J. Michael Straczynski

Steve Clark

The machinations of the devious dragon, Morning Star, leave the great Granamyr without his magic, and the long treaty between humans and dragons in deadly peril. Can He-Man, Duncan, and Orko retrieve Granamyr's magic in time to stop a catastrophic dragon-human war?

Prince Adam (He-Man), Man-at-Arms, Orko

N/A

Morning Star, Targon, Granamyr, assorted dragons, ice spider, griffins, Eternian villagers

Wind Raider

It so happens (in what turns out to be a lovely quirk of irony) that today is the anniversary of the signing of the treaty between humans and dragons - an agreement made centuries earlier to keep the two races apart from each other and therefore in peace. As a special privilege, He-Man and Man-at-Arms have been granted the honor of attending the anniversary ceremony in Darksmoke - as we discover from Adam and Duncan's conversation, while Duncan is finishing up a once-over on the Wind Raider. Their chat also brings up Orko, who they know would love to come but who has not been invited. It so happens that the Trollan is listening unseen nearby, and stows away in a rear compartment of the vehicle just before Man-at-Arms and a transformed Adam take off. Elsewhere, in an unidentified dark cave, dark works are in motion. A pointy-eared and -nosed humanoid named Targon is bargaining with a purple dragon: Morning Star. Morning Star wants the ice crystal Targon has managed to acquire, which the dragon plans to use to betray his leader Granamyr and take over Eternia! In return, he promises Targon a small piece of the planet - the royal city of Eternos, perhaps. We soon see the depths of the villain's treachery, however, when he tests the crystal on Targon, freezing the thief in a block of ice. No Eternia for you!

Morning Star goes to set his plot in motion right away, sneaking into Granamyr's cozy treasure den in Darksmoke and stealthily tossing the crystal into the great dragon's fire pit. The pit freezes over instantly, quenching Granamyr's fiery magic. The enraged dragon shatters his way out of the frozen pit, demanding who has taken his powers, and Morning Star is right there - along with a crowd of subservient dragon lackeys - to accuse some duplicitous humans of having done the deed.

The Eternians' journey to Darksmoke is uneventful, until they come in sight of Granamyr's home; at which point they are approached by a "welcoming" committee of some very unfriendly looking dragons, sent by Morning Star. (The purple dragon seems to have been entirely unaware of the day's special significance, merely commenting that it's bad luck for the humans - and good luck for him - that they chose this particular moment to show up.) The Wind Raider comes under attack! Our blonde wonder is forced to climb out onto one of its wings to try to repair some damage, but the ship is still forced down into a controlled crash landing. Assessing the damage, He-Man and Duncan hear some muffled cries and banging coming from inside the Raider, and open the back compartment, freeing a sheepish Orko. Taking their stowaway's presence in stride, and determining that it will take too long to repair their ship, the heroes decide there's nothing for it: they have to walk to Darksmoke.

While this has been going on, the draconic political scene is seriously shifting. A fired-up Morning Star has riled his dragonfolk and is fomenting a war against the humans, ostensibly to avenge the attack against Granamyr. The impotent Granamyr, seemingly dazed and helpless, stands passively by, counseling restraint, but ultimately unable to stem the emotional tide. By the time He-Man, Duncan, and Orko arrive, the other dragons - Morning Star at their head - have already departed, keen to exact vengeance. Granamyr, glad to find his guests have arrived safely and are innocent of any attack against him, sadly explains the situation to his visitors. War seems imminent, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. Looking for a way forward, the heroes ask if it might be possible to get Granamyr's magic back. The dragon says that only a magic-wielder could do it - so it's darn lucky that Orko is here, isn't it? Granamyr opens up a stairway in the floor of his den, which leads into an underground passage to the Pit of Shadows, where his store of magical fire is kept. (Granamyr won't fit, so he can't come - which seems like poor planning if you ask me!)

