Fang Man

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Fang Man
Statistics
Name Fang Man
Affiliations Skeletor
Created by Mattel

Fang Man is a fictional character from the 1980s cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

He is a member of the Evil Warriors, a reptile man who features in one episode, "The Time Corridor". His main ability is to control the Dragosaurs of Eternia.

[edit] Character profile

Fang Man's singular appearance on Filmation's He-Man series, in the very early episode "The Time Corridor", showcases him as a minion of Skeletor, paired with Tri-Klops. In the episode, Fang Man, together with Tri-Klops, accompanies Skeletor to Eternia's ancient past to enslave the tribes of prehistoric Eternia, and prevent them from building Castle Grayskull. His role in the episode is rather minimal, his main scene being where he attacks He-Man by controlling a Dragosaur and setting it on He-Man. At the end of the episode, when the defeated Skeletor returns to present-day Eternia, he returns alone and there is no further mention of either Fang Man or Tri-Klops, implying they had been left in the past. This is most likely a plothole overlooked by the writers, as Tri-Klops features many more times in later episodes. But since nothing is ever seen of Fang-Man again throughout the series, many fans consider him to have been left permanently in the past.

Fang-Man is notable as being one of the few characters in the cartoon series not to have had an accompanying action figure, in Mattel's toy line upon which the show is based. However, his description in the show's series bible suggests he was an early version of the character Kobra Khan, who was released onto the toy shelves the following year. He is described in the series bible as "a reptilian monster who, when he wants to disable his foe, breathes a sleeping gas upon them so they can be taken captive". Although he does not display this power in the episode, this is the exact power that Kobra Khan possesses. Therefore, it seems that Fang-Man was an early prototype for Kobra Khan, who appears on the show to promote a possible upcoming figure, but his design was later modified and renamed Kobra Khan, different enough from the original design to be passed off as a totally different character.