Characters / Hegemony

Characters from TeaWithNyarlathotep's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fanfic Hegemony. Be warned, this page contains unmarked spoilers for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

The Horde

In General

A military society based in the Fright Zone, led by Lord Hordak in a war against the Hegemony, with the intention of stopping them, primarily composed of war robots and Hegemonic rejects.

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• Adaptational Heroism: This version of the Horde is La Résistance, and while not outright heroic, are certainly less awful than their opposition, the Hegemony, with their old tactics like burning villages and killing people downplayed due to Pragmatic Villainy.
• Adaptational Wimp: In the series itself, the Horde was consistently depicted as a large military force that dominated most of Etheria. In contrast, the Horde of Hegemony is fighting a losing war, has limited troops, and its leader is emotionally unstable.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The only real system of government the Horde has is based around the orders of whoever happens to be in charge, which is determined pretty much solely by who the strongest is. As Adora notes, this speaks volumes of how Lord Hordak remains in control.
• Child Soldiers: The Horde trains and indoctrinates its cadets from birth to fight for the Horde and against the Hegemony. That said, it's more complicated than it seems— while the Horde's use of them is acknowledged as a crime by the narrative, it's also noted that they grow up well-fed and well-trained, aren't sent to the field until their late teens, and they do have the choice to leave, although they rarely take it.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Horde is deeply afflicted by this, with Catra, Shadow Weaver, and Hordak all being excellent schemers who work against each other just as often as they work together.
• Death by Adaptation: The entire Galactic Horde of the source material is Killed Offscreen, with Hordak and the Etherian Horde the only remnants.
• Had to Be Sharp: Adora internally notes that Horde upbringing is harder than the Hegemony, but also makes every member of the Horde more dangerous and spirited.
• La Résistance: A dark version, but definitely opposed to the Hegemony's iron-fisted rule over Etheria and seeking to end it.
• Mecha-Mooks: The primary Horde force is expendable robots.
• Mordor: Just as in canon, the Fright Zone is an industrial hellscape that's exceptionally hard to live in and almost as hard to look at.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Horde is a mess of people either abandoned by their families or abandoned by the Hegemony, cobbled together into a barely functional military society. Despite this, they can actually go toe-to-toe with the Hegemony.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: The Horde is a faction of violent revolutionaries whose goal is to overthrow the Princess Hegemony, and Hordak makes it clear he will do as much as is necessary to bring it down.

Horde Leadership

Catra

"No. Adora's still in there, and I'm gonna drag her back kicking and screaming if I have to."

One of the four protagonists, a Force Commander of the Horde, and the main lead of Hegemony, Catra is a thief and scoundrel who works her way up the ranks of the Horde in an attempt to bring Adora back.

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• Accidental Hero: Her purely pragmatic Batman Gambit in the Sea Wall, chaining herself to the prisoners, leads to her giving a Rousing Speech and being hailed as a hero, in addition to hugely improving the Horde's popularity for the masses.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: This version of Catra, while still a scheming Jerkass, is more a Lovable Rogue than the abusive, mean-spirited and cruel version presented in the series. In particular, she's genuinely giving her all to the war effort, as opposed to the show where she'd sabotage her own side just to spite Adora.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Even setting aside her Adaptational Nice Guy traits, Catra's personality is drastically different from her canon counterpart. As presented in Hegemony, Catra is a Working-Class Hero who works hard to make it through and comes to appreciate Hordak and the Horde, whereas her canon counterpart was a Brilliant, but Lazy rival who only put real work in to surpass Adora, having long since given up on much else due to understanding that Shadow Weaver will abuse her no matter what.
• Adaptational Wimp: Canon Catra is a witty badass who can take on She-Ra in single combat without breaking a sweat. Hegemony presents the character as being much weaker, being instead a Lovable Rogue with a penchant for theft.
• Asshole Victim: Catra's a toxic and possessive friend to Adora, which means it's hard to spare her much sympathy when Adora makes a Face–Heel Turn to kick off the story, and she's also awful to Lonnie and Tung Lashor. Then this status is completely subverted when she watches Huntara die in front of her. It's made clear this changes her worldview and shocks her to her core.
• Ambition Is Evil: Catra starts the story a Nominal Hero fueled primarily by ambition, which often leads her to moral depths she otherwise wouldn't reach. Shadow Weaver attempts to quell this, but Hordak outright encourages it. While Catra mostly grows out of the "evil" part, she continues to plot against Hordak to try and claim leadership of the Horde.
• The Atoner: Catra genuinely wants to change and make up for what she's done in the past, and a major part of her arc is not only becoming a better person but leading the Horde to a new day after all she's done wrong.
• Character Development: Catra has probably the most robust arc of any character in the series, starting it as a coward and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold at best. By Chapter 10, she spares Hordak despite having a perfect opportunity to usurp him, which leads to him picking her as the successor for the Horde. Catra also turns out to be a good leader when pressured, being willing to help the people of the Horde even without incentive.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Turns on Lonnie and Huntara in chapter 3. This tendency goes away when what she does with Huntara leads to Huntara dying, which horrifies her. This is cemented when she is given a full opportunity to betray Hordak, and refuses to.
• The Cynic: Catra assumes the worst of many people, which leads her to frequent betrayal. She genuinely thinks almost everyone is fundamentally untrustworthy, and only starts to change after seeing otherwise directly.
• Dirty Coward: Catra is willing to leave her allies to die to save her own skin at first, but she becomes more brave as time goes on and sheds this trait entirely by Chapter 9.
• Disproportionate Retribution: When Sea Hawk mentions nobody dies in the war, Catra is so enraged due to witnessing Huntara's death that she's going to scratch out his eye. That said, she's interrupted before she does anything.
• Enemy Mine: Catra may see Shadow Weaver as a rival for the throne, not to mention her personal grudge, but she also quickly convinces her to join forces with her to overthrow Hordak and retrieve Adora.
• Everyone Has Standards: The first few chapters set Catra up as a deplorable thief and traitor who has no moral scruples. Then she watches Huntara die and, in her horror, everything completely changes for her and she starts on a road to personal change.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Catra's view of things as being all about herself is what keeps her from complete success. She definitely evolves past this, but by that point the Horde is deep in and other characters have their own problems.
  • Catra has very bad tunnel vision about Adora, refusing to accept that Adora left on her own terms and showing a desire to "save" her despite the fact she chose to leave due to Catra's mistreatment.
• Good Counterpart: Catra is the opposite of Adora in many ways, serving as an antihero who claims no good intentions but nonetheless becomes famous among the people. While Adora has delusions of heroism and does evil in the name of good, Catra is prone to doing good just for herself and it working out for the whole. While it takes Catra time to develop into a genuinely kind person, her pragmatic nature leads her to being more genuine in nature and legitimately good.
• Good Feels Good: Catra is regretful to work for the Horde, since she sees what it could be and after engaging in some pragmatic heroism genuinely wants to help more people.
• Guile Hero: Catra is clever and not incapable of using manipulation to her own advantage, playing Shadow Weaver into her hands and developing into a smart leader on her own. She also composes many of her own gambits.
• Had to Be Sharp: While this is a general trait, Catra's suffering among the people of the Horde is emphasized as part of the reason she's so intelligent, thoughtful, and why she's such a good successor to Hordak. This sharply contrasts the Princesses, who were raised in luxury.
• Heel Realization: In the tenth chapter, Catra catches a reflection of herself when she's about to take advantage of Hordak's disability to take control of the Horde, and begins to question who she is and whether her actions are right, ultimately deciding to show some loyalty and return Hordak's power crystal instead of betraying him. Of course, this turns out to have been part of the plan all along.
• The Hero: Catra slowly but surely develops into this. She starts becoming a good influence on others' lives and becomes considerably braver. As successor to Lord Hordak, Catra develops into caring about her people. In a story full of Gray-and-Grey Morality, Catra ends up on a path to being the only genuinely heroic figure, much of it owed to her own pragmatism.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Catra, for a prickly Jerk with a Heart of Gold, proves very vulnerable and to have some genuine responsibility. It's implied her rude and aloof nature is actually due to severe cynicism.
  • Catra is genuinely invested in restoring Hordak and Entrapta's romance despite claiming to be uninterested in others.
  • There's early hints, which later arrive in full force, that Catra actually likes helping people and thinks that Good Feels Good.
• Family of Choice: Catra clearly comes to view Hordak as a family member rather than her own actual maternal figure Shadow Weaver. Hordak returns the favor.
• For Want Of A Nail: Thanks to a few small differences, most notably the fact that the Hegemony are worse in an Evil Versus Evil conflict, Catra takes a level in kindness long before her canon counterpart ever got around to it due to learning Good Feels Good.
• It's All About Me: Due to a lifetime of abuse, Catra thinks of herself and not of others, which makes her a Dirty Coward and a scoundrel. Part of her development is coming to comprehend basic empathy.
• It's All My Fault: Catra blames herself for Huntara dying, even though she isn't responsible for it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Catra has possessive traits, snarky tendencies, and is initially a Dirty Coward, but she's also a sensitive person who comes to care about her comrades and subordinates and genuinely does want Adora back by her side.
• Lightning Lash: Uses an energy whip in the first chapter in an allusion to the show. This goes further when she later needs a weapon, as she gets an electrified whip specifically requested to even her out with Adora.
• Lovable Rogue: Catra is a thief and a criminal who steals from and toys with both sides of the war, including her own allies, but is also a Jerk with a Heart of Gold with genuine standards and a willingness to help out in a pinch.
• Love Makes You Stupid: Catra's worst decisions and impulses are often a result of her love for Adora and desire to "redeem" her or deal with her.
• Magnetic Hero: Catra rallies people to her side with ease despite being a Nominal Hero.
• Mirror Character:
  • Catra realizes that she's not unlike Lonnie and Rogelio, as she too mistreated the friend she cared about and lost them to the Hegemony, as they defected.
  • Catra pointedly compares herself and Hordak, but whereas she makes an effort to outgrow her problems, Hordak sinks into self-hatred.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Catra's early years are shameful in her opinion due to her mistreatment of her friends and of Adora.
• Never My Fault: Catra initially refuses to accept any responsibility for Adora leaving. Eventually, however, she realizes she contributed to the issue.
• Nominal Hero: Catra's a hero only because she's working for the Horde, and is kept from being a Villain Protagonist due to the fact she rarely goes too far in her actions. Despite this, she's purely out for herself and hopes to get what she wants from the conflict. She develops into a Pragmatic Hero over time.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: Ultimately subverted. While Catra is initially only interested in achieving her own ends via the Horde, she ends up invested in their cause and in Hordak in particular.
• Pet the Dog: Even before she starts to change as a person, Catra shows Entrapta genuine empathy and tells her the truth about Hordak.
• Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: The "rude heroes" part of it. Catra is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, in contrast to almost every villain, who tend to range from genuinely Affably Evil to Faux Affably Evil.
• Positive Friend Influence: Catra goes from a Toxic Friend Influence to a genuinely helpful person, advising that Scorpia seek satisfaction in life. She also encourages Hordak to give up his Fatal Flaw and try to find personal peace with Entrapta.
• Rags to Royalty: While not "royalty" per se, Catra goes from a thief on the streets to Hordak's handpicked successor.
• Shipper on Deck: Catra is invested in trying to get Hordak back with Princess Entrapta, seeing it as parallel to her own fraught relationship with Adora. She's often the first to bring up their relationship and takes it upon herself to tell Entrapta the truth about Hordak.
• Superior Successor: While not without issues of her own, Catra is much more capable of setting aside her personal baggage, making her better than Hordak at running the Horde. Hordak himself points this out.
• Took a Level in Badass: Requests a whip to even the odds, which would benefit her acrobatic style of combat.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Catra becomes a kinder, nicer person after realizing she's lived a life which has led to suffering for herself and others.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Catra drove Adora's friends away when they were children and struggled to be a good, kind friend. She develops out of this with some help from Lonnie's Brutal Honesty.
• Troubled Abuser: Despite having abrasive tendencies and being prone to guilting and manipulating people, Catra genuinely does love Adora and Hordak, and is genuinely trying to turn over a new leaf. That's not to mention the fact much of her worse tendencies are brought about by Shadow Weaver's upbringing. She does turn away from her abuse entirely.
• Undying Loyalty: Catra's refusal to defect from the Horde eventually evolves into a genuine loyalty to her friends in it.
• Villainous Friendship: Catra's not villainous, but Hordak most certainly is, and clearly comes to care about her.
• Working-Class Hero: Catra is a rank-and-file member of the Horde, and although she develops a Rags to Royalty arc, her past as a standard member shines through repeatedly when dealing with Hordak, Shadow Weaver, or any of the Princesses, all of whom enjoy luxury.

