OK, folks, so I'm going to summarize another episode of the new He-Man cartoon. If there's one thing I love about it, it's that it goes into a lot of "origin of..." episodes and back stories for characters. I was always curious about that kind of stuff, but they never went into it. And today's was a great "origin of...."
The Power of Greyskull - Prince Adam awakens from a strange dream. In it, there were the Snake Men, and they were defeated by this third evil warlord, and then a guy who looked kind of like He-Man but wasn't was there, and the third warlord defeated him, and the He-Man looking guy lost the Power Sword down into Castle Greyskull's moat. While trying to figure this out, Adam gets a telepathic call from the Sorceress. She sensed a disturbance in the force, so Adam was to come to Greyskull.
At Castle Greyskull, Adam tells the Sorceress of his dream, and the Sorceress figures that it's connected to the disturbance that she felt. In order to figure it out, they decide to delve into the past of Eternia. They entered into a secret chamber of Castle Greyskull, and there Adam saw a giant statue of the He-Man-looking guy. The Sorceress revealed that that man was King Greyskull; the man whom Castle Greyskull was named after. And, upon study of the tapestries, we learn that the third warlord was the one, the only...HORDAK!
We flashback to the time of King Greyskull. He is worried. He knows that Hordak is amassing his forces, and a large, final battle is coming between him and Hordak. Greyskull laments that he needs more power to defeat Hordak. Greyskull's wife, the sorceress Veena, suggests that Greyskull seek out the Oracle to find this great power. Greyskull mounts up on his Battle Lion, and heads out for the Oracle.
Meanwhile, back in the present, Skeletor receives a telepathic message from Hordak. Turns out Skeletor owes Hordak a favour, and now Hordak wants to collect. Skeletor's task is to go to Hordak's Shrine and release Hordak, or else Hordak will kill Skeletor. Skeletor takes off for the shrine like a bat out of hell.
Meanwhile, back in the past, King Greyskull has found the Oracle, and we are all stunned to see that the Oracle is a Trollan. (That's Orko's people.) The Oracle tells Greyskull that, to get the great power, he must go on a quest. The usual "slay a dragon, conquer a maze, 40 days and 40 nights in the desert" kind of quest. Greyskull finally gets to the cave where the great power resides and in the cave he finds...the Oracle! The Orcale gives Greyskull a box and inside is Greyskull's sword, thought lost in his first skirmish with Hordak. The Oracle explains that the power resided in Greyskull the whole time. Satisfied with this, Greyskull turns to leave, but the Oracle reveals one last piece of info: Greyskull will not survive the battle with Hordak.
Greyskull returns to his castle (yup, Castle Greyskull) just in time to see the troops massing. It tried its best to look straight out of The Lord of the Rings. We saw Hordak flanked by his generals Grizzlor, Leech, and Mantenna. (and it was great seeing them updated for the new millenium!) King Greyskull steeled himself, and then launched into battle. He battled through Hordak's army, swiftly defeated Grizzlor, Leech, and Mantenna. Hordak commented that Greyskull's power was indeed great, but Hordak then threw Greyskull several thousand yards just with a wink of his eye. Hordak then opened up a portal to the Dark Dimension, with the intent of sucking Greyskull into it. But Greyskull would not give up! As the Dark Dimension portal began to grow, Greyskull started crackling with more and more power! He finally bellowed out, "I HAVE THE POWER!" as lightening was thrown from his sword and struck the portal. Now, Hordak and his troops were all sucked into the Dark Dimension! Hordak and his forces were gone...but the exertion was too much for Greyskull. He collapsed.
Dying in his wife's arm, Greyskull revealed something else the Oracle told him. (Cue Matrix theme.) Greyskull revealed that one day, when evil rises again, a chosen one will rise and use his power to defend Eternia. And then, Greyskull died, his body turning into a glowing ball of power. The Power touched all the members of Greyskull's court, turning them into the Council of Elders. (those who ruled Eternia before King Randor.) The Power then took up residence in Greyskull's sword. Veena picked up the sword, and swore that she would defend it until the one arises. And if she dies before the one arises, then she will find another to take her place. And thus, Veena was the first to bear the mantle of Sorceress of Greyskull.
Back in the present, Prince Adam realizes that it is the Power of King Greyskull that flows through him. And that the dream was a warning. Skeletor seeks to free Hordak from the Dark Dimension. He-Man sprints of to Hordak's shrine....
At the Shrine, He-Man heads of Skeletor. He-Man says that if the Shrine is destroyed, Hordak can never be freed. Skeletor agrees, and promptly destroys the Shrine. Skeletor leaves, and He-Man is confused. "It's as though he doesn't want to free Hordak," He-Man laments. And, Evil-Lyn watched this whole proceeding, and was intrigued....
Cool. Now that we had Hordak, the question is as it always was: where's She-Ra?
Next Issue...The Return of the Horde
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