#mantenna

[vintage1976]

The fright zone by Mattel

[andhereisthetea]

Hordak and The Horde from 'She-Ra, Princess of Power', illustrations by Stjepan Sejic

[birindale]

So, bizarre ask… but.

I have a family friend whose brother was a huge fan of the original He-Man. He also claims that there was some sort of character design contest for the original Evil Horde characters, before they were used for She-Ra; he claims to have gotten a, like, second or third prize by design Mantenna.

Now normally I would write this off as BS but his family seems pretty in on the idea, to the point of claiming to still have the original drawing, and also this absolutely sounds like something Mattel would do.

If you could help to corroborate and/or contradict literally any of this story, I would be extremely grateful.

Verdict: Contradict

So there was a character design contest in 1985, which is the year Mantenna was released, but there are several holes in that story.

Most pressingly, there weren't second/third place winners, just the winner (fearless photog) and 4 runners-up, none of whom resemble Mantenna.

Additionally: Ted Mayer designed Mantenna. There's a great article about it up on the Battle Ram Blog with some concept art

I'd be interested to see the drawing though! You should demand evidence :3

[nekobiohazard]

Assorted MOTU doodles.

[zootycutieart]

This drawing was a kind of "test" for myself in a sense. Namely, how would a four-legged, bug-eyed character wear pajamas? Knowing how this is, they probably had to break up like two sets of pants to make one "pair", and they didn't have the same pairs, and they didn't have the same slipper types, and they had to make a sleep mask for a creature with such eye-focused abilities...

...Oh, and Hordak probably woke Mantenna in the middle of the night for something petty and he's going down the trapdoor again while half-awake. XD

Mantenna © Mattel Artwork © ZootyCutie (that's me!)

[docgold13]

Villainy!

[chernobog13]

Mantenna from the Masters of the U universe by Mike Mignola.

[lemaistrechat]

She-Ra: Flowers for Hordak

Time for another out-of-order Classic She-Ra review!

“Flowers for Hordak” was Episode 63, written by Bob Forward.

This was the first appearance of Perfuma and Mermista, shortly before appearing with Flutterina and Peekablue in the Christmas Special as New For 86 characters. BUY OUR DOLLS!

We begin in the Fright Zone, where Hordak is bullying Mantenna for no reason.

Yeah, Mantenna wears a shower cap even though he has no hair. Also check out his very human torso and Ninja Turtle feet.

On to the plot. Shadow Weaver has found a black ruby, which will allow her to blot out the sun over Whispering Woods, stopping photosynthesis.  If the trees die, the magic of Whispering Woods that’s been protecting the Rebels since the first episode will end. There’s just one problem, she tells Hordak: the Rebel Perfuma can keep plants alive and growing even without light. So Hordak decides to have her thrown in prison as the first step of this cunning plan.

Note here that the black ruby was the seed of the Black Garnet and the whole system of gems that Princesses are magically connected to in the reboot (along with the Pearl of Salineas).

We find Perfuma hanging out at the beautiful Crystal Falls along with Adora, Bow, and a mermaid named Mermista we’ve never seen before. Mermista is just chilling and sounding French, while Perfuma likes to dance around making flowers appear on everything.

(Pictured: Bow being secure in his heterosexuality.)

After just enough time to establish characterization, a Horde Trooper enters the scene and successfully arrests Perfuma. You’d think Adora could fight off one Horde Trooper without taking the time to find a secluded place to do her transformation, but hey. Glimmer shows up so she and Bow can each act flabbergasted, independently asking “Why would the Horde want Perfuma?” Oh I don’t know, lots of reasons: maybe she can grow food plants without light too. Or maybe he doesn’t actually like the stark industrial Fright Zone and wants to enslave an interior decorator? The Rebels figure it out fairly quickly though, as Shadow Weaver shows up to cast her spell to blot out the sun.

She-Ra flies off to ask Light Hope what to do. He acknowledges that the trees would die without Perfuma, but demands that She-Ra do nothing to rescue her. Rather than even consider disobeying a talking beam of light, She-Ra flies back to Whispering Woods and asks Glimmer to use her (inconsistent) power to make magical light to simulate sunlight for the trees. Glimmer does so, then lies on a bed in a tent in exhaustion, where there’s... a first aid kit and a milkshake?