In the dark passages, the trio of heroes must tangle with a giant spider, which - let's be honest - they've done tons of times, so it really isn't a big deal. Afterwards, they come upon a pair of griffin statues, which come to life and declare themselves the guardians of the Pit of Shadows. Only those deemed wise, brave, and good will be allowed to pass within. The heroes walk between the guardians in turn, with first He-Man and then Duncan being declared the owners of all three necessary qualities. Orko, bringing up the rear, is assessed as having only two of the three traits - which, as it turns out, is good enough. (As Meat Loaf has wisely informed us, "Two out of three ain't bad.")

All three heroes thus come in sight of the huge expanse of magical fire crackling merrily in the Pit of Shadows. They're unsure how to fetch any to bring back to Granamyr, but Orko improvises a rhyming spell that sends a little bubble out of his head and into the flames. The bubble returns, a blob of magic safely captured inside it, and the heroes try to make their way back up and out. They take a wrong turn somewhere and get themselves lost, but He-Man solves that in classic fashion, by punching through a wall. They're back! But unluckily for them, while Morning Star was overseeing the first attack of his dragon warriors on a nearby human village, he just happened to spy on Darksmoke using his magic crystal amulet and caught sight of the heroes returning with their bubble of magic fire. The evil dragon is waiting for the trio when they enter Granamyr's den, and boasts to them of his successful betrayal of the great dragon. What's more, Morning Star states that the magic-less Granamyr has fallen into a state of hibernation, and can't hear their calls for help.

Orko, in an attempt to keep the magic fire away from the villain, decides it would be a good idea to use it himself, and puts it into his head. The results are explosive: the Trollan is thrown about the room by the strength of the magic, ejecting showers of sparks and light. He eventually summons enough control to be able to direct some of the power at Morning Star, forcing the dragon to flee. An exhausted Orko ejects the bubble, which happily falls into Granamyr's pit, restoring the dragon's magic. The heroes inform him of Morning Star's machinations, and a furious and full-powered Granamyr flies off to right some wrongs.

In their very public confrontation, Granamyr announces Morning Star's deception to the assembled warriors, and the villain indirectly admits to his framing of the humans, leaving his ignorant dragon followers aghast. Morning Star challenges Granamyr to the Test of Fire, in which both dragons expel gouts of flame at each other: the first whose fire goes out is the loser. Of course, Morning Star proves the weaker party, and after his defeat the assembled dragons demand that Granamyr charbroil the criminal. But a tenderhearted Granamyr still prefers compassion, and declares that Morning Star will be served a gentler form of justice.

Afterwards, Granamyr gathers the heroes and two representatives of the destroyed human village in his den and makes some apologies for the misunderstanding that almost started a war. Recalling the great treaty of their two peoples, Granamyr reaffirms the vow of peace, and declares that the dragons themselves will rebuild the razed city and make it greater than ever before: the new municipality will be dubbed "The City of Peace." The human villagers, who most magnanimously hold no grudge for having their homes destroyed, thank the great dragon.

End with a Joke: Orko obligingly provides the ending zinger by stupidly believing that he can handle just a little bit more of Granamyr's magical fire, plucking the bubble out of the dragon's pit and sticking it back inside his head. The Trollan is then predictably flung about the room trailing fireworks, just as before, and ends up landing atop Granamyr's helmet. "Boy! Was that a mistake!" Orko declares; and everyone - including Granamyr - cracks up. Granamyr remarks that he hasn't "laughed this hard in a thousand years."

• He-Man: By the way, what were the terms of the treaty between dragons and humans? / Man-at-Arms: That the dragons would withdraw from the rest of the world, that the dragons could do whatever they want, and that humans are to leave them alone. / He-Man: Doesn't sound like much of a bargain. / Man-at-Arms: Have you ever tried to bargain with a dragon? (Both laugh)
• Morning Star: Let those who stole the magic flame of Granamyr feel the wrath of dragons. / Granamyr: No, wait! They might be friends. / Morning Star: Dragons have no friends among the humans.
• Granamyr (speaking of his fellow dragons): They have not fought in a war for a long time, and they have forgotten what it's like. They have forgotten the pain, the darkness, the madness that is war. And now - without my magic - I am unable to stop them.
• Griffin Guardian: Only the good and the wise and the brave may pass into the Pit of Shadows. Let us see if your goodness will shine as the sun.
• Granamyr: The fire is returned. My magic is restored. I ... AM ... GRANAMYR. / Orko: Great! Glad to hear it.
• Granamyr (sighing): I haven't laughed this hard in a thousand years.

