Evil-Lyn is a character in the popular Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
The only female member of the Evil Warriors, she is an evil witch who aids Skeletor as his second-in-command with her powers of darkness. She is vastly more intelligent than Skeletor's other minions, and while she admits that she is not as powerful as Skeletor, she readily confesses that she hopes to seize her master's powers and lord it over Eternia herself one day. Thus, she has worked completely independent of Skeletor on multiple occasions. Her trademark is the magic wand crowned with a crystal ball, but Evil-Lyn typically generates magic without the assistance of any instruments.
Evil-Lyn was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1983 in order to add a female to the Evil Warriors. Initially envisioned as an evil warrior-goddess and counterpart to Teela, Evil-Lyn's action figure is identical to Teela's except in color scheme, head mold and accessories. The original figure has bright yellow skin, though most depictions portray her as having olive or pale skin.
Character History[]
Minicomics (1983 - 1987)[]
Evil-Lyn was a yellow skinned sorceress who wielded powerful magic and appeared to be the most intelligent of Skeletor's evil warriors. She carried a magical staff staff topped with a crystal orb and referred to its power as "blue crystal magic". Evil-Lyn had a treacherous, self-serving nature and on one occasion attempted to abandon Skeletor and join forces with Hordak. Hordak, however, had no interest in allying with Evil-Lyn, and rejected her offer.[1]
Filmation Animated Series (1983 - 1985)[]
- Main article: Evil-Lyn (Filmation)
Evil-Lyn served as one of the primary villains in Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, where she served as the right hand of Skeletor. Though she was by far Skeletor's most powerful and intelligent accomplice, their relationship was tinged with unease, as Evil-Lyn secretly planned to one day overthrow Skeletor and take his power for herself.[2]
Evil-Lyn summons a storm.
Evil-Lyn was fiercly ambitious and often worked independently of Skeletor, enacting her own schemes to conquer Eternia, for which she would occasionally enlist Skeletor's other henchmen, whom she delighted in bossing around [3][4]. Evil-Lyn also worked with other powerful villains on Eternia such as Gorgon[5] and Darkdream[6], though she would ultimately always return to Snake Mountain and the protection of Skeletor when her schemes failed.
Evil-Lyn had magical powers which made her second only to Skeletor. She could teleport, shoot magical blasts from her hands and eyes, control the minds of others, and conjure violent storms. She was also very skilled at disgusing herself, often fooling the heroic warriors with her deceptions.[7][8]
Evil-lyn, with her helmet removed.
One one occasion, Evil-Lyn was forced into an uneasy alliance with Teela when the two enemies were stranded in the desert together. Having always held Teela in total contempt, and never having regarding her as a formidable adversary (unlike He-Man and the Sorceress), Evil-Lyn acquired a degree of respect for the young warrior's skills and intelligence, going so far as to say that she and Teela could "make a great team" after all. Evil-Lyn displayed a softer side as she thanked the wizard, Mallek, for saving her life, and, as a token of her gratitude, refused to steal the item Skeletor had sent her to obtain.[9]
Evil-Lyn was voiced by Linda Gary.
Live action Masters of the Universe Film (1987)[]
In the live action Masters of the Universe (1987 film), Evil-Lyn was again the secondary antagonist. Some time before the events of the movie, Evil-Lyn tricked Gwildor into giving her the Cosmic Key, which was then used by Skeletor's forces to launch an all out assault on Grayskull from within.
Meg Foster as Evil-lyn.
After capturing Grayskull, Evil-lyn awaited Skeletor in the throne room to report their success. She assured Skeletor that the city had been secured, though He-Man continued to elude their armies. When Evil-Lyn triumphantly stated that Grayskull was finally theirs, Skeletor swiftly corrected her, stating that it was, in fact, his.
When He-Man and his allies later infiltrated Grayskull in an attempt to rescue the Sorceress, Evil-Lyn quickly spotted Gwildor and realised he had a second Cosmic Key. Unfortunately, she realized this too late, and Gwildor was able to open a portal to Earth, allowing He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Teela to escape. Evil-Lyn quickly assembled Skeletor's finest warriors; Karg, Saurod, Blade, and Beast Man, to go in search of the key, and tracked its signal to Earth.
Following the warriors failure to capture He-Man and recover the second Cosmic Key, an enraged Skeletor vaporised Saurod as punishment. Hoping to spare the other warriors from Skeletor's wrath, Evil-Lyn spoke up in their defense, suggesting it would be a pity to waste their talents. An increasingly vexed Skeletor instead turned his anger on Evil-lyn, placing her in charge of the next mission to Earth, and warning her not to fail him.
Evil-Lyn on Earth.
Under Evil-Lyn's competent direction, the Cosmic Key was soon recovered from Kevin. Evil-lyn reported her success to Skeletor, who arrived himself to supervise the capture of He-Man. After returning to Grayskull, Skeletor absorbed the power of Grayskull for himself, declaring that Eternia and its people were "nothing" to him. Evil-Lyn looked on, growing increasingly frustrated as Skeletor took all the powers of Grayskull for himself. When a huge battle erupted within Grayskull, Evil-Lyn made the decision to abandon Skeletor and signal the retreat of their armies.
Evil-Lyn was shown to have some magical abilities, and could create illusions and diguises for herself; at one point impersonating the deceased mother of Julia Winston. She shared a somewhat romantic connection to Skeletor, and was able to soothe his moments of rage on occasion, though she felt betrayed when he ultimately took the power of Grayskull for himself and did not share it with her.[10]
Evil-Lyn was portrayed by Meg Foster.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 - 2004)[]
- Main article: Evil-Lyn (2002)
Evil-Lyn in the Mike Young Productions series.
