Why Zodac from Masters of the Universe was a "neutral" character. The secret of his feet revealed!

Scott Toy Guru Neitlich from Spector Creative dives deep in the neutral origins of Zodac. How his appearance in the line is tied to Teela, the Goddess and.... his feet! Balance in everything and Zodac pulls it off. His mysterious origins examined. Comes with our highest possible recommendation!

[@danzigvssartre]

I’ve waited almost 40 years for someone to explain to me what the deal was with Zodac. Finally, my inner child has answers!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Be sure to check out other videos on this channel, we have a ton of info like this! Glad you enjoyed and feel free to share with others online who might also enjoy

[@joeshuge]

Wow and with 20 years of the internet you could have found out sooner.

[@danzigvssartre]

@@joeshuge Maybe you might have, but I tend to spend most of my hours on the internet doing other things rather than just researching about Zodac.

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

@@danzigvssartre 😂

[@joeshuge]

@danzigvssartre it takes two seconds out of your obviously useless time ion rhe internet.

[@F13fan]

Definitely an odd character originally that often was forgotten due to lack of appearances. His flying chair always reminded me of the one inside the Castle Grayskull toy so I’d take it out and put him in it lol

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah he sticks out

[@thePoetDominic]

I did that with the grayskull chair too!

[@timvanboening9432]

As did I.

[@luiszuniga2859]

Zapp Brannigan: "What makes a man turn neutral ... Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"

[@spectorcreative1872]

Tell my wife I said "hello"

[@MatthewEaton]

Fly the white flag of war

[@starsiegeplayer]

Zapp Brannigan quotes are gold.

[@jonathanw1019]

I saw the thumbnail for this vid just now and came here specifically to drop this exact quote.

[@kapoveli1310]

The spirit is willing but the flesh is chaffed an bruised!!

[@EX7RUD1CON]

Every time I see that figure I get some serious nostalgia, same goes for stratos too.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nostalgia is the best part!

[@sonnycrockett6527]

@Pop-Actor (Rick) right!

[@AT-gk1tw]

The 200x version was A brilliant character. It's one of my favourite figures from the line.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Mine too!

[@ALFAJERKBFH]

As a someone who watched the original series from day 1, I really enjoyed that revamped version.

[@BarryFrancis]

I always liked Zodac and Stratos as a kid because as they were masked figures it made it easier for me to pretend they were me. Also when I was a kid I would always call Zodac Zodiac, I think that was because there used to be a toy shop here in the UK called Zodiacs. It also happened to be the toy shop I got most of my He-Man figures from.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You are not the only one many still think this is his name

You guys put so much effort into the backstories of these characters and four-year-old me didn’t pay attention to any of it. 😂

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well the stories got longer as the brand aged

[@X.Q.Jonah-]

I remember kids in the neighborhood arguing over Zodac’s allegiance. The prevailing kid-logic here was that he had a change of heart. Myself, I always played with him as a good guy. I got the figure before I was old enough to be able to read the packaging 😂

[@spectorcreative1872]

A heart full of.... neutrality

[@Novusod]

My understanding was that Zodac had no allegiance and his mission and purpose was to bring balance to the universe. It was kind of similar to the a Yin and Yang concept. You can't have one without the other. Light cannot exist without darkness to provide contrast. You cannot have Heroes when there are no villains. So when He-Man was too powerful and nearly wiped out all the Evil forces Zodac stepped in made it so He-Man could never completely defeat the evil. It would be dangerous in its' own right for good to win outright and evil to completely disappear. I disagree with the whole idea that he was "neutral." He worked for the Greater good and the higher purpose which mere mortals could not understand. People misinterpreted this as being neutral or even evil. But really he was just the enforcer of duality which has it's own set of responsibilities that transcend the struggle good vs evil.

[@stephenturner757]

Same here. I have memories of thumbing through the mini-comics and wishing I could read them. That and I remembered how some of the comics were such better quality than others.

[@noodleschalepah5934]

For in the 80s when I had my zodac cause he had a mask I used him to be an evil guy😂

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

I paired him with the good guys too.

[@christopherbaker9676]

Thank you so much for making these videos. They take me back to a better time.

[@mistroperfecto8528]

Guru,just wanted to drop you a big THANK YOU!, For all your content and information you provide on action figures and especially MOTU. Love all I have seen, again you are much appreciated, thank you sir

[@noahhenson1669]

Fascinating stuff! Mystery solved! Brilliant and entertaining video as always.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Please feel free to share with others who might like too! Helps the channel a ton!

[@andrewquick4176]

I always thought it should have been Zodak that took Prince Adam into the future for the New Adventures Love the idea from 200X that he’s there to stop the return of the Snake Men

[@frankpetersen6624]

Please. We’d all like to forget NA.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I'm sure he is out there somewhere during NA

[@stevenbrickafol3928]

As an avid Classics collector and a lifetime Masters of the Universe fan , your channel has proven to be a wonderfull source of inside knowledge Scott. I tend to think i know alot about this brand , but still you manage to clear op some things in many of your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I'm thrilled you enjoy! Please feel free to share with other online, it helps the channel a ton!

