Robby London

Lou Zukor

Skeletor uses the Diamond Ray of Disappearance to vanish away almost the whole royal court! The remaining heroes must defend Grayskull and He-Man has to find a way to bring the missing people back.

Orko, Queen Marlena, King Randor, Prince Adam (He-Man), Teela, Man-at-Arms, Cringer (Battle Cat), Zoar (Sorceress), Ram Man, Stratos

Skeletor, Beast Man, Mer-Man, Evil-Lyn, Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw, Panthor

tiny lizard, Eternia's royal guard, Skeletor's robot minions (which He-Man calls "Skeletor's robot knights"), rock monster

Evil sky sleds, Heroic sky sleds (though He-Man refers to Teela's as a "battle ram"), King Randor's zoom chariot

Skeletor has obtained the lost Diamond Ray of Disappearance. He gathers his evil warriors, certain that he has the tool to allow him to finally take control of Eternia and defeat He-Man. The ray (which Skeletor demonstrates on a tiny lizard, having failed to get a volunteer from among his minions) banishes anyone who sees it into another dimension. While Skeletor describes his plan, Orko is busy showing off his latest magic trick to the usual crowd of royal good guys at the palace, which predictably ends with Duncan's face covered in eggs. Fortunately for Orko, they are interrupted by an evil attack. Trap Jaw makes a very effective strafing run and, while Captain Teela collects her guards to mount a counter-offensive, Adam sneaks off with an unenthused Cringer to turn into He-Man. It turns out Trap Jaw's attack was all a clever distraction so that Skeletor et al could sneak into the palace; something that He-Man realizes almost immediately.

Back at the palace, Duncan receives a telepathic message from Zoar warning him of Skeletor's infiltration - but too late! Skeletor succeeds in zapping away Randor, Marlena, Man-at-Arms, AND Zoar. Only Orko escapes, to warn He-Man. He-Man sends Orko to get Ram Man and Stratos, then goes to Castle Grayskull to communicate with the Sorceress in a magic mirror, where she tells him he must crush the diamond to free everyone. Skeletor, bringing all his evil warriors and some robots, riding atop Panthor, and wielding an axe instead of his staff, arrives at the castle. Everyone pulls with a rope that has been hooked onto the door, and manages to open the Jawbridge. He-Man emerges and fights back, with the help of other heroic warriors who arrive just in time. When He-Man gets into range, Skeletor attempts to zap him away with the diamond, but He-Man pulls his (already old, since he used it on Trap Jaw earlier) sword deflection trick, and Skeletor fumbles the diamond. Beast Man bravely suggests that they run away; Skeletor creates a rock monster with his axe, which He-Man immediately smashes. Then He-Man recovers the diamond from a crack in the ground and, with great effort, after almost vanishing into nothing and briefly being trapped in the magic mirror from earlier (?), crushes it in his fists - he is, after all, the most powerful man in the universe. Everyone comes back, and Skeletor hightails it.

End with a Joke: Back in the throne room, Randor asks Orko where Prince Adam is. Teela informs them that Adam is on the way with the king's lost "zoom chariot" - and hilarity ensues.

• Orko: A good magician can always help pass the time. / Man-at-Arms (sarcastically): Maybe you know of one.
• Sorceress: Once again, you have fulfilled your destiny, He-Man.
• Skeletor: Very well, He-Man. You've won this time - but I'll... be... back!!

• Skeletor shakes his fists, front on from below: At the beginning and twice more during the final fight
• Adam laughs, head back: In an early scene, laughing at an egg-drenched Man-at-Arms
• He-Man smiles close-up, looking at the viewer: After turning into He-Man, and during the PSA
• He-Man in battle stance on Battle Cat: When he shows up to fight Trap Jaw, and again later
• He-Man jumps on the back of Battle Cat: As he's about to head back to the palace
• Beast Man runs at the viewer, bug-height: In a late scene, running towards He-Man
• He-Man juggles his sword: In fight with rock monster
• He-Man punches the viewer: In fight with rock monster

One full

Brought to you by He-Man
He-Man informs us that the people who succeed are those who work for what they want. The right way is the best way and shortcuts are usually bad. Even as he wraps up his message, he is already hopping onto a sky sled and flying away - taking a shortcut?

Landmark Episode: This is a Landmark Episode, by virtue of its being the pilot.