Shadow Weaver

Shadow Weaver would have killed Catra herself if not for Adora, as far as Catra could tell. She found her in a box, a box outside the Fright Zone. If you were to ask Shadow Weaver, the box was worth more.

Catra and Adora's abusive adoptive mother, Shadow Weaver is a brilliant Evil Sorcerer and Force Commander who defected from Mystacor after casting the Spell of Obtainment and turning to evil.

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• Abusive Parent: Even worse than in canon. This version of Shadow Weaver is stated to have locked Catra away at points, and Catra responds to a raised hand by recoiling, implying that Shadow Weaver physically abused her in the past. Her treatment of Adora, meanwhile, was so perfectionist that Adora defects to the Hegemony and calls her out on it. Catra is convinced that Shadow Weaver would have murdered her when she was a child if Adora hadn't liked her.
• Adaptational Sexuality: Most versions of Shadow Weaver appear to be straight. Here, she's in love with Castaspella.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • As opposed to the mild Ship Tease the two have in canon, this version of Shadow Weaver is in love with Castaspella and had a relationship with her in Mystacor.
  • Shadow Weaver and Hordak are much closer in this fic, and hate each other a massive amount with her constantly planning to take over the Horde and him only barely tolerating her presence.
• Ambition Is Evil: Shadow Weaver's main goal is a constant desire for more power, or at least a legacy, which drives her to increasing evil.
• The Baroness: Mostly a Rosa Klebb type, being cruel, vicious and classy, but has shades of the Sexpot as well, most notably when she attempts to convince Hordak to allow her to use her magic to heal him in a scene layered with sexual subtext.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Shadow Weaver genuinely loved Castapella and was sad they broke up.
• Evil Sorcerer: After her exile from Mystacor, Shadow Weaver has become a brilliant sorcerer at Lord Hordak's side.
• Hate Sink: Much like in canon, there's very little to like about Shadow Weaver. She's an abusive parent whose every action is cruel and whose pettiness borders on astonishing. Catra and Hordak both despise her and only keep her around because she's useful. This only grows worse with the revelation that she killed Micah, her own apprentice, and is thus indirectly responsible for the Empress's descent.
• Hero Killer: Shadow Weaver eventually turns out to be the woman who killed King Micah.
• Hidden Depths: Shadow Weaver's generally a Hate Sink, but is genuinely shocked and upset when Hordak rejects her offers to heal him and threatens her, with her mentally noting that she genuinely would have liked to have succeeded.
• Power Parasite: Shadow Weaver can sap other peoples' powers, which she does with the Black Garnet by eating pieces of it and slowly absorbing its power.
• The Starscream: Shadow Weaver would like little more than to depose Hordak, but fears the consequences for doing so. Still, she's plotting against him almost always, and he himself notes that her intent is consistently to try and weaken him so as to claim his throne.
• Would Hurt a Child: While it's not made clear what exactly she'd actually do, Catra believes Shadow Weaver would have happily murdered her as a child.

Hordak

A red dawn was on the horizon. Blood would spill in the coming days. Lord Hordak could hardly wait.

