Here Comes An Old Challenger!!!

I am not a winner.

No, seriously, I entered the Masters of the Universe Classics Create-A-Character Contest, and I didn’t win. But now have some art to post for my blog, sucka! WHO’S THE WINNER NOW??? (Hint: still not me.)

Ahem. My design was actually just an update of a fan character that I created a few years ago. You can see the original version here. And now, the fairly new (from December 2011) updated version:

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Maybe I would have more to say, but let’s face it, Comic-Con just ended, so I’m just grateful to not be peeing in a bottle or trying to use silverware as a straw.

(This counts as post #1 for this week, so I’m keeping steady at a deficit of 4 missed posts. Perhaps I’ll be able to catch up before August… )

MODULOK WEEK (Part 2 of 2)

As promised, here is my take on the toy version of Modulok:

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I added some Horde-emblem armbands to Modulok, but colored them in white rather than the standard red, since Modulok already has plenty of red going on. Also, I envision Modulok as being loyal to Hordak, so the emblems are also a subtle cue that Hordak is beginning to build a faction of loyalists to rebel against his elder brother Horde Prime.

The Modulok toy came with two heads, so I couldn’t resist creating yet another version of the character, utilizing what I always thought of as the alternate head:

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This guy is supposed to have a leaner build than your average Masters of the Universe character–think of a luchador or a cruiserweight wrestler. This calls for a little nerdy character bio, am I right? I’M RIGHT!

* * *

PROFILE: Silent, and relatively small in stature, MODUOS hardly appears threatening. However, when his master and clone-father Modulok is threatened, Moduos explodes into action, demonstrating his mastery of exotic grappling maneuvers and acrobatic striking techniques.

When creating him, Modulok tampered with the development of Moduos’s brain, resulting in Moduos being a machine-like drone. Moduos is not protective of his master–he is simply programmed to react. However, what Modulok has failed to understand is that Moduos is gradually developing a higher awareness and has begun to silently observe and question the world around him.

HISTORY: The cruel and brilliant scientist Modulok originated from a planet that has been enslaved by the Tyranid swarms for thousands of years. He escaped from the rule of the Tyranid, and travelled light years away where he encountered Hordak and the forces of the Horde. These two disdainful and evil beings clashed, but each quickly found himself respecting the other. Hordak appointed Modulok as his lead scientist, and Modulok shared stolen Tyranid technology with Hordak, as well as warning him of the creeping Tyranid fleet.

Hordak correctly assessed the Tyranid as a serious threat, in spite of their long distance from Horde territory. He attempted to inform his brother and leader, Horde Prime, but was dismissed out of hand. The seed of discord was planted in Hordak’s heart, and ever since that precise moment, Hordak has grown increasingly malcontent with his brother’s leadership. Modulok has used this to his advantage over the years, manipulating Hordak in the hopes of pitting the Horde against the Tyranid.

Behind Horde Prime’s back, Hordak and Modulok have formulated a plan for Modulok to infiltrate Tyranid-Space with a small force of elite Horde agents, with the goal of gathering intelligence and carrying out high risk sabotage missions and terrorist attacks. Ultimately trusting no one but himself, Modulok created a clone offspring to be his bodyguard for this extended mission–and thus was Moduos born.

* * *

Yeah, that’s right, I included a little incidental Warhammer 40K crossover action in that bio. So what?

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.

MODULOK WEEK (Part 1 of 2)

Hey look, I drew a thing from He-Man! Remember when I used to do that all the time?

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Today’s subject is Galen Nycroft, better known as the cartoon version of Modulok. Of course, in my typical strange manner, I have decided that Galen Nycroft and Modulok should be two different characters. They’re both scientists–Modulok being an alien in the employ of the Horde, and Galen being an Eternian human who mutates himself with a sample of Modulok’s DNA. I’ll post my drawing of the toy version of Modulok on Friday.

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.

How to get ahead in villainy…

Okay… things are sort of normalizing in my schedule. Kind of. Let’s see if I can go back to the old posting-two-times-a-week routine. This week is gonna be a little weird, because I’m posting this on late Tuesday rather than early Tuesday and my post later this week will be Christmas-themed, and you can expect that on Friday or Saturday. But otherwise everything should be back to normal. Sort of. More announcements on that later. Probably.

