Stratos (early minicomics)

Stratos was the winged Master of the Universe who made his home in the highest mountain-top realms of the planet Eternia.

Biography
Stratos first appeared as part of a group of warriors summoned by the evil demon Skeletor to the myserious Castle Grayskull. However, Stratos chose not to participate in Skeletor's attempt to conquer the castle. After this encounter, Skeletor forever saw the winged warrior as an enemy rather than a friend.

Some time later, after Skeletor overheard that one half of the Power Sword was hidden at Eternia's highest point, he travelled to the mountain -top realm of his winged-enemy Stratos. After locating the sword half-buried in a rock, the Lord of Destruction used the hottest blast of his energy-blade to free the half-weapon from its bed. Overpowered, Stratos was unable to stop his one-time alley.

Some time later, while keeping watch on the tallest peak of the planet Eternia's mightiest mountain, Stratos heard the voice of the evil Skeletor, who was on the losing end of another battle against He-Man at Castle Grayskull. He soon saw that He-Man needed no help, so he turned in flight and headed back to his mountain home. He-Man threw Skeletor into a nearby sea and flew towards Stratos on the Battle Ram, right into the path of twin energy blasts that were blazing from Skeletor and Mer-Man's lightning swords. Stratos swooped down to lift the Battle Ram and it's rider into safer air. Unfortunately, because of the strong winds, Stratos was unaware when He-Man fell from the vehicle and lost consciousness.

Realizing that He-Man had gone missing, Stratos dropped the vehicle onto the peak of his moutain home, and doubled back to search for his friend. Soon Mer-Man found the vehicle and took it for his own, only to meet the Wind Raider in battle, piloted by Man-At-Arms and later He-Man. Stratos returned to his mountain just in time to deal out a finishing blow with his head to Mer-Man's chest, knocking the Ocean Warlord from the Battle Ram and taking control of the vehicle himself. A grateful He-Man then told him their next order of business was to recover his strength suit, locate and rescue Teela as well as Man-At-Arms who had fallen, and let Skeletor know he and his underlings had once again been defeated.

At another time, Stratos came to aid of He-Man once more after He-Man had been ambushed by Beast Man and Mer-Man and thrown into the sea by the latter. Stratos shot an energy beam that appeared to emit from his hand at a gigantic Monster of the Depths that was attacking He-Man, then dove into the water to retrieve his friend and carry him to the safety of a rock portruding out of the sea. Together with Teela, they retrieved He-Man's Battle Ram and headed for Grayskull, where Skeletor and his loyal henchman were bound to be.

Stratos fought Mer-Man during the ensuing battle. At a strategic point, He-Man ducked out of the way of a blast fired by Beast Man and Stratos flew out of range of an energy beam shot by Mer-Man, causing the two villains to hit each other. This in turn enraged Skeletor and He-Man used his Battle Ram to mow down all three evil warriors, leaving Stratos and Teela to watch in disbelief. When the villains fled away, Stratos was seen shooting another energy beam from his hand at them.

Trivia

 * Stratos was first seen working with the Evil Warriors on page 8 of the minicomic "He-Man and the Power Sword". This had it's roots in the early Mattel licensee guide, where Strtos was described as "a villain soaring on Wings of Wickendness".
 * In the minicomics He-Man and the Power Sword; King of Castle Grayskull and The Vengeance of Skeletor, Stratos' depiction is based on early prototype art by Mark Taylor and sports a different color scheme than his classic toy counterpart.
 * An action figure based on this look and color scheme was finally released by Super7 in a Made-to-order 3-pack (together with toys based on early versions of Trap Jaw and Prince Adam) in the year 2017.

Mini Comics - Series One

 * He-Man and the Power Sword (depicted as one of Skeletor's minions on page 8, but not mentioned in the story)
 * King of Castle Grayskull
 * Battle in the Clouds
 * The Vengeance of Skeletor

Mini Comics - Series Two

 * The Tale of Teela!