Journey to Stone City

Journey to Stone City is the 94th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed by Ed Friedman. Evil-Lyn awakens an ancient warrior, and tricks him into attacking Castle Grayskull to save his people.

Synopsis
Somewhere in the jungle, Prince Adam, Man-At-Arms, and Orko have spent three days searching for the ruins of the legendary Stone City. When they stop the Attak Trak to consult their ancient map, Orko tries to show the way. Surprisingly, the Attak Trak's onboard computer agrees with Orko for once, albeit because of the statistical improbability that Orko can always be wrong.

Irritated, Orko rushes ahead to prove that he's just right because he's right. However, he accidentally wakes up a sleeping tree, which retaliates by tossing whatever its roots have found underground over the centuries. Orko dodges the hurtling debris but takes notice of a peculiar stone map. When Duncan and Adam catch up with him, they realize the stone map is a more complete rendition of the crumbling paper one they've been using, and it clearly shows the way to Stone City.

However, unbeknownst to the heroes, Evil-Lyn, Kobra Khan, and Webstor have been trailing them for the past three days, believing that Stone City possesses a great treasure that would be of interest to them. They quickly steal the stone map, and Evil-Lyn boxes the heroes in with several heavy stone slabs to prevent their pursuit. Adam's Power Sword gets pinned under one of the slabs; to Duncan's relief it isn't broken, but it's hopelessly stuck. Fortunately the Attak Trak is nearby, and Adam instructs it to use its sand shovel to push the sword further inside of Evil-Lyn's makeshift prison. This gives Adam the leverage he needs to pull it loose, and raise it to the air so that he can become He-Man, who has no trouble freeing himself and the others. The Trak is impressed with He-Man's "primitive but effective" solution, but He-Man is more concerned with catching up to the Evil Warriors.

Later, Evil-Lyn and her allies arrive at Stone City, where they find dozens of stone figures positioned throughout the ruins like townspeople. Searching for anything that might be the legendary treasure, Evil-Lyn spots a large, sophisticated device atop a nearby mountain, and decides to teleport it back to Snake Mountain so she can study it later. When they continue to search the ruins, they find a large structure that is too dark to explore until Webstor dislodges a boulder that blocks the skylight. Exposed to the sun's rays, a statue beneath the skylight transforms into a living being, who identifies himself as Vokan, king of Stone City and "greatest of all warriors." He explains to the Evil Warriors that the people of Stone City were "true warriors" who found life too peaceful and underwent the Great Sleep of Stone until the day that they would be needed again--this is the real treasure of the ruins.

The Eye of Amagordo on Vokan's chest allows him to sense that he should have awoken over 200 years ago to restore his people, and that if he does not do so today they will be trapped as statues for another thousand years. Just then he notices the device Evil-Lyn abducted, the Lifebringer which he requires to affect the restoration, is missing. Rashly, Vokan accuses the villains of stealing the Lifebringer, starting a battle which he easily wins. Out of options, Evil-Lyn tells Vokan that they do not have the device, but she can show him where it is being kept.

Later, He-Man and his friends arrive at Stone City but can find no trace of Evil-Lyn's party. He-Man finds it suspicious that the villains would be in such a hurry to find the site and then leave so quickly, so he takes a Sky Sled from back of the Attak Trak to scout around the area.

Meanwhile, the Evil Warriors take Vokan to Castle Grayskull, claiming that He-Man has hidden the Lifebringer there. Vokan is totally unfamiliar with the castle or its defenses, and boldly approaches the Jaw-Bridge to demand entry. Kobra Khan worries about what Vokan will do if he enters the castle and realizes he's been deceived, but Evil-Lyn is satisfied that once Grayskull has been breached, they will be able to plunder its secrets. Webstor intends to notify Skeletor, but Evil-Lyn stops him; she does not intend to share this triumph. When Vokan is confronted by an image of the Sorceress, denying him entry, he refuses to listen to reason and attacks the castle with the Eye of Amagordo. The Sorceress grows concerned, as Grayskull's defenses are designed to repel evil, whereas Vokan is not evil and extremely powerful. Telepathically, she summons He-Man to help.

