MovieChat Forums > He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002) Discussion > The show really came into its own with t...

The show really came into its own with the Snake-Men

posted 14 years ago by karsten_nord
9 replies | jump to latest

Right from the first episode, this series was light years ahead of the 1983 cartoon. No comparison. The visuals were so far superior that they make the old show look like a joke.

However, with the introduction of the Snake-Men, the series moved into much deeper territory. Even the Justice League cartoon of the mid-2000s had nothing to compare with this. The Snake Men storyline had some of the grandeur of Lord of the Rings. Think about it: an ancient race steeped in folklore and legend, with artifacts of its former greatness locked in secret chambers and locations all over Eternia, all of the race loyal to their king (that too being a mark of their being from another time -- their feudal power structure), a Snake God that they could revive...I am still amazed at the depth of the imagination that created these concepts. It is high fantasy indeed, far beyond anything that American television ever offers, even in prime time live shows.

Skeletor, for all of his maniacal fun and great visual moments, was at best a grand form of the Snidley Whiplash kind of Victorian melodramatic villain. But with King Hiss, there was something of a Gothic Tyrant about him (I mean in the literary sense of "Gothic," not Gothic as in vampires and such), a kind of nobility that gave his evil a dignity and rank.

Also, the various Snake Man underlings were much more interesting characters than Skeletor's henchmen. With Skeletor, it was basically just him as the dominant character, and a bit of interest in Evil Lynn. But each of the prime Snake Men, from Kobra Khan to General Rattlor to Tongue Lashor to Ssssqueeze to the Medusa-like Snake Face, they all appeared to have the potential for an interesting back story. None of them were dumb brutes, like most of Skeletor's crew seemed to be.

I use the word "crew" in the Mafia sense to describe Skeletor's band, because that's what Skeletor's group seemed like, a Mafia crew, with one or two bright lights and the rest just "muscle." They are, at best, a bunch of criminals, with Skeletor alone being better than the rest.

But King Hiss and the Snake Men are a tribe, a Volk, a people, a race. Their plans seem grander, more epic.

The show rose to a higher level when it introduced them, and it's a pity that the series didn't go on, because I would have loved to have seen more of the Snake Men.

[–] trendelle 13 years ago

I agree. The entire Snake-Men mythology and characterization was quite profound. The whole series strongly showed the influence of the LOTR films.

The only precedent I can think of for a Snake God is the Inhumanoid Slither, in the Inhumanoids animated Saturday-morning TV series of the 1980s (which was probably the best level that Saturday-morning animation achieved, until this He-Man revival came along). But He-Man obviously took it much further.

[–] debiler 13 years ago

Actually, the first instance of a snake god that comes to my mind is Thulsa Doom from 'Conan the Barbarian'.
To the OP: Great, great review. You spoke my mind.
But while I agree that the series really took off with the introduction of the snake men, this wouldn't have been the absolute climax, however. The brief glimpse we got of Hordak and his minions sent shivers down my spine. King Hiss was hungry and powerful, even regal. But Hordak was this ancient personified evil who still had unresolved beef with Grayskull. He was the creator of Skeletor and therefore - by default - awesome. :-)
Fox cancelling Firefly after only 14 episodes was the bigget disappointment in TV history. But for me, this is a close second. When I heard there was a new MOTU show, I almost shat myself in excitement.

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I didn't like the Godfather, so what?

[–] Journeyman1 13 years ago

The brief glimpse we got of Hordak and his minions

I remember seeing Hordak but can't recall seeing his henchmen.

I DO have to agree that bringing the Snake Men into the show was great, but they didn't have to change the title for season 2. I felt that was unnecessary.

[–] debiler 13 years ago

I remember seeing Hordak but can't recall seeing his henchmen.

Mantenna, Leech and Grizzlor appeared in 'the Power of Grayskull'. Also, there were a couple of dark wizards that looked like shadow weaver.
Damn, King Grayskull was so badass...

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I didn't like the Godfather, so what?

[–] Mr_Garak 13 years ago

Horde Troopers as well.

i didn't think the Wizards look at all like Shadow Weaver, more like Ring Wraith from LOTR.

[–] Norse_Sage 13 years ago

Actually, the first instance of a snake god that comes to my mind is Thulsa Doom from 'Conan the Barbarian'.

God I hate the 1982 Conan movie so much. While it is a great movie in it's own right, it took a massive steaming pile on the far superior source material by Robert E. Howard. I'd love to punch John Milius in the face for what he has denied us.

The movie Thulsa Doom was loosey inspired by the original Conan villain Thoth Amon, only sporting the name Thulsa Doom - thereby ruining two charatcters for the price of one.

The literary Thulsa Doom appeared in Robert E. Howard's Kull stories, and was a skullfaced necromancer - and the precursor to Skeletor.

The literary Thoth Amon was a Conan villain, a sorcerer and high priest of the Snake God Set - the only remnant of the snake people that ruled world in the distant past, and who Kull clashed with.

The Snake Men storyline is indeed excellent, and it is pretty much ripped straight out of the Robert E. Howard stories.

Tesla was robbed!

[–] LiberaMe 12 years ago

Absolutely agree with the O.P.

[–] notaarebe 12 years ago

I posted this in the other thread, but thought I'd add it here too.

I would concur with those who said that Season 3 was by far the best season of the series. As for King Hiss vs. Skeletor, I'd rate them about even in terms of personality, maybe giving Skeletor a slight edge.

BUT, King Hiss was a much better opponent for He-Man. The problem with Skeletor was that early on, the show made it quite clear that Skeletor wasn't powerful enough to defeat He-Man on his own, and that his Havoc Staff wasn't strong enough to overcome He-Man's sword.

Ergo, no real threat. No tension.

But time and again, King Hiss is shown to be more powerful than He-Man. Only the unpredictable and undependable Zodac can stop him. That made King Hiss a worthy adversary of the Masters.

You always want your villain to be more powerful than your hero. Otherwise, it's too easy for the hero to win. It was always to easy for He-Man to beat Skeletor. But with King Hiss, the outcome was in doubt: how in the world will He-Man stop him? Can he stop him at all?

And when it came to the rest of the characters, the Snake Men were way more interesting than Skeletor's stupid goons. Skeletor's crew, except for Evil Lynn, was just a bunch of bumbling defectives. There were comic clods. No threat, no menace.

But the Snake Men, on the other hand, were powerful and competent. They seemed like a real threat.

Also, their whole storyline was mythic: an ancient race released from a void, and their whole backstory was amazing. I loved the scenes of Eternia in ages past, when the Snake Men ruled.

Now, it's possible that Hordak would have been the best villain of all. B/c he was more powerful than Skeletor, and at least as powerful as King Hiss, he would have been a worthy opponent of He-Man.

But as it was, Season 3 and the Snake Men were definitely the high point of the show.

[–] EmperorGalvatron 12 years ago

The Snake Men designs were great. They all looked vicious and powerful. And as others have said, they were not dumb. I do really wish we could have gotten the Horde to make a true appearance and not just in flashbacks. There was also a rock guy named Calix in the flashback, but Hordak killed him. That's a shame too, cuz he looked cool.