Skeletor (The New Adventures of He-Man) (2024)

Skeletor is the main antagonist in The New Adventures of He-Man series.

The evil "Lord of Destruction", who has been the archenemy of He-Man now finds himself within the future and the Tri-Solar System's planets of Primus and Denebria. Seeking to destroy his mortal foe once and for all, Skeletor forges an alliance with Flogg, the leader of the Evil Mutants of Denebria to learn the ways of the Tri-Solar System and aid them in conquering the peaceful planet of Primus in exchange for getting rid of He-Man.

He is portrayed by the late Campbell Lane, who also voiced Rampage in Transformers: Beast Wars.

Personality and Traits[]

Skeletor comes across as a cunning, manipulative, and vengeful individual who is dedicated to a single sole cause - the annihilation of his mortal enemy He-Man. He will use every trick, every scheme, and almost anything in his arsenal to see He-Man's demise, and to achieve this goal, he allies himself with Flogg, the leader of the Evil Mutants. His arsenal revolves to various methods, and resorting to cheating, trickery and deceit is something he greatly loves. Throughout the series, he has always tried to portray He-Man as the villain and himself as a victim, and while it has worked for most part, it doesn't generally guarantee success.

However, he is quite calm and collected for most of the time, and even takes defeat quite gracefully, only being mildly annoyed at facing any inconvenience in his plans. He even has a comedic side to himself, often cracking jokes and one-liners more than often. He also has a penchant for wearing various outfits, be it for any occasion, for disguise or any other day.

Despite being calmer, he still has an explosive temper, and can lash out at his subordinates, even preferring to use magic to keep his subordinates in line. Even Flogg, the leader of the Evil Mutants himself is afraid to enrage Skeletor, knowing that he will be caught in the aftermath.

Biography[]

Mini-comics[]

In the Minicomics continuity, Skeletor was able to trick the Galactic Guardians Hydron and Flipshot into believing he was He-Man through a transmission and convinced them to transfer the power of Castle Grayskull into the unnamed Starship Eternia. Though he was able to get inside the ship, Prince Adam, on the Sorceress' warning arrives and pushes Skeletor, causing both of them to arrive within the ship. The Galactic Guardians realize that they have been tricked, but both attack the Lord of Destruction, only for Adam to grab the Sword of Power. Skeletor tries to get hold of the sword, but instantly realizes that Adam was He-Man all along, and is severely wounded in the explosion caused by the permanent transformation of He-Man. When the sorceress claims that there is evil, but she cannot see its face, Skeletor declares that the evil's face is that of his own, and successfully escapes using the escape pod.

The Guardians follow soon, but end up spiraling out of control. Skeletor observes and mocks his opponents, but soon notices that his injuries are starting to become worse. He uses the escape pod's bionic replacements and mends his broken body into a new one, with new cybernetic implants, a helmet, a cape and a new Skull Staff. Skeletor quickly crash-lands the escape pod on Denebria, where he encounters Flogg and his band of Mutants. Flogg demands the prisoner to surrender, but what he doesn't realize is that Skeletor is an evil beyond comprehension, and blasts him with his magic, subduing him and making him his slave.

Kayo successfully flees from Denebria, but the Intergalactic Overlord of Evil orders his men to go after him and stop him. Before Kayo can be captured, He-Man intervenes, forcing Skeletor to retreat back to Denebria and set up an ambush with Slushead and Optikk, only for the ambush to fail due to Flipshot's arrival. Skeletor fights with He-Man and claims that he has no power here, but He-Man gains a power boost, which forces the Overlord of Evil to throw the Trifusium Crystal and flee, cackling as he claims he would never be defeated.

As he escapes, Skeletor uses his magic to teleport the Terrorclaw to Titus and arrives there with the rest of the Mutants to launch an all-out attack. He successfully captures the Titus Observatory crew and orders Optikk to keep an eye out for He-Man as he sends a transmission to the Starship. He-Man suspects this is a trap, but nonetheless enters the Observatory after making short work of Flogg, but is ambushed by Skeletor who kicks the crystal away from him. He-Man counters this by kicking his adversary and strikes him with his sword. Defeated, the Overlord of Evil escapes back to Moon Nordor, while claiming that his evil deeds are just beginning.

The New Adventures of He-Man (animated series)[]

Arrival in the future[]

Skeletor was the evil Lord of Destruction who was the enemy of the people of Eternia and commanded an assortment of minions from his lair, Snake Mountain. He is alerted to the arrival of two Galactic Guardians from the future, Captain Hydron and Lieutanant Flipshot into the past via his henchmen, who capture and imprison them. After learning of Primus' plight, Skeletor decides to take advantage of their peaceful nature and their advanced technology and tricks them into believing he was the force of good they were looking for in the past, when in actuality they were in search of He-Man. He-Man would encounter them and fight against Skeletor in an attempt to convince the Guardians that he was who they were searching for. Since the Guardians were unable to decide who was good or evil, Hydron and Flipshot ended up transporting both of them to the future, where he quickly revealed his true nature to the Primans when the Evil Mutants broke through the protective shield surrounding the planet. He revealed himself to the Mutant Leader Flogg and made an agreement with him - Skeletor would teach them how to fight against He-Man if Flogg would teach him the ways of the Tri-Solar System. Despite being suspicious of Skeletor's motives, Flogg nonetheless agreed, but made it clear that he would be in charge, to which the Lord of Destruction agreed, but over time he quickly became the real power behind the throne, subtly manipulating Flogg.

