She-Ra
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Sherahead.jpg
She-Ra was the heroic lead in a series of toys produced by Mattel called "She-Ra: Princess of Power". She also appeared in the tie-in cartoon, which was an attempt to make a version of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series that would appeal to young girls in the same way that He-Man appealed to boys.
The toys
The toyline was primarily focused on She-Ra and her allies. The villain of the toyline was Catra, a "jealous beauty".
Many of the villains in the cartoon had toys released as part of the Masters of the Universe toyline. Most came out as members of the Evil Horde, though a few were released as Snake-Men.
The cartoon
The premise of the show is that She-Ra, whose secret identity is Princess Adora, and her friends must defend Etheria from Hordak and his evil Horde, after realizing her true destiny through her brother Adam, who is also known as He-Man. The She-Ra cartoon's premise is similar to the He-Man premise, with the distinction that while He-Man serves King Randor and the rulers of Eternia, She-Ra is a revolutionary engaged in a rebellion against Hordak, the ruler of Etheria. She-Ra, like He-Man, wields a magic power sword. Adora transforms into She-Ra by holding it aloft and saying "For the Honor of Grayskull."
She-Ra has allies among the rebels; they include Bow, an archer, Glimmer, Princess of Brightmoon and daughter of Angella, Madame Razz, a clumsy witch and her talking, flying Broom. While He-Man rides a tiger, She-Ra rides a horse, Spirit, who through the power of her sword is transformed into a winged unicorn (pegacorn), called Swift Wind. The rebels operate from the Whispering Woods, a dense forest enhabited by the Twiggets. In the episodes encompassed by the feature film, the rebels also succeeded in reconquering Castle Brightmoon from the Evil Horde.
Hordak, who was a co-conspiritor with He-Man's Skeletor to kidnap Adora from Eternia, has a supporting cast of villains. These include Shadow Weaver, Hordak's right hand, a dark witch with a whole complement of spells, Leech, who can suck the energy out of his unsuspecting victim, Mantenna, a hideous creature with pointy ears and pop-action eyes that emit beams capable of incapacitating his foe, Grizzlor, a hairy beast, who reminds suspiciously of Eternia's Beast Man and Catra, an anti-She-Ra who can transform into a cat (hence the name). She-Ra was raised as Hordak's protégé and manipulated by Shadow Weaver's magic, but through the encounter with her brother was convinced to join the rebellion. Hordak is also supported by an entire army of Horde troopers, recognizable by their heavy armor, dome-shaped helmets (adorned with a fin) and phallic blasters; the troopers also have a host of different combat vehicles, giving them a technological advantage over the rebels in the war for Etheria. The Horde operates from the aptly named Fright Zone and controls much of Etheria. The notorious Beast Island serves as a prison camp.
She-Ra had her début in the full length animated movie, He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, which appeared in 1984. The syndicated series premiered in 1985 and was cancelled in 1986; it lasted 93 episodes.
External links
- IMDB entry (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126171/)
- She-Ra fansite (http://members.aol.com/abishort/she-ra/shera.htm)
- She-Ra information (http://www.heman-shera.com/) at He-Man.org (http://www.he-man.org)