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What if He-Man's villians in 1982 were the Snake Men instead of Skeletor and the evil warriors?

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(@he-dad)
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A conversation in the Origins thread made me think of this question.

What do you think would have happened in 1982 if there was no Skeletor and evil warriors and He-Man's main baddies were the Snake Men? Would it be more popular today or less?

Snakes were kinda a big thing back then. A snake god was the main villian in the first Conan movie.


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We also had Cobra in GIJOE. 😁

 

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(@durendal)
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Interesting question - I've never considered that. My instinct tells me that because of the timing of the line, the result would have been basically the same, as in, extremely successful. The only difference would have been that King Hiss would have been the villain that everyone would think of for MOTU instead of Skeletor. It's weird!


   
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(@caliban)
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It was the timing of the line. He-Man and King Hiss would have worked. So would have Conan and Skeletor.


   
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(@elder)
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Lizard and snake men were popular staples of that decade, yet I do not assess MOTU would have been as successful. There was an overabundance of reptiles and there is something to say about the variety of our favourite Skeletor and henchmen in color and design. I say popular but not as.

If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success. -James Cameron


   
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(@lurker-man)
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Short term maybe. But long term I think Skeletor works better and has a higher "unique" factor as King Hiss if he would had been the first MOTU might had been rememberd as the show with the fantasy Cobra Commander knock off.


   
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(@he-dad)
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@lurker-man Cobra Commander existed before Skeletor? I didn't know that.

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(@lurker-man)
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Posted by: @he-dad

@lurker-man Cobra Commander existed before Skeletor? I didn't know that.

He did not? I don't know anything about GI Joe besides they exist and that it has movies I watched years ago 🤣 

Always assumed its as old or older than MOTU.

 


   
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(@durendal)
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Hard to say - the first figures for both MOTU and GI Joe came out in '82...


   
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(@costume-n00b)
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Tough call. Other than King Hiss being the villain everyone remembers, probably not much difference.

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(@firefly)
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I think the variety of characters really helped MOTU stick out, so I think an all Snake Men group of villains to start out would have lead to less success.


   
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(@he-dad)
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Posted by: @durendal

Hard to say - the first figures for both MOTU and GI Joe came out in '82...

You're right bro. The wiki says "Cobra Commander was first released as a mail-in figure in 1982. Wearing a light blue uniform and his signature battle helmet, early production runs were marked with an early version of the Cobra sigil, nicknamed the "Mickey Mouse" emblem for its more rounded shape. All of the original sixteen figures from 1982 were released with "straight arms". In 1983, the figure with the proper Cobra sigil was released on a card for mass market with "swivel-arm battle grip", which made it easier for figures to hold their rifles and accessories."

 

I guess neither could of been considered a knock off @lurker-man

🇺🇸 SNOUT SPOUT FOR PRESIDENT 🇺🇸


   
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(@endzeit)
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Posted by: @he-dad

What do you think would have happened in 1982 if there was no Skeletor and evil warriors and He-Man's main baddies were the Snake Men? Would it be more popular today or less?

Skeletor is a key character to the whole franchise. I dont think any snake-guy would have had the same impact.

 


   
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(@elder)
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Posted by: @endzeit

Posted by: @he-dad

What do you think would have happened in 1982 if there was no Skeletor and evil warriors and He-Man's main baddies were the Snake Men? Would it be more popular today or less?

Skeletor is a key character to the whole franchise. I dont think any snake-guy would have had the same impact.

 

Was this not already field tested to be true? I recall much of the demise of the 2002 He-Man series was their replacement of the Evil Warriors with Snake Men. I recall even those who declared that show their favourite noticed a decline in their own interest once Skeletor disappeared.

 

If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success. -James Cameron


   
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(@caliban)
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Posted by: @elder

Posted by: @endzeit

Posted by: @he-dad

What do you think would have happened in 1982 if there was no Skeletor and evil warriors and He-Man's main baddies were the Snake Men? Would it be more popular today or less?

Skeletor is a key character to the whole franchise. I dont think any snake-guy would have had the same impact.

 

Was this not already field tested to be true? I recall much of the demise of the 2002 He-Man series was their replacement of the Evil Warriors with Snake Men. I recall even those who declared that show their favourite noticed a decline in their own interest once Skeletor disappeared.

 

 

Mic drop.

 


   
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(@he-dad)
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@caliban Yea I guess that's the closest thing we can point to for an actual answer. Good one @elder !


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🇺🇸 SNOUT SPOUT FOR PRESIDENT 🇺🇸


   
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(@lurker-man)
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Posted by: @firefly

I think the variety of characters really helped MOTU stick out, so I think an all Snake Men group of villains to start out would have lead to less success.

Yes; something easily overlooked when just looking at the 2 big guys. Beast Man, Evil Lynn, Mer-Man, Tri-Klops, Trap-Jaw... these are all very unique personas with unique skill/power sets which lots of ppl even outside the fandom would recognize. While the Hiss snake goons too have their special looks and skills on closer inspection for most ppl they will be just random snake goons.

 


   
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