Quest for He-Man

Quest for He-Man is the 19th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Paul Dini and directed by Steve Clark. When Skeletor erases He-Man's memory and vanishes him to an unknown dimension, the heroes of Eternia must seek help from Zodac to save their friend.

Synopsis[]

Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn launch an attack against the Royal Palace. He-Man gives chase in a Wind Raider and is joined by Orko. Tri-Klops jeers He-Man, then his War-Sled is destroyed by Ram Man. Man-At-Arms points a freeze-ray at Tri-Klops and Trap-Jaw baits He-Man to find him. He-Man follows him, but it's a trap and he is caught in a force-field where he is confronted by Skeletor and Evil-Lyn but Orko manges to escape. Skeletor uses a spell that erases He-Man's memory then banishes him from Eternia to an unknown dimension, which was witness by Orko. While Skeletor and Evil-Lyn escape, Trap-Jaw fails to get away as he and Tri-Klops are captured then put in jail at the Royal Palace.

Orko, Ram Man, Man-At-Arms and Cringer go to Castle Grayskull to speak with the Sorceress about the situation. The Sorceress asks Zodac for help in finding He-Man. When Zodac arrived, he tells everyone that Cringer, Orko and Ram Man must be the ones to go find He-Man. Also, Zodac gives Orko his wand to find the dimension that He-Man has landed on.

Meanwhile, an amnesiac He-Man wakes up in the unknown dimension to where Skeletor has banished him to with no idea where he is or what he's doing with a sword in his hand. There, he is confronted by strange animals, but they run away upon seeing his Power Sword. A strange bird-headed woman, named Gleedil, appears where she mistakes He-Man for one of Plundor's minions and believes that he is hurting the strange creatures. She then shoots his Power Sword out of his hand. After Gleedil told him that she went easy on him and told him that she was going to show no mercy if she caught him hurting those creatures again, He-Man attempts to convince her that he has never seen those creatures before and that he has no clue as to where he is. When Gleedil subconsciously asks him whether or not he is not one of Plundor's minions, He-Man tells her that he is not, then explains to her that he doesn't know who he is. He-Man notices that Gleedil reminds him of the Sorceress but cannot remember who she is because of his amnesia. Realizing that He-Man is telling the truth when she notices that he is a stranger to her planet, Gleedil decides to help her new friend as she takes him to her home with the creatures joining them. However, little do they know that Plundor is monitoring Gleedil where he sees He-Man with her and notices how powerful he is then decides that someone like him could be of great use to him.

Before he and his companions leave for their quest, Orko is reminded by Zodac that He-Man will not remember him when he finds him then tells him to talk about home and it might help restore his memory. Arriving in the unknown dimension, Cringer, Orko and Ram Man begin their search for He-Man and find his Power Sword. Meanwhile, He-Man is brought to Gleedil's Home where she tells him her planet's name is Trannis and she introduces herself to him. Gleedil tells He-Man, who is curious as to what has happened to her planet, how beautiful Trannis was before Plundor ruined the planet with his factory and the population ran the animals out of the planet. Also, Gleedil shows He-Man the pictures of some of the animals that died out completely. Looking at one of the pictures of the animals, He-Man notices that one of the animals remindes him of Cringer but can't remember him because of his memory loss. When two of Plundor robots show up to Gleedil's home, He-Man is able to defeat one of the robots, although he becomes confused as to how he was able to easily defeat the robot. However, the other robot used sleep smoke to knock out both Gleedil and He-Man then they were taken to Plundor's lair.

While looking for He-Man, Orko, Ram Man and Cringer ran into Gleedil's pet tiger where he told them about his master and He-Man's capture. Plundor used various loud noises to wake up both He-Man and Gleedil. After regaining conciseness, He-Man and Gleedil find themselves in Plundor's lair. After telling Gleedil that she'll been spending the rest of her days in his dungeon, Plundor offered He-Man a chance to help in his goal of becoming the richest man in the universe. When He-Man asked what Plundor meant by that, he told his guests that he has a magical liquid as it contains the life force of Trannis then explains to them that he plans to use the magic liquid to make money, much to Gleedil anger. Orko, Ram Man, Cringer and Gleedil's pet tiger were outside of Plundor's lair where they were thinking of a way to get inside the fortress to rescue their friends but one of the his robots appeared behind them before they had a chance to think of a plan. Plundor asked He-Man for his answer as he told him that he could use those muscle of his. However, despite not knowing where he came from or what his name is, He-Man refused to help Plundor as he knew what he was doing to Trannis was wrong. Before He-Man and Gleedil were thrown in the dungeon by Plundor, Orko, Ram Man, Cringer and Gleedil's pet tiger showed up with a defeated robot, which shocks the spoiler of their arrival. When Ram Man mention him by name, He-Man was surprise as to what he called him. Plundor pushes one of his button to signal his robots to come to his lair and take care of everyone.

Approaching his friend, Orko asked He-Man if he remembers anything but he asked him if he knows him. Remembering what Zodac said, Orko told He-Man that if he talk of home to him that his memory might come back but he can't remember where that is. While Ram Man was dealing with more of Plundor's robots, Orko realizes that Castle Grayskull is the answer then has He-Man follow him, which he not only does but also shows that he trusts him despite not remembering him. Orko took out He-Man's Power Sword then gave it back to him and had him say by the power of Grayskull. Through the power of Grayskull, He-Man was able to get his memory back. When Plundor put his magical liquid into a rocket, He-Man defeats him by stopping the rocket as it exploded and the planet is returned to normal. Gleedil has Plundor destroy his own lair as punishments for his crimes while He-Man and his friends return to Eternia.

