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1[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/masters1.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:334:''"I have the power!"'']]
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5
6->''"At the center of the Universe, at the border between the light and the dark stands Castle Greyskull. For countless ages, the Sorceress of Greyskull has kept this universe in harmony. But the armies of darkness do not rest, and the capture of Greyskull is ever most in their minds. For to those who control Greyskull will come . . . the Power.\
7The Power to be\
8supreme . . .\
9the Power to be\
10almighty . . .\
11the Power to be . . . [[TitleDrop MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!]]"''
12-->-- '''OpeningNarration'''
13
14A 1987 film directed by Gary Goddard for Creator/TheCannonGroup, a LiveActionAdaptation of [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse the toy/animation franchise of the same name]].
15
16The movie features Skeletor acquiring the Cosmic Key, a teleportation device from Gwildor, an eccentric inventor, which gives him an edge in his war against He-Man. Eventually the heroes find an identical device and use it to escape capture, accidentally traveling to a distant planet -- Earth. Skeletor is not far behind. Starring Creator/DolphLundgren as He-Man and Creator/FrankLangella as Skeletor, Creator/MegFoster as Evil-Lyn and a young Creator/CourteneyCox and Creator/RobertDuncanMcNeill as teenage sweethearts Julie Winston and Kevin Corrigan, who are caught up in the events.
17
18A fictionalized version of the making of the live-action film was later used as the basis for a story arc in Paul Chadwick's ''Comicbook/{{Concrete}}''. Additionally, there's no Prince Adam in this version, only He-Man, in keeping with its early origins: Adam originally didn't exist in the toy line or the (pre-Filmation) mini-comics that came with it. Besides the original line of toys made when the movie came out, in 2019 a high-end set of action figures based on the movie was announced.
19
20----
21!!This film contains examples of:
22* ActionGirl: Teela is a female soldier whose first instinct is to [[AttackAttackAttack attack]].
23* AdaptationalBadass: The cartoon version of Skeletor was a LaughablyEvil goofball and rarely got things done. This Skeletor had already taken over Eternia by the intro, and is shown to be a capable and terrifying villain that doesn't mess around.
24* AdaptationalModesty: Skeletor wears heavy robes instead of a loincloth and minimal chest armor (toy designs made heavy use of PaletteSwap, Skeletor's body and clothing was not much different than He-Man). Frank Langella was interested in a musculature-friendly outfit, as he was in pretty good shape for his age, but the director was worried about portraying Skeletor as sexy.
25* AgeLift: The Sorceress in prior works was generally depicted as youthful looking, comparable to Teela in age. Creator/ChristinaPickles was in her fifties and the Sorceress design had her look like an older sage.
26* AgentScully: It takes awhile for Lubic to realize what happening is the real deal.
27* AntagonistTitle: If the filmmakers decided to stay true to the [[MythologyGag cartoon's original opening narration]].
28* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The Eternians can easily speak it with no explanation.
29** The ComicBookAdaptation of the movie explains this at the end: [[spoiler: [[TransplantedHumans The Eternians are descendants of a 24th century space expedition from Earth]], meaning that He-Man and his friends traveled both in space and time. This is also foreshadowed earlier in the comic, when He-Man first arrives Earth, and comments on how strange it is that the Earthlings speak "Eternian".]]
30* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Eternia is besieged and falls to Skeletor and his armies.
31* AttackAttackAttack: Teela has to be repeatedly stopped from simply attacking every problem our heroes encounter.
32* BadassBoast: Skeletor dishes them out like they're nothing.
33--> ''I dare'' '''''anything!''''' ''I am'' '''''Skeletor!'''''
34%%* BaldOfEvil: Blade has a shaved head. Again, also Skeletor.
35* BigBad: Skeletor, who has finally conquered Castle Grayskull, but still has the heroes in his way.
36* BigEntrance: He-Man, when he first arrives on Earth. Skeletor and his army made a pretty big entrance themselves when they first arrived on the scene. In fact, Skeletor loves this trope, as he makes many entrances in this film often with low camera-angles and up-beat, dramatic music.
37* BigFancyCastle / BrightCastle: Castle Grayskull.
