Gamesmaster Island
Serpentor's downfall in Operation: Dragonfire was swift and... surprisingly understated?
... especially compared to his dramatic rise in the Sunbow era.
"Let the web of remembrance tell the tale!"
By all measurements, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987 was a huge success. Its cartoon spanned 10 seasons with 193 episodes. That's a hell of a run.
It adapted the darker comic (which was a hyper violet parody of trendline in comics in the '80s, "grim and gritty") into a more kid-friendly, humorous tone. "Cowabunga!" "Heroes in a half shell!" and so on.
That's not to say it was "bad," there are great episodes from the beginning to the end of the series (but as it was, there was also a lot of bloat and bad episodes as well, the quality had wild swings).
And it had a HUGE cultural impact. Action figures! Cereal! Video Games! T-Shirts! A music tour! Movies! and more!
Catra, a couple of her cat minions, the dragon, and a tree trap vs. She-Ra! No problem, She-Ra will beat all these jokers in a moment. Just as soon as she gets down. LOL
It annoyed me that the box art for the new Fright Zone didn't even bother putting She-Ra on there. Green Goddess, why? The Horde became She-Ra's principal enemies in the IP. Mattel did her dirty.
This has been a thing since way back in the day. Every kid thought it: He-Man/Prince Adam's dad, King Randor, looked like The Burger King mascot.
One of the more interesting things about Sunbow G.I. Joe animation, as it went, was how things took on a life of their own... in one particular case. Thunder was a character positioned for something, but that thunder became a dud. Best laid plans and all that, right?
Ever since I saw this special, I have had many scenes in my mind for G.I. Joe.
In this MotU special, "Christmas" was cast as a metaphysical threat to authoritarian control, Horde Prime's control, a threat to his Horde Empire. The children from Earth, on Eternia, were carriers of a belief system that destabilized the villain's power structure.
Skeletor, long-time villain of He-Man's cartoon, and Hordak, the lead villain of She-Ra's toon, were summoned before Horde Prime, the most powerful and evil being in all the universe. Both villains were rivals, yes, and hated one another, certainly. But under Horde Prime's gaze, even their egos shrank.
Horde Prime believed that the Christmas spirit was a threat to his power. He ordered them to capture the two Earth children, saying that whoever brought them to him would be well-rewarded.