Lord Hordak is a clone of Horde Prime and the severely ill overlord of the Fright Zone. Wanting to prove his worth to Horde Prime, he seeks to conquer Etheria, yet finds himself facing a dilemma due to his genuine love of Princess Entrapta and desire to protect his people.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Much like Angella, albeit for different reasons, Hordak has no love from his own forces, except for Catra. Hordak is frequently subject to harsh criticism from his subordinates due to his tendency to sit around in his lair and plot things from afar, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio alike berate him very harshly, and he mostly takes it well.
• Adaptational Badass: Canon Hordak was definitely a formidable warrior, who had super strength and was a Frontline General, but he was generally reserved, ill, and lost every fight he was in despite always giving a good showing. Hegemony depicts Hordak as a One-Man Army who charges into battle and thrashes an entire comm tower full of mages with brutal ease. Also of note is that this version of the character is a technopath, something that the original is not. He is also much better at close range combat, meaning he doesn't suffer from the Crippling Overspecialization that led to Catra overthrowing him in canon.
• Adaptational Intelligence: Canon Hordak is emotionally stunted and, while an Emperor Scientist and good tactician, struggled with short-term plans and improvisation. Hegemony's Hordak is The Chessmaster who manages to pull a Xanatos Gambit, and he's a capable and smart leader in every way.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Hordak's a bigger Benevolent Boss than in canon, genuinely cares about Catra which he rather pointedly does not in the actual show, and has a significantly more introspective outlook on life. He's also much less prone to rages.
• Adaptation Personality Change: The canon Hordak is a ruthless, sheltered, awkward religious zealot who has a Hair-Trigger Temper and he's severely emotionally stunted despite his determination and Villainous Valor. Hegemony presents him as The Chessmaster, who's got Blood Knight traits and tends to be a Benevolent Boss. He's also much less socially stunted and more willing to question Horde Prime's judgment than his canon counterpart.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • In canon Hordak and Entrapta fall in love over the course of the work. In Hegemony, they're already exes from a long time ago.
  • Shadow Weaver and Hordak are much closer in this fic, and hate each other a massive amount with her constantly planning to take over the Horde and him only barely tolerating her presence.
  • Hordak cares far more for Catra than his canon counterpart, to the point he names her the heir to the Horde.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: A protective example rather than a cowardly one. Hordak, upon confronting Horde Prime, breaks down into a sobbing mess pleading for his loved ones to be spared.
• Amicable Exes: Although they broke up pre-story, he still has feelings for Entrapta. He was very upset when Shadow Weaver insulted her.
• Artificial Limbs: Hordak has an artificial left arm due to losing his previous one in a battle.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: As Adora points out, the only reason Hordak keeps the throne of the Horde and avoids a Klingon Promotion at the hands of Shadow Weaver is because he's smart and strong enough to keep anyone from taking it from him, as the only requirement to rule the Horde is to be the person who happens to be in charge.
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Invoked. He states outright that even when she takes charge, he can still be of use to Catra in his new, monarch-free democratic world order, as he can still operate from the shadows and can be of use without being a stain on Catra's public image.
• Benevolent Boss: Lord Hordak is much more generous to his troops than Empress Angella is, being A Father to His Men and supporting their ambitions.
• Big Good: For a given measure of good. Hordak is the leader of the Horde, who makes their tactical decisions and serves the role of leader with the goal of destroying the Hegemony.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Installs one in his armor to make up for his lack of melee skill. Its edge is superheated and it's only used once in the first twelve chapters, albeit for a meaningful purpose— Hordak decapitates Horde Prime with it.
• Blood Knight: Lord Hordak quite literally lives for war, being a cloned soldier, and he enjoys violence about as much as you'd expect, absolutely relishing the opportunity to give the Hegemony hell on the battlefield.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Hordak hams up the villain role and considers himself Necessarily Evil, stating himself that he has no pretensions of not being a murderer.
• Character Development: As of Chapter 12, Hordak loses his reverence for Prime, defeats him, and decides to fight for Etherian equality and justice.
• Characterization Marches On: Initially, Hordak is much like his canon counterpart, being a reserved leader with a Hair-Trigger Temper and difficulty leading. Around Chapter 5, Hordak becomes much more forthcoming and reasonable than the original Hordak, and develops Blood Knight tendencies that the original doesn't have.
• The Chessmaster: Hordak spends more time making plans on his throne than he does on the field, being ill. However, he's intellectually a force to be reckoned with. This remains until he takes to the field, when he becomes a Genius Bruiser.
• Cyborg: Hordak is already a cyborg in canon, but Hegemony ratchets up his level of cybernetics substantially, with him being a technopath with an artificial left arm.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Hordak is a deconstruction of the Card-Carrying Villain. As is proven, Hordak is not only generally disliked by his own forces for his villainous and edgy nature, his image of himself is fundamentally built around religious self-hatred. While he's a brilliant tactician and a genuinely courageous warrior, that's easily overshadowed by the way he looks at himself. Overall, more people are driven away by his self-proclaimed Necessarily Evil nature than drawn to it, he instills almost no loyalty, and everyone who knows him closely either pities or despises him.
• Disabled in the Adaptation: This version of Hordak has a cybernetic arm, which makes him even more disabled than his already disabled canon counterpart.
• The Dreaded: Subverted in the Horde, where only Kyle is in any way afraid of him, but played entirely straight with the Hegemony, which collectively is afraid the moment he's back on the field.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • Hordak is deeply in love with Princess Entrapta, and heartbroken by the fact she no longer wants to be with him.
  • Hordak likes Catra quite a bit and constantly promotes her to greater positions. He eventually calls her "little sister," displaying the fact he genuinely loves her in a familial way.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • As shown in his interactions with the Hegemony and especially his interactions with King Hiss, Hordak isn't a big fan of slavery.
  • Hordak in a flashback despises anyone who tried to murder a child.
• Evil Genius: Hordak is a brilliant scientist and tactician who runs a violent military society, and he's not unwilling to experiment and invent things.
• Evil Overlord: More emphasis is placed on how Hordak took the mantle of the Fright Zone's overlord, with a significant amount of the story featuring him planning things out.
• Expy: Being a Genius Bruiser villain in Powered Armor and having a faceless mask, not to mention hiding a dark secret about himself and having a beloved from the distant past, Hordak has more than a few shades of Doctor Doom to him.
• Family of Choice: Catra, and by extension the entire Fright Zone, are Hordak's new family, something he emphasizes to adversaries. Everything he does, he does for them.
• A Father to His Men: Hordak cares deeply about his troops, genuinely wanting them remembered and given their proper dues upon death, and specifically requesting the no-killing rules for the war due to wanting to spare his troops from death. He even cares about their well-being.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Hordak is devoted to Horde Prime despite his questioning of him. This is damaging for a number of reasons, chief among them that Hordak refuses to take care of himself and often degrades himself due to feeling he is a heretic, even accepting pain very often due to feeling it's penance.
  • While he develops out of his earlier flaw, his self-hatred and Card-Carrying Villain view of himself proves to be the main thing in his way. Even when given the opportunity to change his ways, Hordak can't see himself as anything but evil and develops into a worse villain.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • His Adaptation Personality Change owes a lot to the fact he met Entrapta earlier than he did in canon, meaning he's much more of a Benevolent Boss due to having his eyes opened, rendering him considerably more stable than his canon counterpart.
  • Since he met Entrapta earlier than in canon, he gets his upgraded armor sooner than in canon.
• Genius Bruiser: Once Hordak gets his Powered Armor back, he becomes a dangerously effective fighter due to both his tactical brilliance and his physical power.
• Handicapped Badass: Having a cybernetic arm, chronic pain, and slowly decaying don't stop Hordak from being a One-Man Army.
• Heartbroken Badass: Hordak is a Genius Bruiser who also happens to be absolutely in love with Princess Entrapta, regretting his errors and wishing to be with her again.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Hordak absolutely trusts and supports Catra despite her repeated betrayals of those around her, until chapter 10, when he puts her through a Secret Test of Character, and genuinely believes Prime will reward him, thinking that Prime has deliberately sent him on a secret mission.
• Hypocrite:
  • As Catra points out in her narration, while Hordak may genuinely hate slavery, his use of indoctrinated cadets is only a little better. This is explicitly called out and he struggles with it later on in the story.
  • Similarly, his hatred of child killers comes off as such given said use of Child Soldiers. That said, it's outright stated by Catra that his methods are vastly different from actually murdering children, even if they're not moral themselves.
  • For all Hordak detests the fact Angella got her powers from the First Ones, his ultimate plan is to summon Horde Prime's fleet and let them do the fighting for him.
• Immortality Seeker: As of Chapter 12, Hordak declares that if it will help him achieve his goals, he will become immortal.
• Like a Son to Me: Hordak calls Catra his "little sister," picking up Galactic Horde terminology and acknowledging how much she means to him.
• Long-Range Fighter: Hordak prefers to fight at long range with his palm-mounted laser cannons, although he can definitely fight at close range.
• Manipulative Bastard: Surprisingly, Hordak proves quite adept at figuring people out and using them to his advantage, between deducing the likelihood that Kyle will betray him and giving Catra a Secret Test of Character to see if she's worthy of ruling the Horde.
• Moral Myopia: Hordak has no problem openly declaring the death of all Princesses, who are for the most part only driven to villainy by Angella's tyranny, and the end of the Hegemony's order, not to mention his own domination over the new world order of Etheria, despite the fact he himself is in love with a Princess, proclaims that he will create equality in the world, and (by his own admission) is himself a tyrant. Some of this, at least, is actually All According to Plan though.
• Never Be Hurt Again: What his endgame boils down to, although ironically he's among the ones who sacrifices the most when dealing with it. He wants to enforce equality and democracy across Etheria, no matter what order he has to upend and the number of casualties, so that nobody ever has to suffer like he did under Prime's rule.
• Noble Demon: Hordak is evil, willing to hurt innocents and manipulate others, but he's also protective of the people he loves, up against a much greater threat, and genuinely wants to help his troops, going out of his way to ensure there is no more violence toward his people and protective of the Fright Zone's citizens.
• Necessarily Evil: Hordak says himself that he knows he's evil, but feels that his villainy is the only way to protect the people of the Fright Zone and win back Prime's care.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Called out as disturbingly similar in rhetoric to Horde Prime by Catra in Chapter 12. He promptly concedes the point.
• Not So Stoic:
  • When approached by Shadow Weaver in his sanctum, Hordak not only nearly gives in to her offers of healing him, but barely holds himself back from lashing out and hurting her once she insults Entrapta.
  • He appears to be disappointed the only Kyle is afraid of him.
  • He asks Catra whether he looks better with half-a-cape or a full cape.
• One-Man Army: Once in his Powered Armor, Hordak is The Dreaded, able to take out almost an entire comms tower of mages by himself.
• Papa Wolf: The second Catra is threatened, Hordak is on the offensive every time. This especially shows in his fight with Horde Prime, where he's not only willing to give his own life in exchange for Prime sparing Catra and Entrapta, but eventually manages to gain the resolve to defeat Prime thanks to remembering that they're there for him and he has to be there for them.
• Powered Armor: Hordak fights using a suit of Powered Armor to fight due to his illness. Just as in canon, it's powered by a First One crystal Entrapta put into it.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • Hordak is a Benevolent Boss primarily because it benefits him. Overworked subordinates are of no use to him.
  • Hordak explicitly opposes slavery, and outlines to Lonnie that he does so not due to moral standards, although that's part of it, but because he finds it impractical compared to machine labor.
  • A point of contention between Hordak and some of his forces: Hordak's pragmatism comes off as morality at the moment, but most of them aren't in great approval of what he might do if his code is no longer of use to him.
• Psychological Projection: Hordak has a tendency to throw his self-hating views into the affairs of nations and even planets. This hits its peak when he decides to conquer Etheria and enforce a new regime in a thinly-veiled attempt to enforce Never Be Hurt Again across all of Etheria.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Hordak takes criticism in good faith, supports his people, reassigns things to subordinates he trusts, and is constantly trying to improve his leadership.
• Satanic Archetype: Hordak's parallels to Satan were already present in She-Ra, but the fic emphasizes them. His fall is referred to multiple times, he is in direct opposition to the angelic figure that is Angella, he rules over a land compared to hell, and he himself looks the part quite well. While he's far from pure evil, Bow notes himself that Hordak looked like a demon in his more destructive days, and his flashback in Chapter 10 alludes to the idea of him turning into a serpent as punishment for what he does. He follows through on this with willpower, defeating Horde Prime, the godlike figure who once terrorized the galaxy.
• Self-Harm: Downplayed. Hordak doesn't deliberately hurt himself, but he does feel that he deserves pain he endures and takes it without attempts to resist due to seeing it as penance for defying Prime.
• Self-Made Man: Hordak was abandoned on Etheria for a supposed secret mission, and in his time there built an empire that could resist the Hegemony, compared to Angella, who got everything she has from the First Ones.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Of the four protagonists, Hordak appears among the most frequently and often gets the lengthiest narrative segments. This is especially noticeable in Chapter 12, where he has three narrative segments of a chapter over 37,000 words long dedicated to his Character Development alone.
• Technopath: This version of Hordak can use a cybernetic arm to interface with any technology, which serves him well as overlord of the tech-heavy Fright Zone.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: After Character Development, Hordak concludes that he's been so evil for so long, and since he and his "people," the Etherian Horde, will always be rejected by the Hegemony and its society, Hordak decides he will remake the world no matter the cost.
• Tragic Villain: Just like his canon counterpart, Hordak turns out to be little more than an abused cult survivor seeking a path to find his way home. In fact, he's also suffered in ways his canon counterpart did not, such as driving Entrapta away from himself. He absolutely hates himself as well, seeing himself as a heretic. Much of his Card-Carrying Villain nature stems from his self-hatred and view of himself as a monster.
• Trauma Button: Electricity causes him to freeze up due to the Cold-Blooded Torture he received under Horde Prime's rule.
• Tranquil Fury: As opposed to his canon counterpart's occasional shouting and ranting, Hegemony presents a version of Hordak that instead thinly disguises his rage, although he's not too good at it.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Shadow Weaver's narration displays a great level of discontent toward Hordak for seeing himself as a Self-Made Man and taking pride in that status when she helped him build the Horde from a Wretched Hive to an efficient fighting force.
• Villain Protagonist: Hordak is a major focus of the narrative despite being openly evil, although he's a Noble Demon through and through.
• Villainous Breakdown: When he meets Prime, Hordak proves unable to handle the heat and starts breaking down sobbing, his mood constantly shifting and his emotions running higher than ever before. Eventually, he remembers what he's fighting for, and cools down.
• Villainous Crush: Hordak is still in love with Entrapta even though she's chosen neutrality in the war between the Horde and the Hegemony.
• Villainous Friendship: Hordak genuinely likes Catra and supports her ambitions.
• Villainous Valor:
  • Hordak is handily outmatched in an Evil Versus Evil conflict, ill, and has a regime that is slowly falling apart. In spite of this, he is not only among the bravest characters but among the most cunning, clever and honorable, with Noble Demon traits.
  • Hordak, when taking on a much stronger enemy, Horde Prime, garners the willpower to take him on evenly after Catra and Entrapta are threatened.
• Visionary Villain: This Hordak's vision extends beyond even that of his canon counterpart's. He not only looks to summon Prime's armada like his canon counterpart, he hopes to name Catra his successor and leave her Etheria in his wake, in addition to his goal to exploit his status as a "defective" clone to become a Retired Monster. This only increases post-Character Development, as Hordak seeks to end inequality and oppression throughout Etheria.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: While he also wants to return home, Hordak genuinely believes his way, heavily influenced by Prime's ideals, would improve Etheria. To this end, however, he is a Visionary Villain, and it's made clear that if he so desires, he will Take Over the World to have his way.
• Wicked Cultured: Hordak studies Etherian texts in Chapter 12, which help form his opinions on the social climate. He cites the argument that throughout history, it has most often been the ruthless and cruel to create real change and thinks at length about the stucture of the epic.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Hordak is outright disgusted in his flashback by the notion of murdering children. This carries on when he later retires the child soldier program after realizing it was leading children to danger and abuse.

Scorpia

A kind and upbeat Princess who is also a Force Captain of the Horde.

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• Afraid of Blood: Scorpia admits in Chapter 10 that she hates blood and doesn't like to fight because of it.
• Badass Normal: Scorpia cannot channel her runestone, meaning that beyond being a strong scorpion person, she's completely normal but can still fight competently.
• The Big Guy: Scorpia is large, powerful, and is mentioned as taking out geodites early on with her strength.
• Flat Character: Unlike in canon, Scorpia isn't there for much other than being gentle and kind to everyone, with minimal growth and a de-emphasis on her personality traits. This is finally averted in the tenth chapter, where more of her backstory and character is revealed.
• Nice Girl: Scorpia's kind, sweet, and helpful at all times.
• Only Sane Man: Scorpia is the only member of the Horde's leadership that isn't evil or a schemer.
• Technical Pacifist: Scorpia hates fighting, but she's not unwilling to do it when the situation calls for it.

Horde Troops

Lonnie

A level-headed and strong Horde cadet, who's romantically involved with Kyle and Rogelio.

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• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: She dates Kyle and Rogelio earlier than in canon.
• Badass Normal: Lonnie is more than willing to take the fight to the Hegemony despite completely lacking powers.
• Brutal Honesty: No matter someone's position or relationship to her, Lonnie will absolutely call them out for whatever they've done wrong. This makes her very helpful to Catra, but little more than an annoyance to Hordak.
• Pragmatic Hero: Lonnie disobeys orders to take back a haul of supplies out of pragmatism and a desire for more.
• Heel Realization: Lonnie realizes how badly she's mistreated Kyle after his Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal, and comes to regret it.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Lonnie's not so happy about her treatment of Kyle.
• Only Sane Man: Lonnie's a very levelheaded individual compared to the rest of the Horde, unafraid to call out Catra and Hordak alike on their faults and to recognize her own.
• Polyamory: Lonnie is dating both Kyle and Rogelio.

