Grizzlor
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Grizzlor is a character from the popular toy line Masters of the Universe by Mattel.
A member of the Evil Horde, Grizzlor is a hairy man-beast creature from the wild, covered in thick brown fur with sharp claws, who attacks his opponents with the power of brute strength. Most story mediums have, naturally enough, portrayed him as a mindless brute with little in the way of intelligence.
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[edit] Character Profile
[edit] Toy line/Mini-comics
Grizzlor was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1985 among the first wave of Evil Horde figures. His figure was packaged with the mini-comic "Grizzlor: The Legend Comes Alive!" which portrayed him as a kind of urban legend among the Eternians, a product of apparent 'tall tales' about a wild man-beast creature which would roam the night stalking its prey. After Buzz-Off had disturbed his heroic comrades with tales of the creature, it later transpired that Grizzlor was a real creature and had been hired by Hordak to fight against He-Man and the Heroic Warriors. Grizzlor was portrayed as a mindless, savage killing machine, who was defeated by being shown his own reflection in a mirror- he apparently feared nothing but the sight of his own gruesome visage.
[edit] She-Ra cartoon series
Grizzlor appeared in animated form in the cartoon series She-Ra: Princess of Power, in which the Horde were the main villains (due to the Masters of the Universe cartoon having been discontinued to promote Mattel's new spin-off toy line, Princess of Power). The cartoon series played down his savagery, presumably to make his character more suitable for a children's audience. At times it even seemed as though he may be more human than animal, particularly in the early episode "Beast Island" (which formed part of the movie The Secret of the Sword) in which he was competent enough to operate a computer console and command a series of destructo-tanks. However, he was far from intelligent and was usually portrayed as a generic bumbling villain, constantly fouling up Hordak's schemes. Although he appeared frequently in the cartoon he had no spotlight roles and was mostly consigned to background appearances.
[edit] Other Mediums
Grizzlor also appeared in several of the Masters of the Universe comic series. A notable one of these was the UK comics published by London Editions, which portrayed him as one of the least intelligent of all the evil characters. In this series he was frequently used for comic relief and had a child-like mentality, implying he was not actually evil and had merely been misled by Hordak into helping with his schemes. An origin story in a later issue explained that he came from the jungle world of Jungulia 'on the outer edge of the spiral arm of the N24 galaxy' and was a member of a race of man-beast creatures. Although his race was peaceful, by the age of 428 (still a child in his people's years) he had developed a savage anger that shocked his family, and stumbled across a range of powerful weapons in a cave. His youthful nature led him to see them as toys, and play with them as such. When detected with the weapons by Horde Prime's sata-spies, they mistook him for an evil warrior and reported him to Hordak, who beamed him on board his ship, erasing all memories of Jungulia from his mind so he would willingly serve him. At first, upon seeing the advanced weapons, Hordak mistakenly believed Grizzlor must possess an incredible mental genius, but subsequently Grizzlor proved to have no remote intelligence, rendering Hordak confused as to why Horde Prime wanted him in the Horde.
[edit] 2002 series
Grizzlor also featured in animated form in the updated Masters of the Universe cartoon series, produced in 2002 by Mike Young Productions, to promote the relaunched toy line. Mattel had intended to release the Horde characters among the next wave of villains, and they were intended to fill the role of main opposition to He-Man in the show's third season. The second season episode "The Power of Grayskull" featured the Horde in a flashback sequence, as an evil force from Ancient Eternia. Grizzlor was seen among them in a non-speaking role, and was imprisoned by King Grayskull in the dimension of Despondos together with Hordak and the rest of the Horde. However, since the toy line and cartoon were cancelled shortly afterwards, the third season was never made. Despite the cancellation of the line, a Grizzlor mini statue figure has been sculpted and issued by toy sculptors the Four Horsemen.
