King Randor
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King Randor is a fictional character who appears in the popular 1980s Masters of the Universe franchise. In early material, the character is called King Miro, this name was later given in the Filmation cartoon series as King Randor's long-lost father's name.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Minicomics
Randor initially appeared in the minicomics as a much-older man with gray hair and a wizened face, but as the series progressed he became closer to his Filmation age.
Older-
- The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces
- The Menace of Trap Jaw
- The Magic Stealer!
- Dragon's Gift
- He-Man and the Insect People
Younger-
- Double-Edged Sword
- Skeletor's Dragon
- Spikor Strikes
- Mantenna and the Menace of the Evil Horde!
- Leech: The Master of Power Suction Unleashed!
- The Terror Claws Strike!
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place!
- Snake Attack!
- The Search for Keldor
- Revenge of the Snake Men
- Enter: Buzz-saw Hordak!
[edit] Filmation animated series
Randor is the good and noble King of Eternia, and the father of the series' hero He-Man, or rather his alter ego, Prince Adam, and Princess Adora, a.k.a. She-Ra. He is often annoyed and disappointed by Adam's seeming laziness and reluctance to take any real responsibility. Not realizing his son's dual identity, he is still very proud of his honest and kind-hearted son. Sometimes he is shown trying to teach his son lessons, as presumably Adam will become King one day. Unlike his children, who are both blondes, he has brown hair and a beard. Although Skeletor, the line's main villain, is initially said to be "from another dimension", late on in the original line it is heavily implied, but never officially confirmed, that Randor's long-lost brother Keldor became Skeletor. However, the writer of "The Search for Keldor", the minicomic in question, has since confirmed that this was the intent. In the 2002 series, Keldor also becomes Skeletor, although through different circumstances, and there is no acknowledgement that Keldor is Randor's brother.
Randor appears regularly in the original series, but it is uncommon for him to be directly involved in the action. However, he features heavily in the storyline of the episode "Prince Adam No More", in which he displays both his love for his son and his prowess at battling Skeletor's robots. The rest of the 1980s incarnation of the franchise mostly sticks with Filmation's version of a bold, middle-aged, brown-haired king, but some material presents him as a much older, white haired, almost wizened ruler.
[edit] The New Adventures of He-Man
King Randor appears alongside Queen Marlena in the first episode of the New Adventures of He-Man series. Before Adam leaves to travel to the future, he visits his parents and tells them of his mission. Randor watches in amazement as Adam transforms into He-Man before his eyes, and tells his son he is very proud of him. Randor is one of the few characters to appear in both the original series and the New Adventures, and his costume and voice are very accurate to his original portrayal.
[edit] Mike Young Prodctions animated series
In the 2002 Mike Young Productions remake it is made apparent that in his youth, Randor was known as Captain Randor, a brave and steadfast warrior before being crowned King of Eternia by the Elders, although in the 1983 series, he is portrayed as having taken over the throne after his father, King Miro disappeared. He even aids the Masters in a couple of episodes in their battles against Skeletor and his Evil Warriors and even the Snake Men.
He is also tied more closely to the origin of Skeletor, having battled Skeletor when he was still Keldor during a war the Eternians call The Great Unrest. That war ended when Keldor and his forces attacked the Hall of Wisdom, home of the Elders, and Keldor and Randor engaged in a deadly duel that ended with Keldor hurling acid at Randor, only to have Randor deflect the acid with his shield, splashing the acid back at Keldor and burning his face, which led to his transformation into Skeletor. It is revealed by a writer that in this continuity Keldor and Randor are half-brothers, but it is never revealed if either knew that.
After the Council of Evil incident, King Randor established an Eternian Council consisting of himself; Chief Carnivus of the Qadians; Lord Dactys of the Speleans; the Kulatak Elder of the Kulataks; Queen Andreeno of the Andreenids; King Taurius of the Mintaurans; Hawk, representing the Avions, and some other unnamed council members. Although in the 2002 edition, he is not aware of his son being He-Man, it may be explained that Adam inherited the inherent skills to become He-Man through the inward bravery of Captain Randor.
[edit] Toyline
In the original toy-line, despite featuring very much throughout the franchise's run, there was no King Randor figure until a surprise sudden release as part of the final wave. As the final wave was generally produced in less quantity due to sales gradually dipping, the figure is one of the rarer and more hunted of the original line. The 2002 revamped line was discontinued before a new King Randor figure could be produced; however there was a NECA-produced statue, an action figure-sized piece with no movable joints.[1] His wife Queen Marlena, never had an action figure version released in either the original or revamped line.
In the Masters of the Universe text adventure game that appeared on many home computers in the mid-1980s, King Randor is mis-spelt as 'King Radnor' throughout the game on many platforms.
[edit] Other media
In the Robot Chicken episode "Badunkadunk," the intro to the Eternia News Network segment shows King Randor cutting the ribbon at the new Val-Mart.
