CCC #56 - Voting Thread

In the history of Mattel Toys, there has been nothing quite like the phenomena that was He-Man. Roger Sweet, along with designers Mark Taylor and Jill Barad, cobbled together some Big Jim figures with some modelling clay and laid out a trio of them for CEO Ray Wagner at the Mattel Product Conference in 1980. Ray liked the barbarian one and the rest is history.

Toys were made. The public loved them. Then Filmation approached Mattel with a pitch to produce cartoons. In 1987 they made a movie with Dolph Lundgren. By 1989 there were 47 separate heroes and villains, along with the 41 figures from the She-Ra range of toys.

But not all ideas made it off the drawing board. This is the tale of Garrett Silverman.

Garrett worked for Mattel, from 1977 up until his death, in their finance and accounting department. He and his wife, Maria Silverman (née Gomez), lived in Santa Ana along with their autistic son, Alexander.

In 1984 Mattel held a national contest, ‘Be A Master Of Our Universe’ [1]. The premise was to create a hero and a villain and the winner’s entry would be animated into the show, a limited edition action figure made and also a $2000 cash prize.

Garrett knew he wasn’t allowed to enter, but decided to submit an entry under his son’s name as the money, if he won, would go a long way towards helping Alexander’s ongoing medical expenses.

Garrett’s hero was along the lines of the human/creature mash named Cat-A-Polt. A catman cross siege weapon who was a soldier in the Eternian army. An older hero, like Man-At-Arms, the two were old comrades and Cat-A-Polt’s armour design was a similar colour scheme. Cat’s left hand was a large scoop that hurled rocks at his enemies. Garrett even wrote notes about the fictional conflicts he and Man-At-Arms had been in together along with an extensive backstory of the cat people race who lived in the regions that would later (2002) be assigned to King Hiss and the Snake Men.

Garrett villain delved into the largely untapped family tree of Prince Adam. Nothing had been written about them, so, using the British Royal family as a base, he expanded the Eternian royal family.

He gave King Miro a brother; Prince Melkor. Melkor WAS to be next in line but when Miro married Helvanna, also created by Garrett, he was pushed further down the line of succession. Melkor slowly moved from unhappy with his brother to outright hatred when Crown Prince Randor was born.

It was around this time that Melkor took Miro out on a hunt and the pair never returned which left the kingdom in utter chaos, known as ‘The Great Turmoil’ period’ [2]. Randor was raised by his mother, and a series of advisors and regents held the throne until Randor came of age. What really happened to the pair was never elaborated.

Melkor’s daughter, Alexa, grew up despising her younger cousin since her father had spent countless nights berating her with tales of how ungrateful, unworthy and useless his brother and kin were. Alexa had eyes on the throne but being a woman she could never take the throne by herself. She married a pliable noble and produced a strong boy named Khagan, Prince Adam’s 2nd cousin. Khagan would be a villain to Prince Adam and the Eternian throne, a step away from the constant Skeletor attacks Castle Greyskull every week.

And since Garrett worked in the building, he made sure Alexander’s entry was delivered right to CEO Ray Wagner’s desk when Ray is in a pliable mood, namely three thirty on a Friday afternoon which Ray called Scotch-o-clock. Alexander’s entry was nearly declared the winner there and then but Mr Wagner’s secretary (citation needed) reminded him that the contest hadn’t finished yet.

In August, the four finalists had been notified and Garrett was feeling uncomfortable since Alexander’s entry was one of them. Garrett scheduled an appointment with Mr Wagner under the pretence of falling share prices and in the meeting confessed his deception. It was during his confession that Garrett Silverman had a heart attack and died in Mr Wagner’s office, there was speculation that Wagner fired him which triggered the attack (citation needed)

Alexander Silverman’s entry didn’t win, that honour went to 9yr old Campbell Stott of Colorado Springs, but it was saved along with the other entries and unearthed for the book Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea by Roger Sweet.

Garrett Silverman is buried at Santa Ana Cemetery. His widow Maria still lives in their home, though their son Alexander lives full time in facility that specifically caters for those with special needs.

