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{{short description|Fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise}}
{{short description|Fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise}}
{{Infobox character
{{Infobox character
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| family = [[He-Man]] (descendant) <br>[[She-Ra]] (descendant) <br>[[King Randor]] (descendant)
| family = [[He-Man]] (descendant) <br>[[She-Ra]] (descendant) <br>[[King Randor]] (descendant)
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'''King Grayskull''' is a [[fictional character]] first introduced in the 2002 [[animated series]] ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title= REVIEW: Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull |work= [[MTV]]|url= http://www.mtv.com/news/2619772/review-masters-of-the-universe-classics-king-grayskull/|accessdate=2011-02-28}}</ref>In 2021, the character was introduced in the ''[[Masters of the Universe: Revelation]]'' animated series which has no connection to the 2002 series and serves as a continuation of the ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' animated series from the 1980's.
'''King Grayskull''' is a [[fictional character]] first introduced in the 2002 [[animated series]] ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]''.<ref name=MTV>{{cite web | title= REVIEW: Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull |work= [[MTV]]|url= http://www.mtv.com/news/2619772/review-masters-of-the-universe-classics-king-grayskull/|accessdate=2011-02-28}}</ref> In 2021, the character was introduced in the ''[[Masters of the Universe: Revelation]]'' animated series which has no connection to the 2002 series and serves as a continuation of the ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' animated series from the 1980's.


===He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)===
===He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)===
In the [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|2002 remake]] of ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'', it is revealed that [[Castle Grayskull]] was once home to King Grayskull, an ancestor of [[Prince Adam]] and [[Princess Adora]].<ref>{{cite news|title= REVIEW: Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull|work= [[MTV]]|url= http://www.mtv.com/news/2619772/review-masters-of-the-universe-classics-king-grayskull/|accessdate=2011-05-01}}</ref> He appears in the episode, "The Power of Grayskull", waging battle and ultimately defeating the Snake Men led by [[King Hiss]] but lost his sword in battle. He hoped it to be a sign that it signified true peace for Eternia. However, Hiss' rival [[Hordak]], who had defeated the Snake Men, was planning on conquering Eternia. Therefore, Grayskull went on a quest to find the power he needed to defend his kingdom. At the top of a mountain, he met the oracle who guided him on his quest, showing him his lost sword and explaining that his entire quest was to show his inner strength. Before leaving however, the Oracle informed him that he would not survive the battle. Despite knowing this, King Grayskull vowed to do whatever it took to save Eternia. He then returned to face Hordak. Though outnumbered, Grayskull managed to channel his mystical energies through his sword, turning Hordak's spell on himself and his army, sending them to the dark dimension called Despondos. Despite this victory however, the Oracle's prophecy came to pass, for Hordak, whose spirit/soul was ripped from his body, managed to mortally wound Grayskull. As he lay dying, he proclaimed that his successor will wield his sword to defend Eternia. During his lifetime, King Grayskull ruled with wisdom and compassion.<ref name="he-man.org">{{cite news|title=Ian Richter's answers to fan question revealed! Please discuss in this thread...|work=He-man.org|url=http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/showthread.php?t=118744|accessdate=2009-05-08}}</ref>
In the [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|2002 remake]] of ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'', it is revealed that [[Castle Grayskull]] was once home to King Grayskull, an ancestor of [[Prince Adam]] and [[Princess Adora]].<ref name=MTV/>
He appears in the episode, "The Power of Grayskull", waging battle and ultimately defeating the Snake Men led by [[King Hiss]] but lost his sword in battle. He hoped it to be a sign that it signified true peace for Eternia. However, Hiss' rival [[Hordak]], who had defeated the Snake Men, was planning on conquering Eternia. Therefore, Grayskull went on a quest to find the power he needed to defend his kingdom. At the top of a mountain, he met the oracle who guided him on his quest, showing him his lost sword and explaining that his entire quest was to show his inner strength. Before leaving however, the Oracle informed him that he would not survive the battle. Despite knowing this, King Grayskull vowed to do whatever it took to save Eternia. He then returned to face Hordak. Though outnumbered, Grayskull managed to channel his mystical energies through his sword, turning Hordak's spell on himself and his army, sending them to the dark dimension called Despondos. Despite this victory however, the Oracle's prophecy came to pass, for Hordak, whose spirit/soul was ripped from his body, managed to mortally wound Grayskull. As he lay dying, he proclaimed that his successor will wield his sword to defend Eternia. During his lifetime, King Grayskull ruled with wisdom and compassion.<ref name="he-man.org">{{cite news|title=Ian Richter's answers to fan question revealed! Please discuss in this thread...|work=He-man.org|url=http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/showthread.php?t=118744|accessdate=2009-05-08}}</ref>


