Screeech
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Screeech is a fictional character from the 1980s Mattel toy line, Masters of the Universe.
Packaged as the 'evil fighting falcon', he is a barbaric armored bird in service to Skeletor. The toy was originally designed as an evil counterpart to the heroic character of Zoar, the falcon form of The Sorceress.
[edit] Character history
Screeech was introduced into the MOTU toy line in 1984. He was promoted as an evil counterpart to the character of Zoar, although most story media, particularly the cartoon series, portray the character as being totally different from Zoar. Throughout most storybooks and comic series, Screeech is portrayed as a pure barbaric bird whose power is sheer brute force, unlike Zoar who is a magical creature and the alternate form of The Sorceress. One of the UK Ladybird Books, "He-Man and the Memory Stone", features Screeech being sent out by Skeletor to drop an arsenal of deadly bombs on He-Man.
The character's portrayal on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, by Filmation, is completely different from all other media. Feeling that a mere evil counterpart to Zoar would diminish the uniqueness of the latter, Filmation's writers completely changed the concept of Screeech, making him a robot rather than an organic bird. The character in the series had a completely different appearance from the toy, being unmistakably mechanical in appearance. Screeech is introduced in the episode "Fraidy Cat" as Skeletor's latest creation, and later appears in "Visitors From Earth" and "The Toy Maker". The former of these features Screeech being used in an attack on Castle Grayskull, to desposit an explosive missile beneath the castle's jaw bridge.
Another radically different usage of Screeech, which has always proved highly controversial[citation needed] among fans, is in a US picture book, which states that Screeech is an alternate form of Evil-Lyn, claiming she "often becomes Screeech, the evil falcon". But this is the only publication to ever state this; in all other media Screeech is male and a completely separate character from Evil-Lyn.
