Disappearing Act

Disappearing Act is a first season episode of the animated television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, produced in 1983. Story by David Chappe, teleplay by David Chappe and Robby London, directed by Lou Zukor.

Synopsis
Within their fortress in Snake Mountain, Skeletor and Beast Man watch in dismay as yet another of their schemes is foiled by He-Man. Angered, Skeletor retrieves two magical helmets that, when worn, render their wearers invisible. Skeletor plans to sneak into the Royal Palace undetected and capture Prince Adam.

At the Royal Palace, Orko tries to use his magic wand to clean his messy room, but the wand flies around the room, making everything it touches disappear. Meanwhile, Teela is showing Adam Man-At-Arms' latest invention, a device that can attract flying creatures. A shout from Orko draws their attention to his bedroom, but as they arrive Orko's wand accidentally strikes the Sword of Power and causes it to vanish, just as Man-At-Arms enters, warning them that Skeletor's Doombuster has been found in the woods.

As Man-At-Arms and Teela leave, Orko admits to Adam that he has no idea how to retrieve the sword. Removing his helmet, Skeletor appears and kidnaps Prince Adam, telling Orko that He-Man must be sent as the ransom for Prince Adam. The bone-faced villain whisks the prince away to the Banshee Jungle.

In Man-At-Arms' laboratory, Orko finally tells Duncan everything. They decide to go to the Sorceress, who explains that the wand sent the sword back into Eternia's past. She conjures a time corridor, and bids Orko and Cringer to enter. Meanwhile, within a cave in the Banshee Jungle, Skeletor reveals his plan to Adam as Beast Man chains the prince. When the villains leave, Adam remembers that Teela gave him Duncan's device and tosses it out of the cave, hoping to attract Stratos. In the past, Orko and Cringer manage to locate the Sword of Power in the hands of a giant. They retrieve the sword, but are forced to flee with the giant and several other creatures in pursuit.

Back at Castle Grayskull, Man-At-Arms reveals a robotic version of He-Man to the returning duo, aiming to use it as a decoy. As the heroes make their way to the Banshee Jungle, Stratos locates Adam and quickly informs them of his exact location. Man-At-Arms orders the Attak Trak to fool Skeletor with the robotic He-Man; the plan works, as Skeletor and Beast Man give chase to the decoy.

In the cave, Adam is given the Sword of Power by his rescuers, and transforms into He-Man. Skeletor discovers that the "He-Man" he has been following is a robot, just as the real He-Man appears. A battle ensues, but Skeletor uses the invisibility helmet to gain an unfair advantage. Without being able to see Skeletor, He-Man is easily knocked down, but then borrows Orko's robe and throws it onto Skeletor's shoulders. Before the villain can react, He-Man crushes the invisibility helmet, and suddenly a swarm of wolfbats attack Skeletor, sending him running; He-Man has placed the device on Skeletor's belt. Chastened by the adventure, Orko promises to clean his room properly in future.

Moral
Man-At-Arms: "Being the most powerful man in the universe isn't all that makes He-Man such a great hero. Being strong is fine, but there's something even better. In today's story, He-Man used something even more powerful than his muscles to beat Skeletor. Do you know what that was? If you said 'his brain,' you were right. And just like a muscle, your brain is something that can develop to give yourself great power."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Battle Cat
 * Cringer
 * He-Man
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Sorceress
 * Stratos
 * Teela

Allies

 * Abram
 * Elmas

Evil Warriors

 * Beast Man
 * Skeletor

Locations

 * Eternos
 * Royal Palace
 * Royal Zoo (mentioned)
 * Banshee Jungle
 * Cave of Cambro
 * Castle Grayskull
 * Fertile Plain (mentioned)
 * Mount Krona
 * Prison Mines (mentioned)
 * Snake Mountain

Vehicles

 * Attak Trak
 * Basher
 * Doom Buster (mentioned)
 * Sky-Sled

Technology

 * Beeper
 * He-Man robot
 * Invisibility Helmets
 * Porta-Prison

Creatures

 * Swamp Hopper
 * Wolfbats

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Beast Man
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms and Cringer
 * Linda Gary as Teela and the Sorceress
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, King Randor, Stratos, Abram, Elmas and Attak Trak

Behind the scenes

 * Script was approved February 28, 1983 and final script revision was done September 20, 1983.
 * The Evil Warrior's vehicle, the Doom-buster is mentioned for the first time and will be referenced again in Double Edged Sword, but not seen until The Shadow of Skeletor.

Continuity

 * The animation of Orko shortly before he and Cringer enter the Time Corridor is reused in Eternal Darkness after Man-At-Arms makes a compliment about Orko's hearing.
 * The animated sequence of Cringer grabbing the Sword of Power with his mouth and running out of frame will be seen again in One for All.
 * The scenes of Orko sheathing and unsheathing the sword and presenting it to Prince Adam would be reanimated to be used again in Island of Fear. Orko would also unsheathe the sword and present it to He-Man instead of Adam, reusing the same animation again in Quest for He-Man.
 * The animation of He-Man kicking Skeletor's Freeze Ray device into the air is used again in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Gateway to Trouble when he kicks one of the Evil Horde's Destructo Tanks.
 * The shot of Skeletor charging towards He-Man would be used again in Colossor Awakes.
 * A much more dangerous version of the Swamp Hopper will be seen in the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episodes Lessons and The Monster Within.

Errors

 * After Skeletor kidnaps Adam and puts on his own Invisibility Helmet, his nose turns yellow before he disappears.
 * During the establishing shot of Castle Grayskull, the drawbridge door is misaligned.
 * When Man-At-Arms, Cringer and Orko are in the Sorceress' throne room, Cringer can be heard growling like Battle Cat.
 * During the throne room scene in Castle Grayskull, the giant mirror keeps changing size and position.
 * After Cringer arrives in the past, a shadow of an animal holding up two arms falls over him. But when Cringer jumps up, one of the arms on the shadow disappears. Then we see the animal in question, a Swamp Hopper and it is still holding up both arms.
 * When Orko and Cringer are in the past, the sky in the background keeps changing between the purple night sky and the light green daytime backgrounds.
 * Skeletor uses a cylinder shaped device to stun Prince Adam and Orko at the palace. Later he demonstrates to Adam that he plans to turn He-Man to stone by using his Havoc Staff. But later, when 'He-Man' arrives, Skeletor threatens to use the cylinder to turn him to stone.
 * When He-Man bumps into the invisible Skeletor and puts Orko's clothing over Skeletors head, He-Man's sword and scabbard are missing on his back. They return in the next shot.
 * Near the end, Skeletor is being chased off by Wolfbats that change sizes between long shots and close-ups.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * A brief review #003 - "Disappearing Act"
 * Elmas and Abram.
 * Man-At-Arms' Laboratory...
 * Orko passes the Sword of Power.