Keldor action figure from the Masters of the Universe Classics line.

Figure Sculpt

Bio

Banished from the royal palace, in part due to distrust for the rare blue-skinned Gar race, Prince Keldor became an outcast. He travelled Eternia seeking knowledge and guidance, eventually discovering the ancient Spirit of Hordak. From him, Keldor learned of the dark arts and came to realize that to truly unite Eternia he would need to take command of the planet himself. He gathered an army of fellow outcasts and led them into battle against his brother, Captain Randor. Eventually defeated and near death, Keldor once again turned to Hordak who, in exchange for his own freedom, agreed to save Keldor’s life by merging him with Demo-Man, twisting Keldor into Skeletor – Lord of Destruction!

Keldor’s MOTU Classics Canon

Establishing yet another origin for Skeletor, the Classics canon blended elements from previous media with new concepts. Prince Keldor was the son of King Miro, half brother of Prince Randor, and rightful heir to the throne of Eternia, despite his controversial half-Gar and half-human heritage. The brothers completed a successful campaign during the Great Unrest, but a vengeful Count Marzo banished Miro to Despondos, leaving Eternia without a king. The citizens of Eternia, influenced by an outside force and long-held racism, would not accept the half-Gar prince as their ruler. When Randor found Keldor standing over the murdered form of Randor’s mother, the queen, and professing it had been an accident, he banished his brother from Eternos.

An outcast, Keldor wandered Eternia, dwelling on his brother’s betrayal and the loss of his birthright. He acquired a double-bladed sword that could be split in two and used with one half in each hand. Drawn by a supernatural force, Keldor discovered Hordak’s ancient temple, where the spirit of Hordak appeared and offered to teach him the dark arts. Although Hordak sent him to obtain the Havoc Staff from the Faceless One, Keldor decided its power made him strong enough to leave Hordak’s service and shape his own destiny. Keldor and Evil-Lyn, the Faceless One’s adult daughter, met, fell in love, and were secretly married.

After being mortally wounded in combat against his brother, Keldor was taken by Beast Man and Evil-Lyn back to Hordak’s temple. Created by the Spirit of Hordak, Skeletor was born out of a merging of the wounded Prince Keldor and a chaotic demon from Despondos, Demo-Man. Assuming control of Keldor’s army, Skeletor sought the throne of Eternia. The transformation obliterated Keldor’s love for Evil-Lyn, which earned him her ire, although she still chose to remain with him.

For more on Skeletor’s MOTU Classics canon, view the 2009 Masters of the Universe Skeletor Figure.

The Masters of the Universe Classics line, launched in 2008, is a new line of action figures based on the classic characters from all aspects of the Masters of the Universe franchise. Available solely from Mattel’s website and aimed purely at collectors, the line also includes biographical descriptions of the characters designed to tie the diverging aspects of the mythos together.

Based on the look of the original 1980s MOTU toys, this new toy line was aimed primarily at the adult toy collector market, often available only through subscriptions (from MattyCollector). Sculpted by the Four Horsemen, these toys were updated versions of previous figures as well as characters that never before had an action figure made of them; such as Filmation’s Queen Marlena, Fang-Man, Lizard-Man, Count Marzo, Granamyr, and many others. The toy line featured many redesigned and updated action figures from the original action-figure line from the 1980s, but it also included characters from She-Ra: Princess of Power (Adora, Madame Razz, Scorpia, Shadow Weaver, and others), The New Adventures of He-Man (Mara, Crita, and more), and the Mike Young Productions series from 2002 (Faceless One, Chief Carnivus, King Chooblah, Ceratus, and others). As the line progressed, characters from all versions of MOTU lore were included, from such things such as prototypes and concept art (He-Ro, Eldor, Demo-Man, Gygor, Vykor, and others), box art from vehicles and model kits (Sky High and the Fighting Foe Men), mini comics (the Goddess, Geldor, and Procrustus), and other books, comics, and media (Despara, Strobo, Goat-Man, and more). There were also newly created figures, exclusive to the Classics toy line, such as Draego-Man, Cy-Chop, Castle Grayskullman, and others. In February 2010, the figures of He-Man and Skeletor were available as Toys “R” Us exclusives packed in two-packs with Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively, from Mattel’s DC Universe Classics action figure line; with this dual line expanded to include two-packs featuring Aquaman/Mer-Man, Hawkman/Stratos, Bizarro/Faker, Supergirl/She-Ra, and Green Lantern/Zodac.

Masters of the Universe Classics surpassed the original 1980s toy line in terms of length, running continuously for seven years with more than 150 different figures produced since its launch in August 2008. Along with the Classics series, MOTU Minis and Giants figures were also released in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Mattel ended production on the MOTU Classics and MattyCollector.com’s Club Grayskull series, with the production company Super7 now taking over the Masters of the Universe license.