He-Man and The Masters Of The Universe

Lost Episode #56- Enter the Equalizer

Eternia

The heroic warrior Buzz-Off flew over the coastal village of Broke Bottle. There had been reports of raids on the village by Skeletor's forces. The bee man landed on the roof of the lighthouse and scanned the area. The beach and the village were deserted.

He radio'd in to his closest ally. "Mekaneck. This is Buzz-Off. Over."

"I hear you and see you." Mekaneck replied. He was outside the village on a small plateau, his neck extended up fifty feet in the air and his binocular goggles pointed at the village.

"You probably see as much of this as me. The village is empty. The buildings look fine but the people have disappeared." Buzz-Off replied.

"The village isn't completely empty." Mekaneck responded. "Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw are in the mayor's building, which is right next to that lighthouse. They're searching for something. Also, there are two figures walking out of the water on the beach behind you. It looks like Mer-Man and Clawful. I'm going to alert Man-At-Arms. You'll need backup. Stay put and steer clear of the mayor's building for now. Tri-Klops can see through walls. You don't want to alert him."

"Too late. I see him." Buzz-Off replied. "He's looking at me right now and he's on his communicator."

"Get out of there Buzz-Off," Mekaneck ordered. "You're outnumbered."

"So what?" Buzz-Off replied as he flew up into the air above the mayor's building. "Everyone knows Skeletor's Evil Warriors don't have any fliers like me or Stratos. They can't catch me."

"Watch out!" Mekaneck yelled. "There's something behind you."

Buzz-Off turned in the air as someone flew up towards him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the figure was a fellow Andreenid, or Bee Person, like himself.

He didn't recognize the Andreenid, who was wearing a black and yellow balaclava over his face. He wore black and yellow spiked, metal armor and carried a rare, outlawed, Andreenid M60 machine gun which shoots tranquilizer stingers.

"Bzzt. I don't recognize you, friend," Buzz-Off greeted the newcomer. "What clan do you hail from? Bzzt."

"Bzzt. No clan of yours, traitor," the newcomer spoke in a dark voice. "You can call me Full Metal Yellowjacket and I am not your friend. Bzzt."

Buzz-Off felt the manipulation of Skeletor on him. "Bzzt. An Andreenid joining forces with Skeletor?" he asked. "Are you insane? Bzzt."

"Bzzt. I joined forces to take you down, traitor." Full Metal Yellowjacket retorted. "You joined with He-Man and his Heroic Warriors. Humans! They are beneath us and they are a danger to Andreenids. They must be wiped from the face of Eternia. Skeletor will enslave the humans and Andreenid's will be their masters. Bzzt."

"Bzzt. You are a fool," Buzz-Off countered. "Skeletor will enslave humans and Andreenids alike. He is the true danger to our kind. Bzzt."

Full Metal Yellowjacket pulls up his M60, points it at Buzz-Off and begins firing at him. Buzz-Off deflects the stingers with his axe-staff, points it at Full Metal Yellowjacket and fires a yellow energy beam at him, which bounces off his thick armor.

Buzz-Off dives down and flies towards the mayor's building. He bursts through the window of the mayor's office, where Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw are concluding their search. He fires a yellow energy beam at Tri-Klops, who deflects it by firing a green energy beam from his visor.

Trap Jaw jumps behind Buzz-Off and swings his hooked arm at him. The Heroic Warrior swings his axe-staff around and blocks the hit, pulling with all his might he throws Trap Jaw towards the window just as Full Metal Yellowjacket begins firing stingers into it.

Trap Jaw passes out, his back full of tranquilizer stingers. A green, glowing orb rolls out of his back sack. Tri-Klops looks at the orb and dives to grab it, yelling. "The Equalizer Orb!"

Buzz-Off shoots Tri-Klops with his axe-staff, sending the Evil Warrior flying through the wall into the hallway. Buzz-Off grabs the orb and flies through the hole in the wall through the hallway.

Just then Full Metal Yellowjacket flies in through the window and chases Buzz-Off.

"Get the Equalizer Orb." Tri-Klops yells to his new team mate as he tries to stand up. "Skeletor wants it."

