The Cosmic Comet

The Cosmic Comet is a first season episode of the animated television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, produced in 1983. Story by Tom Ruegger, and Teleplay by Tom Ruegger and Larry DiTillio. Directed by Steve Clark.

Synopsis[]

At Castle Grayskull, Evil-Lyn and Beast Man are attempting to storm the grim fortress. When a comet flies above their heads, Evil-Lyn is able to harness its magical power and brings the door of the castle down, only to find herself facing He-Man, Battle Cat, and Man-At-Arms inside. The two villains are quickly defeated, but the Sorceress warns the heroes that the attack was only a test of the Cosmic Comet's power. She urges He-Man to visit Zagraz, the keeper of the comets, in his home atop Zagraz Mountain. At the Royal Palace, King Randor gives Man-At-Arms, Adam, Teela, and Orko permission to set forth on this secret mission.

Soon afterwards, Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Beast Man seize full control of the Cosmic Comet, even as the heroes arrive at Zagraz Mountain. Zagraz the wizard explains that the Cosmic Comet was produced by his own foolishness, and relates how he once tried to control two comets that were wandering in space; he used too much power in his spell and destroyed one of the comets, leaving the other lonely and full of rage.

Skeletor commands the comet to send three bolts at Zagraz Mountain, where they grow into monstrous creatures. Out of sight of the others Adam transforms into He-Man and destroys the creatures, and Orko sequesters the resulting fragments up his sleeve. He-Man takes an unconscious Zagraz to Castle Grayskull, where the Sorceress believes she can revive him. The heroes take the Attak Trak to Snake Mountain, but are quickly overpowered by the comet-charged Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, and the Sorceress is forced to magically teleport them back to the castle

Zagraz informs them that comet pieces could be used to make a new comet. Orko produces his collection of fragments, and the Sorceress fuses them into a new comet. Teela, Man-At-Arms, Sorceress, and He-Man stand around the comet, while Zagraz encourages them to fill it with love and goodness. When the Cosmic Comet (at Skeletor's behest) streaks towards Grayskull, He-Man leaps into the air and fights the Cosmic Comet until Zagraz is ready to release the new comet. The two comets collide, releasing the hate and anger.

Skeletor is disappointed when he discovers Castle Grayskull is still intact, before the comets attack him and force him to flee. At the Royal Palace, Zagraz attempts to teach Adam his comet-control technique, but when the prince becomes distracted, one of the practice globes chases after Orko.

Moral[]

Man-At-Arms: "In today's story, Zagraz had a problem. He lost his confidence in himself because he had once failed. Well, now we all fail sometimes, but we should never be afraid to try again and we should always keep believing in ourselves. As the old saying goes: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Until later, bye."

Heroic Warriors[]

Allies[]

Zagraz

Evil Warriors[]

Locations[]

Eternos - Royal Palace
Castle Grayskull
Snake Mountain
Zagraz Mountain

Vehicles[]

Artifacts[]

Havoc Staff
Sword of Power

Cast[]

John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, Beast Man and Zagraz
Alan Oppenheimer as Cringer, Man-At-Arms and Skeletor
Linda Gary as Teela, Evil-Lyn and The Sorceress
Erik Gunden as Orko, King Randor, Attak Trak, Cosmic Comet and Second Comet

Behind the Scenes[]

Script was approved April 18, 1983 and final script revision took place April 28, 1983.
"The Cosmic Comet" was the first script to be approved for production, and is therefore the first episode in the show's production order, including its broadcast code. The episode was not, however, the first to be screened and was in fact the twentieth episode to be broadcast.
As no official episode order has ever been established for the series, (understandable, given as the series, produced for syndication, was designed to be shown in any order with a few notable exceptions, and the episodes are usually listed in production order (as well as having been released on DVD in that order in the UK) "The Cosmic Comet" is occasionally cited incorrectly as the first episode of the series.
In the original script, instead of causing He-Man to shoot into the sky to slow down the Cosmic Comet, the Sorceress created a magical platform for He-Man to levitate on.
The moral segment as written in the script featured Man-At-Arms practicing his shooting skills at a target range. To support the moral, he would miss his target, then tell himself and viewers to always 'try, try again'. This extra animation was deemed unnecessary and instead only clips from preceding story were used while Man-At-Arms addressed the camera.

Continuity[]

The fight sequence between He-Man and Beast Man would be seen again in Diamond Ray of Disappearance. Although The Cosmic Comet was broadcast first in most territories, the scene was originally animated for the Diamond Ray of Disappearance.
The shot of Teela cradling Prince Adam on the ground will be used again in The Littlest Giant, except at that time it will be He-Man instead of Adam. It will be the basis for another similar shot seen in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode The Price of Freedom in which She-Ra is cradling Prince Adam.
The animation of the Sorceress using her magic to cast a spell will be seen again in To Save Skeletor.
The animation of Skeletor leaping out of frame will be used again in Double Trouble.
The character of Zagraz returns in the second season episode Capture the Comet Keeper, while his character model will be reused as the Gatekeeper in The Magic Falls.
The animated sequence of the Sorceress raising her hands was used again in the She-Ra Princess of Power episode Into Etheria.

Errors[]

When the heroic warriors arrive at Zagraz Mountain in the Attak Trak, the bridge of Cringer's nose is colored dark green (the same as the underside) when he says 'What's that' and wants to turn back.
Near the end of the story, when Zagraz tells He-Man "you had faith in me", he waves his hands about and at one point his entire hand disappears as it passes in front of He-Man's chest.
When all the heroic characters are standing on the jaw bridge to Castle Grayskull as He-Man carries the new cosmic comet, the characters are drawn too large in comparison with the castle entrance.