Modulok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modulok is a character in the popular toy line Masters of the Universe by Mattel, one of the best-selling lines of the 1980s.
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 Modulok from the 1985 series |
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Packaged as the 'evil beast of a thousand bodies', upon his release Modulok was unique in form among the action figures. He was made up of 22 different pieces which could be locked together to form different shapes, in a Lego-like fashion. The character was conceived as a multi-bodied monster who could reform himself into thousands of different shapes to confuse his enemies. Among the fan community he is generally recognized as being a scientist, given that he was portrayed as such in the line's accompanying cartoon series. He is a member of the Evil Horde, though in some cartoon appearances is seen to work for himself.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Toy line/Mini-comics
Modulok was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1985, little after the first wave of Evil Horde figures. His figure was an instant hit with buyers due to its uniqueness among others. The figure came packaged in a cardboard case, its 22 pieces encased in a plastic bag within. These pieces included two heads and numerous arms, legs, torsos and tails which could lock together in seemingly endless ways. Some of the body parts were more human-like while others had claws and were more monstrous in appearance. There were even enough pieces to form two separate monsters.
The toy came packaged with the mini-comic "The Treachery of Modulok" which showcased the character and his abilities. He was introduced as a former slave of Skeletor who had escaped Skeletor's clutches and offered his services to the Evil Horde, knowing of Hordak's personal hatred of Skeletor. Together with Hordak, he proceeded to concoct a scheme involving his body parts being sent, one by one, to the Royal Palace of Eternia in separate cardboard boxes, labelled as presents to the members of the Heroic Warriors. Confused by the numerous body parts being delivered to the palace, Man-At-Arms suspects the forces of evil may be behind it and sends Prince Adam and Teela to Castle Grayskull with the body parts to ask The Sorceress about the creature. As they speak to The Sorceress, and she informs them of the identity of Modulok, Modulok reforms himself and uses his shape-changing abilities to steal a forbidden weapon from the castle. A battle then ensues involving a clash between He-Man, Skeletor and Hordak, in which Modulok showcases his shape-changing abilities, including his ability to split into two separate beings.
A later appearance in the mini-comic "The Menace of Multi-Bot" showcased Modulok as a scientist, tying in with his role in the cartoon series.
[edit] Modulok in the He-Man Series
Shortly after his figure was released, Modulok appeared on the toy line's accompanying cartoon series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Filmation. Although the Evil Horde were used as the main villains in the spin-off series She-Ra rather than He-Man (due to the He-Man series being discontinued to promote Mattel's She-Ra toy line), Modulok was given the unique honor of making his debut on the He-Man series instead. He was introduced late in the show's second season.
Several adjustments were made to Modulok's character by Filmation's writers and animators. Given Filmation's limited budget, Modulok would be a serious challenge for them to animate, given that his constant shape-changing would require the production of an exorbitant number of cel sheets for the character and therefore prove extremely costly. The decision was made, therefore, to simplify Modulok's design and give him one single shape to be used throughout the series. Although initially described in the scripts as appearing two-headed and multi-bodied like the toy, he appeared in the cartoon with only one shape, his body appearing to be an organic whole rather than separate pieces locked together. He was also given only one head even though all Mattel's promotional material (as well as most comics and storybooks) depicted him with two. Possibly this may have been done to avoid confusion with Two-Bad, another two-headed character who debuted in the toy line and series at the same time. Another reaon may have been for the purpose of making the character's design symmetrical, so that cel sheets could be flipped over without altering the character's appearance.
Introduced in the episode "Mistaken Identity", Modulok's character was also adjusted from Mattel's concept. His personality in the mini-comics had been that of a rather generic (if perhaps slightly more intelligent and scheming) villain, so Filmation expanded his character by making him a mad scientist hell-bent on proving his scientific genius. His debut episode was scripted by J. Michael Straczynski, who liked the character and went on to write most of his major episodes. A hardcore Star Trek fan, Straczynski based the character's personality loosely around Mr. Spock, feeling Modulok's pointy ears gave him a slight resemblance to the character. "Mistaken Identity" showcased him as the main villain. He begins as a deranged human scientist called Galen Nycroft, imprisoned in the Royal dungeons for attempting to use his science to control all of Eternia with a mind ray. Appearing human other than his deformed, enlarged eye which resembles that of Modulok, Nycroft is unfazed by the prison guards' mockery of him and vows to escape and prove himself.
He summons a bat-like aid of his to his side with a component needed to teleport his final invention to the prison cell. Teleporting a large machine to the cell, he steps inside, and an explosion comes from within. He steps out in the mutated form of Modulok, and uses his greatly bolstered strength to break free from the prison cell. He contacts Skeletor and offers him his services, but Skeletor rejects him describing him as a 'wimp scientist' and vows to only accept Modulok into his evil crew once he has proved himself. Modulok sets out to prove himself by capturing He-Man. He fails in his scheme, as he is deceived into capturing a teenage boy who is trying to impress his girlfriend by pretending to be He-Man's secret identity.
He made his second appearance in the episode "Happy Birthday Roboto" by Larry DiTillio, which presented him as a solo villain, and also stated that he was the sworn enemy of Man-At-Arms even though no other episodes touched upon a rivalry between the two. Cast in the role of main villain once more, this episodes features Modulok capturing the heroic character Roboto and reprogramming him, then reviving him to carry out his own evil deeds. He proceeds to attempt a Frankenstein-like experiment on Man-At-Arms, intending to transfer his brain power into his second head so that he can possess Man-At-Arms' scientific knowledge for himself. This episode tied the cartoon version of Modulok in with the toy by alluding to his shape-changing powers and showing his extra head, although to save animation costs he did not put it on. The second head also seemed to be cybernetic rather than organic as conceived by Mattel.