Buzz-Off flies downstairs and towards the front door as Full Metal Yellowjacket gives chase, shooting stingers at the Heroic Warrior. He bursts out the door and flies towards the beach, near the lighthouse. Looking down at his leg he sees a tranquilizer stinger stuck in it.

Standing on the beach in front of him is Mer-Man, the green scaled, amphibious sea tyrant, carrying a trident in his hand and a sword on his back.

"I need backup." Buzz-Off calls into his radio. A large shadow looms over him. A giant, red claw smacks him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

Clawful, the giant lobster man, stands over him. Mer-Man grabs the green Equalizer Orb.

"Good job, Clawful." Mer-Man croaks. "Skeletor will reward us for this."

Full Metal Yellowjacket flies down to the other Evil Warriors. With a flick of his wrists, blades extend from his gauntlets as he walks up to Buzz-Off's unconscious body.

"This one's mine." he states. "I'll cut his wings off as a trophy."

**

Commercial Break

Hey Kids!

Come buy the new He-Man action figure, Full Metal Yellowjacket, now at Toys-For-Cash.

Complete with stinger machine gun. And action karate chop.

Better watch out, Buzz-Off. There's a new bee in our bonnets.

Toys-For-Cash. Where a kid can scream at their parents to buy what they want.

**

The three Evil Warriors loomed over Buzz-Off's unconscious body. Full Metal Yellowjacket lifted his bladed gauntlets over the Heroic Warriors wings.

Just then a whistle sound came from the ocean as a man came flying out of the water. With a white, metallic dolphins head and a water jet pack on his back, the newcomer flew towards the Evil Warriors. He pointed a sleek, cybernetic pistol at Full Metal Yellowjacket. A thin, high pressurized stream of water burst out of the pistol and smacked Full Metal Yellowjacket in the face, who flew backwards into the wall of the lighthouse. The spikes in his armor stuck to the wall and the unconscious Andreenid hung there.

The dolphin headed man sprayed his gun at Clawful, who blocked the stream with his giant claw. Mer-Man ran away carrying the Equalizer Orb as Clawful blocked the dolphin headed man from shooting him.

"Who are you?" Clawful asked. "Why are you interfering?"

"The name's Dolph," he answered, his light blue and white uniform gleaming in the sunlight. "Dolph Intelligencer. I'm a friend of Buzz-Off's. I don't like how you treated my friend."

Clawful laughed as he snapped his claws. "That's a nice water pistol. Too bad it can't hurt me or my shell."

"Water pistol?" Dolph Intelligencer gasped. "My Wave Gun is no mere water pistol."

Dolph Intelligencer shot a wave stream at the sand under Clawful's feet. The lobster man sank down to his hip as the Heroic Warrior hit his water jet pack and launched, briefly, into the air above Clawful's head.

Dolph Intelligencer pointed his wave gun at Mer-Man just as the fish tyrant dove for the water. The wave stream struck Mer-Man in the back, launching him further into the water, the green orb falling out of his hands.

Clawful leaped out of the hole in the ground and grabbed Dolph Intelligencer by the leg, throwing him to the ground.

Clawful leered down at the Heroic Warrior, snapping his giant claw.

"We can't have a Heroic Warrior who can swim and breathe under water," Clawful said. "That's me and Mer-Man's territory. Time to see if that metal dolphin head is just a helmut or your actual head."

Dolph Intelligencer smiled up at Clawful. "I told you that Buzz-Off was my friend, right? Well, crabmeat, Buzz-Off is not my only friend."

"By The Power Of Greyskull."

A booming voice rang out above them.

Clawful's sneer turned to a frown as he looked up to the top of the lighthouse to see a huge, muscular man holding the Power Sword to the sky.

"I Have The POWER!!!"

He-Man jumped from the lighthouse down to the beach, swinging the Power Sword into the ground as he landed.

The shockwave hit Clawful, sending the brute flying backwards.

He-Man ran up to Dolph Intelligencer, helping him up.

"I need to get to that orb before Mer-Man wakes up." he said to He-Man, pointing to the spot where Mer-Man dropped the orb.