King Grayskull's character design was originally an early prototype for He-Man himself.<ref name="he-man.org"/>
Upon his death, King Grayskull transferred his mystical energies into [[The Power Sword|his Power Sword]] which now forms the basis of He-Man's power, thus the transformation cry "By the power of Grayskull!", (at least in this version) refers to the king, not the castle. His wife, Queen Veena, became the first [[Sorceress of Castle Grayskull|Sorceress]] and his advisers became the Council of Elders, who were empowered by his sword. The Sorceress first introduced the story to Prince Adam by showing him a previously unrevealed statue of his titanic ancestor inside the bowels of [[Castle Grayskull]].


⚫
Although Grayskull eventually fell before Hordak's magic, he was able to preserve his powers inside the sword, so that one day his descendants could reclaim the power and call upon Grayskull's name whenever evil threatens the peace of Eternia. Grayskull's spirit remains hidden away deep inside the castle which will forever bear his name.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rbmvDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA412|title=He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Character Guide and World Compendium|last=Various|date=23 May 2017|publisher=Dark Horse Comics|isbn=9781630086886}}</ref>
King Grayskull's character design was originally an early prototype for He-Man himself.<ref name="he-man.org"/> His appearance is largely the same as He-Man's but with much more exaggerated muscular body proportions resulting in an enormous stature, with long hair gathered into loose ponytails framing his face, and wearing a long brown cape with fur-topped shoulders. The producers liked it enough that they decided to use it for King Grayskull. Whereas He-Man rides the green tiger Battle Cat, King Grayskull rode an even larger giant green lion, and during his war with the Snake Men he was shown also wearing the same "Snake Armour" He-Man used in the second season. King Grayskull was voiced by [[Cam Clarke]], He-Man's voice actor for the 2002 series.

The packaging for the King Grayskull action figure included a short character biography that largely recounted the aforementioned story from the 2002 series, but also included the additional information that Grayskull had fought alongside [[He-Ro]] (implicitly the [[The Powers of Grayskull - The Legend Begins!|Preternia]] version), a fact – and character – unmentioned in the cartoon. This information, as well as the inclusion of classic rather than 2002-style accessories, seemed to indicate that the toy of King Greyskull represents a [[Retcon|hitherto nonexistent]] version of the character situated in the classic 1980's continuity as opposed to the [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|2002 remake]].

This would prove to be partly true, as the character bios on subsequent releases in the MOTU Classics line indicate that the new figure line is using a [[Continuity (fiction)|new continuity]] which melds story elements from various different incarnations of the franchise, including the 2002 series' backstory.

King Grayskull's bio read as follows *NOTE: His story is the beginning of new Classic's storyline that is being told through the bios on card backs of the exclusively on-line series of figures*
Long before Prince Adam held the Sword of Power to become He-Man, his ancestor, King Grayskull defended Eternia from evil. Heroically mastering the secret power of his sword, Grayskull fought side by side with the cosmic warrior He-Ro against both the evil Hordak and King Hiss.

⚫
Although Grayskull eventually fell before Hordak's magic, he was able to preserve his powers inside the sword, so that one day his descendants could reclaim the power and call upon Grayskull's name whenever evil threatens the peace of Eternia. To this day, Grayskull's spirit remains hidden away deep inside the castle which will forever bear his name.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rbmvDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA412|title=He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Character Guide and World Compendium|last=Various|date=23 May 2017|publisher=Dark Horse Comics|isbn=9781630086886}}</ref>

Finally, King Grayskull was transformed by Netflox, the evil master of the displaced warriors, but he killed him by recovering his original figure, the corpse of Netflox was thrown at the end of the universe, in a time beyond the future, where it ended up being consumed in an entropy.


===Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)===
===Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)===
Although created for the 2002 ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' series, King Greyskull appears in the 2021 [[Netflix]] series, ''[[Masters of the Universe: Revelation]]''. He is voiced by [[Dennis Haysbert]]. The series is a continuation of the original ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' [[Filmation]] series which ran from 1983 to 1985 and has no connection to the 2002 animated series which was a remake of the original series. King Greyskull is first introduced to the original series [[Canon (fiction)|canon]] in the 2021 [[Dark Horse Comics]] release, ''Masters of the Universe: Revelation No.1'', which serves as a prequel to the 2021 animated series and follows the events of where the original animated series left off.

Having never appeared in the original series canon and only previously introduced in the 2002 series, the 2021 version of King Greyskull is depicted as a [[Black people|Black]] man where in the 2002 series he was [[White people|Caucasian]]. This created some minor controversy in which Netflix's Ted Biaselli responded to this by saying “I hear you and that will indeed be a part of our story too. But a big hurdle when you’re introducing a new character to a line of so many well established characters is that they are bound to be outsiders, and harder to accept as canon, at least for a while. Nobody gives a shit about Sir Lazer Lot. We asked ourselves early on about the need for giant white, blonde dudes in the pantheon of [Masters of the Universe]. And honestly, it makes both characters less special in their iconography.” Biaselli went on to say "I wish I could take credit for being the one with the idea to make [King] Grayskull black. Because now, in the history of all the champions of Grayskull, a black man has a role of prominence. As opposed to just being the guy with the clamp" which was a reference to [[Clamp Champ]], the only black character to receive an action figure in the original toy line.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/07/05/netflix-director-claims-king-grayskull-and-andra-race-swapped-in-masters-of-the-universe-revelations-because-new-characters-could-be-easily-rejected/|title=Netflix Director Claims King Grayskull and Andra Race Swapped in Masters Of The Universe: Revelations Because New Characters “Could Be Easily Rejected”|first=Spencer|last=Baculi|date=5 July 2021|website=Bounding Into Comics}}</ref>
Having never appeared in the original series canon and only previously introduced in the 2002 series, the 2021 version of King Greyskull is depicted as a [[Black people|Black]] man where in the 2002 series he was [[White people|Caucasian]]. This created some minor controversy in which Netflix's Ted Biaselli responded to this by saying “I hear you and that will indeed be a part of our story too. But a big hurdle when you’re introducing a new character to a line of so many well established characters is that they are bound to be outsiders, and harder to accept as canon, at least for a while. Nobody gives a shit about Sir Lazer Lot. We asked ourselves early on about the need for giant white, blonde dudes in the pantheon of [Masters of the Universe]. And honestly, it makes both characters less special in their iconography.” Biaselli went on to say "I wish I could take credit for being the one with the idea to make [King] Grayskull black. Because now, in the history of all the champions of Grayskull, a black man has a role of prominence. As opposed to just being the guy with the clamp" which was a reference to [[Clamp Champ]], the only black character to receive an action figure in the original toy line.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/07/05/netflix-director-claims-king-grayskull-and-andra-race-swapped-in-masters-of-the-universe-revelations-because-new-characters-could-be-easily-rejected/|title=Netflix Director Claims King Grayskull and Andra Race Swapped in Masters Of The Universe: Revelations Because New Characters “Could Be Easily Rejected”|first=Spencer|last=Baculi|date=5 July 2021|website=Bounding Into Comics}}</ref>

The backstory for King Greyskull for the 2021 series was explained in the ''Masters of the Universe: Revelation No.1'' comic book:

"500 years before the time of He-Man, King D'Vann Grayskull was teaching his young sons D'Are and Ro how to use a sword, when the Snake Men attacked his Castle, together with a their newfound ally, the Orlax of Primeria. The Orlax picked up D'Are with one of it's tentacles, causing the young boy to fall into a deep sleep immediately. Grayskull found himself unable to hurt the creature with his sword. The Elders explained to him that it existed in two different dimensions at once, and that any would needed to be inflicted in both dimensions simultaniously. Grayskull had to forge himself a new weapon. Using a special kind of dark ore he obtained from Scare Glow. And by merging the newly created sword with his own preternian weapon, he created the Sword of Power that would be used by him and many champions of Etenira to follow.

