic book antagonists which you could probably point to, but you see my point. Villains we can relate to on a revenge front are more well-rounded, not just an avatar of destruction (though most people find the Joker fascinating for the opposite reason, you can probably guess that i don't and neither did Christopher Nolan). I personally like this "revelation" of Skeletor's past. He can still be evil, and we can hate him for it. It's what separates heroes from villains, how they react in a crisis or a tragedy. Will they pick themselves back up and do what is best for the world, or will they seek revenge and take a turn for what is selfish means in the end. There are many interpretations for the actions people take and how they see themselves, so this only gives more ammunition for what we can believe Skeletor is and can be, evil. (Sorry to ramble one more point here) Evil is the other end of the spectrum of good right? and the opposite is indifference (if you believe that, and i do) so evil has to relate to good on some level, so the scale of the extremes can be seen. Evil has to come from what some to believe is good, and the ultimate evil is someone believing they are right, no matter the cost , and will die for it. But it is all in the interpretation of the person to who is evil and who is good. That's a villain, and that is now Skeletor. The days of cowering in fear and running from real danger for Skeletor is gone, and in its pace we see this iconic version of what we all believed Skeletor really was, right in his own twisted way. Perfect villainy.
Paul
I just think that while he was sympathetic as Keldor, he became pure evil when he was merged with this Demo man joker.
Leonardo T Dragon
I've always liked the Robert Howard take on sorcery– there is a cost to learning and mastering the dark arts and it usually manifests itself physically. To me, Keldor started to turn blue as a consequence of his quest for magical power. Call it a taint of dark magic or what have you– but in my mind he and Randor looked the same (skin color wise) until magic became involved.
Adding in a whole separate blue-skinned race now raises all sorts of questions about the parentage of both Keldor and Randor– and we're to assume that there are two mothers but only one father. Was Keldor's mother "the first wife" and Randor's mother grew jealous of this step child who would rule over her son? Did Randor's mother really engineer Keldor's downfall?
By keeping them true brothers, you don't have to muddy the already convoluted waters any further. They're brothers who chose different paths based upon their aptitudes and the result was a schism that can never be healed.
Just my two cents.
Barbecue17
I've been thinking about how I envision Keldor's merging with Demo-Man. What did Keldor receive from Demo-Man? Why was it necessary? Has Demo-Man ceased to exist or does he in some way influence/control Keldor? Hre are my thoughts:
-Demo-Man was an enemy of Hordak's, and so Hordak chose to merge Keldor with Demo-Man in order to get rid of him. Hordak hates competition, and yet ironically he creates Skeletor who proves to be his greatest competition. Having been badly injured (you know, acid burning off his face and probably causing some brain damage), Keldor already experienced a personality change that begin driving him towards a demeanor of evil madness. Demo-Man's energy merely helped to stabilize Keldor and grant him a more powerful body and a longer life span. No part of Demo-Man's personality influences Keldor. Skeletor is simply a more powerful Keldor who has been changed by the circumstances of his accident.
Croaker
I prefer to think of it like this:
*Marzo uprisings begin
*Keldor is banished by Miro in climate of unrest
*Keldor wanders the land, outcast. Learns more alchemy, meets evil lyn, sees "disunity"
*Miro is "disappeared" by Marzo
*Keldor comes back to unite with Randor to defeat Marzo
*Expects to be reinstated as Prince, get his life back, etc.
*Still has to leave, is still banished (maybe he tries to take the throne, which is rightfully his, at this point – the 'betrayal' refered to in Randor's bio)
*Keldor gathers his army (in bitterness)…. etc.
Barbecue17
Cool thoughts, Croaker. Definitely sounds like a pretty interesting pattern that would lead Keldor down the path to becoming evil.
Monkey boy
So maybe we shouldn't be asking what makes skeletor evil, by what makes the masters good? How are they better than a skeletor run universe? I think this makes skel's motivations a bit too sympathetic.
PrfktTear
When it comes to MOTU, I like black & white and prefer there to be no gray area. You can say I'm myopic or that I've got my head in the sand, but its just what I prefer.
I'm okay with Skeletor being Keldor, and Keldor being Randor's evil half-brother who was wounded and through Hordak's intervention saved him but made him even more twisted and evil.
Heli
I'm with PrfktTear on this one. MOTU just seems like it should be simple. Here are the good guys, here are the bad guys, end of story.
Damien
I actually really like Keldor's bio. It's one of the few where nothing leaps out at me as annoying or 'off.' And I certainly disagree with any assessment that this weakens Skeletor as a truly evil character.
First of all, whoever he was before – he is Skeletor now. I don't really view Keldor and Skeletor as exactly the same person. Keldor may have been evil to begin with, but Skeletor is beyond twisted. It's similar to how someone suffering from dementia, while legally the same person, is mentally and emotionally very different.
Secondly, the idea of 'uniting' Eternia is in no way a 'good' trait. It's completely neutral. Every wannabe despot, dictator and monarch to ever conquer in real history had the same thought process (with various motivations). Ultimately, the desire to 'unite' a world can mean anything. Some may want to do it purely for altruistic reasons, but I'd call that the exception that proves the rule.
