Skeletor: Witness this moment, He-Man! This moment where the powers of Greyskull will become mine for eternity! Our life-long battle in ending at last in the only way it could. When the Great Eye opens. The people of Eternia will see you kneel before me, just before you die!
He-Man: [Lunges towards Skeletor] I'll never kneel to you!
Skeletor : Yes, you will! Yes, you will! Or I shall wreak unforgettable harm upon you
He-Man: [Lunges towards Skeletor] I'll never kneel to you!
Skeletor : Yes, you will! Yes, you will! Or I shall wreak unforgettable harm upon you
The Masters of the Universe protect Castle Greyskull from countless villains, who want to conquer the universe. Among them there were a few, who managed to come too close to succeeding, thanks to their charm, wit and intelligence.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Comics (comic books, newspaper comics, etc.)
- Masters of the Universe, by Emiliano Santalucia and Enza Fontana: The Faceless One is the former Lord of Zalesia and and exiled member of Council of Wisdom. In the past, after King Hsss kidnapped his daughter, Evil-Lyn, the Lord of Zalesia pleaded to the Council to help him take her back, furiously leaving when they refused to make a deal with King Hsss himself. Making the amulet, with which King Hsss could unleash the Snake God Serpos upon Eternia, Lord knew that Hsss would betray him, so he made it so Hsss couldn't control Serpos, resulting in him starting to destroy the the Snake Kingdom and devour innocent Snake People, forcing Hsss to give him back his daughter. After Lord failed to assassinate King Hsss due to the mysterious Gar saving him, Lord then has his daughter teleported away to safety, while he battled Serpos himself, after the Snake God destroyed his lands, nearly dying and getting transformed by the Council to the Faceless One. In the present, finding out that his daughter is dying again, the Faceless One manipulates everyone around him to make them all arrive at his castle, so he could convince Skeletor to heal his daughter, bringing out Skeletor's remaining care for her.
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips, by Chris Weber et al.: "Ninjor Stalks By Night": Ninjor is a cunning shinobi warrior with remarkable stealth abilities. Setting up a scheme to take back the Havoc Staff from Skeletor, Ninjor pretends to serve him, while showing off his skills by easily infiltrating the highly guarded Royal Castle of Eternia several times, effortlessly taking out every guard while kidnapping Man-At-Arms, Extendar and King Randor. Luring He-Man to him, Ninjor tries to force him to take away the Havoc Staff from Skeletor, threatening his hostages and when this proves to be ineffective simply shows him Skeletor taking over the Royal Palace, making He-Man act as Ninjor needs him to. As Skeletor loses the Havoc Staff during ensuring battle, Ninjor quickly uses the opportunity to take it and fights toe-to-toe with He-Man.
- He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse, by Dan Fraga and Tim Steeley: The version of Skeletor from issue 3 is the most brilliant among all Skeletors of the comic. Finally managing to take over Castle Greyskull and conquer Eternia by empowering his magic staff to the point that he was able to overpower Sorceress. Banishing all the Masters of the Universe, aside from Teela, to another reality, Skeletor created Dark Shield around the Castle, allowing him to effortlessly hold the entire armies of Snake Men and the Evil Horde at bay. After capturing two versions of He-Man from other universes, Skeletor simply puts them in cage with Teela, correctly deducing that they will reveal everything to her. When Anti-He-Man, led Snake Men, and the Evil Horde break through his Dark Shield, Skeletor simply unleashed his army and He-Men at them. Later on, Skeletor turns the tables on Anti-He-Man by banishing all Snake Men and Evil Horde with ease and freeing Masters of the Universe to drive him back. Despite this marking the end of his rule, Skeletor manages to leave with his dignity intact.
Film
- 1987 Film:
- Skeletor is a powerful and hammy warlock introduced taking over Castle Greyskull and Eternia with apparent ease. Revealed to have manipulated a Thenorian locksmith Gwildor into creating a teleportation device called the Cosmic Key through Evil-Lyn and using it to crush the entire army of Eternia, Skeletor captures Sorceress and starts slowly draining her of her powers to empower himself, so he can uncover the secrets of the universe at moonrise. Forcing the Masters of the Universe to run to Earth, Skeletor managed to track them down, captured nearly all of the heroes, forces He-Man to surrender by promising to spare his friends in return and even somewhat honors his promise by leaving his friends alive, although breaking their Cosmic Key to prevent them from returning to Eternia. Opening the door to the secrets of the universe, Skeletor succeeded in absorbing the power of the universe and becoming a god. After He-Man's friends manage to arrive and save He-Man, Skeletor gives a good battle to He-Man, refusing to surrender even after losing his god form and surviving his apparent death.