38* BigNo:
39** Kevin, when Julie is [[spoiler:shot]].
40** Julie, when she realizes that [[spoiler:she gave the Cosmic Key to Evil-Lyn, who was disguised as Julie's mother at the time.]]
41** Evil-Lyn when [[spoiler:He-Man manages to snatch the key back from her (although he's captured not much later)]].
42** If you listen closely, you'll find Skeletor is doing this rather than simply screaming during his DisneyVillainDeath at the end.
43* BlindedByTheLight: When Skeletor goes OneWingedAngel, the light he emits is so bright that everyone has to shield their eyes, except for Evil-Lyn, who doesn't even blink.
44* BladeEnthusiast: They don't call him "Blade" for nothing.
45* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Karg comes knocking with a bunch of robots in tow, prompting Gwildor to make a ''very'' swift change of plans.
46* CanonForeigner: The film was designed in part to promote a new toyline and thus include new movie characters. The commentary track and other documentaries sheds a lot of light on why the movie lacked certain key characters from the franchise and why other characters were so drastically altered. Suffice it to say, they had only a little money (most of it spent building the insanely elaborate Grayskull set they only barely got to use) and an extremely limited amount of time to film things.
47** Kevin and Julie are the Earth bound protagonists, but the franchise has generally avoided returning to Earth.
48** Gwildor joins He-Man, Duncan and Teela as a MadScientist gremlin-like creature, somewhat fulfilling Orko's comic relief role.
49** Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Beast Man are the only recurring villains, with an eyepatch-wearing bald swordsman named Blade who sort of fills the role of TheDragon while the reptilian Saurod and simian Karg are present in some actions scenes. There is also a mysterious pig-faced boy in the Grayskull throne room, which was a {{contest winner cameo}} given to the director at the last minute.
50** An urban legend, popularized by 4th World fan (and comics pro) Creator/JohnByrne, was that the movie was a SpiritualLicensee to Creator/JackKirby's Fourth World, with Skeletor taking the role of Darkseid and other characters (including the ones created for the movie) having a surprising correlation to each other. [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/11/02/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-75/ Read here for the full story.]] The director has admitted to being a fan of the comics, but he still tried to make a legitimate MOTU movie.
51** Blade and Saurod made appearances in the comic book continuity, making them [[CanonImmigrant Canon Immigrants]] of a sort, [[CanonDiscontinuity despite Saurod getting killed by Skeletor in the film]]. Possibly, however, they were following on from the movie's comic book adaptation, which did not include Saurod's death. He, Blade and Gwildor also both received toys in the original toyline.
52** Much later, Gwildor and his invention were introduced into the mainstream He-Man story. He, Blade, Karg and Saurod were integrated into mainstream continuity by way of their ''Masters of the Universe Classics'' toy bios.
53* CapeSwish: Skeletor appears to have a fetish for this.
54* CarnivalOfKillers: Skeletor hires a group of mercenaries to follow He-Man and the others to Earth to recover the Cosmic Key. They consist of the MasterSwordsman Blade, the [[BeastMan Beast Man]], the [[LizardFolk reptilian Saurod]], and the [[HookHand hook-handed Karg]]. When they fail in their first mission and return empty-handed to Skeletor, [[YouHaveFailedMe he kills Saurod and forces Evil Lyn to join them]].
55* ChekhovsSkill: Kevin is a musician and initially mistakes the Cosmic Key as a fancy synthesizer, as it uses musical tones as part of its operation. A music shop employee even teases him as "Mr. Perfect Pitch." In the climax of the Earth-based story, the heroes' Cosmic Key is badly damaged. Gwildor was able to repair its basic function but the memory and targeting system are fried, making it functionally impossible to return to Eternia. Kevin is able to recreate the same musical composition (Qwildor describes him as a "master songmaker" due to this particular talent), bringing them right back to Grayskull.
56* ChewingTheScenery: Skeletor just goes all out when he's gaining his newfound power, giving an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOsHoqhbUIU impressive, highly expressive monologue]] for two hearty minutes. (He comes close to making this trope literal with his manner of speech: watch how he gnashes his teeth while countering He-Man's insistence that he'll ''never'' kneel to Skeletor: "Yes you will! ''Yes you will!''")