“So that’s why all the boys are in this yard.”

Bow wonders how Perfuma is doing and we cut to the Fright Zone, where she’s filled her cell with giant flowers. Then she picks the lock with another magic bouquet out of nowhere and steps out to redecorate more of the Fright Zone. Hordak and Shadow Weaver’s plan is going perfectly, but then he sees Perfuma has escaped her cell and is dancing with robots.

“Lalalalala... oh HELLO there, Hordikins!”

“She calls ME Hordikins?”

“Oh, do you want to dance? I hope you’re better than your robots. They’re sweet, but a little clumsy.”

Dude, your plan to destroy Whispering Woods is going off without a hitch and this girl seems to be into you. What’s the problem?

“No! My wonderfully hideous Fright Zone! Ruined with pretty flowers everywhere!”

Ah right, you can’t stand her because you’re a bad guy and therefore hate beauty. How Platonist. And how meta: toys of Hordak and the other Horde members except Catra and Entrapta were sold in the action figure section of toy departments/stores, while She-Ra and Perfuma were sold in the doll section. Look up vintage box art to see how this was reflected. So Hordak is crying that his marketing is ruined.

He declares “That’s it! I can’t stand any more! One more flower and I’ll--”

He transforms his arm into a cannon, apparently threatening Perfuma with summary execution!

“Oh Hordikins, don’t be such an old grouch. Cheer up,” she says and does this:

It actually took me two viewings of this episode as an adult to realize that Bob Forward actually provided a Watsonian reason that the brutal dictator of Etheria can’t just kill an annoying prisoner, not just the Doylist “1985 BS&P”. Amazing.

This leads to Hordak offering increasingly favorable terms to the Rebels if they’ll take Perfuma away. His first offer was freeing her if She-Ra will surrender in her place. They laugh that one off and are reluctant to accept the next one, “I’ll release her with no strings attached if someone will come take her away”, but She-Ra goes to the Fright Zone, causing all the show’s norms to break down as Troopers attack her and Hordak reprimands them with “I invited her here!”

Perfuma doesn’t want to go. “We were having fun, weren’t we, Hordikins?” She-Ra VA Melendy Britt repeats “Hordikins?” in such a sweet, surprised tone. It sounds like Adora is happy her dad has a love interest.

Hordak is pathetically reduced to making Shadow Weaver end the spell and turn over the Black Ruby to the Rebels, along with three months supplies.

And so ends an amazing, 5/5, must-see episode. This one was highly influential on the reboot, getting Perfuma and her flower attacks a significant role from the middle of Season 1. The closest thing I can think of to a flaw is that, judging by her miniscule role in the second/final season of POP, no writer thought they could use her again without the plot being redundant or her getting annoying to viewers.

Any thoughts on nuances I missed?

[n0rmal-b3an]

ROUND 1

[waterfire1848]

In the 2002 He Man series, did they want to bring Adora in(and by extension the other Princesses/Bow and Sea Hawk)? I know they were setting up Hordak and the Horde so was Adora supposed to follow that and appear in season 3?

[vintage1976]

The horde from Masters of The Universe.

[ifyourebored]

Earl Norem

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"TO ME, MY EVIL HORDE!"

PIC INFO: Resolution at 1200x1662 -- Spotlight on poster art for Hordak and his wretched henchmen, The Evil Horde, artwork by the late, great Earl Norem (1923-2015), from the pages of "Masters of the Universe" Magazine, c. summer 1985.

"Hordak comes from Etheria where he leads The Evil Horde in terrifying combat. Leech, Mantenna, Modulok, and Grizzlor serve as his henchmen. They have returned to Eternia to further the evil plans that Hordak has for Skeletor and He-Man."

-- "MOTU" MAGAZINE, c. 1985

Source: www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2014/08/throwback-thursday-tbt-masters-of.html

[paperheartsbleedink]

Mantenna by Brendan Tobin MOTU Drawing Challenge - Halloween Fright Zone, Week 3

[zootycutieart]

Happy Masters of the Universe Day! I've had this idea for a bit: shoving Mantenna with this Aqua Teen Hunger Force quote to make something that seems edgy and cool...but when you consider the character and the quote origin, really isn't. XD Mantenna © Mattel Quote © Williams Street Artwork © ZootyCutie (that's me!)

[melissamaehatesyou]