Anywaaays…

A whiiile back, my buddy Dylan (AKA Super-Munkyboy) had a contest on the He-Man.org fan-art forums–the goal was to create a new “big bad” for He-Man’s rogue’s gallery, and the prize was to have the newly created villain drawn by Dylan, Jazyl (AKA Two-Bad), and myself.

The contest actually ended in a tie, and I posted the first winner some time ago. Here’s my drawing for the second winner, Gbagok, who created an awesome over-the-top villain named Predicus Rex:

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Gbagok is an incredibly talented artist, easily one of the best on the forums, and that’s tough competition. I thought it wise to not try to out-Gbagok Gbagok, so my version of his character is a bit simplified, falling in line w/ my usual vintage-style Masters of the Universe dawings, whereas Gbagok tends to go with the more elaborate 200x style.

You can check out the thread here, and see the other prize drawings here.

Fish-Brained Schemer

A whiiile back, my buddy Dylan (AKA Super-Munkyboy) had a contest on the He-Man.org fan-art forums–the goal was to create a new “big bad” for He-Man’s rogue’s gallery, and the prize was to have the newly created villain drawn by Dylan, Jazyl (AKA Two-Bad), and myself.

The contest actually ended in a tie, and one of the winners was Patreek, who I have previously drawn a fan character for. Here’s my interpretation of his character:

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You can check out the thread here, and see the other prize drawings here. Art of the other winner will be posted soon!

Dream A Little Darkdream

Today’s post is for a re-design challenge at the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here, my post is here. The character is the villain Darkdream from the episode Eternal Darkness:

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In Eternal Darkness, Darkdream cannot survive under sunlight, and is shown to have some kind of connection with Evil-lyn–she is his ally and it is implied that Darkdream has power over her magic wand.

My take on the character depicts Darkdream having returned after his most recent defeat/banishment. The elements that I added to his costume are colored to emphasise his connection to Evil-Lyn. Here’s just a bit of background info:

* * *

With the help of unseen forces of evil, DARKDREAM stalks Eternia once more! He maintains the ability to put his foes to sleep and control their dreams, but now he has manifested a powerful corporeal body as well, possessing strength to rival He-Man’s! Darkdream can no longer be banished by sunlight–though he is still weakened by it. The Master of Nightmares seeks revenge against He-Man, and against his niece Evil-Lyn, who deserted him during his final battle. It remains to be seen whether the Faceless One will choose to intervene in the conflict between his brother Darkdream and his daughter Evil-Lyn.

* * *

So there you go, I just decided that Darkdream is The Faceless One‘s brother. Makes sense, right?

Blahblahblah, Skeletor Again…

Today I’ve got Laser Light Skeletor for you, re-imagined as (surprise) a new character. His weapon is a Havoc Staff topped with a humanoid skull as per one of the prototypes. I went with this weapon, and changed his cape from purple to black to distinguish him from Skeletor. His name comes from the Spanish version of Laser Light Skeletor, Ojos de Fuego:

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In terms of color and design, Laser Light Skeletor seems like a mess, if you ask me. He’s got a great head sculpt, but his body has all kinds of noodly details that seem very un-Masters of the Universe to me. I streamlined the details, but did my best to keep the general flavor, so that he’s be recognizable. I’m pretty happy with the colors on this one… I think the warm oranges and reds play off nicely against the cold blues and blacks. But really, it’s the super nerdy background info that makes it all worthwhile…

* * *

PROFILE: His true name and identity lost to the ages, he is addressed only by his rank, SUPREME INQUISITOR, and spoken of in hushed tones by his official sobriquet, THE EYES OF FIRE, a name bequeathed to him by the High Priests of Infinita. Dispatched by the Elder High Priest, the Supreme Inquisitor seeks out and punishes the enemies of Infinita, burning them with arcane fire, and cursing them with ancient spells.

HISTORY: The Supreme Inquisitor gazed out from the observation deck of the Infinitan flagship. The glow of his red eyes was dull and smouldering. Trance-like, he seemed to peer deep into space, a vision drawing him in.

Many millenia ago, in the cold, empty halls of the Central Infinitan Temple, a man stands over two glass coffins. The coffins are the same size–one occupied by a woman, the other occupied by a mere child. The child looks peaceful, but so small in the full-sized coffin. The woman looks sad, but resigned. It is night, and the moons of Infinita shed cold white light into the temple halls, through towering windows and arches. The blue skin of the man, and the two bodies, almost looks silver under the moonlight. Who is this man, and who are these corpses, the Inquisitor wonders absently.