• Given that this is the "first"* episode, it is also the first appearance of all characters listed. It is the first time we see Snake Mountain, Skeletor's throne room, Randor's throne room, and so on.
• Skeletor says he is calling his evil warriors "from around the universe," suggesting an interplanetary scope.
• Cringer is revealed as a very reluctant hero, who clearly does not want to sneak off with Prince Adam and transform into Battle Cat.
• The first of many Orko magic tricks gone wrong, with Duncan getting the metaphorical pie in the face. Duncan seems particularly grumpy about Orko here.
• The palace guard and Teela all fly around in what will eventually be called sky sleds, but in this episode He-Man calls a "battle ram" - which makes sense since the vehicles look like the front of the Battle Ram vehicle toy. Trap Jaw's counterpart vehicle looks almost identical, with just a slightly different paint job.
• Duncan, we learn, is capable of receiving telepathic messages from Zoar. We also learn that Zoar (AKA the Sorceress) is powerless outside of Castle Grayskull - a convenient plot point which would be conveniently ignored in other episodes.
• He-Man enters Castle Grayskull for the first time, which (in this episode) he has to do by raising his sword, saying "by the power of Grayskull," and commanding the Jawbridge to open.
• For the first time, Skeletor tries to take Castle Grayskull, and actually opens the Jawbridge!
• For the first time, Skeletor vanishes away from a difficult situation, in this case by simply raising his axe. He will perform this trick many times in the future!
• It is already established, in a scene at the beginning and at the end, that Randor is disappointed that his son is not more heroic (or punctual).
• This episode is one of three that were edited together and screened in movie theaters across the US to kick off the airing of the television series. The other two are MU006 and MU014. This premiere occurred on September 24, 1983. It leaves some uncertainty as to the accuracy of the air dates I have used in this database, which come from a Wikipedia article but seemingly conflict with the premiere date, which was supposed to have happened two days before the television series began (on September 26, 1983). Who knows? As an added bit of trivia, this three-episode anthology was known as "The Greatest Adventures of All" and was later released on VHS. The edited-together movie had added-in segments of the Sorceress introducing the episodes as pictures on the "living windows" within Castle Grayskull.

• There are a ton of very fun sound effects in the establishing shot, including some very mucusy inhalations from Beast Man.
• In the opening sequence, only Skeletor and Beast Man are hanging about in Snake Mountain. Every other warrior must be called there using the "transport beam," a MacGuffin that was never used again, and which looks like a 3-eyed scorpion/spider thing. The transport sequence makes for an easy way to introduce all the characters. (You can see the transport beam again, in the background of a scene in MU022 - and again in MU062!)
• Tri-Klops is described as having "gamma vision which can see around solid objects." Note, "around," not "through."
• Skeletor's descriptions of his henchmen have the uniqueness of actually being complimentary - language he would almost never use again. (The lone exception to his positive reinforcement is poor Beast Man, who is already in the room with him and already being called simply "Fur Face." This is probably a good time to mention a recurring sub-category in the series, which I will dub "Beast Man gets no respect from anyone.") For a similar set of compliments we have to look forward all the way to MU057, when Skeletor is trying to show off his employees for his friend Monteeg.
• It's unclear why Skeletor has, at this time, suddenly found the diamond. Was it in the bottom of a drawer?
• In the introductory shot of the heroes, Prince Adam's clothes are colored incorrectly, so that he only appears to have the sleeves of his white shirt and his chest is completely bare.
• In a close-up shot of Trap Jaw, his left arm is entirely blue, and is missing the green wrist bracer he has in other scenes.
• Skeletor watches Trap Jaw's attack on the palace through a crystal ball mounted in the top of a short axe; one of the many ways he will spy on other characters throughout the series. One wonders whether the animators mixed up their action figure accessories; it was He-Man who came with the axe, and Skeletor with the staff, which is entirely missing from this episode.
• The early scene in Skeletor's throne room gives us a chance to see Mer-Man's "resting face," which is a sort of glassy-eyed, slack-jawed stare that I find completely hilarious.
• Trap Jaw's appearance gives him a chance to use several weapon attachments (which He-Man easily foils), as well as eat a sword.
• Teela very flirtily thanks He-Man for his assistance with Trap Jaw, immediately establishing a chaste romance between the characters.
• Teela is referred to by Randor as "the best warrior in Eternia," planting a flag for strong women early in the series (albeit strong women who constantly need to be saved by He-Man, and never wear pants).
• In his fight with Skeletor, Duncan whips out what is very clearly a light saber - and Skeletor just as quickly zaps it away. Subtle commentary against Star Wars? (We will actually see him use a similar weapon in MU015, among other appearances.) By the way, important to note that Skeletor's intrusion in the royal palace is the first in a very long line of home invasions in the series, where either the Evil Warriors gain access to the royal palace, or the Heroic Warriors break into Snake Mountain.
• It seems oddly easy to break into Castle Grayskull: a few guys tugging on a rope can pull down the door. Is this because the Sorceress is in another dimension?
• This episode may have the highest Panthor content of any early episode - usually Panthor is all but forgotten in the series. Also curious to note that Panthor, unlike his heroic counterpart Battle Cat, is non-verbal.
• The episode has an all-around incredibly high character count, which is probably one of the reasons it was chosen as the pilot: we are introduced to almost every toy currently on the shelves. (Not appearing are Zodac, Faker, and Man-E-Faces. Faker and Man-E will only appear in one episode each in this season - MU002 and MU043, respectively. Zodac will appear in 3.)
• While Stratos and Ram Man do appear in the ending battle, they have no spoken dialogue.
• Skeletor zaps away after the diamond is destroyed, but we see no explanation of how his henchmen escape - or if they do.
• The ending slapstick joke of the episode, a common trope, is made somewhat unique by the fact that it's Prince Adam who is the brunt of it rather than Orko, by crashing through a wall in a wrecked zoom chariot. Orko's comment that "at least he destroyed them on time" actually provokes a laugh from Randor that is not at Orko's expense.