- Evil-Lyn is the second-in-command of Skeletor's army, who assisted him conquering of Eternia. Easily the most competent out of all Skeletor's minions, Evil-Lyn easily succeeds in nearly every task Skeletor gives her: from tracking down the location of the Key to gathering and controlling the team of mercenaries. After being sent to Earth to track down the Key, Evil-Lyn quickly figures out mercenaries' lies, tracks down the heroes and manipulates Julie to get the Key from the heroes by taking the form of Julie's dead mother. Resenting Skeletor for not sharing the powers of the universe with her, Evil-Lyn deserts him during the final battle, effortlessly intimidating the leader of the mercenaries and most of Skeletor's remaining army into following her.
Western Animation
- The New Adventures of He-Man:
- "The Siege of Serus": Keto is an asteroid-like creature and the representative of his race. Crash landing on Primus, Keto appears to be completely unstoppable, easily brushing off pretty much all of planet's weaponry and even He-Man's legendary Power Sword. When redirected toward the ocean, he began draining the energy of the underwater city of Serus, leading its barriers starting to crack and threatening to drown the population. Letting the heroes know that he's sentient, Keto announced his intention of draining the entire planet of energy to continue his travel and then manipulates He-Man to going to his ship and fighting him. When He-Man's powers prove useless against Keto, He-Man decides to offer them in exchange of Keto sparing the planet. Keto was impressed with such act of nobility and reveals that all of this was a test that he performed on many other planets to see if the people on these worlds were dangerous to his race. Complementing He-Man on his bravery and goodness, Keto leaves Primus unharmed.
- "The New Wizard in Town": Ramlin is one of the most powerful wizards in the entire universe, who desired to relieve his days of glory. Growing weaker with his age, Ramlin accepted the invitation to wizard meeting on Primus from Master Sebrian, devising a plan to get all his former power back. Easily defeating the entire faction of Evil Mutants within minutes along the way to Primus, Ramlin tricks the heroes to trust him by performing magic tricks and acting friendly. Setting his plan in motion later on, Ramlin manipulates two wizards at the meeting to give him their magic, enslaving them to his will, before battling the heroes, forcing them to attack him, which he uses to make himself more powerful. After He-Man catch on to this and refused to attack him, not giving him any source for power, Ramlin admits defeat, releases his captives and leaves Primus, promising to return.
- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Double Trouble is an amoral, cheerful mercenary who delights in chaos. Effortlessly tricking Catra as an "audition", Double Trouble infiltrates the Princess Alliance to weaken them, playing all they find against one another to weaken the alliance. Upon being caught, Double Trouble simply switches sides and sabotages the Horde to escape punishment, even delivering a bout of "tough love" to make Catra realize her toxic personality before leaving after they decide they have had enough sport.
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021):
- Evil-Lyn, after repeated failures in betraying both King Randor and Skeletor, truly comes into her own upon escaping an Eternian prison. Leading her Dark Masters to regain the Power of Havoc via exploiting the stored power of Skeletor's undead army, Evil-Lyn proceeds in abandoning her goals to save Teela, betraying the girl but tossing down her staff for her to retrieve upon surviving, and abandoning her comrades. Going to Castle Grayskull, she then plants doubt about allying with Skeletor in the hesitant Krass' mind. Upon Skeletor nearly wiping out Eternia's life, Evil-Lyn unhesitantly joins the Masters in defending the planet, only stopping when she's dragged away by her own minion. Evil-Lyn proves to learn from her mistakes well, even telling the newly-arrived Hordak that she will never be his servant.
- Mer-Man is the last Aquatican and a faithful servant of the late King Grayskull. Defending his tomb for hundreds of years, Mer-Man introduces himself by ambushing Eldress, Duncan and Teela, before proceeding to reveal that Eldress killed King Grayskull, shaking Teela's spirit. Then confronting both sides, Mer-Man manages to hold them back with a combination of force and cleverness, psychically disabling Teela by showing her her worst fears, and even tricking Adam into entering the tomb and sealing him in with intent to return Grayskull's sword to him. Defined by Undying Loyalty, Mer-Man never ceases in his mission to resurrect his long-dead ruler.
- Hordak is an enigmatic figure and diplomatically-inclined conqueror. Hiding in the form of Evil-Lyn's silent bat minion "Horakoth" and fighting for her while he waits to achieve his ends, Hordak bides his time on Eternia until the final battle with Skeletor. Not wanting to risk Evil-Lyn, Hordak removes her from the battlefield entirely and reveals himself to her, declaring that he wants a herald for his people's invasion. When Evil-Lyn expresses her refusal to serve, Hordak offers his hand in equal partnership before revealing that he is her father.