Rogelio

A Lizard Folk Horde cadet who's in a romantic relationship with Lonnie and Rogelio.

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• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: He dates Lonnie and Kyle earlier than in canon.
• Foreign-Language Tirade: Rogelio calls Hordak "the Kyle of the Horde leadership" in Reptilyazyk. Hordak happens to be familiar with the language.
• Nice Guy: Rogelio's a kind and soft-hearted person for the most part.
• The Quiet One: Due to speaking Reptilyazyk, Rogelio doesn't talk much, mainly using sign language instead.
• Servile Snarker: A loyal cadet who's also not unwilling to mouth off to Hordak at times.
• Polyamory: Dating both Kyle and Lonnie.

Kyle

A friendly coward who happens to be a cadet of the Horde and the boyfriend of both Kyle and Lonnie.

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• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: He dates Lonnie and Rogelio earlier than in canon.
• Face–Heel Turn: Kyle defects to the Hegemony due to the way his life has gone.
• Grew a Spine: Kyle tazes Hordak and calls out his boyfriend and girlfriend for mistreating him before defecting to the Hegemony.
• Hidden Depths: Lonnie realizes only after he defects how great an artist Kyle is, seeing some of his work and being amazed.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Kyle wants to live a high-class and safe life most of all.
• Lovable Coward: Kyle's generally a gutless coward, but he's nice and generally protective of his beloved and interests.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Due to feeling that the Horde is unsafe and becoming enraged at his girlfriend and boyfriend for their bullying of him, Kyle leaves for the Hegemony.
• Polyamory: Kyle is dating both Rogelio and Lonnie.

The Hegemony

In General

The dangerous and powerful empire that rules most of Etheria.

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• Appeal to Tradition: The Hegemony is extremely traditionalist and religiously dedicated.
• Adaptational Badass: Their canon equivalent, the Rebellion, is a small organization in a losing conflict with the Horde, constantly on the back foot and desperate for allies. In contrast, the Hegemony is a massive empire with a ruthless and effective military force, conducting a constant siege on the Fright Zone.
• Adaptational Villainy: Every character in the Hegemony was heroic in canon, and villains in the Mirror Universe of Hegemony.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Most of the Hegemony is desperate for power and safety, which means that despite being excellently organized and beautiful in appearance, they're all scrambling and struggling with one another.
• Crapsaccharine World: The Hegemony seems on the surface like a utopian ideal, but it's actually far worse than the Horde, between imprisoning, enslaving, and tormenting its citizens.
• Crystal Spires and Togas: The futuristic magical aesthetic of the Hegemony disguises just how cruel they truly are.
• Decadent Court: The Hegemonic Council is composed of Princesses and Bow, all of whom seek to turn on the others.
• Dystopia: Dissenting against the government too much is a one-way ticket to the mines in the Hegemony, as Lonnie notes. Even the Horde knows quite well that you don't protest their rule without being punished quite severely.
• The Empire: The Hegemony is a massive, world-spanning empire that worships the First Ones like gods and oppresses its citizens. Zigzagged with Hegemonic Empire, as it's also made up of numerous vassals.
• Fantastic Racism: The Hegemony favors humanoid species, and in a particularly telling moment Catra moves throughout their prison mines and finds multiple non-humanoids in a row.
• Golem: The geodites, their soldiers, are crystalline automatons designed for war.
• Hegemonic Empire: Well, it's the Hegemony. It's made up of multiple vassals, but the trope is ultimately zigzagged with The Empire, as it's pretty much entirely commanded by Angella when it comes down to it.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: The main difference between the Horde and Hegemony is that the Hegemony is willing to use prison labor, something directly opposed even by some of its own members.
• Rape, Pillage, and Burn: The Hegemony often raids and wipes out villages, particularly unleashing kudzu to destroy them entirely. Fortunately, they avoid killing citizens, but Catra notices just how much kudzu there is throughout the landscape outside the Fright Zone.

The Three Conspirators

Adora

They would greet her as a hero, a liberator, the one who had freed Bright Moon and the entire Hegemony from the iron fist of the Empress.

The destined hero of the First Ones, Adora is a young Horde cadet with First Ones blood who discovers the Sword of Power and becomes She-Ra. From there, she plans to take the throne and protect Etheria under her iron-willed benevolence.

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• Adaptational Badass: Adora is a nigh-invulnerable, powerful badass only channeling the power of She-Ra, and the form of She-Ra, 10 chapters in, hasn't had a plausible competitor. Contrast with the canon She-Ra, who Catra can fight on even footing and which can be rendered useless, as Adora struggles to control its power. This version of She-Ra is basically what would happen if she were in her berserk state from White Out all the time.
• Adaptational Villainy: Goes from the hero of the source material to The Heavy of Hegemony. Especially notable due to the nature of She-Ra being entirely different. In She-Ra the eponymous character is The Chosen One, but in Hegemony it's a berserk state and is worshipped as though a messiah.
• Affably Evil: Adora's a generally friendly, fun person who just so happens to be a violent schemer who wants to take the throne for herself no matter who she has to betray, and revenge on the Horde for her mistreatment there.
• Anti-Hero: Oscillates initially between Unscrupulous Hero and Nominal Hero, but slowly changes her tune, becoming a Well-Intentioned Extremist after meeting the First One.
• Anti-Villain: While Adora does eventually become a villain, she's complex and genuinely sees herself as good, being extremely principled and trying desperately to help people and unite the Hegemony even as she becomes worse and worse. She is a classical Well-Intentioned Extremist.
• The Berserker: The form of She-Ra is barely human and leaves Adora with little impulse control, until Adora refines it.
• Dark Messiah: Adora's The Chosen One of the First Ones, exceptionally charismatic, powerful, and legitimately may as well be a savior, except the fact she's fighting for the Hegemony, and seeks power for herself.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even in her worst moments, Adora genuinely loves Catra.
• Freudian Excuse: Shadow Weaver's mistreatment of her, her tumultuous relationship with Catra, and her constantly suppressing herself led Adora to not only defecting to the Hegemony, but growing a massive superiority complex toward most people around her.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Adora starts Chapter 1 as a Horde cadet, and by Chapter 2 is the biggest threat the Horde has ever faced and is a force willing to take Etheria itself.
• Hearing Voices: Adora sees visions and hears voices, receiving urges she doesn't want and receiving violent thoughts she would like to go away. Eventually, she recalibrates with Light Hope, which fixes it.
• The Heavy: Adora is the primary physical threat to the main characters, made more complicated by the fact she's a protagonist unto herself. She's the villain we see the most and the antagonist who does the most work.
• Hidden Depths: Adora is a great thinker that Bow repeatedly praises for her surprising intellect.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Tired of living her entire life holding back to please Catra and being emotionally abused by Shadow Weaver for it, Adora decides upon realizing she's She-Ra that she's going to use that power all she can.
• Love Makes You Evil: Adora's primary motivator for becoming fully evil is a desire to protect Catra, even if she has to compromise her own morals to do it.
• Revenge:
  • Adora despises Catra and Shadow Weaver, and wants little more than to bring the Horde to its knees. That said, she has no interest in killing Catra, and she eventually decides it's her calling to protect Catra instead, whether Catra likes it or not.
  • Wants to kill whoever murdered Light Hope.
• Seen It All: Adora admitted she wasn't shocked with Entrapta telling her that aliens exist because she grew up with Catra.
• Tragic Villain: Adora dealt with a lifetime of high expectations, forced to choose between her great potential and her loyalty to Catra. When she finally snaps, it's due to Shadow Weaver's abuse, but she at least attempts to be heroic until she meets the First One, which shows her just how hopeless her attempts at heroism are. This leads her down a darker path in her attempts to gain power and protect the people she loves.
• Unwitting Pawn: Subverted. Initially, Adora has no idea what's going on in the Hegemony, but it's not long before she starts solving its mysteries and goes from a pawn to a player in the game herself, even learning of the First One's existence.
• Villain Protagonist: Adora slowly develops into a Villain Protagonist as the story goes on, going from a generally good person who happens to join the Hegemony to a Well-Intentioned Extremist. She completes her transformation after meeting the First One and realizing that she needs to present Etheria to him as a gift or he'll kill Catra.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: After meeting the First One, Adora decides she's going to conquer all of Etheria no matter the cost to protect it, because she feels the Empress is insane, the Horde is evil, and Glimmer and Bow can't rule.

Bow

Counting on your opponent is very important in a strategy game. What you do is you adapt to their moves, always keep them guessing, and always prepare to try and get your opponent into a position where no matter what they do, you have an opportunity.

Glimmer's royal consort, The Strategist of the Hegemony, and a genius inventor, Bow also serves as The Charmer among the nobles despite being a commoner.