57* ColdBloodedTorture: Averted. Blade would prefer to "persuade" Kevin with his knives, but Evil-Lynn [[PragmaticVillainy more sensibly]] opts for using some kind of mental manipulation collar that pacifies him and [[TruthSerum forces him to speak the truth]]. While this is shown to be rather ''mentally'' uncomfortable and painful to Kevin when they're putting the collar on him and later when his friends are breaking it off, it apparently has no lasting harmful effects.
58* ComicBook: There was ''Masters Of The Universe: The Motion Picture'' written by Ralph Macchio for [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel's]] ''Star Comics'' imprint.
59* CouldHaveBeenMessy: An InUniverse and out-of-universe example. When the mercenaries are pursuing Julie, they come very close to hitting her with their blades and projectiles several times, even as Karg is yelling at them not to kill her because they need her alive for questioning. Then all this mayhem manages to touch off an electrical fire on the stage in the gym, from which she narrowly escapes. According to the director's commentary track on the DVD, the fire in this TrashTheSet moment was quite real--albeit controlled--and the filming crew came dangerously close to burning the whole building down for real when the fire momentarily got out of hand. Mercifully for everyone, they managed to contain it before it did too much real damage.
60* CurbStompBattle: Skeletor's forces at the beginning lay one on the Eternians offscreen, resulting in most of the Eternian military being either killed or captured.
61* DarkerAndEdgier: When compared to the 80's cartoon.
62* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Subverted. Skeletor falls down a chasm at the end of his duel with He-Man, but TheStinger reveals he survived.]]
63* DontCreateAMartyr: Skeletor gives this as his reason for not outright killing He-Man immediately (though it's obvious there's ego involved, too).
64-->'''Evil-Lyn:''' The people wait for He-Man. They believe he will return to lead them. For you to rule completely he must be destroyed.\
65'''Skeletor:''' If I kill him, I make him a martyr, a saint. No, I want him broken first!
66* EvilIsHammy: Skeletor is certainly going all out on this trope.
67* FinalBattle: In the climax, Skeletor declare it this to He-Man, who finally defeats Skeletor for good. [[spoiler: Or so it seems.]]
68* {{Flynning}}: In the otherwise epic final battle, He-Man is pretty clearly swinging for Skeletor's staff. [[spoiler:Ends up being [[JustifiedTrope justified]] when breaking the staff takes Skeletor out of OneWingedAngel mode.]]
69* GenreShift: Scenes with Julie and Kevin have a TeenDrama feel to them.
70* GirlsWithGuns: Teela. It's a RunningGag that her first impulse is to shoot everything.
71--> "Woman-in-arms."
72* AGodAmI: Skeletor has one of these speeches at the climax, right down to the line "I am a god!". He also does show some signs of being a PhysicalGod, albeit hardly an omnipotent one.
73* GoldenSuperMode: Skeletor's armour turns gold when he absorbs the Sorceress's power.
74* GreatOffscreenWar: Right before the events of the film Skeletor's forces have taken Castle Grayskull and He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Teela are practically fugitives.
75* AHandfulForAnEye: Julie fends off Beast Man by splashing ammonia in his face.
76* HookHand: Karg has a hook for a hand.
77* HumanFocusedAdaptation: As opposed to the HumanAliens from Eternia, Kevin and Julie take up a lot of the screentime.
78* HypercompetentSidekick: Skeletor isn't inept, but his dragoness Evil-Lyn proves to be very competent when she's forced to work with the mercenaries. She looks through Karg's lies, successfully interrogates Kevin, and tricks Julie to hand her the key.
79* HypocriticalHumor: Despite Teela's disgust at the idea of eating an animal, she seems to have no qualms about shooting anything that draws her attention, as she pulls her sidearm at the slightest provocation.
80* IAteWhat: Teela remarks "What a barbaric world!" when Man-At-Arms shocks her and Gwildor by telling them in a matter-of-fact way that the food they were eating on Earth used to be a live animal.
