Skeletor (2002)


 * This article is about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002) character. You may be looking for the original character.

"Have you the faintest inkling to whom you speak?! I am Skeletor! Overlord of Evil!"

- Skeletor

Skeletor is the main antagonist of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2002 relaunch. Once known as Keldor, he was the most persistent threat to the heroes of modern-day Eternia.

Keldor
The man who would become known as Skeletor was originally known as Keldor, a Gar warlord who attempted to conquer the Light Hemisphere of Eternia during the Great Unrest. Keldor travelled Eternia and recruited a number of warriors to his cause in his younger years, such as Beast Man, Tri Klops and Kronis.

During his younger years, Keldor travelled to Eternia’s ancient past to obtain the Havoc Staff from the Faceless One. During the trip, he also brought the Faceless One’s daughter, Evil Lyn, to the present at her father’s request. Years later, Keldor would meet an adult Evil Lyn, with whom he shared a romantic relationship. At some point, he studied dark magic under Hordak, who was trapped in Despondos.

Keldor also made an enemy of Captain Randor, and the two became bitter rivals. Keldor eventually launched an assault on the Hall of Wisdom, the seat of the Eternian Elders’ power. There, he engaged Randor in combat before ultimately being disarmed. As Randor prepared to arrest Keldor for his crimes, the warlord produced a hidden vial of acid from within his robes and flung it at the Captain. At the last moment, Randor deflected the vial back at Keldor, severely burning his face.

Mortally wounded, Keldor was rushed back to a former Horde sanctuary, where Evil Lyn helped him to converse with Hordak. Keldor pleaded with Hordak to save his life, and Hordak agreed, though warned there would be a price. Keldor was transformed into Skeletor, his melted face becoming a floating skull, the sight of which sent him into fits of laughter.

Escape from the Dark Hemisphere
Banished to the Dark Hemisphere and imprisoned behind the Mystic Wall, Skeletor and his warriors resided in Snake Mountain for almost sixteen years while they plotted their revenge. Skeletor eventually found the solution; a device of his own powered by a Corodite Crystal retrieved by Mer-man. The device, combined with Skeletor’s magic, was finally able to bring down the Mystic Wall and Skeletor returned for revenge against Randor and the Elders. However, when he attempted to locate the Hall of Wisdom, he found it had disappeared. Instead, Skeletor turned his attention to Randor, convinced that the now King of Eternia would know where the Elders had gone. Skeletor bested Randor in combat and tortured him for the information, but came to realise that Randor genuinely did not know what had happened to the Elders. He prepared to execute Randor, but was foiled by the arrival of He-Man.

Skeletor eventually deduced that the power of the Elders had been moved to the crumbling Castle Grayskull and turned his attention towards seizing the castle and the power within. Skeletor increased his ranks by recruiting more evil warriors, though found his schemes frequently thwarted by He-Man.

Frustrated by the failure of his minions, Skeletor later engineered a scheme in which they were captured, and put together a new Council of Evil. Skeletor’s evil warriors eventually broke free and teamed up with his new council to assault Grayskull, but they were again thwarted by He-Man. Unfortunately for Skeletor, Evil Lyn discovered his betrayal of her and conspired with the Snake Men to release King Hiss from the void beneath Snake Mountain.

Rise of the Snake Men
Skeletor was surprised by Hiss and his Snake Men, who quickly defeated his henchmen and turned them to stone. Unable to turn Skeletor himself to stone, Hiss instead summoned a large snake which devoured him whole.

After Hiss was temporarily defeated following an unsuccessful attempt to take Grayskull for himself, Skeletor was able to free himself, restore his evil warriors and reclaim Snake Mountain. He set out to punish Evil Lyn for her betrayal, planning to sacrifice her to a creature from the Forsaken Realm. Evil Lyn pleaded with Skeletor to spare her life, reminding him of how she had saved his years prior. Instead, He-Man interrupted the ceremony, and Skeletor and Lyn reconciled, though she would later continue to plot against him.

Later, Skeletor was contacted by Hordak, who ordered Skeletor to release him from Despondos, claiming this as the “price” he had spoken of years earlier when he saved his life. Skeletor instead destroyed Hordak’s sanctuary on Eternia, ensuring he could never return.

Skeletor was later furious when the snake atop Snake Mountain came to life, as King Hiss restored the snake God Serpos. When Serpos was turned to stone once again, Snake Mountain became much larger than before. Skeletor soon learned that a decapitated King Hiss was a prisoner in the Royal Palace of Eternos. Wishing to exact vengeance on Hiss, Skeletor sent his evil warriors to break him out of prison and return him to Snake Mountain. However, Hiss used the opportunity to regrow his lost head and rampage through the mountain. Skeletor quickly engaged Hiss in combat, with the two villains battling through Snake Mountain and fighting to a standstill before Evil Lyn intervened and drove Hiss from the mountain.

Mike Young Productions Animated Series

 * The Beginning Part 1
 * The Beginning Part 2
 * The Beginning Part 3
 * The Courage of Adam
 * Sky War
 * The Deep End
 * Lessons
 * Siren's Song
 * The Ties That Bind
 * Dragon's Brood
 * Turnabout
 * Mekaneck's Lament
 * Night of the Shadowbeasts
 * Underworld
 * The Mystery of Anwat Gar
 * The Monster Within
 * Roboto's Gambit
 * Trust
 * Snake Pit
 * The Island
 * The Sweet Smell of Victory
 * The Council of Evil, Part 1
 * The Council of Evil, Part 2
 * The Last Stand
 * To Walk With Dragons
 * Out of the Past
 * Rise of the Snake Men, Part 1
 * Rise of the Snake Men, Part 2
 * The Price of Deceit
 * Of Machines and Men
 * The Power of Grayskull
 * Awaken the Serpent
 * Episode 40: Captured

Behind The Scenes

 * Although not revealed in the series, the intention of the writers was that Keldor would ultimately be revealed to be Randor's half-brother. This was finally confirmed in officially in the character biographies on the BCI Eclipse DVD release.