Please enjoy the latest chapter in a fic where I'm basically just taking comic panels out of context and running away with them to make my own story.

King Hiss/the Faceless One

it only just occurred to me that even if Skeletor doesn't exist in this AU and there was no pressing need for Adam to claim the Power Sword right away, Man-at-Arms probably should have still introduced Adam to the Sorceress on his 16th birthday. Only after his party, when things had calmed down and there wasn't the immediate danger of an in-progress attack.

the Sorceress would have then taken the year between Adam's 16th birthday and the revival of King Hiss to train Adam how to be He-Man so that he was ready to fight the forces of evil before a hero and Champion was needed

I need to re-write the chapter I just wrote *groans*

This new design for King Hiss is much more regal and kingly...

... .. .but I don't think I like it...?

The Snakemen episodes in the 2002 MotU were some of the best episodes.

Hang on a sec I gotta google something-

...I'm gonna assume this Ask is specifically in reference to the Snakemen as depicted in the newer CGI/Core Masters of the Universe.

Because in the 200x version, the Snakemen did have the same level of variety as the Serpentine from Ninjago (as far as a 1 minute google search was able to show me).

Both are true.

In the 200X cartoon, Kobra Kahn was the sole architect of King Hiss' revival. In "Snake Pit" he sneaks into Snake Mountain to try and open the Void with an ancient talisman he just happens to have in his position. He does succeed in opening the Void for a short time, but King Hiss doesn't make it out. General Rattlor is the only Snakeman who escapes the Void. Later in the "Rise of the Snakemen Part 1" Kobra Khan and Rattlor team up with Evil-Lyn and the three of them working together succeed in reviving King Hiss.

In the Vintage mini-comics that came packaged with the toys in the 80s, Skeletor discovered the pit that King Hiss was sealed in under Snake Mountain. He wants to release the being sealed inside it to use them to defeat He-Man. Kobra Khan warns Skeletor against doing this, but Skeletor does it anyway.

Classics-Line Mini-Comics, a Summary and Explanation: Issue # 3 "Second Ultimate Battleground" 

What everything in the previous 2 issues was building to. The ultimate battle between our heroes and villains.

It was already mentioned that She-Ra and her Great Rebellion from Etheria came to Eternia to help He-Man and the Masters of the Universe defeat the Evil Horde, but this is the first issue in the Classics-Line run where we actually get to see any of the She-Ra characters.

Also, after their battle in the past, and his subsequent capture, Skeletor has agreed to join He-Man and She-Ra and defend Eternia against the Horde and the Snakemen.

Note that Skeletor calls himself the "rightful heir". Not context for this line has been given yet, but it will be explained later.

As the title of this issue would imply, there then follows a huge battle.

You will notice that Skeletor's Evil Warriors can be seen on both sides of the conflict. This is because, with Skeletor siding with and supporting He-Man instead of remaining the leader of his own faction, Skeletor's minions were left to choose for themselves which side would best serve their interests.

This battle truly does live up to the name "ultimate battleground" as this battle fills a total of three 2-page spreads in the issue.

But not everything that happens in the battle is an impersonal wide shot.

Important personal battles are also going on at the same time.

Remember how it was mentioned in exposition that Man-at-Arms (Duncan) was turned into a Snakeman?

Well, what wasn't explained in the exposition was, according to the head writer for the Classics-Line, Scott Neitlich, after Duncan was turned, Clamp Champ (Raenius) was appointed as the new Man-at-Arms. He always admired Duncan and was very honored by the promotion and equally saddened by the circumstances of how it happened. Raenius vowed to one day save Duncan so that the man he looked up to and admired can enjoy a safe retirement and live out the rest of his life in comfort.

Well, if you look at the above pair of panels, you can see how that went.

Raenius is forced to kill the man he admired so much.

But that's not the only deeply personal conflict going on.

Remember: Hordak used to be Skeletor's teacher.

She-Ra wants to take on Hordak together with He-Man and Skeletor. With the three of them combining their power, they can't lose!

But Skeletor is still bitter over Hordak abandoning him that night they kidnapped Adora and so throws the twins up and out of the way while Skeletor goes after Hordak all by himself. (As with most of Skeletor's plans consistently through out the franchise, this does not go well for him.)

But that's not even the most climactic vignette on this battleground!

Remember in the previous issue Adam decided that the Spell of Separation was the key to defeated the Snakemen?

Well, he wasn't wrong.

But look who they gave it to!

Anyway, Orko does 2 things he's never done before.

Good job Scott Neitlich and Classic-Line writing team!

There is actually a lot of extended lore about this one action by Orko, but it's not shown (or even alluded to) within the run of the comics. One of Orko's later toy bios tries to explain away Orko's annihilation of the Snakemen by saying that he didn't know what the Spell of Separation would do and he was shocked and appalled when he saw it separate their lives from their bodies and he realized he had just wiped out an entire race. Orko then goes into a deep depression and becomes grim-dark for a while.

But I'll let one of the many Orko fan blogs on this site talk more about that. This post is supposed to be about the comics.

Since Skeletor sent He-Man and She-Ra away and chose to fight Hordak on his own, Skeletor looses horrible. (Big surprise.) He lay injured and dying on the ground as He-Man and She-Ra run to his aid. But Skeletor pushes them away with the Havoc staff and instead uses the last of his magic to absorb the life force and some tech parts from a dinosaur-cyborg nearby.