The man’s eyes are in a trance, emotionless. Looking at the two bodies, but somehow not seeing them–instead staring past them. He is wounded. His right arm and chest are badly burned and bandaged. He does not move; his heart barely beats beneath his bandaged, charred chest.

Footsteps echo through the halls. Another man, draped in a black hood and cape, approaches from behind. The Inquisitor does not know who this man is either. The wounded man speaks, as if to interupt the other, though the other is silent. “This was my fault.”

The hooded man’s chalk-white skeletal jaw and exposed teeth glint in the moonlight, his voice is tight with rage… or anticipation? “No. This is the fault of Eternian scum.”

The wounded man knows this is not true. But he does not care what is true anymore. “Will it make me strong?” He asks.

“Yes.”

“Will it make me forget?”

“Yes.”

The wounded man stares past the bodies. What is he seeing, the Inquisitor wonders idly.

The wounded man is tired. That’s the closest thing to an emotion that he has betrayed in days. “So be it.” Questions float through the Inquisitor’s consciousness. What will happen to the wounded man? What will happen to the bodies?

The hooded man walks away, his footsteps seem forceful… or gleeful?

The wounded man follows the hooded man down the hallway. It seems to stretch on endlessly. The Supreme Inquisitor now gazes absently not into the distant past, but at his own dark reflection in the glass, superimposed over black starlit space. In one hand he holds a Havoc staff, topped with a humanoid skull. A smaller humanoid skull is mounted on his belt buckle, flanked by black slabs of stone, carved with Infinitan runes. These artifacts have been with him for as long as he can remember, but he cannot remember where they came from. He touches his belt buckle lightly with his robotic right arm. He cannot remember where he came from.

Forceful footsteps in the observation deck. The Supreme Inquisitor does not move. Reflected in the glass, a hooded man draped in black appears behind the Inquisitor. His chalk white mandible catches the light. All else is darkness. The Inquisitor knows who this man is–his mortal master, the Elder High Priest of Infinita, second only to the God-King himself.

The clarity of the vision dissipates, and the Supreme Inquisitor finds himself swallowed up once more by the present, and by madness. He no longer wonders about the vision, not even idly–it is forgotten.

“What do the Eyes of Fire see?” Asks the hooded man.

“I see the future. I see war… I see Eternia burning.”

* * *

As should be apparent, I wanted to create very Vaderian mythos for this guy. Hopefully I pulled it off without being too obvious or too corny. A little obvious and corny is okay though.

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums in my variants thread. The thread is here and my post is here.

Marginal Improvement

At least a little bit of preliminary sketching goes into the pieces I put up here, and in the course of that preliminary work, there’s a lot of miscellaneous doodling that goes in the margins. Occasionally, one of those doodles is worth cleaning up and coloring. Here’s a more cartoony streamlined take on one of He-Man’s foes, Trap Jaw:

I drew Trap Jaw previously, so the colors on today’s piece are pretty much cribbed from that, with a few adjustments for better contrast. The changes are subtle, but I can see where I’ve improved, even if only marginally

Pun linked to title and first paragraph… accomplished! Time to go play video games.

What’s a Skull Man?

Back in the 80’s, the action figure aisles were ruled by four archetypes–robots, commandoes, ninjas, and barbarians. Of the barbarians, Masters of the Universe was the most prominent line. A few other action figure brands wisely chose to mimic the proportions of Masters of the Universe figures, and marketed their lesser known figures as being compatible with all popular 5.5″ figure lines. Perhaps the best known manufacturer of such figures was Remco–they produced figures based on DC Comics’ Warlord, and the companion line to Warlord was The Warrior Beasts–which brings me to today’s post.

The Warrior Beasts consisted of a group of beastly humanoids and a few monstrous mounts who could all act as antagonists for your Warlord figures (or other 5.5″ action figures). But strangely, in the midst of this group of beasts and beast-headed humanoids, there was a skull-headed Skeletor-esque figure appropriately named Skull Man (not to be confused with a hero of the same name). Here’s my interpretation of the character, drawn to fit in with my various Masters of the Universe drawings:

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But how would he fit into the world of Masters of the Universe, you ask? Well, here’s some nerdy background info I concocted for Skull Man:

* * *

PROFILE: Cold and efficient, SKULL MAN is not only a mercenary, but an expert tracker and sleuth, armed with a cunning intellect. His hand-to-hand combat abilities hint at extensive training in martial arts from across the galaxy–this expertise allows his him to match up against opponents who would otherwise outmatch him in brute strength. Skull Man’s favored weapons are the bow and dagger.

