Snout Spout
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Snout Spout is a character in the popular toy line Masters of the Universe. He is a cyborg with a human body and a metal elephant head. He serves the Heroic Warriors as a firefighter, his main power being to spray jets of water from his trunk, stored in a special pack on his back which he refills periodically from rivers and lakes.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Cartoon
Snout Spout was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1986. By the time his action figure was released, the accompanying cartoon series had been cancelled to make way for its spin-off series, She-Ra. Therefore, Snout Spout made his cartoon appearances in She-Ra rather than He-Man.
Appearing in 3 episodes: "Small Problems", "Out of the Cocoon" and "Day of the Flowers", Snout Spout's roles were little more than cameos and he received no real character development. Several continuity discrepancies also surround his character, as in his first episode he is referred to as "Hose Nose" (Mattel's working name for the character) yet "Day of the Flowers" refers to him as Snout Spout with no explanation for the name change. His first two appearances also seem to indicate he lives on Etheria, yet the latter episode ties him in with Mattel's continuity by depicting him as He-Man's friend, visiting from Eternia.
[edit] Other mediums
Although the cartoon offered no kind of consistency to Snout Spout's character, other mediums producing Masters of the Universe (MOTU) stories throughout the 1980s gave the character more exposure, as well as a background story. A Mattel promotional card stated that he was formerly an Etherian peasant who was captured by Hordak and subjected to fiendish experiments which turned him into the elephantine cyborg he is today. Although initially intended to serve The Evil Horde, he managed to throw off Hordak's brainwashing attempt and escape to Eternia, where he joined He-Man and the Heroic Warriors.
This backstory was adopted by the UK comic series published by London Editions, which introduced Snout Spout in a story entitled "The Unknown Warrior" in which he makes his way from Etheria to Eternia wearing a mask, refusing to remove his mask or reveal his identity until he has proved himself a worthy hero. He was presented in the comic series as insecure and paranoid about his appearance, yet never overly self-pitiful and determined to fight on against the Horde until he found some way of returning to his human form.
[edit] New Masters of the Universe
Snout Spout was intended to be featured in the 2002 relaunch of the Masters of the Universe toy line and series; but both were cancelled before his character could be introduced. However, toy sculptors the Four Horsemen, who sculpted the toys for the new line, have issued a staction figure of the character, available to fans over the Internet and certain store chains. The cartoon's accompanying comic series, meanwhile, featured royal firemen dressed in uniforms similar to Snout Spout.
[edit] Trivia
- An unmade episode for the She-Ra series was planned to focus around Snout Spout's race, to be called the Hosers, thus offering a completely different backstory to that given by Mattel.
- In the new MOTU comics published by MV Creations, the fire fighters of the palace of Eternia wore similar outfits to Snout Spout.