Just as the Eye of Amagordo forces the Jaw-Bridge open, He-Man arrives and leaps into Vokan's path. Vokan instantly recognizes that this is the man Evil-Lyn told him about, and though He-Man tries to discuss the situation he is impatient to recover his Lifebringer. The ancient warrior fires a powerful energy beam from the Eye of Amagordo, but He-Man is able to block it with his Sword of Power, creating a standoff. Both heroes are impressed by the other's power, but when Vokan doubles the strength of his beam, it reflects back form He-Man's sword strikes him down. Frustrated by Vokan's defeat, the villains urge him to keep fighting, and let slip that they were the ones who had the Lifebringer the whole time. Evil-Lyn threatens to keep the device unless He-Man surrenders Castle Grayskull to her, and vanishes.

When Evil-Lyn and the others return to Snake Mountain, she is confident He-Man will have no choice but to accept her demands, and she gloats about capturing Grayskull without having to share it with Skeletor. Just then, Skeletor unexpectedly visits her laboratory, wondering what she's been up to. He is unaware of the Lifebringer or the events surrounding it, so he is especially surprised to find He-Man and Vokan attacking Snake Mountain to get it back. At first Skeletor refuses to surrender the device simply because the heroes value it, but when He-Man threatens to reduce Snake Mountain to "Snake Valley," he rapidly concedes, without ever really understanding what the dispute was about.

Back at Stone City, Man-At-Arms successfully reconnects the Lifebringer on the mountain where it belongs, but Vokan fears it's too late. The Lifebringer is designed to receive the rays of one of Eternia's moons, channeled through a crystal lens positioned at the top of the mountain, but the moon has just moved out of alignment with the lens. It will be another thousand years before the moon will be in the correct position, so He-Man decides to simply push the entire mountain until the lens is lined up properly. Soon all of the people of Stone City come back to life.

Vokan is relieved his people are restored, and regretful that he acted without thinking at Castle Grayskull. He-Man dismisses the mishap and wonders what the people of Stone City will do now. Perhaps having learned from his earlier mistakes, Vokan decides they shall stay secluded for a time, to learn about all the things they have missed in their slumber before venturing out into the wider world. However, he promises the warriors of Stone City will always be available should He-Man ever need them. Man-At-Arms idly speculates that Skeletor is giving Evil-Lyn a hard time because of the trouble she caused him.

Coincidentally, at that moment Skeletor is punishing Evil-Lyn and Webstor for their treachery by forcing them to carve a giant stone statue of his likeness. His two lackeys blame one another for their predicament, and the statue itself commands them to get back to work, much to Skeletor's amusement.

Moral
Orko: "Today we learned something about the imporance of listening to other people." Man-At-Arms: "Orko..." Orko: "Just a sec. Vokan's big mistake was listening to Evil-Lyn without asking He-man for his side of the story. Man-At-Arms: "Orko..." Orko: "Before we blame somebody for doing something, we should always find them and ask for his side of the story. That's important, because sometimes we're wrong about who's to blame." Man-At-Arms: "Orko!" Orko: "Remember, listen to what other people have to say. What is it, Man-At-Arms?" Man-At-Arms: "Dinner's ready." Orko: "Oh!"

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * He-Man
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Sorceress

Allies

 * Vokan

Evil Warriors

 * Evil-Lyn
 * Kobra Khan
 * Skeletor
 * Webstor

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Webstor
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Vokan and the sleepy tree
 * Linda Gary as Evil-Lyn and the Sorceress
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, Kobra Khan, Attak Trak and Stone City villager

Orko's Fun Facts
As featured in BCI's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD boxset (Disc 5)


 * "This episode is possibly one of the best appearances of the Attak Trak with extremely witty dialogue penned by J. Michael Straczynski."
 * "On the map that Orko discovers there is a large He-Man cross."
 * "When Prince Adam transforms into He-Man it appears that the Attak Trak is privy to his secret identity."
 * "Look out for the very expressive animation of Vokan fighting with Kobra Khan!"
 * "The symbol on Vokan's chest is called the 'Eye of Amagordo.'"

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved October 5, 1984 and final script revision took place October 10, 1984.
 * The animation model for Vokan was designed by Pat Wong & Gerald Forton.

Continuity

 * The animated sequence of He-Man retrieving the Sky Sled from the back of the Attak Trak and leaping onto it was first seen in Prince Adam No More, however this time the animation of the vehicle's steering mechanism, head ram and laser gun popping out is omitted. The same sequence will be seen again in Revenge is Never Sweet.
 * The animation of He-Man catching the falling Life Bringer is reused from the sequence in which he caught a falling tower in Return of the Gryphon. Another variation was seen in Capture the Comet Keeper.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * Memories #15 - Technical difficulties...
 * What happened to "City of Children"?
 * Even when I'm right, I'm wrong!
 * Violence against Vokan!
 * This is most unsettling.