Powet Alphabet: P is for Powers of Grayskull

Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Today is P for the Powers of Grayskull. The Powers of Grayskull was a line proposed in 1987 that would serve as a sort of prequel to MOTU as we had known it. While some of the figures made it to the prototype phase and licensing material was sent out to interested companies, nothing ever materialized as far as a full scale toy line. After the jump we’ll dig a little deeper into what was really planned for the series based on what has been found.

The Powers of Grayskull took place in the distant past of Eternia, sometimes referred to as Preternia. Not a lot is known about this series except for what has been pieced together from various clues and notes. The biggest clue was the very last mini-comic that came with the figures at the end of the original MOTU line. It served as bridge between the current toy line and the POG line. The Sorceress basically sends He-Man back in time in a disguise. The disguise was needed for reasons He-Man would find out in the near the future. Unfortunately, the mini-comic was part 1 of 3 and parts 2 and 3 were never made. The comic ends with a shadowy figure using magic to send everyone away including He-Man back to his own time. It would later be revealed that the shadowy figure was, in fact, He-Ro, the most powerful wizard in the universe.

The comic was included with three large creatures that the other figures could ride. Those creatures were Bionatops, Turbodactyl, and Tyrantisaurus Rex. These three were actually supposed to be part of the POG line, along with the giants Tytus and Megator, who never saw a domestic release in the US. The giants were only produced for the European market.

The packaging on the dinosaurs gave a little more insight to the story.

Travel back in time through a secret time portal- and discover the origin of the powers of Grayskull.
Learn how He-Man became so strong! And explore the magical world of Pre-Eternia home of He-Ro, the most
powerful wizard in the universe.

Monstrous dinosaurs and fierce giants- both good and evil- struggle violently for control of this strange
and hostile land. The dinosaurs in the time of He-Ro Tyrantisaurus Rex, Bionatops, and Turbodactyl- each
possess a fantastic mechanical power. Can He-Ro master all the good magics of the ancient wizards, and protect
future eternia from forever falling into the claws of evil?

Look for He-Ro and the Powers of Greayskull coming your way in 1987!

We know a bit more about He-Ro thanks to the discovery of a style guide that Mattel had sent out to licencors that included a bio for He-Ro along with a few other items including a sticker with the image I posted at the top of this post. Apparently, it was posted online and quickly taken down at the behest of the Mattel legal department, but not before some fan was able to get a copy of it. It has since been reposted many many times over. Here is the text of He-Ro’s bio:

Name: Gray
Identity: Secret (ancestor of He-Man and She-Ra)
Real Name: Hero, alter ego of Gray
Role: First recipient of the Powers of Grayskull and original leader of the heroic forces in prehistoric Eternia against the evil Dino Reptilian Kingdom
Power: As well as possessing the fabulous strength of He-Man, He-Ro has another power uniquely his own. It is the power of natural magic: an ability to magically influence elements of nature. He-Ro draws his power from the Book of Transformation.
Character Profile: Reared under the tuteledge of his mentor, ELDOR, and the tribal chieftess, Sharella, Gray was one day mysteriously drawn to a nearby cave. There, in darkness and in light, he was invested with the newly evolved powers that would change his his life and alter the course of history in Eternia. The exact details of what transpired in that cave have remained secret, but Eldor has made cryptic allusions…references to the boy’s mysterious past, to an amazing legacy… and an awesome task which Gray accomplished that day in the cave. By placing one hand on his heart, flexing the other arm into a muscle and incanting, “Magic and strength…tempered by heart!” Gray causes an amazing transformation to occur, becoming the He-Ro of Grayskull and announcing, “I stand for Peace!”
Weapons: He-Ro channels his energy through a marvelous staff which can direct a magic ray to specific parts of the environment, causing the likes of inanimate rocks, rivers, and trees to respond to his commands.
Note: With powers of this scope, it might seem ludicrous to suggest any way in which He-Ro could be less powerful than He-Man. But He-Man does have one power He-Ro lacks: the power of wisdom and maturity. He-Ro is younger and still learning to use his powers.

The evil Dino Reptilian Kingdom was the faction that would eventually become known to us as the Snakemen.

He-Ro and Eldor made it as far as the prototype phase (pictured). In recent months, the card art for these prototypes were found and a picture of Eldor’s cardback was posted on He-Man.org here. The back of Eldor’s card appears to read:

Profile: Heroic Guardian of the Book of Living Spells… responsible for transforming Gray into He-Ro, the Most Powerful Wizard in the universe!
Weapon: The Knowledge of the Ancients
Origin: Unknown

The Book Of Living Spells:

The Book Of Living Spells contains the ultimate secrets of Preternia- the Secrets of Transformation. Thus whenever Eldor opens it, he can uncover all the secrets of past, present, and future Eternia- AND CHANGE IT! For nothing on Preternia stays the same… as you will soon see!

Thats about all the information that there is outside of Mattel HQ on the Powers of Grayskull. In the latest line, Masters of the Universe Classics, an attempt has been made to make one over arching storyline involving all generations of MOTU mythos (New Adventures, MOTU, Princess of Power, etc). It is believed that Gray, the alter-ego of He-Ro, would have eventually become King Grayskull. The first figure in the MOTUC line was, in fact, King Grayskull and later on one SDCC exclusive was He-Ro. Effectively the same person in the original in the original plan, these characters have been made unique and are actually two separate people in the MOTUC continuity.

He-Ro’s bio:

He-Ro
Heroic Cosmic Warrior
Real Name: Ro
Given the sword of He by the Overlords of the Timeless Dimension on Trolla, Ro was told to “go forth and combat evil.” During one such epic battle, he was infected by a techno-organic virus by Horde Supreme and sent through a vortex to the magic planet of Eternia. Once there, he was healed by Eldor in a mystical pool which absorved his virus. In gratitude, He-Ro swore to help free Eternia from the Snake Men and Horde Invaders. He defended the free people alongside the great King Grayskull, eventually bequething his sword to the King upon his heroic death.

Oh, and one last thing. I found this picture, but no information on it. Nothing short of awesome.

Images of Dinosaur packaging from Grayskull Museum.
Images of Tytus and Megator from GeekOrthodox.