• He-Man punches the viewer: Finding his own inimitable way to get un-lost, by punching through a rock wall

One partial (missing Cringer/Battle Cat sequence)

Brought to you by Man-at-Arms
Duncan decides that the lesson of today's episode is to not be a sore loser - or a sore winner. The example he uses is Granamyr choosing not to exploit his victory over Morning Star in the Test of Fire. "Winning is no excuse for bad manners." Duncan then tips us a wink. Seems like somebody was scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for morals today!

Granamyr episodes: This is the awesome dragon's final - and disappointingly anticlimactic - appearance in the series.
Skeletor-less episodes in Season 2

• We see evidence that the Wind Raider has a hood in its nose, which is where the machinery is kept - since this is where Man-at-Arms is messing around to give the vehicle a checkup before He-Man and he fly it to Darksmoke.
• We also discover there's a pointless little compartment in the back end of the Wind Raider, making a perfect spot for nosy little Trollans to hide. If this is the Wind Raider's trunk, the vehicle definitely isn't equipped with a full-size spare!
• Duncan's description of the one-sided "treaty" between dragons and humans can be considered as corresponding with the "pact" the Sorceress mentioned in MU034, which forbade her or Grayskull from giving up the location of Granamyr. Fortunately, by this point He-Man has had a chance to prove himself a useful human on several occasions (see MU060 and MU079), earning him an exclusive invitation to the treaty's anniversary celebration - rather ironically commemorating the fact that dragons and humans successfully agreed not to ever talk to each other. Too bad it's all about to go to crap!
• A new evil dragon is introduced in this story: Morning Star, who quickly proves himself a despicable character, similar to the nasty Shadow Wing of MU060. (Shadow Wing, you may recall, after having been freed from an obelisk prison, immediately turned his magic on his human savior, Zem the magician.) Morning Star's character design is more interesting and unique than Shadow Wing, who just looked like the generic He-Man dragon model we've been seeing since MU009. Morning Star is purple, has a stubby, almost pig-like snout, and wears a medallion around his neck. His name is subtly satanic ("lucifer" is the Latin word meaning "the morning star"), though we hardly need any extra hints that he's a villain after his opening speech about starting a war and conquering Eternia, and his callous zapping of the luckless Targon.
• It's worth noting that while this is the fourth - and last! sniff - series appearance of Granamyr, it is the first Granamyr script not written by Larry DiTillio. Instead, the usually dependable J. Michael Straczynski takes up the dragon's reins. (And I have objections! See the commentary section.) Amazingly, though we are done with Granamyr in terms of MOTU, Filmation - and JMS - will return to the character once more. See the POP episode "Darksmoke and Fire" (67061).
• Another dangerous journey, another giant spider: in the passage under Granamyr's floor, the trio of heroes are confronted with what Duncan dubs an "ice spider." It looks to be another in a long line of unique spider designs. I listed several variations on the MOTU spider in the lore section of MU110. This one is blue, spits webbing from its fang-filled mouth, and has some hairy legs that make it look like it's wearing legwarmers.
• Speaking of MU110 - this episode has He-Man defeating a spider in a fashion very similar to the one he used then, by tossing his sword boomerang-style to cut down the web and then return to his hand.
• We have objective, documented proof from the griffin guardians of the Pit of Shadows that both He-Man and Man-at-Arms are "good, wise, and brave" - and that Orko is two of those things.
• Things that come out of Orko: a bubble, resilient enough to hold some magic fire. Later, a third sleeved arm; followed by a whole lot of magical fireworks. Orko sent a bubble out of himself before, in MU076, as a distress signal to He-Man.
• The shot of running and screaming villagers being attacked by the dragons uses many repeated villagers running by over and over again. It and the subsequent shot of the rooftops of the village seen looking up from below are likely both copied from MU049's "Return of the Gryphon." We just saw the latter shot reused in MU111 for the purposes of a sand crawler attack.
• The medallion on Morning Star's neck, we learn, is a sort of crystal ball, which he can use to spy on other locations and people (a la Skeletor).
• Granamyr and Morning Star's final confrontation introduces us to the dragons's "Test of Fire," a rather medieval contest of strength in which the pair shoot gouts of fire at each other until one of them gives out. Not exactly a test of wisdom - it's almost as if Morning Star has challenged his rival to an arm-wrestling match.
• It's starting to look like we've completely switched over to using the variant ending credits with the flat-painted Jawbridge. This is now the eleventh straight episode (based on the sequencing on my DVDs) to use it.