A purple energy bolt hit the ground at He-Man's feet. He looked up to see his arch-nemesis standing atop the mayor's building, holding his Havoc Staff and surrounded by his Evil Warriors; Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, Tri-Klops, Kobra Kahn, Whiplash, Two Bad, Spikor, Webstor and Stinkor.

"He-Man!" Skeletor yelled. "Always interfering with my plans. You will pay for this. Attack my Evil Warriors. Bring me the Equalizer Orb."

"Get me to that orb." Dolph Intelligencer yelled.

He-Man grabbed Dolph Intelligencer and threw him into the water where Mer-Man dropped the orb. He dived down deep in search of the magical artifact.

He could see the green glowing orb at the bottom of the ocean. He did not see the sword wielding Mer-Man swimming behind him.

Meanwhile, on the beach, the battle began. Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops stood atop the mayor's building shooting energy blasts at He-Man, while Kobra Kahn, Beast Man, Whiplash, Spikor, Two Bad, Webstor and Stinkor all jumped down to battle him.

Spikor dove straight at He-Man from the top of the building, extending his trident arm straight at the defender of Eternia's chest.

He-Man blocked the trident with the Power Sword, jumped into the air towards Spikor and punched him in the one place where spikes weren't extending from his body. His face.

Spikor flew into the wall of the lighthouse, getting stuck right next to Full Metal Yellowjacket.

As he landed, He-Man was met by Whiplash's tail, knocking him to the ground. He tried all he could to block the energy blasts coming from Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops, while also dodging Kobra Kahn's poison spit and avoiding Webstor's webs blasts. There were just too many of them.

**

Commercial Break

Hey kids, come buy the newest Heroic Warrior action figure, Dolph Intelligencer, now available at Toys-For-Cash.

Comes with his own Wave Gun and water jet pack. Just fill up the jet pack and spray your friends with the Wave Gun.

Better watch out Mer-Man and all you underwater evil dwellers. This secret agent spy dives down deep.

Toys-For-Cash! Where a kid can cry in the middle of the store until their parents get them what they want.

**

He-Man is doing all he can to avoid the onslaught from his many foes.

Just then, the lighthouse wall holding up Full Metal Yellowjacket and Spikor bursts outward. Kobra Kahn and Webstor dodge the debris, Whiplash however was too slow as Spikor flew on top of him. His scaly skin barely protecting him from being impaled to death.

Standing inside the hole in the wall is Ram Man. "Somebody call fer backup?" Ram man joked.

Man-At-Arms, Teela, Mekaneck, Man-E-Faces, Roboto and Sy-Klone came running out of the hole in the wall created by Ram Man.

Teela jump kicked Kobra Kahn, while Mekaneck extended his head to knock Webstor off the side of the wall. Man-E-Faces shot at Two Bad while Beast Man jumped on top of Roboto, slashing the robot's helmet only to get electrocuted. Sy-Klone used his wind powers to blow Stinkor's fumes back into his face.

Man-At-Arms shot energy blasts up at Skeletor.

Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops both aimed their weapons at Man-At-Arms ready to blast him.

Stratos, the bird man, came flying up behind them, tackling them both off the roof of the mayor's building.

Evil-Lyn floated to the ground while Stratos brought Tri-Klops crashing to the ground.

With a mighty leap, He-Man jumped up onto the roof of the mayor's building, facing off against Skeletor.

"Your side is losing, Skeletor." He-Man declared.

"Once I have the Equalizer Orb, I will destroy you, He-Man." Skeletor counters. "I have my best warrior on the job."

Just then Dolph Intelligencer came bursting out of the water, the Equalizer Orb in one hand and Mer-Man's unconscious body slumped over his shoulder.

He throws Mer-Man's body to the sandy beach below and holds up the green orb for Skeletor to see.

"Looking for this?" Dolph Intelligencer asks as he points his Wave Gun at it. "Seems fragile."

"No!" Skeletor yells. "You don't know what that'll do."

"Destroy it," yells Man-At-Arms. "Don't trust Skeletor. That thing made the villagers disappear."

Just then a spider web attaches itself to the orb. Webstor pulls the orb out of Dolph Intelligencer's hands, while Kobra Kahn spits a wad of poison at his face. Dolph Intelligencer dives in the water to wash the poison off.