A third appearance on the He-Man series, in the episode "Here, There, Skeletors Everywhere" showed Modulok in the background among Skeletor's minions, indicating that he had somehow managed to gain acceptance into Skeletor's forces. Given that this was merely a non-speaking background appearance it was not explained how or when his services had been accepted by Skeletor.
[edit] Modulok in the She-Ra Series
Halfway through the first season of Filmation's spin-off series, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Modulok was incorporated into the She-Ra series, the only character from either show to be transferred permanently from one to the other. This occurred in the episode "Gateway to Trouble" in which Modulok had built a device for Skeletor which would open a portal to Etheria to transport his whole army to the planet. However, Modulok was subjected to nothing but abuse and scrutiny by Skeletor, who disrespected his skills. Tired of the constant abuse, he chose to escape from Skeletor to Etheria and pledge his services to Hordak instead. Hordak, himself a scientist, was more appreciative of Modulok's abilities and accepted his services, recruiting him as Horde scientist and using the machine in an attempt to invade Eternia. After the scheme failed, Hordak demoted Modulok to Horde cook. This episode, again written by Straczynski, furthered the portrayal of Modulok as a rung above most other villains, as the only villain ever to openly retaliate against Skeletor's abuse, while his statement at the end of the episode that "Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be evil" indicated a greater level of awareness of the potential consequences of his wrongdoings.
Straczysnki continued Modulok's story with a brief cameo in the episode "Enemy With My Face" in which he was briefly seen attempting to regain Hordak's approval in order to become Horde scientist again rather than Horde cook. Although we never saw him win this position back, he was seen back in the role of Horde scientist in the episode "Just Like Me" in which he was once again the lead villain, commanding an army of Horde Troopers in an attack on a peasant village. This episode also showcased a new power for Modulok- the ability to magically transform his arms into weapons, in this case a weapon resembling a lightsaber. This alternate kind of shape-shifting was perhaps a loose attempt to tie him in with the toy. Scripted by Gene Ayers, this was his only episode with a starring role not to be written by either Straczynski or DiTillio.
His next appearance was in DiTillio's "Black Snow" in which, in the role of sole villain once again, he led an attack on Frosta's kingdom in order to stir up war between two tribes of the icy regions of Etheria. This episode once again showcased his ability to change his arms into weapons, in this case turning his arm into a cannon, much like Hordak did regularly in the series. The episode also showcased the character of Multi-Bot, Modulok's robotic assistant.
Straczynski was to use Modulok once more for his penultimate appearance in the episode "Darksmoke and Fire" in which he invented a rocket that sent She-Ra back in time, but this was only a cameo appearance giving little development to his character. Modulok's final appearance was in the He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special where he briefly appeared as one of the warriors who accompanied Hordak when kidnapping children. After season 1, both Stracysnki and DiTillio left Filmation, and with Modulok's major writers no longer part of the crew, the character vanished completely from season 2.
Modulok is unique among all characters in the He-Man and She-Ra cartoon series, for having his own individual storyline throughout the episodes as well as being portrayed with more character depth than many other villains, rendering him one of the more memorable of all the less frequently-featured characters of the shows.
[edit] Other Mediums
Modulok also appeared in many other MOTU story mediums throughout the 1980s. The UK comics published by London Editions featured him regularly, in-keeping with the cartoon by presenting him as more intelligent than the other Horde members, although his scientific abilities were rarely showcased in this medium. The comics also featured a significantly different account of his origin. While starting off, like in the cartoon, as the human Galen Nycoff (different spelling), in this version he came from a far-off planet and was a petty criminal rather than a scientist. With a timid and less-than-intimidating appearance (barely looking human and resembling a more innocent version of Modulok rather than anything else) he shocked his victims by unleashing all manner of deadly weapons on them to steal their valuables, and after being imprisoned for his crimes on Prison Star, he escaped from his cell and broke into the prison's laboratory to formulate a potion to grant him extra physical strength. However, he was caught in the act by the Prison Star wardens, and the potion went wrong, transforming him instead into the multi-bodied Modulok. He escaped in a shuttle pod with the wardens in hot pursuit, and was rescued from them by Hordak, who promised him acceptance into the Horde if he could impress him with his powers.
He also appeared in the MOTU Marvel comics in the US, but his portrayal in these was highly different from any other medium. Whereas he had always been seen to possess only one mind, despite his two heads, this comic series portrayed him with two minds, similar to Two-Bad, and much like the latter character, his heads would frequently argue with one another.
[edit] Multi-Bot
1986 saw the release of the character of Multi-Bot into the toy line. Multi-Bot was a robot equivalent of Modulok, again consisting of numerous individual body parts which could be combined to form thousands of different shapes. Produced to cash in on the popularity of the Modulok toy, Multi-Bot's individual parts could also be combined with those of Modulok himself to form Megabeast. No story medium ever showcased the idea of the two characters combining into one, except for a single panel of "The Menace of Multi-Bot".
Multi-Bot was introduced in the mini-comic "The Menace of Multi-Bot" as a creation of Modulok, and also appeared in the She-Ra cartoon as such, although with a radically different appearance based around an early design rather than the final figure.
See Multi-Bot's own entry for more details.
[edit] 2002 series
Modulok was not included in the 2002 revival of the MOTU toy line and series, for the line was cancelled before the Horde could be fully introduced. Ian Richter of Mattel, who co-developed many of the storylines for the cartoon series, stated in a Q&A session with fans that Modulok would have been brought back "in a cool, updated, much more threatening fashion", and that he would probably have worked mainly as a solo villain rather than with the Horde. The Horde were seen in a flashback to Ancient Eternia in the episode "The Power of Grayskull" but Modulok was not among them, indicating that as in the old continuity, he would not have been one of the original Horde members and would have joined them at a later point.