Skeletor's direction caused the Mutant tactics to become even more deadlier, even though Flogg relied on brute force.

Victorious conquest[]

Though they were able to breach the Shield and invade Primus, even briefly conquering it for a while, He-Man ultimately defeated the Mutants and drove them away, which greatly upset Skeletor. Back on Moon Nordor, Skeletor would eventually discover a powerful crystal hidden within a cavern. He first tested this crystal on Quakke, which temporarily increased his power, and sent him to attack the Primans on Denebria, but failed. Flogg refused Skeletor's plan on using the Crystal on all Mutants, which annoyed him. He decided to use the crystal's power on himself, which transformed his armour and appearance drastically. Using its power, he fought against He-Man and nearly defeated him until the energy began to drain, which greatly weakened him. He-Man tried to destroy the crystal, but Skeletor tried to attack him, only for his mortal foe to use his own attack to destroy the crystal. As a result, the cavern was being destroyed, and a weakened Skeletor, barely able to escape was caught in the explosion. However, in the ensuing chaos, Skeletor was able to absorb the crystal's power when it exploded, gaining its powers permanently.

Skeletor and Flogg would later score another victory by making a false peace offering to Primus - by giving them Zeps, adorable creatures. In actuality, these Zeps were Anadroids, vicious robots which acted as a conduit for Skeletor's magical spells, and would soon place the entire planet under their master's magic. This easily allowed the Mutants to invade and conquer Primus in one bold sweep. Flogg and Skeletor were able to capture Master Sebrian, the Galactic Guardians, and the Priman Council, but failed to capture He-Man, who fled to the wilderness and began a resistance movement with the scientists and other citizens. The Lord of Destruction would keep on searching for He-Man, only for him to evade him every time. Fed up of He-Man's constant evasion, Skeletor decided to take the entire floating city of Levitan hostage using the Mutant Mothership's tractor beam and threatened to leave it stranded in space if He-Man did not surrender himself. He-Man finally surrendered and was willing to allow himself be executed, until Skeletor mentions that he was never intending to leave Levitan alone - regardless of He-Man's surrender, Levitan and its citizens were meant to be doomed. Enraged, He-Man broke free of his restraints and led a growing rebellion which rose against their Mutant oppressors. Cornered, Skeletor and the Mutants decided to use the tractor beam, unaware that the scientists, who had received the beam's schematics caused it to be reversed and hurled into space, thus ending the Lord of Destruction and the Mutants' reign.

Continued conquest for Primus[]

Despite the setback and defeat, Skeletor still continued to make plans to conquer Primus and defeat He-Man once and for all. Though their partnership was uneasy at the start, both Skeletor and Flogg would form a solid partnership as both saw He-Man as the greatest obstacle for their conquest for Primus. Many of their plans would include continued brute force attacks, including using powerful battle stations such as the Guns of Nordor and large invasions, and even using a giant laser cannon to destroy the planetary shield, but to no avail. Skeletor would find a gas produced by the destroyed laser cannon interfering with the planetary shield and had the Mutants create a gas manufacturing unit out of the wreckage to keep the Primans occupied. He would later launch an attack on the shield with an invasion force alongside Slushhead where the Mutant would eventually enter and defeat He-Man, only for being interrupted by Skeletor, who doesn't listen to his protests and orders Slushhead to return and aid in the invasion. When he learns about He-Man, Skeletor ignores his own comment and descends to Primus on his Skullcopter, hoping to lure out He-Man with the help of his pet Grr. Unfortunately, Drissi and Caz learn of this and foil their plans, with Drissi manipulating Grr to turn on Skeletor and Slush Head, while a completely recovered He-Man arrives and drives them back.

After learning about the Book of Evil and its Encyclopedia, Skeletor sets out to recover the rest of the books on Primus with Flogg, BH and Quakke. Unfortunately for them, the Sorceress has summoned Teela to temporarily aid He-Man, who states that Eternia is peaceful without the Lord of Destruction. Skeletor uses a spell to teleport his men, but it partially backfires as they are sent into another dimension. He successfully uses a counter-chant and ends up on Primus with a rough landing, but discovers the Vaults of Zactus where the Encyclopedia of Evil is hidden. He successfully captures He-Man and Teela, but they escape and end up destroying the vaults and the entire encyclopedia, not before Skeletor uses a chant to teleport them back. He would even use the Dream Explorer to invade the Dream Dimension and disturb the Priman Council to disable the Shield, only for Master Sebrian to realize what was happening and retaliate by sending He-Man, who defeats the Mutants and is angrily berated by an enraged Flogg. He would later go on to enter a close relationship with Crita, one of Flogg's lieutanants and would recommend her to be sent as a liaison to the Gleanons on the planet Necron.