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• Affably Evil: Bow can barely even be called evil, but he's a willing servant of the oppressive Hegemony despite being polite, well-spoken, and quick to praise others. That said, he swings into Faux Affably Evil in later chapters when it's revealed he's got an unexpected cruel side.
• Adaptational Intelligence: The canon Bow is prone to comical freakouts and unsureness, not to mention being comic relief. This Bow, in contrast, is The Strategist and a brilliant manipulator to boot. That said, he does prove to have some qualities reminiscent of his canon self later, having features such as anxiety and difficulty in being performative.
• Ambition Is Evil: Bow reveals himself to prioritize acquiring the throne of the Hegemony over morality, and much of his social climbing has been focused on that goal, with a dash of Love Makes You Evil thrown in because of his love for Glimmer.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Bow's analytical mind is insanely well-trained; he immediately deduces the locations of every bug and espionage item the Horde have set up, figures out that Da'el is up to something with utter ease, and manages to deduce Hordak's species and exact plan by looking at a forbidden painting.
• Badass Normal: Among the Hegemonic Council, Bow is the best strategist and a good warrior in his own right despite having no powers but his own gadgets.
• Bait the Dog: After eleven chapters of being Affably Evil, Bow proves in Chapter 12 to be far more ruthless than could be presumed. He murders Light Hope to distract Adora from his schemes and doesn't even regret it, displays some cruelty in dealing with Adora, who he previously held a Villainous Friendship with, and even his most sympathetic trait, his love for Glimmer, goes somewhat into Yandere territory. Suffice it to say Bow is much worse than it initially seems. That said, this is retconned after some revisions; in the current version of Chapter 12, Bow faked Light Hope's murder and wants to tell Adora.
• Becoming the Mask: Despite his romance with Glimmer being about getting the throne to the Hegemony, Adora posits that Bow is actually in love with her, and that there's a level of Love Makes You Evil at work. Similarly, his narration in Chapter 12 reveals he actually does care about Adora.
• Beneath the Mask: In public, Bow is Affably Evil, charming, likable, and a kind and loving boyfriend to Princess Glimmer. While traits of this carry over in private, he's also, once acting on his own, prone to anxious overreactions, has an edge of cruelty, and utterly, utterly ruthless in what he's willing to do. Slowly but surely, the mask comes off before other characters and it becomes clear he's not as he seems at all.
• The Charmer: Everybody likes Bow, even people who have every right not to. He's socially great, Affably Evil, and generally a pleasant person to be around, able to be closest confidant of both Glimmer and Angella, despite the two hating one another; each believes him to be on their side of the conflict.
• The Chessmaster: Perhaps the only one in the series that can match Hordak in this regard, Bow is a skilled planner and manipulator, capable of working things exactly the way he wants them.
• Chessmaster Sidekick: Bow is the top advisor to both Glimmer and Angella, as well as Adora's second closest confidant behind Glimmer, but is a better schemer than all three, as is proven repeatedly.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Bow makes it clear that he is the peak of this in the Hegemony, with any "loyalty" he displays a falsehood. He himself is somewhat afraid of this tendency.
• Complexity Addiction: The unfortunate cost of being the Chessmaster Sidekick is that Bow can't turn off his scheming. He makes big shows and elaborate plans out of minor things and gets called by Double Trouble on the fact he needs to just work things out normally instead of playing his games. This eventually lands him in hot water when he kills Light Hope as part of a plan, which draws Adora's rage and ends any hope that they might have a genuine friendship or cooperation.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of The Chessmaster. Bow's plans are undeniably impressive, and his analytical and intellectual skills are a force to be reckoned with, and his manipulations are sharp, but the issue is that he's constantly acting as The Chessmaster, and rarely sees others as people or assumes they may be genuine. He's got a bad case of Complexity Addiction, an abundance of paranoia, and his constant plotting means that others come to distrust him. Perhaps worst of all, his utter coldness and Lack of Empathy in private lead him to seemingly murderLight Hope— a move that is not only morally deplorable, whether it's a ruse or not, but absolutely destroys any chance of his plans succeeding, at least in terms of an alliance with Adora. Ironically, if Bow had quit while he were ahead, Adora admits she would probably have left him with plenty of power and safety. None of what Bow did was necessary.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • Bow loves Princess Glimmer with all his heart.
  • As is revealed in Chapter 12, Bow legitimately cares about Adora. This is a case where it actually makes his plans harder— as he notes, that makes it harder to deal with a threat to his plan, impairing him via emotion.
• Evil Genius: Bow is a brilliant inventor and strategist who works for the Hegemony willingly.
• Expy: Bow's Affably Evil cultured nature, Awesomeness by Analysis, especially with the Horde painting, and strategic brilliance all call to mind Grand Admiral Thrawn. Considering TeaWithNyarlathotep's Tumblr mentions to play "Thrawn's Web" over one of his narrative sequences, it's safe to say this is intentional.
• Fantastic Racism: Has no concerns with killing Light Hope in cold blood and doesn't even seem to consider it an issue. That said, this is actually because he faked the murder.
• Fatal Flaw: Complexity Addiction and paranoia. Bow is a brilliant strategist, manipulator and plotter, but in the end it's proven that's all he's capable of being. When it comes to genuine friendships and alliances, he screws himself over by plotting against his friends, assuming deceit, and indulging in unnecessary plans, even absurdly elaborate ones. Overall, he's so accustomed to the Decadent Court of the Hegemonic Council and in some ways too proactive.
• Hero Killer: Bow is incredibly ruthless, which he proves in seemingly killing Light Hope in cold blood via burning down the library, without hesitation or regret. Even in the revised version, where it was faked, he's taken her out of commission.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Bow freely admits that if Glimmer were actually going to get the throne, she would marry a Princess for diplomatic reasons and leave him. Despite this, he has no hesitation in trying to win her the throne. This is ultimately subverted— Bow wants Glimmer to himself and will not hesitate to go to extreme measures, with it being revealed that the second someone became a problem, he sent them to the mines.
• Lack of Empathy: Doesn't have even a little reaction to his own murder of Light Hope, and his deception of his friends.
• Large Ham: When he's acting in Chapter 10, Bow sees absolutely no reason not to go as far over-the-top as possible, complete with a fake mustache and pretending to go Laughing Mad. Double Trouble also calls him on this in Chapter 12, noting that his penchant for theatrics is unnecessary and actually damages his charismatic image.
• Love Makes You Evil: The only reason Bow is evil at all is because of his genuine loyalty and love for Glimmer. Otherwise, he's a pleasant guy.
• Manipulative Bastard: Crossed with The Charmer, but Bow plays people like instruments. He's manipulating Angella, Da'el, and even the otherwise smart Adora.
• Motive Decay: Bow fears this in Chapter 12, noting that he has worked so hard to rise through the ranks of the Hegemony that he isn't quite sure what his own motive even is anymore.
• Nerves of Steel: The only member of the Council willing to stand up to Empress Angella despite visible fear. She actually respects his word as well, making it especially notable.
• Not So Above It All: After eleven chapters of affability and a refusal to be as immature and cruel as the other Hegemony members, Bow proves little different than them, if anything being worse as he's outright murderous.
• Only Sane Man: Bow tends to be the most levelheaded not only of the Hegemonic Council, but also of the three conspirators. Adora is a Dark Messiah, and Glimmer is obsessed with gaining her mother's approval or taking her throne. Bow, meanwhile, is The Strategist who does his best to keep things functioning.
• Playing Both Sides: Angella and Glimmer are rivals for the throne, but Bow is the closest confidant of both. That said, it's quite clear that while Angella trusts him, he's working for Glimmer's interests, unbeknownst to Glimmer herself.
• Pop-Cultured Badass: Bow is familiar with tabletop games and makes deals with the Mer-Mystery production company as part of a promotion.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Bow won't do anything outside of his interests, whether that be a form of good or a worse form of evil. He clearly recognizes that aiding others and supporting them is a more profitable method of gaining power than hurting others, and regrets the actions from his Villainous Breakdown due to the damage they cause.
• Pretty Boy: His gorgeous looks are noted in-universe by multiple characters.
• Properly Paranoid: He believes Da'el is a manipulator that can't be trusted. Since they are later revealed to be Double Trouble, he is absolutely right.
• The Spymaster: Bow makes it clear to Da'el that secrets in the Hegemony run through him, claiming the position of royal spymaster under the radar. He certainly plays the part, running tactical and espionage operations.
• The Strategist: Bow is the best strategist in the Hegemony, period. He made it to the Council despite being a commoner and provides the best tactics out of the lot.
• Tragic Villain: When he was very young, Bow saw his village destroyed. The woman he has loved since childhood has endured abuse her whole life, and his main goal is to help her get the throne she's rightfully heir to. While Bow is absolutely a villain, he has sympathetic reasons for being so and it's clear that he could've gone down a different path in life. Even as he becomes worse in Chapter 12, he laments the fact any of what he's done happened.
• Villain Protagonist: The story focuses on him just as much as the heroes, and he's just fine with the Hegemony's worst traits if it benefits himself and Glimmer.
• Villainous Breakdown: Both fakes and actually has one in Chapter 12. As Adora becomes more and more of an issue in his plans, he fakes the breakdown but ultimately does show real signs of falling apart, ultimately deciding to murder Light Hope.
• Villainous Friendship: Bow likes Adora and gives her advice on how to navigate the Hegemony. As Chapter 12 shows, it's completely genuine.
• Villainous Valor: Bow is depicted as being a Badass Normal with Nerves of Steel, who will take on the much stronger Scorpia in a fight with little stress and maintain his role through strategic genius. He is also the only one willing to stand up to Empress Angella.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Bow wants little more than to get Glimmer the throne he feels she rightfully deserves, even if he has to burn Etheria to get it.
• Wicked Cultured: Bow is a villain, and he's an exceptional chess player who knows quite a bit about First Ones opera and will happily share some wine with someone and talk about the arts with them.
• Yandere: As of Chapter 12, he proves murderously protective of his relationship with Glimmer, having sent people to the mines for interfering and being willing to resort to cold-blooded violence when it benefits his relationship with her.

Glimmer

"My daughter, Glimmer. An insolent little thing, she is. Ambitious, which is admirable, but headstrong. She is friendly enough, but she understands being a warrior, not a monarch."

—Empress Angella

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• Ax-Crazy: Initially, Glimmer is very aggressive and somewhat violent. This is toned down after Chapter 3. It's completely gone later on.
• Broken Bird: Glimmer's aggression mainly comes from her dead father, abusive mother, and the knowledge that she's never going to inherit the throne or be as powerful and beautiful as her mother.
• Characterization Marches On: Initially, Glimmer is characterized as being Hot-Blooded and somewhat Ax-Crazy. This is downplayed in every chapter after the third and she's much more reasonable and even polite after.
• Determinator: Glimmer takes on Adora, who recently discovered she's She-Ra, and has the audacity to punch her in the face, refusing to surrender. She even draws blood from Adora's face in their brutal fistfight. This is a Deconstructed Trope, however, as it's made clear that Glimmer's absolute desperation to prove herself is the central reason she's so determined, and she puts this kind of effort into everything she does, leading her to misery.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Glimmer loves Bow just as much as he loves her, even though she's serving the Hegemony.
• The Evil Prince: Well, the evil princess at any rate, but Glimmer wants to take the throne from her mother or earn her approval, and is willing to overthrow her mother. That said, "evil" is a very strong word to define her.
• Expy: Her relationship with her mother and Hot-Blooded nature make it extremely obvious that Glimmer's heavily inspired by Zuko. The two are even a prince and princess, respectively.
• Hero Killer: She almost was. She beat Perfuma in a fight and nearly killed her in a sparring match.
• Hidden Depths: Glimmer seems initially Hot-Blooded and somewhat foolhardy, but Chapter 9 drops that she handles the Hegemony's financials, and Chapter 10 reveals that she's just as in on the scheming game as everyone else, albeit mostly reliant on Bow.
• Hot-Blooded: Glimmer is aggressive and passionate, at least initially.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: She has an even worse one than in canon, thanks to Angella's abuse. Princess Glimmer wants little more than to prove herself. This is most notable when she beat Perfuma half to death and then started sobbing in Bow's arms, begging to know why Perfuma was better than her.
• Pretty Princess Powerhouse: Just like in canon, Glimmer is a powerful princess and a fighter. Hegemony specifically notes that she's more of a warrior than a proper royal, however.
• Supreme Chef: Glimmer's a brilliant, excellent chef and baker, mainly due to Angella forcing her to serve as one through her entire life.
• Tragic Villain: Glimmer is the rightful heir to a kingdom but will never receive her throne, she's horribly mistreated by her abusive mother, and she's trying desperately to prove herself to everyone around. Things only get worse for her when Adora shows up and Angella makes it clear she respects Adora ten times more than she does Glimmer, leading Glimmer to absolutely snap for a while.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Glimmer is very desperate to impress Angella and feel worthy of the throne.
• Workaholic: Glimmer has an utterly incredible work ethic, to the point where Bow comments that it's unhealthy. It's revealed in Chapter 9 that this is due to her managing the Hegemony's economics.

The Hegemonic Council

Angella

"I hope, then, that your loss will come quickly, and that fate will have mercy. I have nothing of the sort. Soon, you will worship not a Queen, but the Empress of Etheria."

