King Randor

King Randor is a character who appears in the 1980s Masters of the Universe franchise. In early material, the character is called King Miro, this was later given in the Filmation cartoon series as King Randor's long-lost father's name. As planetary monarch and head of the government of Eternia, Randor is descended from King Grayskull.

Minicomics
Randor initially appeared in the minicomics as a much older man with gray hair and a wizened face, but as the series progressed, he became closer to his Filmation age.

Older- Younger-
 * The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces
 * The Menace of Trap Jaw
 * The Magic Stealer!
 * Dragon's Gift
 * He-Man and the Insect People
 * Double-Edged Sword
 * Skeletor's Dragon
 * Spikor Strikes
 * Mantenna and the Menace of the Evil Horde!
 * Leech: The Master of Power Suction Unleashed!
 * The Terror Claws Strike!
 * Between a Rock and a Hard Place!
 * Snake Attack!
 * The Search for Keldor
 * Revenge of the Snake Men!
 * Enter: Buzz-saw Hordak!

DC Comics
The Pre-Crisis stories written by Paul Kupperberg for DC Comics were the first to present the King and Queen of Eternia as an older couple, the same way they would be presented in the second wave of minicomics. Randor was portrayed as being very disappointed in his son's lack of interest in stately affairs. This was also the first time that Marlena's Earth heritage was mentioned.

Filmation series
Randor is the good and noble King of Eternia, and the father of the series' hero He-Man, or rather his alter ego, Prince Adam, and (introduced later) Princess Adora, a.k.a. She-Ra. He is often annoyed and disappointed by Adam's seeming laziness and reluctance to take any real responsibility. Not realizing his son's dual identity, he is still very proud of his honest and kind-hearted son. Sometimes he is shown trying to teach his son lessons, as presumably Adam will become King one day. Unlike his children, who are both blondes, he has brown hair and a beard. Although Skeletor, the line's main villain, is initially said to be "from another dimension", late on in the original line it is heavily implied, but never officially confirmed, that Randor's long-lost brother Keldor became Skeletor. However, the writer of "The Search for Keldor", the minicomic in question, has since confirmed that this was the intent. In the 2002 series, Keldor also becomes Skeletor, although through different circumstances, and there is no acknowledgement that Keldor is Randor's brother.

Randor appears regularly in the original series, but it is uncommon for him to be directly involved in the action. However, he features heavily in the storyline of the episode "Prince Adam No More", in which he displays both his love for his son and his prowess at battling Skeletor's robots. The rest of the 1980s incarnation of the franchise mostly sticks with Filmation's version of a bold, middle-aged, brown-haired king, but some of the franchise's other material presents him as a much older, white haired, almost wizened ruler.

The New Adventures of He-Man
King Randor appears alongside Queen Marlena in the first episode of the New Adventures of He-Man series. Before Adam leaves to travel to the future, he visits his parents and tells them of his mission. Randor watches in amazement as Adam transforms into He-Man before his eyes, and tells his son he is very proud of him. Randor is one of the few characters to appear in both the original series and the New Adventures, and his costume and voice are very accurate to his original portrayal.

2002 TV series
In the 2002 Mike Young Productions remake, it is made apparent that in his youth, Randor was known as Captain Randor, a brave and steadfast warrior before being crowned King of Eternia by the Elders, although in the 1983 series, he is portrayed as having taken over the throne after his father, King Miro, disappeared. He even aids the Masters in a couple of episodes in their battles against Skeletor and his Evil Warriors and even the Snake Men. Apparently, after King Grayskull's death, the Council of Elders was formed to rule Eternia. But after Keldor‘s transformation into Skeletor they made Randor king as they became one with Castle Grayskull.

He is also tied more closely to the origin of Skeletor, having battled Skeletor when he was still Keldor during a war the Eternians call The Great Unrest. That war ended when Keldor and his forces attacked the Hall of Wisdom, home of the Elders, and Keldor and Randor engaged in a deadly duel that ended with Keldor hurling acid at Randor, only to have Randor deflect the acid with his shield, splashing the acid back at Keldor and burning his face, which led to his transformation into Skeletor. It is revealed by a writer that in this continuity Keldor and Randor are half-brothers, but it is never revealed if either knew that.

Prior to Captain Randor's fight with Keldor, he was told by the Council of Elders they wish to make him King to succeed them as ruler of Eternia. Randor protests, saying he is a soldier, not a politician, but then turns his attention to the forthcoming fight. After beating back Keldor and his underlings, Randor calls for the Council, but is told by the Sorceress they are gone and have left him the means to create a powerful hero. Randor is unsure of this, likely thinking he will be responsible for training a great soldier, and is left asking "How will I know this hero?"

Many years after the fight with Keldor, Eternia has enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity, and Randor has taken up the mantle of King, now married to a woman named Marlena and fathered a son named Adam, the foretold hero Randor was responsible for. Although Randor is not aware his son is He-Man, it is likely explained that the inward courage, fortitude and bravery of Captain Randor passed to his son in latent ways, thus enabling Adam to have the means to become He-Man.

After the Council of Evil incident, King Randor established an Eternian Council consisting of himself; Chief Carnivus of the Qadians; Lord Dactys of the Speleans; the King Chooblah of the Kulataks; Queen Andreeno of the Andreenids; King Taurius of the Mintaurans; Hawke, representing the Avions, and some other unnamed council members.

Toys
In the original toy-line, despite featuring very much throughout the franchise's run, there was no King Randor figure until a surprise sudden release as part of the final wave. As the final wave was generally produced in less quantity due to sales gradually dipping, the figure is one of the rarer and more hunted of the original line. The 2002 revamped line was discontinued before a new King Randor figure could be produced; however there was a NECA-produced statue, an action figure-sized piece with no movable joints. This was released as an SDCC exclusive, however later, a repaint of the statue in the Filmation 1983 series colors, with different weapons, remolded hair and a fur cape has been released as well. His wife Queen Marlena, never had an action figure version released in either the original or revamped line.

In the Masters of the Universe text adventure game that appeared on many home computers in the mid-1980s, King Randor is mis-spelt as 'King Radnor' throughout the game on many platforms.

The original toy-line mint condition (known as MOC / Mint on Card) version of this figure, first released in 1987, can fetch high dollars on auction sites such as eBay.

Masters of the Universe Classics
A line of toys that were debuted in 2008 to be sold exclusively on Mattel's collector website. Sculpted by the 4 Horsemen these toys are updated versions of everyone's favorite Masters characters.

In December 2009, King Randor was released as Matty Collectors figure of the month on Mattel's website. A version of him based upon the Filmation series design was released in November 2012.

Appearances

 * DC Comics
 * Fate is the Killer
 * To Tempt the Gods!