This turns him into Laser Light Skeletor, the Skeletor of New Adventures of He-Man.

He then flies off into outer space.

Teela announces that, finally, Eternia has peace.

Then in the very next panel, a spaceship shows up and two dudes walk out to announce they have a Skeletor problem and need He-Man and She-Ra to come and fix it for them.

And the adventure continues!

Explanation:

Then needed to feature as many characters as they possibly could and it was cheaper to shove them all into one comic than make a new comic for every group of 3-5 characters. Hence all the wide 2-page spreads fitting as many characters into the frames as possible.

It's really not that deep.

You can read "Second Ultimate Battleground" here:

Classics-Line Mini-Comics, a Summary and Explanation: Issue # 1 "The Legend Begins"

This is the first issue of the Classic-Line comics, but the title is misleading. The story picks up in the middle of an on-going crisis with very little explanation and the assumption that the reader already just "knows" what's going on.

The title "the Legend Begins" does not refer to the beginning of He-Man, but instead the beginning of King Grayskull's legend.

The Classics-Line "the Legend Begins" is actually a retelling of an older Masters of the Universe mini-comic from the Vintage era of the franchise.

There are minor and inconsequential differences, but the main plot is the same:

Specifically, our protagonists (He-Man, Teela, She-Ra, etc.) are losing ground on on the defensive against the multiple fronts of the Snakemen, the Horde, and Skeletor. The Sorceress is dead, Man-at-Arms has been transformed into a Snakeman, and our heroes are forced underground and living in caves.

Teela uses her newfound power as the New Sorceress in combination with the power of the newly risen Central Tower to send Adam back in time to the Preternia Era, the time of King Grayskull.

But Skeletor was also skulking around Central Tower (as one does) and saw Teela send Adam to the past. Before the portal closes, Skeletor sneaks through and follows Adam to the Preternia Era.

While in the past, Adam must disguise his identity to avoid causing a paradox.

Immediately after arriving in the past, Adam starts performing good deeds and saves a dinosaur that was being attacked by Snakemen. This dinosaur then becomes his steed for the reminder of time Adam is in the past.

Meanwhile, Skeletor looks up his ex-boyfriend former roommate, King Hiss.

Note how King Hiss makes mention of "the Unnamed One" on both. Even in 1987 Mattel had already planned for the concept that would eventually become Gorpo the Unnamed even back then.

The original Vintage version of this issue ends with the Sorceress (which is Teela-Na, not Teela in that version) telling Adam that he needs to find a wizard to help him.

The Classics-Line version of this comic ends with He-Ro (a wizard) helping Adam out then promptly vanishing.

Both endings set up for the next issue, but the 1987 issue never got a follow-up, while the 2012 version was just the first of a short run of comics that would be companion pieces for Mattel's 2010s collectors toy line.

Explanation:

The Classics-Line comics were packaged with Classics-Line action figures, which were marketed and priced for adults and toy collectors. The assumption was that the people buying the Classics-Line were the same children that had played with the toys in the 80s and were already familiar with Masters of the Universe characters and lore.

The audience was just supposed to already know what the Three Towers are, who Adam|He-Man, Teela, Skeletor, and King Hiss are, and so on. Any exposition given is the bare minimum and only when absolutely necessary.

You can read issue # 1 of the Classics-Line here:

Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.

I agree, Trap Jaw II does have a really cool design!

As to whether or not he's a Snakeman or not, or if he's even King Hiss', we just don't know.

All that we know about TJ2 from canon is his name and his appearance.

However, it is my personal headcanon that TJ2 is a Snakeman and is King Hiss' son. His other parent differs depending on my moods, sometimes King Hiss' mate was Rattlor, sometimes Kobra Kahn, sometimes just a nameless OC that's not important. But one thing is always consistent: King Hiss was the one who laid the egg.

I really wish they gave us some clearer images of TJ2. I'd like to commission fan art of him. But I simply cannot because no artist alive would accept a commission with shitty ref images like the ones above. (Those 4 images are every image there is of him, by the way. I combed through those comics looking for him.)

I feel like Mattel should create a new MotU character that's the child/heir of King Hiss.

Think about it.

He-Man has a son

Skeletor has a son

Hordak has a nephew

Hiss should have a son, or a daughter, or a niece, or a nephew, or a clone, or some kind of next gen relation and/or heir.

And I have a couple of ideas for some existing characters that Mattel could take and expand into a child or heir for King Hiss.

Trap Jaw II, who has a prosthetic jaw, but otherwise looks like a Snakeman could be rewritten into King Hiss' offspring. He so underdeveloped, we know nothing about it but his name.

Or, Mattel could also use the Snakeman archer, Quick Flick. Another character that exists and is canon, but we know nothing about them except for their name.

I also want a King Hiss and New Eternia Evil-Lyn! <3

I'd also like Dragon Blaster Armor Skeletor, He-Ro II (Prince Dare), Skeleteen, Mighty Spector (yes, I know there was that "leaked" list that named him, but that list was "leaked" on April 1st, so I don't trust it). I'd also like to get figures of more of the Next Gen characters. Mer-Man II, Bug-Eye, Tongue Lasher (not to be confused with Tung Lashor)...

Basically, I want everyone who appears in this comic panel:

And a Masterverse Mo-Larr would be funny too.