Webstor grabs the orb, just before Teela jump kicks it out of his hand. The orb lands on the ground next to Buzz-Off's body, lying on the beach.

Several Evil Warriors and Heroic Warriors converge on the orb at once.

A purple ring of energy bursts out of Evil-Lyn's staff, pushing the other warriors away. "The orb is mine." Evil-Lyn laughs as she strolls towards the orb. "I shall rule Eternia."

"Evil-Lyn!" Skeletor yells. "You give that orb to me."

Just then an axe-staff smashes down on the orb, splitting it into two. Buzz-Off looks up from the ground, holding the axe-staff.

"Time to Buzz-Off, Skeletor." The Heroic Andreenid quips.

A green light surrounds the town as the villagers return.

Skeletor and his Evil Warriors glow a green energy as they disappear.

"I'll get you for this, He-Man," he yells as he disappears. "And your Heroic Warriors too."

He-Man jumps down to Buzz-Off and helps his friend up. "Good job, friend."

He looks around at his Heroic Warriors. Dolph Intelligencer crawls out of the water, the poison washed from his face, Teela helps him up.

"Good job all of you. We couldn't have done it alone. You are all, Masters of the Universe."

The villagers all gathered round the Heroic Warriors to thank each of them.

**

Moral

"Hey kids, it's me Orko and my pal Cringer." Orko floated in the air, twirling his magic hat.

"Yowl! That was a scary ordeal." Cringer cried, throwing his paws over his head.

"It sure was," Orko replied. "Buzz-Off, Dolph Intelligencer and He-Man wouldn't have made it out of that ordeal without teamwork. With the help of each other and the rest of the Heroic Warriors, they might not have prevailed."

"Yowl!" Cringer replied. "You're right. Teamwork is great thing, right Prince Adam?"

"That's right, Cringer!" Prince Adam said as he pointed the Power Sword at Cringer. "Speaking of teamwork, Man-At-Arms, Teela and The Sorceress need our help."

"Uh-oh!" Cringer exclaimed. "Here we go again."

"By The Power Of Greyskull."

Cringer transformed into the ferocious Battle Cat with a great growl, as Prince Adam turns into He-Man, defender of Eternia.

"I Have The POWER!!!"

**

End

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Snake Mountain

Skeletor's gleeful cackle can be heard throughout the spartan mountain. Only Evil-Lyn dared to enter his chamber to see what the commotion was about. Although once she entered, Beast Man followed fearfully behind. "What has you so happy, Lord Skeletor?" asked the sorceress.

"Evil-Lyn! Beast Man!" shouted Skeletor. "Observe my latest creation! My latest warrior! My Rhino Man! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-haaa!"

Upon the announcement, Rhino Man turned from the window, assumed a stance as if about to leap, and roared. His eyes were a deep yellow, his skin was a dark gray, and the horns at the end of his nose were made of a gleaming metal, pointed on the ends and fearsome to behold. He roared again, and charged across the room towards a five foot stone column with a bust of He-Man on the top. He plowed into it, and stone and rubble flew in ever direction. He roared again and charged in the other direction, taking out an identical pillar with a bust of Teela on top. Then one with Orko, then Man-At-Arms, and still others as Evil-Lyn and Beast Man looked on in amazement.

With every hit, Skeletor shook his fists in the air triumphantly and laughed with evil glee. "That muscelebound fool, He-Man, won't know what hit him!" Snake Mountain echoed with his laughter.

The Eternian Plains

"I don't get it, Lord Skeletor," said Beast Man. "Now that you have Rhino Man, what do we want these guys for? They're just a buncha wild Elephant Men. Their horns aren't covered in metal or nothin'!" he said with confusion.

"They're tusks, you fool!" answered Skeletor, "and that's not why we need them! While Rhino Man is destroying He-Man, you will all herd these Elephant Men towards Castle Grayskull. It will be destroyed by a stampede of these creatures rampaging through its walls, and at last, I will be able to defeat the Sorceress, and cut off the source of He-Man's power." Skeletor laughed and said, "At last, victory will be mine!"

"Good plan, Skeletor," said Beast Man.

