He-Man Masters of The Universe Moss Man Mattel Commercial Retro Toys and Cartoons
Moss Man is a fictional character from the popular Masters of the Universe franchise.
As his name indicates, he is a man made of moss, whose power is to camouflage into foliage and other green areas, as well as control all plant life. He lives in the Evergreen Forest in harmony among the animals and plants.
The figure is essentially a green repaint of the Beast Man action figure, covered with fuzzy "moss" with the fangs painted over and a pine scent added to the body. He has a mace that is a recast of a weapon from the original Castle Grayskull.
Character history
1980s
Moss Man was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1985. Given that the accompanying cartoon series was drawing to a close at the time his toy was released, his role in the cartoon is minimal and he appears in only two episodes: "Here, There, Skeletors Everywhere" and "The Ancient Mirror of Avathar". The former portrays him as a spy who can secretly observe danger by turning into a plant. The latter shows him using his abilities to rescue others by turning his arms into vines, as well as communicating with plants. He also has a cameo appearance in He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special, where he appears in the background at Prince Adam and Princess Adora's birthday party.
He plays a bigger role in two of the Golden Books Hardcover books, Skeletor's Flower of Power and The River of Ruin, where he helps He-Man find the truth behind Skeletor's schemes. These books show off his plant control abilities as well as his ability to blend in with nature so well as to be nearly invisible.
2002 series
Moss
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200X MossMan
Man features in the 2002 relaunch of Masters of the Universe as part of the cartoon series. He was not part of the new toy line, because it was cancelled before his figure could be released, although a limited edition figure was given away as a Mattel exclusive.
The cartoon series depicts him as one of the most powerful beings on Eternia, possibly even more powerful than He-Man himself. He is introduced in the episode "Orko's Garden", in which he is an urban legend; an Eternian equivalent of the Bigfoot. He seems to be a kind of spirit who farmed and looked after the Eternian forestry and kept it in harmony. His rival in this episode is Evilseed, an evil counterpart who wants the plant world to overcome the human world. Moss Man's incredible powers help He-Man save the day, his power over all forms of vegetation able to overcome just about any obstacle. In a subsequent episode, "The Last Stand", he uses his abilities to save all the Masters from Skeletor's strongest trap yet. Given that he is so powerful, his appearances are sparse; only coming to the Masters' aid in times of desperation. This is a considerable boost from the humble Heroic Warrior of the 1980s line.
Powers and Abilities
Moss Man has the ability to change into any type of plant, thus being able to camouflage and hide from enemies. Moss Man also has the ability to dominate any type of plant or vegetation. It also features an enhanced agility and strength similar to an ape.
Trivia
Moss Man was originally conceived by Mattel in the 1980s as a heroic foe for Stinkor, both of which had action figures which were scented. But since the latter never appeared in the original series, the two only come face-to-face in the mini-comic "The Stench of Evil!".
The original Moss Man figure is a repaint of Beast Man covered in green fur, with a brown version of the commonly-used mace mold. Likewise, the limited edition exclusive of the 2002 toy-line also uses Beast Man's mold, again covered in green fur. This version used a brown repaint of Mekaneck's club. It was reported at the time of its release that there would be an all-new version of Moss Man (i.e. not a recycling of other figures molds) available as part of the regular toy-line, but the line was cancelled before this new version of Moss Man appeared.