Masters Of The Universe is a franchise that has been around since the 80’s. Since then He-Man and Skeletor have been household names in the lives of many. The multi-media franchise saw many iterations, most recently Masters Of The Universe: Revolution by Kevin Smith. However, throughout every iteration, the origins of Skeletor remained very basic. But now, MOTU: Revolution finally gives us a definite Skeletor’s origin story, that connects directly to He-Man himself.
Please note that the following will contain spoilers for Masters Of The Universe: Revolution.
How Skeletor’s Various Origin In Other Iterations
Image via Netflix.
Skeletor is basically the villain of the MOTU franchise. He’s the arch-enemy of the hero, He-Man, and is usually always portrayed as an evil and mostly generic villain. Compared to the (mostly) human characters in MOTU, Skeletor was a blue-skinned man with a skull in place of his head. The explanation was that he was from another dimension where more of his kind lived. Over the years though, Skeletor’s origin has been tweaked and modified with each new storyteller taking charge of the franchise.
Later versions then made Skeletor’s origin as a warlord named Keldor who served a bigger villain, Hordak. The story then also changes from iteration to iteration. Keldor was originally a warrior who gets acid splashed on his face, taking on his more iconic skull-head look. In other versions, he’s a sorcerer of the dark arts who is Hordak’s minion who eventually takes over and goes against him. There are also versions that implied Skeletor’s connection with He-Man himself.
Skeletor’s Origin Finally Revealed in MOTU: Revolution
In Masters Of The Universe: Revolution, Skeletor’s origin is fully laid out through flashbacks. He was actually the elder half-brother of Prince Adam’s father, King Randor. However, since he was of a different race and a bastard child, he was looked over as a successor, and the crown went to Randor. Keldor then found Hordak, a conqueror who trained him and gave him the Havoc Staff, the source of Skeletor’s powers. The power from the staff overwhelmed and burned Keldor’s face off, revealing the infamous skull head. Keldor became Skeletor, while Hordak removed all his memories, turning him into his acolyte, Skeletor.
So Skeletor is actually He-Man’s uncle! This is an awesome twist to the lore and gives so much more depth to the usually one-dimensional villain. In many versions, Skeletor’s depiction is that of a menacing bully or an incompetent comic relief. MOTU: Revolution makes him a tragic figure, with a dark past and one whose villainy comes from a place of trauma and grief. Seems like writers Smith and Taylor Sheridan have understood what the MCU still sometimes struggles with; a fully developed villain enhances the story much more than anything else.
MOTU Really Gives Skeletor A Lot To Work With
One of the best things about this reveal of Skeletor’s origin is how Smith and Sheridan made it happen. It was already a coup when they got Mark Hamill to voice Skeletor in MOTU: Revelation. And with Hamill returning in Revolution, they went even further. They misdirected audiences by having the Keldor character, who Skeletor pretends to be in the series, voiced by a different actor. And not just any actor, but William Shatner himself!
The writers even craft scenes where Skeletor (Hamill) hallucinates his previous self Keldor (Shatner), and actually has conversations with him. So two iconic geek actors, playing basically the same character, square off with one another in some dialogue jousting. It’s pretty awesome seeing these legendary actors from legendary geek franchise be in the same scenes together. Absolutely brilliant. Check out the series to see how it all plays out.
Masters Of The Universe: Revolution is now streaming on Netflix.
What did you think of this new Skeletor’s origin? Let me know in the comments below. Or follow me on X (Twitter) at @theshahshahid to talk more about MOTU.