HISTORY: The enigmatic mercenary SKULL MAN operates under his own rules, sometimes working for the forces of good, and sometimes working for the forces of evil. He has his own motivations, but those motivations are as unknown as his true identity. He has been known to operate in Skartaris, but most recently has been sighted on Eternia, allied with the Raqquill Rqazz’s personal army, the Warrior Beasts of Berserker Island.

* * *

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here and my post is here.

That Girl(?) is Poison

Today’s post is for yet another re-design challenge at the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here, my post is here. The first round voting threads are here and here (my entry didn’t get enough votes to proceed), and the final vote is here.

Apparently, in an issue of the UK He-Man comics, Hordak disguised himself as the “Dream Mistress,” and tried to deceive Stonedar… Stonedar didn’t fall for it (lucky for him). [Place your own cross-dressing joke here]

I chose to interpret the Dream Mistress as a shapeshifting entity who works for Hordak as a spy and saboteur. Here she/it is, in both Horde (right) and non-Horde (left) garb:

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The non-Horde version isn’t significantly altered, so I threw in the Horde version as a re-design (or alternate costume, at the very least). The pose is rather generic, pretty much just a minor variation of a standby that I go to when drawing women (or shapeshifters that look like women). I was a bit short on time for this one.

Don’t Be Such A Crab (part 2 of 2)

As promised in my last post, here’s the toy version of Clawful, probably considered to be the standard version by most:
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It always struck me as odd that the Clawful action figure looked like a tan guy in a crab costume, so I colored Clawful’s flesh like crab meat. Corny, yes, but I think it works. His bewitched, flaming green mace is a nod to the action figure’s neon green weapon. The drawing itself is nothing to write home about… on the other hand, I’m very satisfied with how the colors came out.

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.

Don’t Be Such A Crab (part 1 of 2)

Okay, this is a little confusing–Skeletor had a henchman named Clawful, who was a crab-like humanoid in toy form, but was depicted as a sea serpent-like humanoid with crab claws in the cartoon. Naturally, I decided both versions could co-exist, and renamed the cartoon version after a crab-themed Transformers character. Huh? Oh well, here he is, cartoon-Clawful, rechristened Squeezeplay:

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This one has its awkward points… the right leg is stupidly wrong, and the claws are pretty clunky looking. But I like how the gem and the gold armor turned out. Tune in next time for the other Clawful.

Also posted here on my variants thread on the He-Man.org fan-art forum.

Pink Panther and Snagglepuss!?

First of all, no, this is not a picture of the Pink Panther and Snagglepuss.

Second, I know you ladies are all wondering, how does a guy who spends his Saturday drawing pink kitties manage to stay single?

*sobbing and incoherent babbling*

Anyways… today’s post was drawn for a re-design challenge at the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here, my post is here. The first round voting polls are here and here, and the final vote can be found here–I placed 4th out of the finalists.

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The subject is Clawdeen, the feline mount of She-Ra’s foe Catra. There has been a lot of debate about Clawdeen’s gender, owing to the fact that the toy is identified as a “she” and has feminine-looking eyelashes, in spite of otherwise resembling a male lion (it has a mane like a male lion, however it lacks a tuft on its tail). In contrast, the cartoon version simply looks like a male lion (I don’t recall if its gender is ever specified).

My solution to the gender question was to make the toy and animation versions of Clawdeen into separate characters. The toy version, retaining the name Clawdeen and the specified female gender, gains an armored helm–I leave it to the reader’s imagination whether the plume of hair is Clawdeen’s mane, or simply a part of the helm. The cartoon version becomes Clawdius, Clawdeen’s mate. I swiped the name from Lion-O‘s dad.

I did my best to make Clawdeen feminine without resorting to the heavy-handed shorthand that the original toy suffered from (eyeshadow, long eyelashes). With Clawdius, I was striving for a groomed, submissive feel, to contrast the feral and somewhat crazed look of Manticore. Considering I had the handicap of working with almost nothing but variations of the color pink, I’m pretty happy with how the colors turned out.

