Content deleted Content added
Dwanyewest (talk | contribs) |
Dwanyewest (talk | contribs) |
||
Line 38:
==Animated Series==
Shortly after his figure was released, Modulok appears on the toy line's accompanying cartoon series, ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' by [[Filmation]]. Although the Evil Horde are used as the main villains in the spin-off series ''[[She-Ra]]'', rather than ''He-Man'', Modulok is given the unique honor of making his debut on ''He-Man'' instead. He is introduced late in the show's second season. Several adjustments were made to Modulok's character by Filmation's writers and animators. Given Filmation's limited budget, Modulok would be a serious challenge for them to animate, given that his constant shape-changing would require the production of an exorbitant number of cel sheets for the character and therefore prove extremely costly. The decision was made, therefore, to simplify Modulok's design and give him one single shape to be used throughout the series. Although initially described in the scripts as appearing two-headed and multi-bodied like the toy, he appears in the cartoon with only one shape, his body appearing to be an organic whole rather than separate pieces locked together. He is also given only one head even though all of Mattel's promotional material depicts him with two (although his second head can briefly been seen in one episode). Possibly this may have been done to avoid confusion with [[Two-Bad]], another two-headed character who debuted in the toy line and series at the same time. Another reason may have been for the purpose of making the character's design symmetrical, so that cel sheets could be flipped over without altering the character's appearance, used to cut both animation costs and production time. Introduced in the episode "Mistaken Identity", Modulok's character is also adjusted from Mattel's concept
Halfway through the first season of Filmation's spin-off series, ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'', Modulok is incorporated into the She-Ra series, the only character from either show to be transferred permanently from one to the other. This occurs in the episode "Gateway to Trouble" in which Modulok builds a device for Skeletor which can open a portal to Etheria to transport his whole army to the planet. However, Modulok is subjected to nothing but abuse and scrutiny by Skeletor, who disrespects his skills. Tired of the constant abuse, he chooses to escape from Skeletor to Etheria and pledge his services to Hordak instead. Hordak, himself a scientist, is more appreciative of Modulok's abilities and accepts his services, recruiting him as Horde scientist and using the machine in an attempt to invade Eternia. After the scheme fails, Hordak demotes Modulok to Horde cook. This episode, again written by Straczynski, furthers the portrayal of Modulok as a rung above most other villains, as the only villain ever to openly retaliate against Skeletor's abuse, while his statement at the end of the episode that "Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be evil" indicates a greater level of awareness of the potential consequences of his wrongdoings. Straczysnki continues Modulok's story with a brief cameo in the episode "Enemy With My Face" in which he is briefly seen attempting to regain Hordak's approval in order to become Horde scientist again rather than Horde cook. Although we never see him win this position back, he is seen back in the role of Horde scientist in the episode "[[Just Like Me]]" in which he is once again the lead villain, commanding an army of Horde Troopers in an attack on a peasant village. This episode also showcases a new power for Modulok: the ability to magically transform his arms into weapons, in this case a weapon resembling a [[lightsaber]]. This alternate kind of shape-shifting is perhaps a loose attempt to tie him in with the toy. Scripted by Gene Ayers, this is his only episode with a starring role not to be written by either Straczynski or DiTillio. His next appearance is in DiTillio's "[[Black Snow (1990 film)|Black Snow]]" in which, in the role of sole villain once again, he leads an attack on [[Frosta (She-Ra)|Frosta]]'s kingdom in order to stir up war between two tribes of the icy regions of Etheria. This episode once again showcases his ability to change his arms into weapons, in this case turning his arm into a [[cannon]], much like Hordak does regularly in the series. The episode also showcases the character of [[Multi-Bot]], Modulok's robotic assistant. Straczynski used Modulok once more for his penultimate appearance in the episode "Darksmoke and Fire" in which he invents a rocket that sends She-Ra back in time, but this is only a cameo appearance giving little development to his character. Modulok's final appearance is in ''[[He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special]]'' where he briefly appears as one of the warriors (Multi-Bot is used as well) who accompanies Hordak when kidnapping children. After season 1, both Stracysnki and DiTillio left Filmation, and with Modulok's major writers no longer part of the crew, the character vanished completely from season 2. Modulok is unique among all characters in the ''He-Man'' and ''She-Ra'' cartoon series, for having his own individual storyline throughout the episodes as well as being portrayed with more character depth than many other villains, rendering him one of the more memorable of all the less frequently-featured characters of the shows{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}.
|