Man-E-Faces as seen in the Filmation animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.'
Character history[]
Man-E-Faces was originally a villain who terrorized others with his faces, but not so much out of evil desires as personal insecurity and basic survival needs. He was an outcast feared by virtually everyone for his ability to change his face, which in turn made him "cold and cruel" and so he began to abuse others out of resentment for mistreating him and to compensate for his personal crisis. He was captured by Skeletor, who intended to recruit him as a henchman, but as he was not really evil he had no desire to join Skeletor and was forced into fighting He-Man against his will when his monster face was controlled by Beast Man's power. He-Man believed that Man-E-Faces was not a villain, and the Sorceress agreed, so with urging from He-Man, the Sorceress used her magic to help Man-E-Faces overcome Skeletor's influence. Grateful for their help, he returned the favor by helping to thwart Skeletor's attack on Castle Grayskull and, after telling them his story, feeling he had at last found the friendship and kindness he needed, he became an actor known throughout Eternia.[1]
Some time later, Man-E-Faces developed a friendship with Ram Man. He was asked to use his acting abilities to impersonate Beast Man, going undercover in a "Beast Man" disguise to spy on the Evil Warriors. Although initially conceived as one of the main characters of the franchise, his appearances are sparse in all media given that he proved a difficult character to integrate into story-lines no matter what purposes his faces were used for.[2]
Behind the Scenes[]
- The original script for the 1980s episode Into the Abyss was to feature a third appearance in the show by Man-E-Faces, rehearsing for a play in an scene in which Ram Man is made to read out the part of Man-E-Faces' love interest. But this scene was cut from the script to avoid ruining the atmosphere of a generally dark episode.
- Man-E-Faces was part of the series bible for the unmade series "He-Ro, Son of He-Man" proposed to Mattel by Lou Scheimer in 1995 but rejected. The series bible featured a redesign of his character, but this version seemed to resemble the original Man-E-Faces in name alone, his appearance radically different and his role that of a shapeshifter rather than an actor, whose ability was to change his whole body rather than just his face.
appearances[]
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe[]
Movie/TV Special[]
- He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (cameo) (non-speaking role)
Gallery[]