In the 2002 revival of the franchise and its accompanying animated media, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002), Evil-lyn was revealed to be the daughter of the powerful sorcerer, the Faceless One, who lived in isolation in the ruins of Zalesia as the guardian of a precious artefact called the Ram Stone.
In her youth, Evil-lyn met Keldor, and forged an alliance with him, and the two were implied to share a romantic attraction. When he was gravely injured fighting Captain Randor at the Hall of Wisdom, Evil-Lyn helped the dying Keldor to Hordak's Sanctuary and witnessed his transformation into Skeletor. Evil-lyn was horrified by Keldor's transformation and realised he was not the same man she had once cared for, as he laughed maniacally upon seeing his skull-like visage.[11]
A Young Evil-Lyn meets Keldor.
The Faceless One disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Skeletor and the forces of evil, and hoped that someday she would see the error of her ways. Though Evil-Lyn remained loyal to Skeletor for a time, she did still feel a familial bond with her father, and once returned the Ram Stone to him after it was used by Skeletor in an attempt to breach Castle Grayskull.[12] Despite her unease, Evil-Lyn continue to serve Skeletor loyally as his second in command while they were trapped behind the Mystic Wall in the Dark Hemisphere.[13]
When Skeletor brought down the Mystic Wall, Evil-lyn accompanied him in his attack on the Royal Palace of Eternia, and later fought with Teela.[14] Evil-lyn would later openly mock Skeletor for failing to defeat He-Man.[15] She would continue to serve Skeletor, often showing frustration that he would claim credit for her ideas,[16] and hinting that she would one day usurp his position.[17]
Evil-Lyn as she appeared in the MV Creations Comic.
Later, after being captured and imprisoned by He-Man and the Masters, Evil-Lyn discovered that she had been betrayed by Skeletor, who had knowingly lead his warrior into a trap so that he could replace them with the Council of Evil. Furious, Evil-Lyn instead forged an alliance with Kobra Khan, who promised that King Hssss would reward her greatly if she helped to free him from the void beneath Snake Mountain.[18] Evil-Lyn worked secretly with Khan and Rattlor and succeeded in freeing King Hiss and his army of Snake Men, who quickly deposed Skeletor and took control of Snake Mountain.[19]
However, Evil-lyn quickly discovered that Hiss had no use for her, and their alliance was shortlived.[20] After Hiss failed to capture Grayskull, Evil-Lyn fled into hiding, pursued by a vengeful Skeletor, who intended to banish her to the Forsaken Realm for her treachery. Though He-Man rescued her from Skeletor's clutches at the behest of the Faceless One, she instead chose to spare Skeletor's life and return to his side, which Skeletor accepted.[21]
However, Evil-Lyn still intended to betray Skeletor, and instead began to seek a way to release Hordak from Despondos. To this end, she enlisted the help of a reluctant Count Marzo, but the scheme was foiled by He-Man.[22]
In the MV Creations Comics readers were given further insight into Evil-Lyn's character, and revealed that she had been born in Eternia's ancient past. To protect his daughter from King Hiss, the Faceless One gave her into the care of a time travelling Keldor, who brought her to the future to ensure her safety.[23]
She was voiced by Kathleen Barr.
Masters of the Universe Revelation[]
- Main article: Evil-Lyn (Revelation)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021)[]
- Main article: Evelyn (Netflix)
Behind The Scenes[]
- Although her background is never mentioned in the Filmation series, the series bible claims she was once a scientist from Earth called Evelyn Powers, who was on board Marlena Glenn's space craft before it crash-landed on Eternia. Evelyn had been insanely jealous of Marlena for being chosen over her to pilot the shuttle. When the ship crashed as the result of an explosion from Skeletor's homeworld of Infinita, Evelyn wound up on Infinita, where the evil powers of that world turned her knowledge of science into sorcery to aid Skeletor. This origin is used in a storybook entitled New Champions of Eternia but was unpopular with the show's writers and therefore never alluded to in the cartoon (in which Marlena was alone aboard her space craft).[24]
- Despite her prominence in most other tie-in media, Evil-Lyn only makes six appearances in the Minicomics.
- In the unproduced third season of the Mike Young Productions animated series, Evil-Lyn would have succeeded in her attempts to free Hordak from Despondos, but the series was cancelled before this plot could come to fruition.[25]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Hordak: The Ruthless Leader's Revenge!
- ↑ The Witch and the Warrior
- ↑ Journey to Stone City
- ↑ Ordeal in the Darklands
- ↑ The Defection
- ↑ Eternal Darkness
- ↑ The Shaping Staff
- ↑ Evil-Lyn's Plot
- ↑ The Witch and the Warrior
- ↑ Masters of the Universe (1987 film)
- ↑ The Price of Deceit
- ↑ Lessons
- ↑ The Beginning Part 3
- ↑ The Beginning Part 2
- ↑ The Beginning Part 3
- ↑ The Deep End
- ↑ Siren's Song
- ↑ The Last Stand
- ↑ Rise of the Snake Men, Part 1
- ↑ Rise of the Snake Men, Part 2
- ↑ The Price of Deceit
- ↑ History
- ↑ MVCreations, Masters of the Universe: Volume 3 (2004)
- ↑ Series Bible
- ↑ He-Man.org Q&A with Ian Ritcher