[@FellVoice]

You should do a vid on variants such figures who came out with different legs or Two-Bad who had a round and flat back version etc.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Good call! I'll add that to the list

[@tommywalker5348]

@@spectorcreative1872 i just picked up a vintage two bad (round back) at a toy store but he also had the flat back, but I justed grabbed the one😳 🤷‍♂️shounder i had grabbed the other also🤦‍♂️👍🤣 Awesome videos❤

[@aussiecoastie72]

I love your channel Scott , I have an enormous amount of respect for your experience and knowledge in the toy industry. I love Zodac as a character 😍

[@joeculpepper1677]

Remember during the action figure craze of He- Man And The Masters of the universe toy line,toy parts from other figures were used during toy runs. Legs,arms body types .also remember.a toy line once used .Mattel's Big Jim .The cat toys were used to create Battle cat, and panthor. Kinda iconic don't you think. Was cool as a kid growing up in the 80's the toy line was awesome .so glad to see them bring back the toy line in a lot of ways over the years.

[@jsttv]

Thanks for explaining. I always wondered.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And knowing is half the wonder

[@anionhero]

Zodac was always one of my favorite characters from the original toy line. I think it might be because of the helmet. It looks really cool.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thank Jack

[@Jryder933]

Very interesting video!! I didn't know that about Zodak!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Crazy character huh?

[@Canoby]

Zodac was always pretty cool to me as well, not only for his core character concept (at least the neutral cosmic enforcer guy serving an agenda separate from anyone else's in the show) but I think one of the reasons he's endured so much is because of all the issues with having his toy on the shelves etc.- for a while people really had to hunt for him. I was so, so happy to get his Origins toy. They really nailed the character's look on that one.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Definitely part of his allure!

[@JamesChessman]

Thank you for such wonderful videos.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thank you for watching and the kind words!

[@jeffeager]

Did you ever do a video on the original Ram Man toy? I've always thought it was the strangest thing: here you had all these figures that re-utilized legs, torsos, arms, even heads (with Beast Man / Moss Man and Stinkor / Merman), armour and weapons, etc .... and then out of no where we get this hunk of inarticulate plastic that seems like it's out of a totally different toy line. Any insight on why Ram Man is the way he is? (I get that he would be different to accomodate the spring loaded legs feature .... but he could have had the same arms and head. He could have fit in a little more. Thoughts?

[@cinnamonbun1379]

200X Zodak is probably one of my favorite designs

[@spectorcreative1872]

Mine too!

[@chadkimmel8957]

Zodak was one of my favorite figures growing up. Always wondered why he was on the villain side on the back of the card.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah he was a big popular one.

[@jamesjustice4515]

Good morning big guy. This is sledgemaster again this morning getting ready to watch ur show on zodiac

[@spectorcreative1872]

Lets do it!@

[@LtCaveman]

Hey, loved this. I was 5 when this line came out and it was everything to me.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He is an awesome character!

[@mikesmith2718]

Awesome information

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you liked! Please feel free to share with others online, it helps the channel a ton

[@JeffTheFutureJaros]

Zodac, Man of Mystery, Eternian Neutralist, Great Vid Guru.

[@spectorcreative1872]

What makes a man go Neutral? lust for gold?

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

I never noticed how much Zodac's helmet resembles the 4th World parademons until you mentioned it.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup. It;s all Jack

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Nifty video! Thank you! Yeah, this always bugged me as a kid, having so many different "back-stories" on this character that contradicted each other. As a result, I never knew where to put him or how to use him in my play, so he was just sort of . . . THERE.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And he still is. Just there. Always will be. There.

[@cobra1xtz]

It’s so cool that you made the 4th world comparisons, Zodac has always reminded me of Orion.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Not just a comparison, and actual homage.

[@cobra1xtz]

@@spectorcreative1872 Indeed! [Slight Geek Out Warning] This is why we get through entire videos before commenting, I made this comment before you mentioned that he was based on Metron, which actually makes a whole lot of sense. I didn’t even know that Mattel was working on New Gods figures, so that was cool to find out. Got into classics when I was like 11 via Pixel Dan, *watched 200x as a young child and it left a huge impact*, even though it took me a long time to actually be able to gather my small, but passionate collection, I still just want to say, I absolutely love what y’all did with that line. The fact that Pixel Dan got his freaking Mosquitor, and everything. I’ll never forget you with the measuring tape next to castle Grayskull, and my mind just being absolutely blown that y’all actually ended up figuring out how to make Classic’s Castle Grayskull. Sorry for geeking out on you like that, just never thought I’d get the chance to share words with Scott the Toy Guru, and I can actually let you know that I always thought the Mighty Spector was awesome, and I still feel like he could work in a MOTU sequel movie... if we ever get another one at all. Time travelers are cool, and he adds a lot of possibilities.

