Teela

Template:Infobox He-Man/She-Ra Character Teela ("Warrior Goddess!") (IPA: /ˈtiː.lə/) is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. She is the Captain of the Royal Guard at the palace of Eternos and thus responsible for training and protecting Prince Adam of Eternia. While Adam is He-Man, Teela often assists him in his battles, but she is unaware of his alternate identity. Teela is one of the first characters developed for Masters of the Universe, although her figure was released in the second half of the first wave. Writer Donald F. Glut named her after Gunga Ram's elephant from the Andy's Gang television show.

Minicomics

Teela is presented in the earliest media as a heroic "warrior goddess," a capable female fighter -- one imbued with the spirits of great warriors of the past -- who roams the deserted landscapes of Eternia atop a unicorn. In a fashion typical of 1980's cartoons, she was portrayed in a leotard. The second-wave minicomic The Tale of Teela explains that, twenty years earlier, Skeletor captured the Goddess (a.k.a. Sorceress) and made a clone of her using an ancient artifact. His plan was to raise the child as an evil version of the Goddess. However, the clone was rescued by Man-At-Arms and grew up to become the warrior goddess Teela. (Note: the character Goddess was later referred to as "Sorceress" only, and her appearance was altered for television, with the cobra-themed costume being replaced with a falcon-themed one. In the show, Teela was the biological daughter of the Sorceress rather than a clone.)

Teela appeared in the following illustrated books (the first four titles in the list) and minicomics:

• He-Man and the Power Sword
• King of Castle Grayskull
• Battle in the Clouds
• The Vengeance of Skeletor
• The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces
• The Terror of Tri-Klops
• The Menace of Trap Jaw
• The Tale of Teela
• The Magic Stealer!
• Dragon's Gift
• The Secret Liquid of Life
• He-Man and the Insect People
• Double-Ended Sword
• The Temple of Darkness
• Siege of Avion
• The Obelisk
• Skeletor's Dragon
• The Battle of Roboto
• Grizzlor: The Legend Comes Alive!
• Hordak: The Ruthless Leader's Revenge!
• Spikor Strikes
• The Stench of Evil
• Mantenna and the Menace of the Evil Horde!
• The Treachery of Modulok
• The Terror Claws Strike!
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place!
• Eye of the Storm
• The Menace of Multi-Bot
• The Hordes of Hordak
• Energy Zoids

Filmation animated series

File:Teela1980s.jpg

Teela as she appears in the 1980s version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

File:She-ra-dawson.jpg

Two pencil layout drawings (key-frames of animation) of Teela from the 1984 He-Man series. Also pictured is the Filmation layout folder.
Artist:Lindsay Dawson.

In the Filmation animated series, Teela is the biological daughter of the Sorceress. When Teela was an infant, the Sorceress gave her to Man-At-Arms, who raised her as his own daughter. In Teela's Quest, Teela discovers the truth about her mother from Eternia's Oracle of the Crystal Sea, but an emotionally distraught Sorceress erases the revelation from Teela's memory for her own protection, even though the Sorceress desperately wishes she could tell Teela the truth. Teela's biological father is never revealed; Man-At-Arms says he was one of Eternia's greatest men.

Despite her excellent fighting skills and generally being sensible and level-headed, Teela has a reckless streak like that of a wild tomboy, a far cry from her mother's soft-spoken temperament. In the Filmation series, Teela's recklessness and quick temper in situations that she does not agree with often lead to poor judgment, which results in dangerous situations. Unaware of Adam's dual-identity and duties that go with it, Teela often reprimands him for being lazy, cowardly and not attentive to his training.[1]

Ladybird books

In the UK Ladybird Masters of the Universe storybook series, particularly in "A Trap For He-Man", Teela's cobra staff gives her some telepathic ability and allows her to communicate with a few wild creatures. This ability does not appear in any other media.

2002 series

File:Mike Young Teela 2002.jpg

Teela as she appears in the 2002 series. This image is property of Mike Young Productions.

The basic outline of her character remains the same in the 2002 series, but is taken to a greater extreme due to a difference in censors and restrictions. She still teases or reprimands Adam for his apparent lack of courage and gumption while harboring an unspoken and unconsummated crush on his alter-ego, He-Man, and is still a very durable fighter in her own right. However, Teela appears to be much younger and leaner in the 2002 series than she is in the 1980s series. She also wears her hair in a long ponytail, as opposed to the 1980s figure and cartoon character who are represented with their hair up. Although the Filmation version of Teela has a short temper, the new version of Teela is portrayed as brasher and slightly more aggressive. In the episode Out of the Past, Teela says that she is 16 years old; her age in the original series is never specified, although in the second season episode, "The Great Books Mystery", Adam celebrates his 19th birthday, and it is generally indicated throughout the series that he and Teela are approximately the same age and grew up together. She also briefly displays limited telepathic powers after a blood transfusion from her mother the Sorceress; the power fades as the Sorceress's blood fades away within Teela's blood. As with the previous versions of the story, Teela was adopted by Man-At-Arms, or rather was entrusted to him by her mother the Sorceress, because her birth father, an amnesiac Eternian soldier whom the Sorceress had nursed back to health, had disappeared, having presumably died in battle. There are hints in both the episode "Out of the Past" as well as the 3rd season episode guide of the series DVD, that Man-At-Arms is actually her biological father as well. It was intended that Teela would learn the truth of her heritage in the third season, but the series was canceled before it could be resolved. Despite her young age, Teela is the Captain of the Palace Guard as in the original series and seen in several episodes commanding the palace soldiers.

In the MOTU comic produced at the same time, a greater emphisis is placed on Teela and Adam's friendship. Teela admits in the original mini-series that she would rather play with him, as they did as children within the palace walls, than be a soldier trained to expect war. Adam reassures her that what she does will bring that day closer, holding her hand. In the regular comic series, she becomes jealous of the attention Adam lavishes on a weak, critically injured Evil-Lyn.

Portrayal

File:Chelsea Fields Teela.jpg

Chelsea Field as Teela in the 1987 Masters of the Universe film.

In the 1980s series, Teela is voiced by Linda Gary. In the 1987 film, she is portrayed by Chelsea Field as a mostly serious fighter who only occasionally allows a sense of humor to show through. Nothing is said of her being the daughter of the Sorceress. Teela's costume in the film is quite different from its animated depictions. It covers more of her body, including her arms and legs, and is colored gray. She portrays Teela as having curly brown hair rather than the usual red/auburn hair.

In the series The New Adventures of He-Man, which ran from 1990-1991, Teela makes one appearance in the episode Once Upon a Time, a rare reference to the vintage Filmation series. However, she bears no resemblance to her Filmation counterpart, being portrayed with long blonde hair (as featured in the very first mini-comic) instead of red hair. She wears a pink leotard, rather than the usual white one. She is voiced by Cathy Weseluck.

In the 2002 series, Teela is voiced by Lisa Ann Beley, and she has auburn hair.

Other Media

• Teela appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Badunkadunk" voiced by Seth Green. On the Eternia News Network, the co-anchor reports that she and Beast Man were in a scandal whereby their sex romp was caught on tape and shown, similar to the Paris Hilton sex tape incident. After a press conference by Man-At-Arms, the co-anchor asks how this will affect her upcoming reality show "Country Folk R Morons" where she co-stars with Evil-Lyn. Eden Espinosa voices Teela in the episode "I'm Trapped." She is shown attending King Randor's birthday party. When Faker appears and is mistakened as the real He-Man, Faker compliments Teela's breasts.

See also

• The Tale of Teela

External links

• Collection of all Teela Action Figures and Pictures
• Teela's Biography