Endgame and Defeat[]

Skeletor would discover that the planet Zil is not devoid of life as they had though earlier and would invade it with BH and Quakke to lure out He-Man and Spinwit. During battle, he is accidentally pushed into a set of gears being a part of a tornado-creating machine, which causes his helmet to be crushed. He would lose it and reveal his full face, revealing himself to be sporting a tangled mass of hair underneath, and wearing a headband.

Eventually, both Skeletor and Flogg find out that a large planet-shaped battle station has arrived near Moon Nordor and launch an assault, albeit experiencing severe losses, with almost 37 of their fighters disabled and the Mothership's hull and shield weakened severely. A voice from the battle station orders them to follow and as they do, they encounter the Starship Eternia and another battle station. Both parties suspect the latter responsible for the situation and open-fire with all lasers at close range, and realize the danger after firing, which even causes Skeletor to run and hide. To their surprise, the blast has no effect, and both the Starship and the Mothership are near Denebria, the battle stations are no longer present, and Denebria's gravitational pull is pulling the de-powered ships towards it. Not wanting to die in some "metal can", Skeletor reaches the ship's underside and uses his Skull Staff to create a blast of magic towards the planet to slow their descent. Though it succeeds in slowing them down fairly, the Mutant Mothership does encounter a rough landing alongside the Eternia. Skeletor soon encounters He-Man, and tells that Flogg is quite upset about the battle station, and the Guardians deny, but the Mutants don't care and have launched an offensive. Their weapons are disabled by the battle stations, who reveal themselves to be Royka and Molden, organizers of the Games and force them to compete in this event or be destroyed. Though both parties initially disagree, they later agree after they are threatened.

Skeletor and the Mutants trick Yolt, the Blacksmith of Crelus in making weapons for them, but the Blacksmith soon finds out, as the Galactic Guardians are alerted by Meliac, that he has been tricked. A fierce battle ensues, where Skeletor ends up burning his staff and escapes in a puff of black smoke.

Later, Skeletor alongside the Mutants take part in the Galactic Games, but are defeated. They launch an attack on the Guardians, but both Royka and Molden stop them. They free Royka and Molden's trophied prisoners and cause a diversion, but are forced to retreat. The organizers capture the Guardians as trophies, which clears the path to invade Primus. Skeletor states that He-Man will save Primus if he is not dealt with, but Flogg angrily brushes off his concerns, claiming his plans have led to a great deal of loss for him, and orders a full-scale invasion on Primus, with BH leading the entirety of the squadrons on Moon Nordor and Denebria while Crita arrives with the Gleanons. Primus is finally brought under Mutant control, as is the Oasis. Flogg relays a transmission to Master Sebrian claiming that he has conquered Primus, but the wise man claims He-Man will save them. Flogg is enraged at this, but Skeletor laughs and claims that when he comes, he will be waiting and teleports to a different location.

Starship Eternia arrives directly towards Flogg and the remaining Mutants in the area, eventually cornering them, forcing him to negotiate surrender and forge a peace treaty with Primus, only for Skeletor to cast his image in the sky and angrily berate and curse him for throwing away everything. When he finally appears in the flesh, Flogg grabs hold of a blaster from the Primans and prepares to attack Skeletor, only for Crita to kick the blaster away. The Mutants leave, with Flogg claiming that she has already chosen her fate. Skeletor uses his powers and the Skull Staff to teleport himself, He-Man, Crita and Mara in the ruins near the Oasis. As they battle, Crita knocks a pillar which nearly falls on her, only for her to be saved by Mara and pushed towards Skeletor, who is startled and pushed towards the cliff, losing his Skull Staff in the process. Both fall into a Shuttle Pod and are trapped by He-Man's magic, who exiles them to the corners of the galaxy.

As Crita questions Skeletor, asking whether this was the end for them, the Lord of Destruction denies this and vows vengeance against He-Man, claiming that he will be back.

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

• Jack Olesker, the series head writer, states that Skeletor's personality was based on Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker.
• Alongside his counterpart from the Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Revolution series, this version of Skeletor is noted to have been quite victorious in his goal, even if briefly for a while.
• In the episode Adam's Adventure, Skeletor is revealed to be allergic to flowers, despite not having a nose.
• The mini-comics for the series explains that Skeletor gained his new look when he was badly damaged by Prince Adam's permanent transformation into He-Man, when he was forced to mend his broken body by using cybernetic enhancements from an escape pod. However, in the animated series, Skeletor and He-Man both are seen in their new costumes from the start with no explanation.
• At the start of the series, Skeletor initially plotted to seize control of the Mutants from Flogg and conquer the Tri-Solar Galaxy for himself. Over time, he has abandoned this goal and has instead focused solely on He-Man's destruction, even working with Flogg quite closely.

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