The evil lord glared at Beast Man and snapped, "So get moving, you fool!"

"Yah!" shouted Beast-Man. "Get moving, you animals! To Castle Grayskull!" He roared, and was followed by Tri-Klops, Whiplash, and Ninjor, herding the Elephant Men in the direction of Grayskull.

"Do you think this will work?" asked Evil-Lyn, as she used her magic to levitate towards Skeletor.

"Of course it will work!" barked Skeletor. "This plan cannot fail!" he shouted angrily.

"Of course," agreed Evil-Lyn.

The Grounds Behind Castle Grayskull

Prince Adam and Cringer were out for a run, exploring the grounds behind the Castle. They tended to change, and Prince Adam liked to keep apprised of new developments. "Ha ha! Come on Cringer, you big 'fraidy cat! We'd be done by now if you didn't keep lagging behind," Adam called good naturedly.

"Ohhh," moaned Cringer. "Perhaps my 'lagging' has kept us out of trouble, Prince Adam. Did you ever think of that?" he asked with a shiver.

Adam looked at his friend dubiously. "Any excuse to linger, eh Cringer? You should--" Adam stopped short, because the ground began to quake beneath them. "What's that?" he said excitedly.

"Let's not stick around to find out!" cried Cringer. "Let's get back inside the Castle, Adam!"

"It's getting louder," said Adam. "It sounds like it's coming right for us. Come on, Cringer! Let's check it out," he called, and started running towards the front of the Castle.

"Ohhh dearrr, I was afraid you were going to say that," complained Cringer, but sprang after the Prince anyway.

The Front of Castle Grayskull

As he caught up to Prince Adam, Cringer saw him staring off into the distance. As he gazed in that direction, he saw a dust cloud that was steadily getting bigger, and causing the ground to shake more and more as they got closer. It seemed to be figures running towards them, and they were making a great commotion as they came. "Wh-what's that?" asked Cringer.

"Trouble," said Prince Adam, and without another word, he drew the sword that rested against his back. Hoisting it above his head, straight into the air, he shouted, "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" Lightning crackled, thunder followed, and his voice thundered with it, "I HAVE THE POWERRRR!"

Instantly, he was transformed into the mighty He-Man, and without hesitation, he pointed it towards Cringer, who cowered momentarily before being changed into the fearsome Battle Cat! He roared mightily, and leapt to He-Man's side. He-Man mounted the saddle that Battle Cat wore, and they charged towards the cloud.

As the heroes got closer, they could see those at the front of the cloud. They were mostly a light gray with the bodies of men, heads like elephants, and their tusks made them seem fierce. They looked strong, were running towards them with great speed, and heralding their imminent arrival by trumpeting from their long noses. All except one who was in the lead. He was an albino white. As they got closer to Castle Grayskull, the white Elephant Man slowed, and the stampeding gray Elephant Men slowed with him. It was then that He-Man and Battle Cat could see the Evil Warriors behind them.

"Look, Battle Cat! It's Beast Man and Whiplash!" said He-Man.

"And Tri-Klops and Ninjor!" added Battle Cat.

"Then whatever this is, it can't be good," said He-Man with a scowl. "We'd better stop this now!" and Battle Cat bounded towards the Elephant Men and the Evil Warriors.

They hadn't gone far when they heard a roar, and were hit from the side, knocking He-Man from Battle Cat's saddle. "You've got your own problems to worry about, He-Man!" grumbled Rhino Man. Battle Cat growled loudly, and leapt at the attacker with a roar. The Evil Warrior simply flung his head around towards the great green-and-orange cat, and batted him aside with his horn. "You can't stop Rhino Man by yourself, kitty cat!"

"He's not by himself," came the voice of He-Man from behind him.

Rhino Man turned with a "Huh?" just in time to see He-Man's fist coming towards his face. It connected, and Rhino Man went flying backwards.

"He-Man! We've got to stop Rhino Man before those Elephant Men reach Castle Grayskull," growled Battle Cat.

"And we have to do it fast," agreed He-Man, and ran towards Rhino Man, who was getting up.