• The early and partial He-Man transformation slips in just the slightest split-second of our hero starting to point the sword at a non-existent Cringer before cutting. Cringer will not be appearing in this episode - chalk up another snub to the pet tiger for this season.
• I've counted Granamyr among my favorite He-Man characters since his first appearance in MU034 (which I would tentatively rate as my all-time favorite episode of the series). I also love the writing of J. Michael Straczynski; so I had some pretty high hopes for this episode. I have to admit my hopes were a bit dashed by the treatment of Granamyr. In previous episodes, he's come across as a nearly omnipotent and omniscient figure, a godlike force of nature. In the opening minutes of this episode, he has his magic stolen from him by a tiny crystal, and then allows himself to be bamboozled by the young hothead Morning Star, and maneuvered into tacitly condoning an attack on humans. What happened to the tough-as-nails, clever-as-a-fox Granamyr I used to know? You changed, man.
• Granamyr also seems surprisingly accepting of the presence of Orko in his home, especially considering the magician was definitely not invited, and that their last meeting in MU079 ended with the dragon happily imprisoning the Trollan in a magical jug. I guess the outlook for Granamyr is so bad that he can't even work up a good rage against intruding whipper-snappers.
• Granamyr advises the heroes to "follow the signs of fire" when they go underground, which I pictured requiring some tracking abilities on the part of He-Man and company: perhaps they would have to search around on the ground for ashes, or look for flickering lights in the distance. But no, his instructions were much more literal and prosaic - there are actually arrow-shaped signs set up around the cave, with painted fire symbols on them. Ha!
• Gotta love the scene with the guardians of the Pit of Shadows. It's a classic fantasy sequence, but also very funny, with what almost seems like a Meat Loaf reference for Orko ("Two out of three is not bad"). So what's your guess for Orko's missing trait? I would have to go with wisdom...
• Again showing out-of-character traits, Granamyr tells his fellow dragons that they must administer merciful and "peaceful" punishments to his challenger Morning Star. Are you serious!? This is the same guy who threatened multiple times to banish pesky humans to the Realm of Demons. This is the same guy who came close to disintegrating Man-at-Arms, just for showing up at his house without having been invited. This is the same guy who very nearly wiped out the entire race of the Darmi at the end of MU079 - and they weren't trying to steal his kingdom away, or start a war! Honestly, no wonder the militant Morning Star was chafing under the rule of this fluff-ball.
• As the cherry on top of Granamyr's soft-hearted transformation, we see him actually laughing at Orko's hijinks in the closing moments of the story. SMH - Sad!
• Though I clearly experienced some disappointment with this episode, it's a rollicking fantasy tale with quite a few clever ideas: the ice crystal, the dragon-human treaty, Granamyr's fire power, the treacherous plots of Morning Star, Granamyr's speech about the terrors of war, the griffin guardians, the Test of Fire. All cool stuff - I just wish my hero Granamyr had not been done quite so dirty by Straczynski's inconsistent characterization.