Keldor likely, in my mind, wanted to unite Eternia for purely selfish reasons. And even if he did believe it was for 'the greater good' — well, plenty of bad people have done what they did for 'the greater good.'
The whole Gar thing doesn't bother me either. The bio clearly states he was banished, IN PART, due to the mistrust of the Gar race. 'In part' implies there is more to the story. Maybe Keldor was viciously cruel to those stationed beneath him. Maybe he was a rapist (the MOTUC figure's smile suggests this may be the case). Maybe mistrusting the Gar race was a catalyst for members of the court to say that Keldor is likely only to get worse in his depredations.
Bottom line, for me, is that villains whose sole motivation is 'I is teh evil' SUCK. They're boring, one-dimensional, pointless characters totally interchangeable with one another.
But a villain with real, believable motivations, weaknesses, even the occasional soft spot, are FUNCTIONAL, powerful characters. And in no way does having REASONS for his actions make a villain any less evil, in the end.
Josh
Thank you, Damien. You articulated all of my feelings regarding Keldor. Huzzah!
FakeEyes22
I don't mind the bio, even the Demo-Man thing, since we don't know much about it.
The guy is a talking skull with no lips and no real eyeballs to speak of. No matter how much acid you toss on someone's face, this won't be the end result. Skeletor has to be made from magic somehow. Maybe it would be better not to explain, and assume Skeletor has always kinda been there with only vague details. Darth Vader was perhaps more effective before he wad given 3 films of origin and motivation. I'm just glad to have a Keldor figure regardless.
They left off the part of his story where he found both halves of the sword of He and spray painted them purple.
Thrawn
I'm fine with the bio. The most controversial bit about
doesn't automatcally equate to just racism. It could only mean just that: distrust.
It no doubt implies racism, but mistrust could mean many things. Maybe many evil magic users on Eternia are Gar. Maybe Gar have been known for some key betrayals in the past. Perhaps they are mistrusted because they are so rare and mysterious.
There are potential meanings there beyond just racism. I'm fine with it.
As far as his motivations go, I love that he apparently has a legitimate claim to the throne. Also Mattel has sort of hinted that Keldor was always evil and ruthless despite the outward appearance of a sympathetic motivation.
I still absolutely hate the Demo man idea.
FakeEyes22
@Thrawn
I agree. For all we know, Gars are biologically evil! The racism could be totaly justified. Probably not, that's a rocky road to travel, but the Gar could be a very aggressive warmongering culture or something. In a land of lobsters and bee people, there's got to be some reason to single out the blue people. I wonder if the monster-folk dislike the Gar or if it's just the other humans? Would the blue-winged Stratos be outcast from the Avions? Is Faker considered some racist charicature of He-Man? Is Boo Berry cereal as tough to find on Eternia as it is here?
A personal theory I have is maybe Demo-Man is a Gar, or was their ruler or creator. Perhaps Keldor is the chosen one of sorts to merge with his ancestor.
Thrawn
@FakeEyes22
Yeah, the distrust angle is sort of like the Evil Lyn rebellious teenager thing. It's objectionable at first, but if you think about it, it could be well done potentially.
Not that I'm for either one mind you, it 's just too early for me to make any final judgments.
And for all we know Demo man was a good guy. You never know. Either way I freaking hate the merging idea. I've seen many theories, some better than others, but I hate them all.
Damien
@FakeEyes22: I don't think it's a 'rocky road' at all to imply there's some racial tendency toward evil. Actually, it's already trope of fantasy.
Orcs, for example. They're just 'evil by design' in virtually all media in which they appear. Or D&D's Drow.
In fact, we might find, as we learn more, that the Gar are sort of Eternia's Drow race. Pretty, elfy, and pretty much born to be sociopaths.
MegaGearX
Keldor is the elder brother, Poe. It was mentioned on Randor's bio.
O-Scar
at what point does skeletor come back and steal adora according to your timeline? In adora's bio, it states skeletor steals her and gives her to Hordak, how could he do this if he was banished beyond the mystic wall? Obviously he was stuck back there accoding to Gy-Gor's bio.
Reilly
This bio IMO illustrates pretty well how much better and less confusing the MotUC biographies could be if they were done as comics.
Ariel
Based on some bios, here's my theory:
"Before becoming king of Eternia, Prince Miro secretly married, outside the royal protocol of Eternia, with a beautiful lady of the Gar race. As a result of this marriage, Prince Keldor would be born. Keldor inherits from his mother, the distinctive bluish color of the Gar's skin. Unfortunately, Keldor's mother died shortly after the prince's birth. After the death of his first wife, Prince Miro remarried, this time with Princess Desamira, from one of the distinguished princely houses of Eternia. From their marriage would be born the future King Randor and the future Royal Princess Mirina, mother of several Prince Adam's cousins. After being vanished from the court and then Miro's first marriage dissolution (by orders of Miro's father and his advisors), Keldor was removed from the line of succession to the Crown. As a result of this, Prince Randor was placed first in the line of succession and, consequently, crowned King of Eternia."
This is my theory of why Keldor's vanishment and exclusion, and of why Randor's currently entitled King of Eternia.
Sorry for my poor English and Regards! Ariel from Argentina…