Moral[]

Zodac: "In today's story, He-Man came to the aid of a planet whose natural resources were being wasted. Unfortunately, this same waste is happening now, and not on a distant planet, but right here on Earth. We must respect the plants and animals before they disappear, as some species already have. There's beauty all around us. Protect it, before it's too late."

Heroic Warriors[]

Prince Adam/He-Man
Cringer/Battle Cat (non speaking role)
Man-At-Arms
Orko
Ram Man
Stratos (non speaking role)
Teela
Zodac (first Filmation appearance)

Allies[]

Evil Warriors[]

Villains[]

Plundor

Vehicles[]

War-Sled
Wind Raider

Locations[]

Eternia
- Castle Grayskull
- Eternos - Royal Palace
Trannis
- Gleedil's Home
- Plundor's Factory

Artifacts[]

Zodac's Wand

Technology[]

Rabbots

Creatures[]

Cast[]

John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, Ram Man, and Plundor
Alan Oppenheimer as Cringer, Skeletor, and Man-At-Arms
Linda Gary as Teela, Evil-Lyn, The Sorceress, and Gleedil
Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops, and Zodac

Behind the Scenes[]

The Script was loosely based on the premise "He-Man Who?" in which Desira (later renamed Evil-Lyn) wipes He-Man's mind, and only Man-At-Arms can restore his memory. Paul Dini's version was approved May 10, 1983 and final script revision dated May 13, 1983.
A completely different story synopsis titled 'The Quest for He Man' was presented in the Masters of the Universe series guide produced to sell the series to potential broadcasters. In this version, He-Man was lured away from Eternos to try to stop the Vulcan Mountains from erupting while Skeletor takes over the palace of Eternia and attempts to conquer Castle Grayskull.^[1]
In the original script, Tri-Klops did not fall into a pool of mud, but was caught by He-Man in his Wind Raider, only to be dropped into a fish pond while flying nearer to the ground. Also, Skeletor used a device called an 'Eraser' that he placed on He-Man's head and then caused amnesia through the use of incantations.
Paul Dini's script revealed that Gleedil's pet was known as a 'Tiger-Wolf', while Plundor's droids are referred to as 'Rabbots'. He also specified that the Shminavits should speak like the Jawas from "Star Wars" and described Plundor as a fearsome looking, armor-clad villain with ears that, in silhouette, resemble horns.
Plundor was finally released as an action figure in the Masters of the Universe Classics line in 2013.

Continuity[]

Part of Trap Jaw's aerial attack on the Royal Palace was recycled from footage originally seen in Diamond Ray of Disappearance.
The shot of the three Eternian towers exploding was seen earlier in Diamond Ray of Disappearance and will be seen again in Return of the Gryphon.
The sequence of Orko using his magic to make a 'Bang' sign pop out of Trap Jaw's Lasatron was used again in House of Shokoti Part 1.
The rainbow effect and backgrounds seen while characters travel through the Crossroads to All Universes would be re-used in The Return of Granamyr and the She-Ra: Princess of Power episodes Into the Dark Dimension and The Greatest Magic.
The Shminavits can briefly be spotted in second season episode The Arena.
The background of the sky over Trannis would be used again in Disappearing Dragons and would form the basis of the polluted sky over the Fright Zone in the animated television series She-Ra Princess of Power.
The scene in which Orko unsheathes the Sword of Power and present it to He-Man was first seen in Disappearing Act, where he gave the sword to Prince Adam instead.
The backgrounds for the royal palace dungeons as seen in Creatures from the Tar Swamp are reused.
The animation of He-Man punch, spinning crescent kick and throw tactic were seen again in Orko's New Friend. The kick would also be seen on it's own in Attack from Below.
Gleedil can be spotted among the Slavemaster's slaves in Orko's New Friend.
The whirlpool animation seen as part of the Crossroads to All Universes will be seen again in City Beneath the Sea and Island of Fear.
The Crossroads of All Universes can be seen again in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode He Ain't Heavy when Prince Adam is pulled to the Fight Zone through the dimensional gateway.

Errors[]

The title card misspells He-Man's name with a lowercase letter m: 'He-man.'
As He-Man is plunging through space and time towards the camera, for a couple of frames the top of his left arm is missing. ^[2]
As He-Man jumps from a palace window into the Wind Raider, the backgrounds are of the city of Tahryn from "Song of Celice" rather than the city of Eternos.
When Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops change direction on their War-Sleds with He-Man pursuing them, Trap Jaw's mechanical arm is on the wrong side.
Zodac is seen sitting down in all of his scenes, except one establishing shot in Castle Grayskull where he is on his feet, but the very next time he appears in the scene he is in his chair again.
When Plundor tells Gleedil he's got a spot picked out for her in her dungeon, the liquid containing the planet's life-force is visible beside him, but it doesn't start bubbling until Plundor begins to talk about it a moment later.
When the heroes are ready to head back to Eternia Ram Man does not notice that Cringer is replaced with Battle Cat.
When the planet Trannis returns to it's natural, beautiful state, all the backgrounds are familiar foliage from Eternia. When the camera zooms out to reveal the entire planet, it is also clearly Eternia.