I’d be lion if I said this wasn’t a terrible title.

(Posting Early… )

Today’s illustration is a monstrous steed for the subject of my previous post. He resembles his mythological namesake, but with some minor differences, and of course he’s patterned after Battle Cat, Panthor, and my own fan character, War-Tiger. He is not to be confused with Montecore.

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This one feels a little stiff and “blah” to me. But as longtime readers will note, I live my life by the phrase, “they can’t all be winners.” I’m happy with the color scheme though… I feel like I successfully emulated the bright and garish style of 80’s action figures. Forward, to the nerdy bio!

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PROFILE: Armed with a poisonous sting, a deafening roar, and the power of flight, the fearsome MANTICORE serves HIGH PRIEST LEO as loyally as the High Priest serves the God-King of Infinita. Like Battle Cat, Manticore is a highly intelligent creature, fully capable of speech.

HISTORY: Upon achieving the rank of High Priest, Manticore was granted to Leo by the God-King of Infinita himself, as a servant and ally. Manticore is the head of his clan, and is widely known for his arrogant sense of pride as well as his steadfast sense of loyalty and duty.

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Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here, and my post is here.

Starts with a "Skele-" and ends with a "-tor"

Okay, strap yourselves in kiddies, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. And by bumpy I mean nerdy. And by nerdy, I mean Skeletor-related.

Basically, there was a variation of Skeletor manufactured in India with a significantly different, darker color scheme. The Indian toy company was named Leo, and so this variation is known amongst He-Man enthusiasts as Leo Skeletor. Naturally, I decided that I needed to turn this into a new character, as is my custom:

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I’ll be the first to admit, this one is kind of a stretch. I took a look at the original toy and decided that I would interpret his dark blue body as chain mail, and using the moniker “Leo” as a theme, I integrated lion-related imagery into his armor to differentiate him from Skeletor proper. After that, his personality and background quickly fell into place.

A not-so-brief note to the truest of He-Man die-hards–you will note that the character’s ring is modelled after the glow-in-the-dark skull insignia ring that was included with the Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops action figures. The ring has no official backstory or copy attached to it–however the symbol on it has popularly become known amongst fans as the “Grayskull symbol,” believed to be modelled after Castle Grayskull or the spirit of Castle Grayskull (a smokey skull-shaped apparition that appeared in several of the early mini-comics that were packaged with the action figures).

However, this explanation still didn’t quite sit right with me… the shapes projecting from the top of the skull insignia’s head were too pointy to be the battlements of Castle Grayskull, and were also far too regular to be wisps of smoke as per the spirit of Grayskull. To my eyes, the projections looked far more like three demonic horns. While all that could be perhaps dismissed as me looking at the ring’s visual cues too literally, something bothered me even more–the fact that the ring was included only with two of Skeletor’s best-known evil warriors. Why were they the bearers of the mysterious rings?

To make a long story long, I decided to go against conventional wisdom–the insignia is not a symbol of Grayskull in my interpretation. I don’t claim to be an expert, and this is all just for fun, so I hope you’ll all enjoy yourselves as the story of that insignia unfolds through the continuing profiles of my variant characters, moving from the classic Masters of the Universe line, to the New Adventures of He-Man, and beyond.

* * *

PROFILE: Hailing from the world Infinita, and serving the God-King of Infinita, HIGH PRIEST LEO is an alien warrior-cleric of the highest order. He was born of the same process that created Skeletor–given demonic powers and a terrifying skeletal visage through dark spellcraft and ritual scarring. Armed with a Havoc Staff (the traditional weapon of Infinitan priests) and accompanied by his winged mount MANTICORE, there is no zealot more fiercely devoted than Leo, whose famed exploits in the name of the God-King have earned him the title “the Lion of Infinita.” All who cross High Priest Leo’s path will bow to the will of the God-King of Infinita. HAIL INFINITA!

HISTORY: With no communications received from Eternia in years, Skeletor was declared a renegade, and the High Priest Leo was dispatched from Infinita to track down and report Skeletor’s whereabouts. His vessel damaged by a meteor shower, Leo crash landed somewhere in the jungles of Eternia, and began the long trek towards Snake Mountain.