81* IChooseToStay: Lubic chooses to stay in Eternia after he is hailed a hero for his part in defeating Skeletor's minions and meets a beautiful Eternian woman.
82* IGaveMyWord: He-Man agrees to surrender to Skeletor if Skeletor won't harm his friends, and Skeletor agrees as he knows He-Man will keep his word.
83* ILied: Said verbatim by Skeletor after he breaks his promise not to kill He-Man's friends.
84* ISurrenderSuckers: It wouldn't be Skeletor if he didn't do this at least once.
85-->'''He-Man''': It's over, Skeletor.
86-->'''Skeletor''': Yes... for you!
87* IWantThemAlive:
88** Skeletor orders He-Man brought to him alive because he wants to break his spirit and humiliate him before his people.
89** This is a case of PragmaticVillainy when Karg starts yelling at the other mercenaries who are shooting and throwing things at Julie not to kill her because they need her alive for questioning; she's one of the few people on Earth who might have any idea where the MacGuffin they've been sent to retrieve is.
90* IncomingHam: Is the music becoming loud and bombastic? Do you hear echoing thumping sound and [[LargeHam someone shouting]] with a [[EvilSoundsRaspy growling voice]]? Skeletor has arrived.
91* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne:
92** Kevin and Julie, two normal earth teens don't like the idea of being chased around and nearly killed just because they happend to find the {{MacGuffin}} that everybody wants. Heck Kevin even tried to [[RefusalOfTheCall refuse the call]]!
93** And what are they supposed to do afterward? Tell people they saved the universe from a monomaniacal god at the center of the universe in an alternate timeline? Sure, people will believe that.
94* JerkAss: Detective Lubic.
95** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Well hey, he does actually ''do his job'' in helping Kevin look for his girlfriend even if he's a bit of a dick about it; and he's perfectly happy with his reward of a lovely woman and a cushy retirement on Eternia at the end.
96* KneelBeforeZod: Skeletor becomes a god and demands He-Man kneel before him, using magic EyeBeams to force him to his knees.
97* KnightOfCerebus: LargeHam aside, Skeletor is a terrifying villain. He doesn't mess around, the only humour from him are a few sarcastic quips and he fries Saurod when the mercenaries fail him.
98* LargeHam:
99** Skeletor down to the core. '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87lvHz1qoM I DARE ANYTHING]]''' '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjAUdSgSIzA YOU MORTAL!]]'''
100** He-Man is also hammy but compared to Skeletor, he is just a slice of ham to his entire mound. During [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-3IVLeIF4 his battle with Skeletor]], it ends up with a HamToHamCombat.
101* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: The soundtrack swells as Kevin tries to remember the Cosmic Key tune to get them to Eternia and finally shouts, "I can't hear myself think. I wish someone would turn that thing off", indicating the music coming from the loudspeaker in the park. On cue, Teela blasts it.
102* LightIsNotGood: Skeletor when he absorbs the power of the Great Eye.
103--> Tell me about the loneliness of Good, He-Man.
104* LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard: Skeletor leaves the damaged Cosmic Key and its inventor in the middle of a moderately technologically-advanced civilization along with all the heroes except He-Man. Between them, they have all the parts they need to fix it, ''and'' somebody who can figure out how to set it to transport them directly into Grayskull's throne room.
105* MaleGaze: In the beginning, as Duncan and Teela are covering a door, the camera lingers on Teela's rather prominently displayed rump.
106* MageInManhattan: Skeletor and by default, Evil-Lyn.
107* MagicMusic: The Cosmic Key uses a type of FunctionalMagic via music. Playing certain notes on the instrument sets the coordinates to which it transports, thus sending the dialers wherever they wish to go.
108* MasterOfIllusion: Evil-Lyn can turn into just about anyone she wants with this power, she used it twice in the film. Once on Gwildor (off screen) and again on Julie.
109* MechaMooks: Skeletor's "crack troops" are a bunch of black-armored robots.
110** Hardcore fans have supposed that the plot could actually work within the cartoon's timeline, assuming Skeletor killed Hordak and stole his limitless armies.
