One of the last and most mysterious of the original He-Man minicomics was “The Search for Keldor.” In the comic, King Randor enlists the Sorceress’s aid in seeking out his long-lost brother Keldor. Curiously, Skeletor panics upon hearing about this and summons Scareglow and Ninjor to stop Randor and company. While soundly beaten by He-Man and Clamp Champ, the villains do prevent Randor from learning any more about his brother’s disappearance.

The story strongly hinted that Keldor was none other than Skeletor himself, and while this was never confirmed in any other 1980s media, it became a much-discussed topic with the rise of online He-fandom in the 1990s. By the advent of the 2003 Mike Young Productions (MYP) cartoon, it was practically common knowledge that Skeletor was in fact Keldor. The MYP series cemented this by depicting Keldor himself and showing his assault upon the Elders; however, no mention of a filial relationship with Randor was ever mentioned.

Keldor was made into an action figure as an SDCC exclusive in 2003. This was the only SDCC I’ve ever attended, and yes, I got myself a Keldor. The 2003 exclusive was a mixed bag; while the interchangeable “melting skull” head was of course incredibly awesome, the black was was way overdone.

Obtaining a 2003 Keldor was a nightmare at the convention, a tradition Mattel has carried on ever since. While the latest version of Keldor wasn’t a convention exclusive, it was still pretty damned tough to get. (more…)

Due to the notoriety the much-maligned 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe movie, it’s easy to forget it was actually the second Masters of the Universe film to be released to theaters. The first was The Secret of the Sword, an animated film that came out in March 1985 and introduced He-Man fans to his twin sister, She-Ra. The movie comprised the first five episodes of her series, She-Ra: Princess of Power.

Mattel was and always will be the House that Barbie Built. While they’ve had successful boy brands–Major Matt Mason, MOTU and, most importantly, Hot Wheels–Barbie has always been the company’s most successful and iconic brand. With so much experience with the girls’ toys market, it’s not surprising they decided to take their (at the time) incredibly successful Masters of the Universe franchise and see if they could market it to girls, too. Thus was She-Ra born. (Legend has it she was originally going to be called the more mythologically resonant He-Ra, but the name was already being used by another toy company–just as well, because in retrospect She-Ra was a much more marketable name, and less subject to transvestite jokes and feminist criticism.)

On a more personal note, while I had several of the Horde figures as a child, I’m afraid I have no nostalgia for She-Ra. I don’t remember watching the show; by 1985 I was all about Transformers. But I can certainly recognize the significance of the character and the show, which continued the story of the MOTU universe (and supposedly with much better writing).

Looking back, Mattel and Filmation did something that no other toy company has even come close to trying to do with a boys’ brand: offered a girls’ version of the brand that was more than just a hollow marketing gimmick (actually, I can’t even think of any attempts to do this at all, hollow or not). While I didn’t continue to follow She-Ra myself, and I’m sure there were many boys who ignored it under the “girls are icky” principle, I’ve met enough male fans to be sure She-Ra was able to appeal to both genders (even if those boys could never bring themselves to get the toys, which were far more girlish than the show).

Also, now that I’m not six years old anymore I can point out that, in retrospect, She-Ra was pretty hot. (more…)