Nearing the perimeter of Skeletor’s Fortress, Leo spyed Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops standing guard. With little effort, Leo stepped into the open and bested them both. As Trap Jaw lay on the ground groaning in agony, his prosthetic arm torn from its socket, Leo level his Havoc staff at Tri-Klops. Tri-Klops’s glaring red eye widened at the sight of Leo’s ring, bearing the insignia of the God-King of Infinita–a triple-horned black skull. “W-wait–there’s been a misunderstanding!” he stammered, as he fumbled through his belt pouch. Amused, the High Priest paused to see what attempt at bribery this Eternian could muster–though it did not matter, Leo would kill him one way or another. What Tri-Klops produced from his pouch was not gold or silver, but a blank ring. Tri-klops put it on his finger and held up his hand for Leo to see.

“Hail Infinita! Hail the God-King!” Tri-Klops cried. With a gleam of demonic energy, the triple-horned skull insignia materialized on Tri-klops’s ring. “We’ve been waiting for you, my lord.”

With great effort, Trap Jaw clumsily managed to put on a similar ring on his remaining good hand. He muttered the same invocation, and an identical insignia appeared on his ring as well. Leo stayed his hand, somewhat disappointed that he would have to spare these two Eternian wretches. “Tell me everything you know,” Leo demanded.

In the distance, a stealthy barbarian and his dreadlocked young ward strained to hear the conversation between the High Priest, the swordsman, and the cyborg. When the invader fell from the skies, they had shadowed him silently, ultimately tracking him to the fringes of Skeletor’s lands. The barbarian decided that they could no longer risk detection–it was imperative that this development was relayed to his allies in the capital.

Without a noise, Savage sneaked away, his protege on his heels.

* * *

Also posted here on my variants thread on the He-Man.org fan-art forum.

For my other “new characters from old variants” posts:

Horrible Post Title #954774: Two Heads Are Better Than One

Apparently I’ve been in a He-Man sort of mood? Here’s Two Bad, another of Skeletor’s minions:

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While Two-Bad was billed as a strategist, he was rarely played for anything but laughs. I think he has a lot of untapped potential, and if it were up to me, I would cast him in the role of a genius tactician, Skeletor’s third-in-command (after Evil-Lyn).

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.

WE’RE TWIIINS!

This will be my final post based on Horde Prime for the foreseeable future, promise.

I’ve seen two versions of Horde Prime as he appeared in comics in the UK, each with a different color scheme. I made each of them into new characters, Praetors of Hordak and Horde Prime’s homeworld. Their weapons were my idea.

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I’ll be honest, the drawing of these was a somewhat hasty process. I was trying to keep it fast and loose, but instead it got sloppy. I think the colors helped pull it together somewhat, and I’m glad I was able to tweak the original color schemes, while sticking pretty close to the source material. Here’s the nerdy bio…

* * *

PROFILE: The harsh enforcers PRAETOR ALPHA and PRAETOR OMEGA are, in reality, genetically modified clones of Horde Prime. Horde Prime is over a thousand years old, and the biology of the Praetors matches that of Horde Prime as a young man–therefore, while Alpha and Omega are extremely skilled warriors with some knowledge of combat spells, they have not yet developed Horde Prime’s advanced magic and shapeshifting abilities. Both of them are merciless in the performance of their duties, though an instinctive mutinous streak is gradually surfacing in both of them.

HISTORY: While it is widely known that Alpha and Omega were genetic experiments raised and trained by Horde Prime in secrecy, their secret genetic heritage is unknown to all but Horde Prime and his trusted follower Ifreet.

Disappointed in Hordak’s failure to crush resistance on Etheria, and having placed Zed (the Crown Prince of the Horde) under house arrest for being a rebel sympathizer, Horde Prime is looking at the very real possibility of placing Alpha and Omega in the line of succession. Already, they are entrusted with the stewardship of Horde World, while the newly regenerated Horde Prime leads the Eternian invasion in person.

Hordak does not suspect the true origins of the Praetors, but he is very wary of them. Hordak is aware that his failures on Etheria put him in grave danger of losing favor with his brother, and he senses his brother’s favoritism for Alpha and Omega. Away from the eyes of his all but his most trusted advisors, Hordak has begun to plan the execution of the Praetors of Horde World.

* * *

Also posted here on my variants thread on the He-Man.org fan-art forum.