Dragstor
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Dragstor is a character from the popular toy line Masters of the Universe, one of the best-selling toy ranges of the 1980s.
A member of the Evil Horde, Dragstor is a cyborg warrior with a tyred wheel built into his chest and an engine on his back, which enables him to transport himself along the ground at super-speed, like a vehicle. This power renders him the fastest member of the Evil Horde and a highly feared opponent.
[edit] Character Profile
Dragstor was introduced into the MOTU toy line in 1986. The idea of a character who served as both a warrior and a vehicle may have been developed to cash in on the popularity of Transformers, one of the toy line's key competitors. His figure was packaged with the minicomic "The Warrior Machine", in which he was a farmer whom Hordak captured and turned into an evil cyborg with his latest machine. This minicomic also introduced the heroic character of Extendar, who was given his own powers by Hordak after witnessing those of Dragstor and desiring great powers for himself. The later minicomic "Enter: Buzz-Saw Hordak!" featured Dragstor presenting a rebellious attitude, exposed in his rivalry with the newest Horde warrior, Mosquitor indicated in the dialogue- when He-Man asks "Who's your new friend?" Dragstor replies "Mosquitor... and he's no friend of mine!").
An alternate origin for Dragstor was given in the UK comic series published by London Editions. This origin, in the story "My Friend No More" in issue 31, has gained popularity among the fan base despite only having been published in the UK and Europe. This story once again tied him in with Extendar and revealed that Dragstor and Extendar were formerly humans named Theydon and Doodon respectively. They were best friends who regularly competed in races together. Theydon was one of Eternia's master runners and regularly won his races. While competing in an annual race, Doodon stumbled and fell into quicksand, and Theydon, although leading in the race, sacrificed his victory in favor of saving his friend. However, immediately afterwards the two were captured by the Evil Horde and taken to Hordak's laboratory, where Hordak turned them both into cyborg warriors to serve himself. Although Theydon was completely brainwashed upon his transformation into Dragstor, Extendar, touched by the way his friend had saved his life, resisted the effects of the brainwashing and escaped from Hordak. He joined the ranks of the Heroic Warriors and vowed to fight on until Dragstor was freed from Hordak's curse. The relation between these two warriors was built upon in later stories, in which Extendar found himself unable to fight against Dragstor due to their former friendship. Dragstor was portrayed as mindlessly loyal to Hordak, with no memory of his human life, and was also highly exuberant and eager to help out in all Hordak's schemes. His loyalty earned him more respect from Hordak himself, who in a later issue gave Dragstor the honor of being the first warrior to pilot his new vehicle, the Fright Fighter.
Dragstor never appeared in the toy line's accompanying cartoon series, even though the She-Ra: Princess of Power series, in which the Horde were the main villains, was still in production at the time his figure was released.