The evil empress that rules the Hegemony, and all of Etheria.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Nobody likes Empress Angella, least of all her own child. Her frequent fits of madness, pettiness, and straight-up vile actions cause the Hegemonic Council to often work under her nose.
• Abusive Parent: As bad as Shadow Weaver when it comes to this title. She degrades Glimmer, refuses to let her take the throne, and physically slaps her. She forces Glimmer to thank guests for eating her frankly wonderful cooking and treats her more like an abomination than a child, rejecting her and favoring Adora. This is because Glimmer reminds Angella of Micah. The truth is more complicated; Angella does love Glimmer, but feels the need to push her away so she doesn't get attached. It doesn't justify the abuse, obviously.
• Adaptational Badass: Angella in canon struggles to share her power, is a self-proclaimed coward, and has a hard time dealing with combat at all. Hegemony Angella is fearsome enough that Hordak himself states he wouldn't want to fight her.
• Adaptational Villainy: Angella in canon is the Big Good and her worst crime is being maybe a little overprotective. Angella in Hegemony is a terrible parent and a mad empress who's pretty easily the most monstrous character in the story. Of course, this fits considering it's a Mirror Universe.
• All Your Powers Combined: Angella is a channeler of every runestone, which means she has the powers of every Princess.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Angella is an incredibly powerful mage in addition to being Empress of Etheria. She proves this by effortlessly teleporting other people. It bears mention her powers are amplified, as she has some of every runestone's power.
• Badass Longrobe: Angella wears a robe with fur lining, and channels every runestone.
• Bad Boss: You would not wanna work for Angella. She's a ruthless monster whose kindness is a front, and who would happily exile you, or worse, atomize you. She threatens to exile Frosta for a mild failure, doesn't tolerate dissent except from Bow, and threatens people for petty reasons. It's just an extension of how she feels about her daughter.
• Bait the Dog:
  • Initially it may seem as though Angella's hatred is restricted to Glimmer, and that she may be The High Queen she is in canon otherwise. However, she quickly becomes unhinged, threatening Shadow Weaver with a horrible fate and mistreating her entire Council.
  • Angella reaches out to pat Glimmer's hair at one point. Glimmer instinctively recoils, and Angella backhands her for the perceived slight.
• Beware the Superman: The whole situation with Angella can read like this. She was a good queen, driven mad by the death of her husband and her overwhelming power.
• Big Bad: The Empress of the Hegemony and the main villain of the story. Every party, her own included, is working in some way to bring her down.
• Can't Take Criticism: Angella absolutely hates being criticized, which is displayed repeatedly. This establishes her as a counterpoint to Hordak, who respectfully accepts criticism.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • Angella loved Micah and his death was a massive turning point in her life, helping to drive her to her vile current state.
  • Angella actually loves Glimmer but wants to keep herself detached lest she experience the same pain she did when Micah died.
• Evil Is Petty: If Angella perceives a slight, she will punish you for it in a way she finds fitting, from threatening Shadow Weaver with a horrific fate to slapping Glimmer. She even stole Perfuma's voice just for being spoken out against.
• Expy: She can be considered one for Injustice Superman. Both were originally powerful, well meaning heroes who went insane after their lover's death. They also become feared tyrants in a misguided attempt to spread justice and refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
• Faux Affably Evil: Angella's charity and generosity are a barely-present front designed specifically to make her seem far kinder than she truly is.
• A God Am I: Angella insists on being referred to as "Your Divinity."
• God Save Us from the Queen!: Well, she's an Empress, but functionally Angella is an evil queen, and she's vile and erratic to be sure.
• Hidden Depths: As she heartbrokenly admits to Adora, she does love Glimmer, and she misses Micah deeply. She thinks that if Micah saw her today he'd be disgusted by what she's become, but she hopes to use the First Ones' power to revive Micah.
• It's All About Me: Angella struggles to feel compassion for other people and has an extensive focus on herself.
• I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Bow admits being insubordinate to her face, and she contrives a way to ground Glimmer for it.
• Kick the Dog: Hoo boy.
  • Angella's threat to Shadow Weaver is detailed and graphic, as she threatens to let her live forever just to torture her.
  • Angella can barely go through a straight meeting without threatening Hordak with a horrible fate.
  • Angella's entire treatment of Glimmer is this, but it hits its peak in Chapter 9 when she flat-out backhands the poor girl for recoiling from her touch.
  • Angella threatens to exile Frosta for a mild failure. Frosta is a child, mind you.
  • Angella not only notes that Sea Hawk and Mermista will be "disciplined" for knowing when to surrender, she has half of Salineas imprisoned, not caring for the innocents that will harm.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Angella is genuinely horrified by the notion of reviving Micah and letting him see what she has become. However, this is an Ignored Epiphany; she continues to be vile as always.
• Never My Fault: Angella refuses to take responsibility for oppressing her people, blaming Hordak for "forcing" her to do it by having a war with her.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Setting aside her empire's Fantastic Racism, it's implied at a few points, particularly with one comment Glimmer makes, that she is bigoted against transgender people. She directs a lot of suffering onto Perfuma, who is implicitly trans, and even, according to Glimmer, said Perfuma wasn't a "real girl" and that she was still a better Princess than Glimmer.
• Sadist: Angella likes crushing resistance, as she makes very clear. In particular, she let Perfuma speak negatively of her only to take away her voice and encourages opponents to make the first move. She's just looking for an excuse to hurt people at any given moment.
• Superpower Lottery: Angella has every runestone. Every power a Princess is listed as having below? She can wield it.
• Tragic Villain: Oh, Angella's a piece of work, but she's not only chosen by the First Ones, she's also an immortal who's lived countless years and seen countless things. Her husband died in a battle with the Horde, she's unable to be attached to her daughter, and while insane and cruel, she's more akin to a woman tired of fighting than a true monster, who has her own share of struggles and breakdowns as the story goes on.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Angella is an evil monster who admits even to herself that she enjoys what she's doing, but she also does want to help her people and Etheria. She's actually trying to win the war with the Horde as quickly as possible, so that she can deliver Etheria to the First One and save everyone.
• Wicked Cultured: Angella and Bow both have a love of wine and the arts. That said, Angella isn't above being petty about it either, being entirely willing to have paintings commissioned just to spite others. Like Bow, she plays chess, although she universally seems to lose.

Mermista

The Princess of Salineas and ruler of the seas, particularly the Sea Wall.

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• Abusive Parent: Mermista's father was not kind to her, as revealed by Chapter 10. He degraded her constantly and, upon not wanting the throne anymore, just dumped it on her.
• Ambition Is Evil: Pointedly averted, as Sea Hawk points out. Mermista is only ambitious because she wants to be free of the Empress's grasp.
• Deadpan Snarker: Mermista remains this as much as she was in canon, snarking away during council meetings and having a dry wit that defines her.
• Know When to Fold Them: She and Sea Hawk retreat when their prisoners revolt, partially due to not being stupid and realizing the risk outweighed the reward but also because she on some level agrees with their stance.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Mermista in Hegemony is half-mermaid, the mermaid coming from her father's side. Fortunately, she has no notable mermaid traits, which avoids the Empress's Fantastic Racism.
• Hates Their Parent: Mermista despises her own father, considering him a coward and hating the way he treated her.
• Logical Weakness: As noted by Hordak, her water powers might make her vulnerable to electricity.
• Making a Splash: Mermista has hydrokinesis as her primary power.
• Missing Mom: Mermista's mother is implicitly dead, as is noted in Chapter 10. This is made explicit in Chapter 11.
• Straight Man: By the standards of the Hegemonic Council, Mermista's a sane, normal young woman, especially contrasted with Sea Hawk.
• Try to Fit That on a Business Card: Sea Hawk regales a massive list of titles that she supposedly has, although that could very well just be Sea Hawk being Sea Hawk.

Perfuma

The Princess of Plumeria, notable for lacking a voice entirely, as Angella took it from her.

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• Adaptational Badass: Perfuma in canon is no slouch, but Perfuma in Hegemony shows exactly what a woman with a Green Thumb can do.
• Adaptational Jerkass: She is far snarkier than her canon self.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: The Voiceless for years, and horrifying in a fight.
• Green Thumb: Perfuma can control plants.
• Horrifying Hero: One of the kindest of the Hegemonic Council, but absolutely nightmarish to face in combat, as shown in her pursuit of Catra and Lonnie in Chapter 3.
• Silent Snarker: Perfuma is more than willing to sass people using Etherian Sign Language, although she has a preference for doing it with a universally-recognized gesture.
• Trans Tribulations: Implied. It's implied at one point in Chapter 12 that Perfuma is transgender, and that Angella's bigotry is part of what motivates her torment of her.
• The Voiceless: Angella had her voice removed after Perfuma wasn't sycophantic enough for her liking. Perfuma communicates entirely through Etherian Sign Language, which Bow taught her.

Frosta

The Princess of the Kingdom of Snows.

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• Adaptational Badass: Subverted. Initially it seems as though Frosta is scarier than her canon counterpart, but she turns out to be the most similar of the lot.
• An Ice Person: Frosta wields ice powers.
• Hot-Blooded: Frosta is easy to get fired up and very passionate about her work.
• Orcus on His Throne: A justified example. Hordak nulled communications, which prevented Frosta from noticing a raid on a comm tower. Angella is not happy with this.
• Parental Abandonment: Frosta's parents disappeared in a portal accident.

Netossa

The Princess of Ergokineas and Spinnerella's wife. Has a competitive streak.

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• Advertised Extra: She and Spinny are mentioned among the main characters in tags, but neither has a major presence compared to the other Princesses.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: She and Bow share this trait, and Netossa is the older master of it. She's capable of making quick deductions and tactical decisions.
• Named by the Adaptation: She and Spinnerella's nameless kingdom from canon is named Ergokineas for convenience.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She and Spinnerella plan to secede from the Hegemony.

Spinnerella

The other Princess of Ergokineas, Netossa's wife.

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• Advertised Extra: She and Netossa are mentioned among the main characters in tags, but neither has a major presence compared to the other Princesses.
• Everyone Has Standards: Spinny is perhaps the most horrified by the notion of Frosta being exiled.
• Nice Girl: Spinnerella is kind and sweet for the most part.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She and Netossa have every intention to secede from the Hegemony.

Sea Hawk

A sailor and Mermista's personal aide and consort.

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• Adaptational Badass: Sea Hawk's mostly unseen sword prowess is vastly amplified in Hegemony, as he floors a highborn, well-trained swordsman in an instant.
• The Coats Are Off: Sea Hawk rids himself of his doublet during his fight with Catra, due to setting it on fire to escape.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: He and Mermista retreat from the escaped prisoners. It doesn't hurt that they agree with their plight.
• Large Ham: Sea Hawk is bombastic and theatrical, with big and sweeping declarations often made.
• Master Swordsman: Sea Hawk can defeat Alan, a nobleman with years of sword training, in seconds.
• Nerves of Steel: Sea Hawk doesn't give a damn about the Empress's orders, a fact he makes quite clear when demanding breaks for the prisoners in the Sea Wall.
• Nice Guy: Sea Hawk is nothing but kind and courteous to others, and it takes quite a bit to get him to fight anyone, even Alan who is abusing the prisoners.
• Punch-Clock Villain: With how nice he is and the fact he gives the prisoners an extra long break, Sea Hawk may as well not be a villain at all. This actually angers Catra even more than him just being an asshole would; she despises him for how he can be kind and jovial while lording over enslaved prisoners.

