Orko as he appears in Masters of the Universe: Revelation.
Biography[]
Orko was a magician from the dimension of Trolla. When he was born, his parents wanted to set him up for greatness, and gave him a name to match the position of honor they imagined their child to achieve one day: Oracle. But the child found it difficult to pronounce it, and it came out 'Orko'. The name stuck when it became apparent to all that the child was far less magically adept than any of his peers. All of his magic tricks ended in disaster and Orko began to think that his parents were probably glad that the name 'Oracle' had been forgotten.[1]
Orko was present at the Royal Palace of Eternos when the Orlax of Primeria suddenly appeared and caused King Randor to fall into a coma. Together with the other Heroic Warriors, Orko hurried the King to Castle Grayskull to find a cure.[2]
Some time later, after the King had recovered, Teela was about to be promoted to Man-At-Arms. Before the ceremony, a great display of fireworks was shot into the sky, causing Cringer to cower beneath a table. Orko offered to protect the green tiger by conjuring up a magic bubble around the cat, but it soon became apparent that Cringer was running out of air inside the bubble. When Orko cast another spell, it only made the bubble fit even tighter around the cat. Luckilly, Prince Adam used a sharp object to burst the bubble and release his faithful pet.
During the ceremony, a call for help came from the Sorceress, who was under attack from Skeletor inside Castle Grayskull. Teela and the Royal Guard immediately left, and the royals ushered their guests to safety. When Orko, Cringer and Adam were alone, Adam told Orko to teleport to Grayskull and help the Sorceress. Orko replied that he would aid her by encasing her in another of his protective bubbles. Before Adam could argue with him, Orko had already teleported away.
Orko appeared at Grayskull just in time to use his magic to protect Man-At-Arms from a magical attack by Evil-Lyn. However, the poor Trollan found himself exhausted by his actions and slumped to the ground.
After the battle, Orko was present when Duncan bore the distressing news to the King and Queen that He-Man had perished while saving Eternia from certain destruction. Both Randor and Teela felt betrayed at having been kept unaware of Adam's secret while nearly everybody else they held dear appeared to be in on it. Randor banished Duncan from the palace, and Teela quit on her own accord. Orko tried to reason with her as she left the trone room, but she would not listen to him.[3]
A Time without Magic[]
During the period that followed, Orko began losing his health because all the magic that used to be so abundant on the planet Eternia was fading into nothingess. He was sent away from the palace, taking only a few keepsakes with him, including the "Hero" medal he had received after saving young Adam's life on the day he first appeared in Eternia and a Trollan Pyramid that had been used to travel between the two dimensions in the past. Orko found refuge in a small cottage to which Duncan had retreated, and his old friend took care of him, going to great lengths to fetch a small amount of water from one of the last remaining magic fountains for the ailing Trollan.[4]
An unexpected band of warriors came to ask Man-At-Arms to help them find the two halves of the sword and forge them together. They were his adoptive daughter Teela, her new partner in crime Andra and their former enemies Evil-Lyn and her protector, Beast Man.
Duncan refused, but his creation Roboto, who shared all the memories of a younger version of his maker, proposed that he could join the quest and reforge the sword. Orko also insisted to go with them on one last grand adventure. When Duncan finally decided that he would join them as well, Teela decided that he could better go to Grayskull to protect the powerless Sorceress.
Soon the band of warriors was sailing across the Crystal Sea on a seafaring vessel with Roboto at the helm. They found themselves under attack by the Aquaticans and their ravaged looking leader, Mer-Man. But Man-At-Arms appeared out of nowhere to save the group and force Mer-Man to show them the way to the gate of Subternia. Duncan left again, this time finally heading for Grayskull, and Evil-Lyn used the top of the Havoc Staff to open the gate to the land of the dead.[5]
In the Land of the Dead[]
Once inside, the group of warriors were split up and all had to face their greatest fears, some of them in familiar surroundings. Evil-Lyn and Orko found themselves in a Subternian illustion depicting Orko's home dimension of Trolla, specifically the Academy of Magic. They arrived at the Spell Spring, the never ending source of all Trollan magic, but found it to be completely dry. Orko realized that all the Trollans were gone and Evil-Lyn concluded that meant that the loss of magic was fast spreading across the universe. Orko might well be the last Trollan left. Orko told Evil-Lyn about his youth, and she revealled to him that she wasn't born with the suffix "Evil" in front of her name. Shadows of Trollans suddenly appeared out of nowhere, being drawn to the Spell Spring, where they combined to form a giant Shadow Beast. Evil-Lyn had just used up a bit of magic in her wand, and when she held it up against the Beast, the wand failed her. But when they combined their magic, they were able to defeat the giant Shadow Beast.
