Mekaneck
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Mekaneck is a character from the popular toy line and cartoon series Masters of the Universe.
Mekaneck was originally tagged by Mattel as the 'Heroic human periscope'. A member of the Heroic Warriors, Mekaneck's ability is to stretch his bionic neck to great heights and see over great distances with his special visors. He is therefore one of the main spies for the Heroic Warriors.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] 1980s
Mekaneck was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1984. The action feature of his figure was to stretch its neck when its waist was twisted.
Mekaneck appears in 3 episodes of the toy line's accompanying cartoon series by Filmation. The episodes are "Disappearaing Dragons", "Here, There, Skeletors Everywhere" and "Search for a Son". The most important of his appearances is the latter, which reveals his background, explaining that he was given his bionic neck by Man-At-Arms after his neck was badly injured in severe storm winds. (He was called "Mekaneck" even before he received his bionic neck.) In the storm, he lost track of his son, Philip, and pledged his services to King Randor and the Royal guard in the hope of some day finding his son. In this episode it eventually transpires that his son was recovered from the storm winds by the evil Count Marzo, who has held him captive ever since and offers his return in exchange for the throne of Eternia.
In "Disappearing Dragons" Mekaneck is paired with Buzz-Off, a natural pairing given their abilities as spies.
[edit] 2002 series
Mekaneck was featured in the contemporary relaunch of the Masters of the Universe toy line and cartoon series in 2002. His abilities were here altered slightly, with his neck able to bend and twist around corners despite being made of metal, and it could also seemingly stretch to infinite heights.
His personality in the new show is insecure and paranoid, feeling his power of extending his neck is useless and giving him an inferiority complex aside his battle comrades. This is brought to the forefront in the episode "Mekaneck's Lament" in which, after an injury, he makes a deal with an old man who promises to grant him better powers if he recovers a magic amulet for him. The old man turns out to be none other than Count Marzo, who wants the amulet purely to recover his own powers and intends nothing for Mekaneck. Realizing his insecurity has placed his friends in danger, Mekaneck sets about overcoming Marzo's attempt on Eternia and realizing the true benefits of his powers.
The old storyline of Mekaneck's son seemed to be abandoned for the new series, although he developed a rivalry with Marzo, which is clearly influenced by the old episode "Search for a Son" and is elaborated on in the later "Council of Evil" 2-parter in which Marzo takes Mekaneck prisoner.
