[The Masters Of The Universe: always under-clothed]Written by GL
We haven't bio-ed a villain in a long time, it seems. Actually, we haven't bio-ed anyone at all in a long time. This evening, I was simply in the mood to revive this particular Classic Articulation traditional: it's entertaining, informative and just plain nostalgic.
I was watching a cartoon a minute ago and heard mention of an old school He-Man anti-hero; an anti-villain that brought back some cool memories of my Masters Of The Universe collection. This character was in no way one of the main villains, but he was one of the most memorable and imaginative. I'm talking about Man-E-Faces.
[Man-E-Faces: must have a problem checking his blind-spot]Man-E-Faces is was member of the Heroic Warriors, noticeable by his large, blue metal head on which his faces appear in its window opening. He possesses the uncanny ability is to change his face from his regular face to that of a robot or a monster. The reason for why uses his faces have been unclear and various throughout the He-Man franchise.
In He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Filmation, Man-E-Face was an actor who uses his alternate faces primarily for the purpose of playing roles on stage. He is also able to change to numerous other faces alongside his robot and monster faces.
He was given an origin early in the series, in the episode title 'The Mystery of Man-E-Faces'. It was revealed that he was originally a villain who terrorized others with his faces, but not so much out of evil but for survival needs. He was an outcast feared by everyone for his ability to change his face, which in turn made him a little bad and so he began to attack others out of anger.
He was captured by Skeletor, who recruited him as a henchman, and was forced into fighting He-Man (against his will) when his monster face was controlled by Beast Man (remember: Beast Man possessed the power to control creatures). He-Man believed that Man-E-Faces was not a villain, and the Sorceress agreed, and used her magic to help Man-E-Faces overcome Skeletor's influence. Grateful for their help, he returned the favor by helping to stop an attack on Castle Grayskull. Out of finally finding the friendship he was looking for (everyone say, 'awww) he joined the royal court as an actor.
[Man-E-Faces: only has three faces with no spaces, but still aces with no traces]Although initially conceived as one of the main characters of the franchise, his appearances were few, proving that Man-E-Faces was quite a difficult character to integrate into plots and story-lines.
I remember the above pictured action figure as one of the most curiousest. I mean, look at Man-E-Faces (made in the 80's) and you have to make a double-take.
If you're into He-Man then you're willing to appreciate the memorability of Man-E-Faces. The mechanics being the actual creation and playability of his action figure was unique, to say the least. The character conception is something that hasn't been explored until such multiple-personality heroes, like Ben 10, came along. I think Man-E-Faces was a cool addition to the He-Man universe.
I still think he'll have trouble checking his blind spot.