The companions were reunited, having all defeated their fears. Teela had recovered the Dark Half of the Sword of Power and Evil-Lyn demanded that Teela give it her, so she could use it in combination with her wand and open a gateway to Preternia by calling upon the allmighty Zoar with every last bit of magic she could conjure. But before they could pass through the gate, Scare Glow, Lord of Subternia reappeared and caused stone tentacles to grow out of the ground and grab each of the Warriors by the leg and stalagtites to drop from the cavernous ceiling. This time it was Orko who conjured up all the magic that still remained in him, but stoping the stalagtites from falling and redirecting them at Scare Glow. While his friends and companions freed their legs, Orko used all the magic he had left to stop Scare Glow from advancing. Evil-Lyn attempted to help, but her wand was still not working. Beast Man picked her up and carried her trough the portal. Scare Glow was able to grab Orko's scarf, and both of them disappeared in one last explosion, leaving only a small scrap of Orko's garment to cross over into Preternia with the rest of them.[6]
Memorial[]
In Preternia, a tombstone was decorated with Trollan symbols by Adam, who had been rewarded a place in the everlasting realm, to commemorate Orko. Teela left the scrap of his scarf beside it, and Evil-Lyn her helmet. Adam asked Moss Man to allow some Trollan flowers to grow besides the tombstone.[7] Later, Evil-Lyn obtained the power of Grayskull and became God-Lynn. She abused the power by destroying Preternia, including Orko's grave and it's Trollan flowers. [8]
Resurrection[]
When God-Lyn called upon Scare Glow and his undead army to defend Castle Grayskull, Orko also returned from the dead. Now dressed in white, Orko was much more confident in using his magic powers and was able to manifest in several different locations simultaniously. He once again faced off with Scare Glow, showing no fear at all this time.
After relinquishing the Power of Grayskull, Evil-Lyn performed a good deed by making sure Orko remained in the land of the living. She grabbed on to his long scarf so that he would not be sucked back to Subternia like all the Shadow Beasts.[9]
Powers & Abilities[]
Sorcery: Orko possesses an innate, yet floundering, aptitude for magic. Raised from an early age to be one of the best mysticism practitioners of Trolla, the tiny conjuror always fell short of stupendous in that regard due to his own self-doubt and other shortcomings. Even before coming to Eternia from his home dimension. Due to this, Orko was nototious for casting arcanum that had the tendency to blow up in his face whenever attempting to enact casting spells. As he fought tooth & nail agaisnt the evil Scare Glow in Subternia however, the binding lock which inhibited his potential had been undone. Allowing him to access the lion-share of his full, oracular like power his parents always dreamed he'd achive. Being able to match the Grayskull empowered Dark-Lynn in a contest of might & magic even for a while and more easily overpower the King of the Underworld, as well as minions of Hordak's evil warrior hoard.
- Bind Conjuration: Orko showed he could erect magical circlets studded with Trollan runes which served as spell amplification apparati to fiurther bolster magic cast through them. As well as restrictive mannacles he can enclose around a target to bind their movements.
- Wind Conjuration: When his life and the lives of his companions were in mortal peril, Orko summoned up a malestrom potent enough to keep Eternia's iteration of inferno at bay for a brief period.
- Weather Projection: Pre resurrection, Orko could conjur up sun balls which would soon turn into storm clouds that begat thunder and rain whence his magic deteriorated. After his revival, Oracle could summon a thunderhead which could shoot lightning at whoever he would mark as a target designate.
- Shield Generation: The wizard could conjure up force walls that're potent enough to block incoming assaults or entrap enemies in their contents as magic bubbles.
- Self-Restoration: Orko found he could completely rebuild and recreate his body after dying by fierey explosion to subdue Scare Glow in Subternia. Basically, he piggybacked on God-Lynn's conjuring her army of the dead from said underrealm to revivify his physical self with an all new look to match his newfound abilities & confidence.
- Multi-Presence: While reconstructing himself, Orko showcased the capacity to be and appear in multiple places at once. In the bowls of Castle Grayskull, out in its battlefront and within the inner chamber where Skeletor and Prince Adam faced Evil-Lynn.
- Bilocation: Orko could appear in numerous places at once while divying up his consciousness between the many avatars created.
- Passageway Creation: While in the catacombs of Greyskull, Orko materilized a corridor with open entrances on both ends to match for Duncan and Andra to traverse out of Castle Greyskull's cavernous depths.
- Superhuman Stamina: Orco's new form gave him considerable staying power as he put out fighting and exploring in mutiple stations whilst not losing magic power.
Abilities[]
- Showmenship: .
- Master Arcanist: .
Paraphernalia[]
Magic Scarf[]
Orco's new threads gained upon his revitalization from Subternia was a more ornate bit of neck wear that he could mystically move and conduct like an extra limb to better articulate his spellcraft through. While in battle, he tends to use it as added offensive extremital measure, wherein he can bind and fling people around with it, block attacks, pick-up and carry items or objects, even flail around heavy objects with.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Orko revealing that his name is really a childhood mispronunciation of 'Oracle' is a nod to the 2002 animated series, in which the Oracle whom advised the original King Grayskull appeared to not only be Trollan but had the same voice actor as Orko.
- The backstory Orko recounts in Subternia contradicts the character's original story in the Filmation series, where Orko's poor control of magic is a by-product of him living outside his home dimension, not a lack of skill.
Appearances[]
Dark Horse prequel comic[]
- Masters of the Universe: Revelation No.1 (Dark Horse Comics)
- Masters of the Universe: Revelation No.2 (Dark Horse Comics) (cameo)
- Masters of the Universe: Revelation No.4 (Dark Horse Comics)
Netflix series[]
- The Power of Grayskull
- The Most Dangerous Man in Eternia
- Land of the Dead
- Comes with Everything You See Here