Da'el T'ermoil

No more the build, the tension. The Council would fall apart, and one by one would leave the stage, until there was but one remaining, and at last would the spotlight shine upon its rightful owner. At last, Double Trouble would steal the show!

The mysterious, blue-skinned, non-binary head chef of Bright Moon's citadel, that Bow thinks to be a schemer in their own right. They are actually Double Trouble in disguise, serving as The Mole for Hordak.

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• Affably Evil: Da'el is completely courteous and polite, despite being Double Trouble in disguise, playing the Hegemonic Council. Even the way they handle themself in direct conflict with others is impeccably polite and well-spoken.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: They have blue skin. As Double Trouble, their true form has green skin.
• Adaptational Wimp: Their canon counterpart is an acrobatic fighter and a warrior who can take on She-Ra herself in single combat. This version of them surrenders to Bow. While it's unclear whether or not they're still a decent combatant, the canon version certainly wouldn't have done that.
• Beneath Notice: Da'el is an eccentric chef, but nobody pays attention to the staff, meaning they can accrue gossip freely due to people seeing them as a listening ear and trusting them.
• Canon Character All Along: Da'el T'ermoil initially seems to be an original character, but they are actually Double Trouble.
• The Chessmaster: Since they're Double Trouble, they play the Hegemonic Council like clockwork, accomplishing their plans to the letter and only failing thanks to their own flourishes.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. To Da'el, everything needs to be a performance, even the mundanities of life, because they have such pride in their work and such a love for it. This is especially prominent after the revelation that they're Double Trouble. Instead of tranquilizing the council and getting out, they dramatically reveal themself at the last moment, mucking up their own escape plan. That said, Double Trouble does ally with Bow, spins their way back into the Hegemony's palace, and proves to work beyond their pride.
• For the Evulz: Their initial motivation for hanging around the Hegemony was just to see how crazy things could get, but part of the way through they became a Psycho for Hire.
• Hidden Depths: Their conversation with Bow in Chapter 6 has Bow heavily imply he's convinced Da'el has a purpose in Bright Moon beyond just serving food. He's right, but he underestimates just how right he is.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Da'el knows better than to take on Bow once they've been forced into retreat, instead politely conversing with him.
• Large Ham: Everything with Da'el is a massive performance, between them doing massive tricks while serving food or spreading gossip in the most ominous manner possible. This does not let up with The Reveal that they're Double Trouble. In fact, it only grows in scale, as the narration itself seems to pick up on some of their hamminess.
• Manipulative Bastard: Seeing as they're actually Double Trouble, it's no surprise that Da'el can play on people's insecurities and weaknesses with ease, accruing gossip and turning the Hegemonic Council against each other. Even after their initial defeat, they smoothly make their way back into the palace.
• The Mole: Da'el is actually Double Trouble, being paid by the Horde to work against the Hegemony's interests.
• Nice Guy: Well, nice non-binary person, but Da'el is courteous and gossipy, if a little spooky. This is subverted with the knowledge that they're Double Trouble, with all that entails.
• Overshadowed by Awesome:
  • Da'el is among the most intelligent people in the court, brilliant, and manipulative and charming as hell, sowing paranoia effortlessly. They're a clever, dignified plotter. Their sole issue? They're dealing with Bow, who's a master of Xanatos Speed Chess and who's figured out their true nature.
  • Da'el eventually inverts this, as they prove to be the defining force in keeping Bow together. He takes their advice, works alongside them, and lets them help him make up for his weaknesses, making him the one who's overshadowed.
• Pet the Dog: Da'el proves genuinely helpful to Bow at points, specifically after already revealing themself as Double Trouble. Da'el gives him advice on how to handle himself, helps him out with his acting, and aids his schemes, asking nothing else of him. They show no signs of turning on him whatsoever.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: They can assume any form they wish, considering they're Double Trouble.
• Younger Than They Look: Da'el masqueraded as an adult throughout their entire career in Bright Moon. They are actually an adult now, however.

Other Hegemony Members

King Micah

"King Micah was a good man, but our story ends in a morbid manner. It ends in his death."

—Shadow Weaver

The long-dead king and Angella's husband, his death being the thing which caused Angella's vendetta toward the Etherian Horde.

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• Child Prodigy: Shadow Weaver found him incredibly talented with magic in his teens.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Micah was eaten by the void of the Spell of Obtainment.
• Death by Adaptation: In the canon show, Micah isn't actually dead. This version most certainly is dead.
• Dragged Off to Hell: Imagery-wise, at least, Micah was eaten by the void of the Spell of Obtainment.
• Morality Pet: He served as this to Angella and it is believed she wouldn't have become as bad as she has if he were still around.
• Nice Guy: Everyone, even Shadow Weaver, liked Micah. It was noted that Micah was going to even turn Angella to the side of good before he died.
• Posthumous Character: Micah is dead when the story starts.
• Undignified Death: Shadow Weaver considers his end to have been this.

The Librarian (Spoilers!)

Light Hope is a First Ones AI from Mara's time.

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• Artificial Intelligence: A First Ones AI with a holographic form and countless files.
• Character Death: In Chapter 12, Bow burns down the library, destroying her terminal and ending her life.
• Creepy Good: Light Hope isn't inherently evil, at least not openly so.
• Projected Man: Light Hope is a holographic ally to the Hegemony.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Light Hope serves the Hegemony because it's her job, for no other reason.
• Walking Spoiler: Not only does their existence spoil the existence of the library in the citadel of Bright Moon, it unto itself has large ramifications on the plot.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: We learn almost nothing about Light Hope before Bow kills her.

The First Ones (Unmarked Spoilers!)

The First One

"As I said, Eternia is mine."

A mysterious man with blue skin or a skeletal form, who keeps showing up in Adora's visions. It is eventually revealed that Angella answers to him. In Chapter 12, it is revealed that the First One is Prince Keldor of House Miro, a.k.a. classic He-Man character Skeletor.

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• Adaptational Badass: A version of Skeletor who fights two extremely powerful and skilled foes at once and wins, becoming a Hero Killer who kills Prince Adam.
• At Least I Admit It: He justifies his actions by stating he's the only one without a delusion that he's heroic.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: In his "princely" form, he has blue skin.
• Ambition Is Evil: Wants Eternia for the sake of having it and the power he can manage.
• Canon Character All Along: He proves to be none other than Prince Keldor of House Miro, a.k.a. Skeletor.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Fully admits to being a villain and clearly enjoys being evil.
• Composite Character: A combination of multiple versions of Skeletor, with a flair taken from the Langella's take, the Multiversal Conqueror from some of the comics, the identity and human form of the 2002 version, and even some elements of He-Man himself placed in, as it turns out his Skeletor form is his own take on the idea of a transformation.
• The Corruptor: He feeds Angella's darker impulses. He is also partly responsible for turning Adora into a Dark Messiah in the first place.
• Dem Bones: Appears in a vision and in rumors as a hooded skeleton reaching out for Adora.
• The Dreaded: Angella and Adora, badasses in their own right, are both afraid of him. In Adora's vision, he has murdered everyone she loves.
• Evil Counterpart: To Adam, who he directly positions himself as an enemy of and copies the powers of so as to equal.
• Evil Knockoff: Deliberately copies the powers of his greatest enemy, Prince Adam, in an attempt to equal him. It succeeds with flying colors.
• Eviler than Thou: Introduces himself to the audience in Adora's vision by calmly crushing Hordak's head underneath his boot.
• Faux Affably Evil: With a sense of showmanship and a polite demeanor even as he commits horrid crimes, Keldor proves to be both utterly vile and incorrigibly affable.
• For the Evulz: Massacred House Grayskull just because he could.
• Greater-Scope Villain: He's akin to Horde Prime from the source material, being a greater threat than even Angella.
• Hero Killer: Killed Prince Adam in battle, starting the story.
• In the Hood: Wears a blue robe and hood most of the time.
• Kick the Dog: Mocks Adam about how his beloved Teela will be executed as he kills him.
• Knight of Cerebus: While he has his comedic moments, he is the most serious minded threat in the series. He lacks Adora and Bow's Affably Evil personality traits, the Empress's tragic traits and occasional humorous qualities, and Hordak's genuinely good intentions. The fact he has He-Man's powers doesn't help.
• Laughably Evil: Keldor often cracks jokes while committing awful deeds, quipping and joking as he kills Adam, with plenty of mockery to go around.
• Sadistic Choice: He offers one to Adora: Give him Etheria or he'll kill Catra.
• The Undead: Angella calls his hand undead, and Adora notices that he feels dead to the touch. Plus, there's the form where he's a skeleton.
• Walking Spoiler: He's the actual ruler of the Hegemony, a First One, proving they are still alive in this timeline, and changes the stakes of the conflict when it becomes clear that he is coming. This goes further as he's Prince Keldor of House Miro, who killed Adam and wiped out House Grayskull.

The Prince

"As long as love remains, as long as there is hope, the Sword of Protection can manifest again and again. It’s not blood, it’s not metal, it’s not magic. It’s love and hope. As long as those live on, we will… defy you..."

None other than Prince Adam, protagonist and hero of most Masters of the Universe stories. Brave and valiant, Adam appears for only one scene, being Prince of House Randor and the famous "He-Ro."

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• Adaptational Modesty: Wears a white outfit while transformed in this version, rather than going shirtless as He-Man typically does.
• Adaptation Name Change: Instead of He-Man, his form here is named "He-Ro," which brings it more in line with "She-Ra."
• As Long as There Is One Man: While it's averted by Adam, who dies to Keldor, he says something to the effect of invoking it, telling Keldor he'll never win as long as good people oppose him.
• Character Death: Slain by Keldor in a fight.
• Composite Character: Named "He-Ro" as the small-role He-Man character from "Preternia" is.
• Defiant to the End: Doesn't for a moment falter, even when run through by Keldor.
• Dual Wielding: Dexterously fights with both the Sword of Power and Sword of Protection.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Wastes Keldor's time killing him, which allows Mara to escape.
• Hope Springs Eternal: His last words are telling Keldor that people will always, with hope and love, stand against evil. Keldor ends up killing him for these, but has no proper rebuttal.
• The Power of Love: His last words are telling Keldor that people will always, with hope and love, fight monsters like him. Keldor has no real rejection of this, opting to instead kill him.
• Precursor Heroes: Along with Mara, fought against Keldor in Eternia's time of need. Unlike Mara, he perished.
• Small Role, Big Impact: The fact he exists at all is important enough, but in the story, he dies against Keldor to save Mara and her quest to Etheria, singlehandedly starting the entire plot and giving a small bit of hope.
• Unrelated in the Adaptation: Adora is a commoner in this story, meaning she can't be the twin sister of Adam, unlike in typical Masters of the Universe works.
• Walking Spoiler: The fact he exists at all is a huge change to the story.

The Princess

"King Randor, it is I, Mara of the western isle. Please, I beseech you. House Miro has declared our annihilation."

