The Power of Grayskull (Revelation)

The Power of Grayskull is the first episode of the animated television series Masters of the Universe: Revelation. It was released July 23, 2021.

Synopsis
Eternia celebrates Teela as its new Man-At-Arms, but the knighting ceremony is cut short when Skeletor leads a full-scale attack on Grayskull.

Plot
He-Man rides Stridor to Castle Grayskull with two prisoners, Clawful and Spikor, in transit. Upon arriving at the gate, the Sorceress appears, but is surprised when one of the prisoners turns out to be Skeletor in disguise. The Sorceress is initially able to hold off Skeletor, but is shocked when the one she thought to be He-Man turns out to be Faker instead. Stridor was actually Night Stalker and Clawful turns out to be Evil-Lyn in disguise. The Sorceress is taken into Castle Grayskull, where she activates the castle's protections to fend of Skeletor's army, but finds that Skeletor has already discovered their greatest secret: the real power is buried beneath the castle. Skeletor journeys into the depths of the castle whilst the Sorceress tries to hold the defenses.

Meanwhile, a ceremony is being held at the heart of Eternia to knight Teela as the Man-At-Arms. This is cut short, however, when the Sorceress calls out for He-Man's aid at Castle Grayskull. Adam informs the army of the attack and, when they have left, he calls upon the power of Grayskull to transform into He-Man.

As Eternia's Heroic Warriors arrives at Castle Grayskull, they defeat Skeletor's army but find that the Sorceress was unable to maintain the defences after being confronted by Evil-Lyn. Teela is sent into the depths of Grayskull to prevent Skeletor gaining access to all of Eternia's magic and secrets, but finds she is confronted by Skeletor, who is soon joined by Evil-Lyn. He-Man and Battle Cat arrive and a fierce battle ensues. Moss Man tries to stop Skeletor in the heart of Castle Grayskull, but is defeated. Skeletor is able to trick He-Man into stabbing him and simultaneously unlocking the defences surrounding the orb of power.

Believing he can attain his hearts desire and consume the magic of Eternia, Skeletor strikes the orb, but finds that he is stopped in his tracks when the Sorceress slows time. She explains that when the orb cracks, the universe will end and all those in it will die. He-Man suggests that he use the Power Sword to channel the magic and save the universe, but the Sorceress explains that this will more than likely kill him. Nonetheless, He-Man proceeds with his plan and is able to defeat Skeletor and absorb the power by splitting his sword in two, consuming himself and Skeletor in the process. Evil-Lyn escapes with the only thing remaining, the top of Skeletor's Havoc Staff.

Back at the Royal Palace, Duncan explains to the monarchy of Eternia that He-Man succumbed whilst saving Grayskull. Whilst the king is somewhat saddened, the queen is heartbroken and tells her husband that they have lost their son. With everyone confused, Duncan is forced to explain that Prince Adam and He-Man were one in the same. Enraged, the king strips Duncan of his title and banishes him from the palace. Teela also feels betrayed by everyone she's ever trusted and decides to leave the palace as well.

Cast and Characters

 * Heroic Warriors
 * Prince Adam / He-Man
 * Cringer / Battle Cat
 * Teela
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Moss Man (first appearance)
 * Clamp Champ (first appearance) (cameo) (non speaking role)
 * Fisto (first appearance) (cameo) (non speaking role)
 * Stridor (Night Stalker in disguise)


 * Allies
 * King Randor
 * Queen Marlena
 * Sorceress/Zoar
 * Royal Guards


 * Evil Warriors
 * Skeletor
 * Evil-Lyn
 * Faker (first appearance) (non speaking role)
 * Clawful (first appearance) (non speaking role)
 * Beast Man (first appearance) (non speaking role)
 * Tri-Klops (first appearance) (non speaking role)
 * Trap Jaw (first appearance) (non speaking role)
 * Spikor (Skeletor in disguise)
 * Night Stalker (first appearance)
 * Skelcons (first appearance) (non speaking role)


 * Locations
 * Eternia
 * Castle Grayskull
 * Royal Palace of Eternos
 * Snake Mountain (mentioned only)


 * Vehicles
 * Bashasaurus (first appearance)
 * Land Shark (first appearance)
 * Rotons (first appearance)
 * Sky-Sleds (first appearance)
 * War-Sleds (first appearance)


 * Artifacts
 * Havoc Staff
 * Orb of Power
 * Shaping Staff
 * Sword of Power


 * Technology
 * Hover Robots

Cast

 * Diedrich Bader - King Randor
 * Liam Cunningham - Man-At-Arms/Duncan
 * Susan Eisenberg - Sorceress
 * Sarah Michelle Gellar - Teela
 * Mark Hamill - Skeletor
 * Lena Headey - Evil-Lyn
 * Griffin Newman - Orko
 * Alan Oppenheimer - Moss Man
 * Stephen Root - Cringer/Battle Cat
 * Alicia Silverstone - Queen Marlena
 * Chris Wood - Adam / He-Man

Trivia

 * The artwork seen during the opening narration is based on art created for the original Masters of the Universe toys and the Masters of the Universe Classics toy lines. The image of red exploding rocks was the background of the original action figure's packaging.
 * The opening narration repurposes lines from the start of both the 1987 film and the Filmation series.
 * The opening narration describes Skeletor as a demon, which hearkens back to his backstory in the earliest mini-comics, rather than the origin that was developed in the late eighties that revealed Skeletor to have been born as Keldor, brother of King Randor.
 * Queen Marlena says Teela looks like a "Warrior Goddess", which was the description on the package of the original 1982 Teela action figure.
 * Adam's first two lines are references to He-Man's transformation sequence and the first words Adam speaks in the opening of the Filmation series.
 * Skeletor used the Shaping Staff, which was first seen in the Filmation episode of the same name, to make Faker appear to be He-Man, Night Stalker appear as Stridor, Evil-Lyn to pose as Clawful and Skeletor himself as Spikor.
 * The fact that The Sorceress uses the alternate guise of Zoar the falcon is no longer a secret, as she transforms herself in front of prisoners from Snake Mountain, and Skeletor makes a pun on the name by calling her "Zoar-monger".
 * When Skeletor conjures up his Havoc Staff inside Castle Grayskull, one of the two banners visible in the background is the ones that came with the original Castle Grayskull playset, while the other has inverted colors like the two sided flag that came with the same playset.
 * During the Evil Warrior's assault on Grayskull, Beast Man is driving the Bashasaurus (originally a vehicle used by the Heroic Warrios) and Clawful pilots the Land Shark and in a wide shot, the army is shown to be equipped with many duplicates of these two vehicles, presumably being driven by Skelcons.
 * Skeletor's army is made up out of Skelcons. These beings made their debut in the Ladybird Masters of the Universe books and were eventually released as action figures in the Masters of the Universe Classic line in 2016. This is their animated debut.
 * The 1987 action figure Clamp Champ makes his first animated appearance (but has no speaking part), as do the 1985 vehicle Bashasaurus and the robotic horse Night Stalker, also from 1985.
 * Duncan refers to Night Stalker as "Knighmare", which was the toys original name during the development process and it was referred to as such in the model packs.
 * Skeletor says to He-Man, "Let this be our final battle!" The same line was spoken by Skeletor (Frank Langella) to He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) in Masters of the Universe (1987).
 * Skeletor says that Moss Man 'smells like pine', which was the scent that the original 1985 action figure gave off and which was it's main action feature.
 * The fact that Marlena is aware that Adam and He-Man are one and the same was previously hinted at in the Filmation series, specifically in the episodes The Energy Beast and The Rainbow Warrior, as well as in the Star Comics published by Marvel during the mid-eighties.