The Beginning Part 1

 is the first episode of the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series. It originally aired on August 16, 2002.

The exiled warlord Keldor tells his forces that he has created a device that will destroy the "Mystic Wall" that keeps him and his followers out of Randor's kingdom. Inside the castle walls, Man-At-Arms receives a telepathic message from The Sorceress that the time has come.

Summary
At the Hall of Wisdom Captain Randor approaches the Council of Elders and warns them that Keldor's forces are moving on the capital and will soon be within the Hall of Wisdom. The Elders state that Keldor's forces will be defeated and that Captain Randor will rule Eternia as King in place of the Elders. An explosion interrupts the conversation and through the smoke emerges Keldor and his Evil Warriors. As the battle begins Captain Randor notices the Elders vanish in a flash of light. Keldor leaps towards Captain Randor and the two engage in battle. Keldor recoils and throws a tube towards Captain Randor who raises his shield and the tube smashes unleashing a corrosive liquid that splashes back onto Keldor's face. The villains depart the Hall of Wisdom. Captain Randor orders Duncan and the Masters to pursue the Evil Warriors. As he stands alone in the Hall of Wisdom Captain Randor hears a voice, that of the Sorceress. She informs Captain Randor that his masters will succeed in pushing Keldor's forces to the Dark Hemisphere, and states that when the evil returns, a hero shall emerge to protect Eternia.

Many years later at the Royal Palace of Eternia, Prince Adam and Teela are testing their battle skills. Man-At-Arms informs Adam that he needs to work harder on his fundamentals, and begins to remind Adam about the forces of evil. On the other side of the Mystic Wall in Snake Mountain, the Evil Warriors listen as Skeletor displays his newest device, which will cause a massive quake strong enough to breach the Mystic Wall. Skeletor informs his Evil Warriors that it lacks one vital ingredient: the Coridite crystal, which Mer-Man arrives with at that very moment. At the Royal Palace a celebration is taking place in honor of Prince Adam turning sixteen years old. At the Mystic Wall Skeletor's device is activated. The device fires a huge concussive blast at the wall. The explosion causes a shock wave that is felt in the Royal Palace. The villains begin attacking the Mystic Wall one by one, weakening it in the process. Finally Skeletor fires a huge blast from his Havoc Staff that shatters the Mystic Wall.

At the Royal Palace Man-At-Arms receives a telepathic signal from the Sorceress, and within a matter of seconds he asks Adam to accompany him to Castle Grayskull. Meanwhile Skeletor questions a man regarding the existence of the Hall of Wisdom and The Council of Elders. Skeletor refuses to believe that all that power could have just simply disappeared. King Randor begins to offer a toast in honor of his son Prince Adam, but when he realizes that he is nowhere to be found he abandons the toast. At that same moment Man-At-Arms and Adam arrive at Castle Grayskull. The jaw-bridge lowers and the two venture into the castle. The pair enter what appears to be a throne room where they are greeted by the Sorceress. The Sorceress explains to Adam that many years ago Captain Randor and the forces of good drove Keldor and his Evil Warriors to the Dark Hemisphere. The Mystic Wall was created to ensure that the villains would stay on the other side of Eternia. Fearing that the villains would one day break free The Council of Elders transformed themselves into a magical crystal orb that was hidden deep within Castle Grayskull. A bemused Prince Adam prepares to leave, but the Sorceress tells him that The Council of Elders foretold of a day when a hero would emerge to protect Eternia. The Sorceress tells Adam that he is to be transformed into He-Man. Adam thinks it all to be a birthday prank and leaves Castle Grayskull. Journeying back to the Royal Palace on a Sky Sled Adam is shocked when he sees his home in ruins.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Moral
None, there is a preview of the next episode instead.

Heroic Warriors

 * Cringer
 * King Randor
 * Prince Adam
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Man-E-Faces
 * Mekaneck
 * Orko
 * Ram Man (non speaking role)
 * Stratos (non speaking role)
 * Teela

Allies

 * Council of Elders
 * Queen Marlena
 * Sorceress

Evil Warriors

 * Beastman
 * Clawful
 * Evil-Lyn
 * Keldor/Skeletor
 * Merman
 * Panthor
 * Trap Jaw
 * Tri-Klops
 * Whiplash

Creatures

 * Griffins

Vehicles

 * Battle Ram Chariot
 * Disk Rider
 * Sky-Sled

Artifacts

 * Coridite Crystal

Locations

 * Castle Grayskull
 * Eternos
 * Hall of Wisdom
 * Mystic Wall
 * Snake Mountain
 * Sea of Rakash (mentioned)

Technology

 * Doomseeker

Cast

 * Cam Clarke as Prince Adam
 * Kathleen Baar as Evil-Lyn and Council Member
 * Lisa Ann Beley as Teela
 * Garry Chalk as Man-At-Arms, Whiplash and Merchant
 * Brian Dobson as Keldor/Skeletor and Council Member
 * Paul Dobson as Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw and Man-E-Faces
 * Michael Donovan as King Randor
 * Gabe Khouth as Orko and Mekaneck
 * Scott McNeil as Merman, Clawful and Beastman
 * Nicole Oliver as Queen Marlena and The Sorceress

Trivia

 * Skeletor's former name is revealed to be Keldor. This name was first mentioned in one of the last Minicomics produced by Mattel and published with Masters of the Universe action figures, titled "The Search for Keldor". In this story, Keldor is said to be King Randor's long lost brother, and a connection between Keldor and Skeletor is strongly hinted at. In the Mike Young series, there is never any mention of Keldor being related to Randor, but a biography on the DVD release did reveal them to be half-brothers.
 * Merman retrieves the Coridite Crystal from the Sea of Rakash. In the Filmation series, Coridite was a powerful mineral mined by the tiny Widgets, from which He-Man's harness was forged. The Sea of Rakash had previously been used as a location in both the Ladybird series of books and in Marvel's Star Comics series.
 * Outside of Castle Grayskull, a mysterious tombstone can be spotted beyond the drawbridge. When asked about it, story editor Ian Richter once joked it was the grave of Loo-Kee from She-Ra: Princess of Power. The Masters of the Universe Classics line which began in 2008 which combined and expanded upon the lore of all previous versions of MOTU identified the tombstone as that of He-Ro, one of the former wielders of the Power Sword before He-Man's time.
 * This episode received an entry in Masters of the Universe Encyclopedia: Season One - Issue 1.