Further out from the Castle, Tri-Klops pointed and said, "Look, Beast Man! It's He-Man and Battle Cat!"

Beast Man growled, and said, "I can see that, you dimwit! Rhino Man will take care of him! We have to get these beasts moving again!"

Whiplash stepped forward and said, "Then that's what we're going to do!" The aligator man swished his great tail forward and snapped it at the elephantine creatures. "Get moving you stupid animals! Yah!"

Some of the Elephant Men began moving forward again, but Whiplash's tail struck towards the albino Elephant Man, and he caught the tail in his mighty hand. "No," he said. "I am not an animal! I am...a man!" As he jerked Whiplash forward by the tail, and punched him back again, he declared, "An Elephant Man!"

"Tri-Klops! Ninjor! Get him! And get them moving again!" Beast Man roared.

Tri-Klops' visor spun around, coming to rest with his blaster eye facing front. He let his gammavision loose, and blasted one of the Elephant Men. Unexpectedly, the gray Elephant Man disappeared, and the white Elephant Man got a little bigger.

"What?" gasped Tri-Klops.

Then, one by one, the gray Elephant Men disappeared in flashes of light, and the white Elephant Man grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until finally, he was nearly as big as Castle Grayskull itself! Beast Man, Tri-Klops, Ninjor, and Whiplash looked on in horror.

"You wanted me to move, little men?" said the now gigantic Elephant Man. "Then I will move!" Before any of them could react, he reached one giant hand towards them, and scooped them all up. Then he strode towards Castle Grayskull.

Elephant Man's change had not gone unnoticed by He-Man, Battle Cat and Rhino Man. They had stopped mid-fight to see him change into the giant before them. They were still staring in awe when he began to come towards them.

"That is one big problem," growled Battle Cat.

"He's magnificent," He-Man said with admiration.

"He's mine!" shouted Rhino Man, and he charged towards the gigantic Elephant Man.

Elephant Man saw the Evil Warrior running towards him, and did not stop. He smiled, and when Rhino Man was in range, he kicked him, sending him sailing over the heads of He-Man and Battle Cat, and crashing into the wall of Castle Grayskull where he bounced roughly, falling to the ground.

He-Man and Battle Cat observed this, and then turned towards Elephant Man as he got closer. In just a few more steps, he was on top of them. He looked down at them, and said, "I think these men have had enough," he said, dropping the four Evil Warriors in a heap on top of Rhino Man.

"I think you're right," agreed He-Man. "We'll have to make sure to find a way to let Skeletor know that his plan has failed."

"I think I know just the thing," chuckled Elephant Man as he scooped up the evil men. He drew his arm all the way back, and threw the five warriors in the direction of Snake Mountain. "That should let Skeletor know how things went!" He laughed a deep, thundering laugh, and then in flashes of light, he began shrinking until he stood before He-Man and Battle Cat at normal height, all of his gray Elephant Men standing with him.

Snake Mountain

"What is happening?" cried Skeletor. "I should have felt the power from Castle Grayskull by now!" he screamed.

"Perhaps Rhino Man was not enough to defeat He-Man?" asked Evil-Lyn.

"What?!" balked Skeletor. "Of course he was! Those fools should be back by now! Where are they?!" he complained.

Just then, he heard fearful yowling in the distance and it seemed to be getting closer. He looked out in that direction just in time to see his five Evil Warriors coming his way fast, all screaming through the air.

"What? You fools! Watch where you are flying! I forbid you to land here! I forb-- UGH!" he said as the five warriors flew into him and piled on him and Evil-Lyn in a heap.

"Get off of me, you dolts!" screamed Skeletor. "Do you hear? Get off of me this instant." He received only groans in return. "Get up! Get uuuuup!" he continued to scream.

"Ohhh," groaned Evil-Lyn. "You idiots."

Castle Grayskull

"They startled us at first," said Elephant Man, "but once I realized where they were herding us to, I would have no part of it. If you ever need us again, you have only to call on me, my friends," he said as he extended his hand.

He-Man clasped the hand of this new Heroic Warrior, and said, "We will, Elephant Man! You can count on it!"

Battle Cat roared in agreement, and the Elephant Men trumpeted victoriously.