Grayskull was finally able to defeat the Orlax and cut off the limb that held his son. Unfortunately, young D'Are did not awake from his slumber. Grayskull's wife, Veena, realized that he had not been poisoned, but the Orlax's touch formed a psychic connection too strong for human minds to process. She concluded that the Orlax may have merely been trying to communicate with them. When the Orlax attacked again, a visiting hero from the future used his own sword to cut off another of the beast's tentacles. After mentioning that the creature was called the Orlax, the Hero suggested that King Grayskull might disguise the location of the Hall of Wisdom and encouraged young Ro to keep training with his father. He then left with the second severed limb to go back to his own time."


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 19:51, 26 July 2021

King Grayskull
Masters of the Universe
(2002)
Masters of the Universe: Revelation
(2021) character
First appearanceThe Power of Grayskull
(2003)
The Forge at the Forest Forever
(2021)
Created byDean Stefan
Voiced byCam Clarke
(2003)
Dennis Haysbert
(2021)
In-universe information
SpeciesEternian
GenderMale
TitleKing
FamilyHe-Man (descendant)
She-Ra (descendant)
King Randor (descendant)
SpouseQueen Veena

King Grayskull is a fictional character first introduced in the 2002 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.[1] In 2021, the character was introduced in the Masters of the Universe: Revelation animated series which has no connection to the 2002 series and serves as a continuation of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series from the 1980's.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)

In the 2002 remake of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, it is revealed that Castle Grayskull was once home to King Grayskull, an ancestor of Prince Adam and Princess Adora.[1] He appears in the episode, "The Power of Grayskull", waging battle and ultimately defeating the Snake Men led by King Hiss but lost his sword in battle. He hoped it to be a sign that it signified true peace for Eternia. However, Hiss' rival Hordak, who had defeated the Snake Men, was planning on conquering Eternia. Therefore, Grayskull went on a quest to find the power he needed to defend his kingdom. At the top of a mountain, he met the oracle who guided him on his quest, showing him his lost sword and explaining that his entire quest was to show his inner strength. Before leaving however, the Oracle informed him that he would not survive the battle. Despite knowing this, King Grayskull vowed to do whatever it took to save Eternia. He then returned to face Hordak. Though outnumbered, Grayskull managed to channel his mystical energies through his sword, turning Hordak's spell on himself and his army, sending them to the dark dimension called Despondos. Despite this victory however, the Oracle's prophecy came to pass, for Hordak, whose spirit/soul was ripped from his body, managed to mortally wound Grayskull. As he lay dying, he proclaimed that his successor will wield his sword to defend Eternia. During his lifetime, King Grayskull ruled with wisdom and compassion.[2]

King Grayskull's character design was originally an early prototype for He-Man himself.[2]

Although Grayskull eventually fell before Hordak's magic, he was able to preserve his powers inside the sword, so that one day his descendants could reclaim the power and call upon Grayskull's name whenever evil threatens the peace of Eternia. Grayskull's spirit remains hidden away deep inside the castle which will forever bear his name.[3]

Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)

Having never appeared in the original series canon and only previously introduced in the 2002 series, the 2021 version of King Greyskull is depicted as a Black man where in the 2002 series he was Caucasian. This created some minor controversy in which Netflix's Ted Biaselli responded to this by saying “I hear you and that will indeed be a part of our story too. But a big hurdle when you’re introducing a new character to a line of so many well established characters is that they are bound to be outsiders, and harder to accept as canon, at least for a while. Nobody gives a shit about Sir Lazer Lot. We asked ourselves early on about the need for giant white, blonde dudes in the pantheon of [Masters of the Universe]. And honestly, it makes both characters less special in their iconography.” Biaselli went on to say "I wish I could take credit for being the one with the idea to make [King] Grayskull black. Because now, in the history of all the champions of Grayskull, a black man has a role of prominence. As opposed to just being the guy with the clamp" which was a reference to Clamp Champ, the only black character to receive an action figure in the original toy line.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "REVIEW: Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull". MTV. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Ian Richter's answers to fan question revealed! Please discuss in this thread..." He-man.org. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  3. ^ Various (23 May 2017). He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Character Guide and World Compendium. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 9781630086886.
  4. ^ Baculi, Spencer (5 July 2021). "Netflix Director Claims King Grayskull and Andra Race Swapped in Masters Of The Universe: Revelations Because New Characters "Could Be Easily Rejected"". Bounding Into Comics.
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