Princess Mara, the previous She-Ra, who fought alongside Adam and eventually sealed Etheria in Despondos to save it from the other First Ones.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: When transformed, her hair and eyes turn a fiery bronze rather than having the golden hair and blue eyes of her canon counterpart.
• Posthumous Character: A long-dead hero who fought for Eternia and Etheria.
• Precursor Heroes: The She-Ra who served Eternia and Etheria, who survived and sealed Etheria in Despondos to save it
• Small Role, Big Impact: Fought Keldor and sealed Despondos despite her first appearance being Chapter 12 and having no other part in the story's proceedings, not to mention being long dead.
• Tragic Hero: Mara is deemed insane by the modern Etheria, but is in fact a good woman doomed throughout history by the fact she had to carry too much on herself, ultimately sealing Etheria in Despondos.
• The Worf Effect: Despite being a She-Ra herself and a formidable warrior, she is utterly dominated by Keldor during their fight, although she does get one good blow in by hurling her sword like a javelin.

Others

The Kingdom of Dryl

Princess Entrapta

Catra: So what's Entrapta like?

Lurch: Smart-smart-smart-smart-lonely.

The eccentric Princess of Dryl, Hordak's former beloved, and a brilliant mechanic and scientist.

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• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In canon Hordak and Entrapta fall in love over the course of the work. In Hegemony, they're already exes from a long time ago.
• Amicable Exes: She and Hordak still love each other deeply, but the two split up. This trope is finally played straight when Entrapta offers trade support to the Horde in exchange for Hordak coming to live with her if the war ever ends.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Managed to deduce via science that they are in an alternate timeline, and managed to figure out the series of events that led to this timeline.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Both sides want Entrapta despite her extreme quirkiness, mainly because she's perhaps the most effective mechanic in the entirety of Etheria.
• Choosing Neutrality: Dryl does not join either side of the conflict due to Entrapta not feeling either side understands what would be best for her or Dryl.
• Ditzy Genius: Entrapta is an utterly brilliant technician and scientist, but she's erratic and often quite strange.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Hordak's Adaptation Personality Change owes a lot to the fact he met Entrapta earlier than he did in canon, meaning he's much more of a Benevolent Boss due to having his eyes opened, rendering him considerably more stable than his canon counterpart.
  • Since she met Hordak earlier than in canon, she gives him his upgraded armor sooner than in canon.
• Mad Scientist: Entrapta is a somewhat crazy scientist who often makes insanely brilliant inventions.
• Playing Both Sides: Entrapta sees nothing wrong with giving gifts and trading with both sides of the conflict.
• Stepford Smiler: Entrapta's robotic butler Lurch states that she is lonely during a glitchfest, implying she wants companionship very desperately.
• We Used to Be Friends: She and Hordak used to be a couple, but Micah's death and Hordak's refusal to show any vulnerability severed their ties. Both of them love one another, but neither has the will to try and retrieve the other. Until Entrapta makes a trade deal with the Horde, with her condition being that Hordak come live with her after everything is done.
• Wild Card: Entrapta could fall on either side of the war, which is a major point of contention due to her intellectual prowess and the resources at her disposal. While she ends up Choosing Neutrality, she's willing to trade with both and give them gifts.

Entrapta's Staff

Entrapta's staff, composed of both Etherians and robots.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: In canon, Entrapta's serving staff are rather nice. In Hegemony, they're cold and reserved due to undisclosed past events.
• Creepy Good: Most of Entrapta's robots are somewhat creepy, but they're not hostile.
• Robot Buddy: Entrapta has serving robots, including the robot butler named "Lurch."

The Colossi

Gigantic robots that serve Entrapta.

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• Character Filibuster: The narration, biased by Catra's point of view, absolutely goes on about the two machines and their titanic technological beauty with the intent to show just how amazing she finds them.
• The Dreaded: Nobody wants to mess with the Colossi, not even Angella. Part of the reason people want to ally with Entrapta is to get them on their side.
• Humongous Mecha: Giant robots that Catra notes are more a piece of art than just machines.

Unaffiliated Parties

Huntara

A merchant in the Crimson Waste with a treacherous streak and a soft spot for the Horde, who trades with them and tries to aid them.

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• Affably Evil: Remarkably chummy with people, even when she feels the need to sell them out for her own safety.
• Character Death: She doesn't make it out of things, as Tung Lashor shoots her dead. Catra's entire worldview changes thanks to this.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Downplayed Trope. She's entirely willing to turn on Catra, but she's proven herself a Dirty Coward by that point.
• Sacrificial Lion: A badass who's shot dead to drive in the consequences of the war.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Huntara is only featured in one chapter, and her most important act in said chapter is to be shot to death, but the events change Catra's view of the conflict and traumatize her.

Tung Lashor

A snakeman bandit in the Crimson Waste.

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• The Bully: What he boils down to. Tung Lashor is a gang leader who enjoys picking on people weaker than he is, likes feeling powerful, and is entirely willing to abandon all moral scruples to do it.
• Dirty Coward: Runs away from Catra and only comes back with the Hegemony's help, even shooting Huntara in the back.
• Hate Sink: There's absolutely nothing to like about Tung Lashor. He's a bandit, a coward, arrogant, and a cold-blooded murderer.
• Jerkass: Ambushes Catra and Lonnie on the road for no real reason, is arrogant and rude to them, and ultimately not only sells them out to the Hegemony but murders Huntara.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Typically averted in Hegemony, even with King Hiss who is typically an example, but played entirely straight with Tung Lashor. He is nothing more than a bully and a bandit.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He only shows up in one chapter and is in it even less than Huntara, but his murder of her sets the precedent for events to come and kickstarts Catra's Character Development into a better person.

King Hiss

King Hiss wanted the best for his peoples, the snake and lizard people alike, but he chose a path of bloodshed and violence. Villages burned in his wake, the people of the dawning Hegemony enslaved to bolster his forces. When the laws of the war changed to disallow casualties, he refused to follow them. Blood for blood, he demanded.

A former ally of Hordak's who was killed by Hordak when he disobeyed him in the war against the Hegemony.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: This version of Hiss is treated as a sympathetic villain by the narrative, his only goal being to protect his people and avenge their suffering, no matter the means he went to. Most versions of the character are pure evil without redeeming traits.
• Adaptational Wimp: In contrast to the Galactic Conqueror and Ancient Evil versions of the character presented in Masters of the Universe, this version of King Hiss is a relatively small scale villain who was killed by Hordak when he had grown too much of an inconvenience for him.
• Alas, Poor Villain: While Hordak feels he went too far in his methods, the narration posits that he may have integrated reptile people into his society out of some sympathy and respect for him.
• Canon Immigrant: King Hiss is a character from Masters of the Universe brought into a Mirror Universe of Etheria as presented in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: King Hiss wanted revenge against the Hegemony's treatment of his people, and was willing to resort to their own tactics against them as vengeance. This put him against Hordak's line of thinking and directly led to his death.
• Posthumous Character: Mentioned in Chapter 7 as a long-dead king and one of Hordak's former allies, that Hordak already killed.
• Revenge: Hiss chose to avenge the suffering that the Hegemony caused his people by enslaving and brutalizing them, even against Hordak's orders.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Hiss was just fine with paying back the Hegemony's treatment of his people, including enslaving their citizens. Notably, Hordak was not happy about this.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Everything Hiss did was to protect his people or avenge their suffering, even his worst acts.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: King Hiss became more of an inconvenience to Hordak than an ally, between his refusal to obey the codes of the war with the Hegemony and refusal to bend the knee. Hordak killed him in response.

The Witch of the Whispering Woods (Spoilers!)

She had come to find her home, a home that was not there. That didn't matter to her, though; time was of no relevance whatsoever to the one known as Madam Razz.

Madam Razz is an old woman who resides in the Whispering Woods, and doesn't experience time normally.

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• Demoted to Extra: Even moreso than in canon compared to the original Princess of Power. Razz is barely in Hegemony, making her first appearance in chapter 9 when the entire principal cast has already been introduced.
• Non-Linear Character: Razz doesn't experience time normally, and when the narrative is presented from her point of view, it mixes tenses and time as well.
• Scatterbrained Senior: Misnames Catra by accident, yelling out "Cat-Ra!" during the prison break. The crowd picks it up and loves it, using it to paint Catra as a Good Counterpart to She-Ra.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Her first appearance is minor but extremely important due to introducing firstly the wrecked Horde ship, and also the woman herself. She also starts the "Cat-Ra!" chant, which aids the Horde in its propaganda efforts.

The Armada's Crown (Spoilers!)

None other than Horde Prime, the Big Bad of the original series, Horde Prime turns out to be alive as a Virtual Ghost who hides out on Etheria to try to possess Hordak.

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• Adaptational Badass: Displays psychic prowess his canon counterpart never did, facing Hordak in a Battle in the Center of the Mind and conjuring illusions to break him.
• And I Must Scream: Hordak leaves him in the mindscape of the ship, where he'll be completely alone forever with nobody able to find or save him due to him cutting the cable that connected him and the outside world.
• Asshole Victim: Considering he's Horde Prime, a cruel and vicious monster, it's hard to feel too bad for him with his And I Must Scream fate of being left in the ship.
• Bad Boss: Sent his entire people to their deaths just so he could refuse to surrender, with it being little but a point of pride.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Horde Prime was nothing other than a lab experiment designed to live eternally, tormented every day and not even treated as a sentient being. In response, he not only started a nightmarish empire, he wiped out the entire species.
• Demonic Possession: Prime's goal is to possess Hordak and use his body to conquer Etheria.
• Eldritch Abomination: Prime is an evil science experiment capable of Demonic Possession and wielding enormous psychic powers, with his true form being one that borders on Lovecraftian in its horrific nature.
• Faux Affably Evil: Prime is completely self-absorbed and prideful, and though his demeanor is civil, he's fond of mentally torturing Hordak and others.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Hordak calls him on hiding behind his Dark and Troubled Past as an excuse for his cruelty, noting that he can't claim a pretense of morality when he's actively torturing people and committing regular Mind Rape.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: A particularly dark deconstruction of the trope, as Prime's love of Mind Rape and forcing others to love him comes from the fact he desires affection to compensate for the affection he never received as a test subject. As Hordak tells him, he's never going to be satisfied because you simply cannot force someone to love you.
• Mind Rape: Pretty much his entire repertoire is to invade people's minds and mentally torture them. His entire appearance in Chapter 12 is him tormenting Hordak through the mindscape.
• Narcissist: Just as his canon counterpart, Prime's ultimate joy is in forcing others to love him, being a self-obsessed psychopath.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Horde Prime does not tolerate people with physical oddities or neurodivergence, offering to "fix" Entrapta's Autism and Catra's heterochromia.
• Sadist: Horde Prime very clearly enjoys hurting Hordak, drawing it out, invading his mind, forcing out painful memories and illusions, gaining pleasure from watching Hordak fall apart.
• Villain Has a Point: Hordak is clearly worried, even after the fact, about the fact he taunts Hordak about his use of Child Soldiers, with Hordak genuinely becoming disturbed at the notion that his use of them may be a form of slavery. While Catra dismisses it, Hordak clearly thinks Prime may have been onto something and retires the indoctrination program.
• Villainous Breakdown: Breaks into screaming at Hordak upon defeat, appalled that Hordak could even put up a fight against him.
• Virtual Ghost: The only thing left of Prime is his consciousness uploaded into a Horde ship's computer.

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