111* MilkingTheGiantCow: Not only is Skeletor a LargeHam in speech, he's gesturing like crazy with dramatic turns and pointing.
112* MoreThanMindControl: Evil-Lyn uses her magic to confuzzle poor emotionally vulnerable Julie.
113* MovieSuperheroesWearBlack: As it came from a popular toyline the original characters were all manner of bright colors, Skeletor had purple skin and cloak while He-Man had silver chest armor and red loincloth. The movie has both wear a lot of black, with Skeletors cloak covering him and He-Man gaining black shoulder armor. Duncan and Teela's bronze armor became more of a muted silver.
114* MugglesDoItBetter: Though Earthlings are outgunned because the [[{{Phlebotinum}} technology]] of Eternia is clearly more advanced than Earth's, it appears to derive from similar sources and be fairly easy to master with native technical skill. One scene demonstrates this in that a microwave Kevin happens to be using interferes with the bad guys' scanners (just as it has been known to interfere with our own radio, television, and wi-fi signals). Kevin is able to operate the musical key effectively once Gwildor helps him hook a Casio keyboard from the local music shop up to it, with the alien even describing Kevin as a "master song maker" whose natural talents make it easy for him to use the Key. In one rather entertaining scene, Lubic demonstrates that good old-fashioned shotgun slugs work just as well on those MechaMooks as any of Eternia's energy weapons.
115--> '''Lubic''': HEY! Nobody takes potshots at Lubic!
116* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
117** Gwildor regrets creating the Cosmic Key. He states out loud that he wishes he never had.
118** Julie, upon realizing that she [[spoiler:handed the Cosmic Key over to Evil-Lyn]].
119** Also, Julie feels it's her fault her parents died because she chose to stay home and finish her studies while they went on vacation.
120* MythologyGag:
121** Just before receiving the powers of Grayskull, Skeletor names himself "Master of the Universe". In the original cartoon, Skeletor and his forces were the [[AntagonistTitle eponymous "Masters of the Universe"]] before the opening narration was changed.
122** Skeletor's plan to drain the Sorceress’s life force and use it to become powerful mirror the episode “The Dragon Invasion”.
123** Even though Snake Mountain doesn't appear due to budget issues, Gwildor ''does'' refer to Skeletor as "The Lord of Snake Mountain."
124** When Skeletor is receiving the powers of Grayskull his face is briefly turned yellow because of the energy surge, thus resembling his cartoon counterpart.
125* NearVillainVictory: Skeletor becomes a PhysicalGod at the climax of the movie, the Sorceress is near-death, and everyone heroic is either captured or fighting a losing battle. had the good guys fail to repair the Cosmic Key to return to Eternia to stop Skeletor, [[TheBadGuyWins then the story's over and Skeletor won... 100% pernamently]].
126* NeutralFemale: A mild aversion. When He-Man first finds Julie in a panic, he calms her down, puts her in a safe place, ''gives her a gun and tells her to defend herself.'' And she does actually shoot someone in the ensuing chaos.
127* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Subverted to hell and back. Skeletor and Evil-Lyn assume that they have the only Cosmic Key after she stole it from Gwildor, but he had a prototype model that he hid from her, thus allowing the Eternians to have a fighting chance of defeating Skeletor.
128%%* NonProtagonistResolver: Kevin. [[SubvertedTrope On Earth at least]]. ZCE
129* OneWingedAngel: Skeletor's gold costume, worn when he becomes a god.
130* PeggySue: Julie gets to go back and [[spoiler:save her parents at the end.]]
131* PluckyComicRelief: Gwildor gets some of the funniest scenes.
132* RaceAgainstTheClock: The heroes have until an Eternian moonrise before the Great Eye opens and Skeletor absorbs the power of Greyskull by draining the Sorceress. [[spoiler:They fail to stop him in time, but He-Man manages to save the day regardless]].
133* RedOniBlueOni: The loud and bombastic Skeletor (Red) and the cold and pragmatic Evil-Lyn (Blue).
134* RefusalOfTheCall: Initially, Gwildor is reluctant to accompany the heroes when they're going to go rescue the Sorceress. He shows them the way, but seems as though he might not go with them.
