Conan the He-Man
Vikor is billed as an Eternian, but he looks a bit more down-to-Earth.
With his magical sword and fantasy-based cartoon, He-Man always seemed like a character straight out of some ancient mythology. In the years since his creation as an action figure, he has spawned his fair share of geek-flavored urban legends among toy connoisseurs.
For instance, a mysterious He-Man variant figure with dark hair was long-rumored to have been a mail-away premium from - huh? - Wonder Bread. Mattel has never confirmed or denied this. Nevertheless, a while back they gave a nod to the tale when they released a new look-alike character named Wun-Dar. Included in his accessories was an "Eternian baked good", otherwise known here on Earth as a loaf of bread.
Another persistent rumor holds that the Masters of the Universe toy line was originally intended to tie into the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian. The story goes that once Mattel’s toy gurus realized just how family-unfriendly Arnold the Vulgarian’s R-rated flick actually was, they came up with the He-Man brand as a replacement. Rumors of this sort may have been based on one early He-Man concept design that was quite Conan-like.
Never letting a good in-joke go to waste, Mattel has turned this debunked myth into hard plastic as well. Vikor (pictured above) may be officially billed as the "He-Man of the North," but the overall design looks just a tad familiar. For now, the real Arnold has left Conan's kingdom to become a ruler of a different sort. By Crom, if he won’t be back, his doppelganger works just fine.
http://he-man.us/biographies/He-Man_WonderBread.html
http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.171121700
Links to Conan the Barbarian
There is an enduring urban legend about the so-called "Conan toyline." The story is that the Mattel Toy Company originally intended to base an action figure line on Conan the Barbarian, the pulp fantasy character created by Robert E. Howard which at the time was the lead in several popular series produced by Marvel Comics and due to be the subject of a major movie. However, after viewing the film, the Mattel executives despaired at the thought of promoting a children's toy with ties to a film featuring such graphic sex and violence.
Thus they gave their doll blonde hair and re-dubbed him "He-Man". The legend is unverified but persistent. Roger Sweet, the originator of He-Man, asserts that the He-Man/Masters Of The Universe concept definitely was not an outgrowth of Conan. The He-Man concept, later renamed the Masters Of The Universe, was originated and developed by Roger Sweet in late 1980. Later, that initial concept was followed by the original comics by Donald F. Glut. The Conan license had been dropped by Mattel months before the He-Man concept was begun. Such fantasy artists as Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, made famous previously through their barbarian themed art, were undoubtfully a great inspiration for the MOTU creators. For instance, while designing the first He-Man prototypes, some artists like Mark Taylor brought forth a very Conan-esque dark haired He-Man bearing a horned helmet and barbaric outfit [32]
Although Conan is not "officially" a source of inspiration, Mattel may have taken advantage of his resemblance by hiring comic book artists (mostly working for DC comics and Marvel Comics) to design the mini-comics and box art. Earl Norem for instance, having worked on countless Savage Sword of Conan covers for Marvel, was kept in high esteem by Masters of the Universe fans for his astonishing posters, package inlays and box art. The confusion and "Conan toyline" urban myth may have stemmed from the striking similarities between Norem's Conan depictions.[33] and He-Man [34]
Description
He-Man... The most Powerful man in the UNIVERSE.
As you can see in this first sketch, by Mark Taylor, the main designer on the early figures, he was originally envisioned as a far more barbaric charater, with almost something of a viking-inspired look to him. He's not even sporting his trademark blonde hair, but is instead raven-haired.
Image courtesy of Matt Jozwiak
This would have been a schoolyard/luch room fight back in the DAY!!!
Vikor is billed as an Eternian, but he looks a bit more down-to-Earth.
With his magical sword and fantasy-based cartoon, He-Man always seemed like a character straight out of some ancient mythology. In the years since his creation as an action figure, he has spawned his fair share of geek-flavored urban legends among toy connoisseurs.
For instance, a mysterious He-Man variant figure with dark hair was long-rumored to have been a mail-away premium from - huh? - Wonder Bread. Mattel has never confirmed or denied this. Nevertheless, a while back they gave a nod to the tale when they released a new look-alike character named Wun-Dar. Included in his accessories was an "Eternian baked good", otherwise known here on Earth as a loaf of bread.
Another persistent rumor holds that the Masters of the Universe toy line was originally intended to tie into the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian. The story goes that once Mattel’s toy gurus realized just how family-unfriendly Arnold the Vulgarian’s R-rated flick actually was, they came up with the He-Man brand as a replacement. Rumors of this sort may have been based on one early He-Man concept design that was quite Conan-like.
Never letting a good in-joke go to waste, Mattel has turned this debunked myth into hard plastic as well. Vikor (pictured above) may be officially billed as the "He-Man of the North," but the overall design looks just a tad familiar. For now, the real Arnold has left Conan's kingdom to become a ruler of a different sort. By Crom, if he won’t be back, his doppelganger works just fine.
http://he-man.us/biographies/He-Man_WonderBread.html
http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/productID.171121700
Links to Conan the Barbarian
There is an enduring urban legend about the so-called "Conan toyline." The story is that the Mattel Toy Company originally intended to base an action figure line on Conan the Barbarian, the pulp fantasy character created by Robert E. Howard which at the time was the lead in several popular series produced by Marvel Comics and due to be the subject of a major movie. However, after viewing the film, the Mattel executives despaired at the thought of promoting a children's toy with ties to a film featuring such graphic sex and violence.
Thus they gave their doll blonde hair and re-dubbed him "He-Man". The legend is unverified but persistent. Roger Sweet, the originator of He-Man, asserts that the He-Man/Masters Of The Universe concept definitely was not an outgrowth of Conan. The He-Man concept, later renamed the Masters Of The Universe, was originated and developed by Roger Sweet in late 1980. Later, that initial concept was followed by the original comics by Donald F. Glut. The Conan license had been dropped by Mattel months before the He-Man concept was begun. Such fantasy artists as Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, made famous previously through their barbarian themed art, were undoubtfully a great inspiration for the MOTU creators. For instance, while designing the first He-Man prototypes, some artists like Mark Taylor brought forth a very Conan-esque dark haired He-Man bearing a horned helmet and barbaric outfit [32]
Although Conan is not "officially" a source of inspiration, Mattel may have taken advantage of his resemblance by hiring comic book artists (mostly working for DC comics and Marvel Comics) to design the mini-comics and box art. Earl Norem for instance, having worked on countless Savage Sword of Conan covers for Marvel, was kept in high esteem by Masters of the Universe fans for his astonishing posters, package inlays and box art. The confusion and "Conan toyline" urban myth may have stemmed from the striking similarities between Norem's Conan depictions.[33] and He-Man [34]
Description
He-Man... The most Powerful man in the UNIVERSE.
As you can see in this first sketch, by Mark Taylor, the main designer on the early figures, he was originally envisioned as a far more barbaric charater, with almost something of a viking-inspired look to him. He's not even sporting his trademark blonde hair, but is instead raven-haired.
Image courtesy of Matt Jozwiak
This would have been a schoolyard/luch room fight back in the DAY!!!
. The other one he met Thor. Conan had awesome enemies from socerers, demons, and other war-like humans. The most powerful one being the snake Elder God Set and his snake men minions. The Hyborian age was no fucking joke.
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at the 2:10 mark
