Karg (Masters of the Universe)
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Karg is a character in the 1987 movie Masters of the Universe by Cannon Films. The movie was based upon Mattel's best-selling toy line of the same name, although Karg was a brand new character created by the film's writers, who never had an accompanying action figure.
Played by Robert Towers, Karg was a minion of the film's main villain Skeletor (Frank Langella), and the head of Skeletor's bounty hunters who commanded Skeletor's militia. He was designed as being half man and half bat, although this is not immediately apparent from his appearance. He is a strange, grotesque creature with high and long white hair, pointed ears and a tight bodysuit, his torso covered by shining black armor. A long, black cape adorns his back, his shoulders covered by a fur stole, and he has a hook in place of his right hand. His overall appearance, with his elegantly-combed hair and carefully-fitted clothing, is almost regal and resembles a mediaeval monarch, suggesting an element of respectability and even vanity about his character, contrasting strikingly with his undoubtedly ugly, gruesome visage.
[edit] Character Profile
Karg was portrayed in the movie as a commander who seemed to hold a high rank in Skeletor's army. Designer Bill Stout said of the character:
"Karg is one of those great little evil creatures... I saw him from the beginning as a half-human, half-bat creature with strange dental tools to do his dirty work."
He was introduced early on in the movie, leading a team of storm troopers into the home of Gwildor to steal the Cosmic Key. He was later placed in charge of Skeletor's team of bounty hunters in their mission to Earth to retrieve the key and capture He-Man. He was depicted as a harsh and stern commander, with fierce authority over the other warriors, although his subservience to Skeletor showed through in the scene following the minions' failure on Earth, in which he apologetically grovelled at Skeletor's feet pleading for another chance, stating "We live only to serve you". His loyalty to Skeletor was questionable, however, for in the second half of the movie he played second fiddle to Evil-Lyn in the evil warriors' return to Earth, and at the movie's end, accompanied Evil-Lyn in her desertion of Skeletor as Skeletor prepared to face He-Man in their final battle. Overall he was portrayed as a harsh and savage minion, but also well-spoken and of a higher status than most other minions, somewhat matching his well-groomed attire and regal appearance.
Although most of the new characters introduced in the movie were incorporated into the Masters of the Universe toy line (Gwildor, Blade, Saurod), Karg never appeared in action figure form, for reasons as yet unknown.
In the comic book adaptation of the film, although Karg's personality and dialogue were largely the same, he was depicted with green skin, blonde hair and red eyes, versus the film where he has grey skin, white hair and yellow eyes.
Some fans have speculated that Karg may have been designed as a movie version of Trap-Jaw, due to both characters having modified right arms.