135* RapidAging: As more and more of her power is drained, the Sorceress ages to the point of death.
136* RunningGag: Teela's first impulse when presented with a problem is to shoot it.
137** People keep mistaking the cosmic key for a new Japanese synthesizer, including the clerk of a music store.
138* SaveBothWorlds: Eternia ''and'' Earth.
139* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Evil-Lynn and the remaining mercenaries wisely decide to clear out and beat the rush while Skeletor and He-Man are having their FinalBattle.
140* SequelHook: TheStinger has Skeletor promising he'll be back. Unfortunately, no sequel came out.
141* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: After Skeletor is defeated, [[spoiler:Gwildor transports Julie and Kevin back to before her parents' deaths, allowing her to save them.]]
142* ShoutOutToShakespeare: Skeletor quotes ''Theatre/RichardIII'' before disintegrating Saurod: "I am not in the giving vein this day."
143* ShutUpGunshot: By Gwildor.
144* TheSixthRanger: Detective Lubic (eventually).
145* SmallUniverseAfterAll: Several galaxies scroll past on the screen as Skeletor zooms in on Earth while tracing the key's signal.
146* TheStinger: "I'll be back!"
147* StrawVegetarian: PlayedForLaughs. Duncan, Teela and Gwildor steel a bucket of chicken for food, Teela says she likes it but wonders why it is placed on these "white sticks." Duncan tells her it is a rib bone and both Teela and Gwildor pause with [[IAteWhat disgust that it came from an animal]], in the sense that they never heard of the concept of being a carnivore. Duncan, being an OldSoldier, doesn't seem to mind.
148* SupportingProtagonist: Double Subverted. While He-Man is still the hero of the movie and the focus character on Eternia, when he arrives on Earth, the role of POV character goes to Kevin, then back to He-Man once everyone is back on Eternia.
149* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Gwildor was made to replace Orko, who would have been impractical to do in live-action.
150* SwordFight: The film climaxes with two sword fights between He-Man and Skeletor.
151** The latter [[spoiler: after Skeletor's staff breaks]] filmed on the director's dime, once the money ran out.
152* ATasteOfTheLash: After Skeletor manages to capture He-Man, he has Blade torture He-Man with a laser whip.
153* TeleporterAccident: When He-Man's friends show up in a BigDamnHeroes moment at the end, they teleport half a car and a chunk of wall along with them.
154* TerminatorTwosome: Early drafts and the ComicBookAdaptation had Eternia turning out to be an Earth colony in the future with He-Man's gang and Skeletor's mooks having to go back in time to reach modern day Earth.
155* ThrowingTheDistraction: He-Man gets one of Skeletor's MechaMooks to come over to him by tossing a bit of metal onto the ground during the warehouse shootout.
156* TimeAndRelativeDimensionsInSpace: The Cosmic Key can take you to any point in space or time.
157* TrackingDevice: The Cosmic Key has one, of a sort. When the large red button is pushed, it sends out a unique energy signature than can be tracked.
158--> How accurate?
159--> Within a parsec-eon.
160* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The trailer shows Skeletor frying Saurod.
161* TrappedInAnotherWorld: After it changes hands several times, Skeletor finally wrecks the device the Eternians need to get home, thereby forcing them to stay on Earth.
162* TreacherousSpiritChase: In the movie, Julie immediately accepts her dead mother turning up in the middle of a siege by magic aliens from another dimension to lure her out the back door of the shop in which she and her friends are holed up defending a powerful alien artifact. Moments later, she accepts that her dead mother needs her to hand over said artifact. Needless to say, it's not really her dead mother.
163* TooImportantToWalk: Skeletor arrives on Earth sitting comfortably atop one of his intimidating-looking hover-thrones.
164* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The town where Julie and Kevin live doesn't seem to be named, but it's (apparently) in New Jersey. [[{{Joisey}} Because why wouldn't it be?]]
165* WizardsFromOuterSpace: Or... "Aliens from Eternia".
166* YouHaveFailedMe: Poor Saurod is vaporized by Skeletor when the mercenaries return empty handed.

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