[@bryanabbott6169]

My first He-Man action figure was also the first action figure that I ever bought. My hometown had a couple stores that sold toys, which didn't have the full selection. I really liked how Zodac looked, along with his blaster weapon. The packaging called him a Cosmic Enforcer. I'd often go back to the store, you know back in the day when window shopping was still a thing, looking at the expanded selection of toys. I was really disappointed when Zodac was reclassified as a 'Evil' character. I didn't play with the toy as much after that. It felt like a betrayal, and it stung.

[@spectorcreative1872]

So Cosmic of him

[@Bernhard2024]

Zodac also knew Prince Adam`s secret becoming "The most powerful man in the universe". That makes 3: Sorceress, Man at Arms and Orko.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Don't forget Cringer!

[@fabianknaudt2214]

And it was hinted that Queen Marlena too

[@dragonfly1694]

Thanks for explaining the mystery, as always with such excellent research & detail! I had the first wave in '82 where he was marketed as an 'evil cosmic enforcer', so I was initially confused by his neutral status in the DC comic & Filmation series, though that also became part of his character's draw. Perhaps in hindsight, at least from a production perspective, Evil-Lyn should have been the 2nd female character in the 1st wave line instead, as she shared the same cast as Teela, allowing for Zodac/Zodak to be saved for the 2nd wave, where they could have simply swapped his legs & webbed-feet out for Tri-Klops human legs & boots before going into manufacturing production. That would have solved any confusion to which side the character was aligned with. But it made complete sense from a marketing angle to save Evil-Lyn for the 2nd wave line as a nemesis to Teela, at the same time of release as Panthor, nemesis to Battle Cat, & Faker, a more evenly-matched nemesis to He-Man, as well as the 1st variants etc. It was an exciting time to be alive! Keep up the great work

[@frankpetersen6624]

Really been loving your videos scott! Just when I thought I knew everything MOTU from A to Z, you made me realize, wow! There were a million things I didn’t know! Still haven’t forgotten about a zoom interview , if still interested. Just got crazy busy, and want to put together questions I think only you can answer, and would send you them beforehand. Things like, when She-Ra’s Sword was first shown in the Ne-Man episode, Origins of the Sorceress, was it at that point, Mattel/Filmation we’re getting ready to introduce She-Ra? Would be interesting if it wasn’t ! And it’s funny when MOTUC was brought back, I was hearing more and more about you, “toy guru” and that you created the cool figure, The Mighty Spector, and Mattel even modeled your face for one of the Eternian guards 2 pack. So I said to my friend. Who is this guy?? Lol. He got to create a figure . His face is even on a figure, etc! Then he said, well, he’s someone to thank for MOTU making the big comeback it has, I think he said as you pitched your ideas to Mattel on bringing back what the fans would love to collect. Especially for those like me who, didn’t have the originals anymore. My mom then them out when she saw I was “over it”, lol, but really been loving these videos . I’m not sure if it was on one of your posts, but I was saying I’ve been trying to get my 7yo nephew into the origins line, because I know he’d love it as I did. Made him watch several episodes and I said to my sister. Forget it, if the show bores him, he’s not gonna be into the new figures. So on Easter, for the hell of it, I gave him a figure he mentioned he would like if I got it, which was Orko. Well, then my sister gave him the other origins figures, she put away, as I do to collect, and just like that, he was about as into it as I was at his age. So I guess, maybe getting the figures, before seeing the show, is what works for most. Now he’s hooked on the show too!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wow thrilled you are enjoying! Please do share these videos online with others, it helps the channel a ton!

[@frankpetersen6624]

@@spectorcreative1872 you got it. Sent the one where you explained why She-Ra and He-Man at this point, can’t be in each other’s tv shows and all that. She was like how is that???

[@phoebusmeticulous1790]

Zodac has always been one of my all time favorites!! Thank you. This is unrelated but is there a story about why there are so many characters who has names ending in "OR" for example Stinkor, Webstor, Stridor, Strongor, etc.Is there a video on this?? Can there be? thank you...lovin' the videos.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was just the way they named em!

[@beasty_b6967]

The ether Ian culture

[@liulfrmcshane]

Fantastic video as always, sir. Zodac becoming a neutral figure was such a cool concept. So many similar toyline/cartoon media franchises in the 1980s did tend toward that black/white, good/bad juxtaposition - nothing wrong with that classic style in fiction, necessarily, but Zodac ending up as a character in that grey area was great. Kinda like the creators acknowledging kids could handle a little nuance.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I love me some neutrality

[@jamesjustice4515]

Spector I seen ur Spector figure in the art work. Loved your show. I'll be back. Be happy today. God bless. From the #sledgemaster

[@spectorcreative1872]

He is coming...

[@seanworsfold]

That voice in the Filmation series. Like an angel.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Ha!

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

I particularly enjoyed his role in the episode, “Star Seed!”

[@spectorcreative1872]

One of his best

[@TitularHeroine]

Geez. Wow. An oft-neglected memory bubbled up: I can clearly remember hand writing a list of MotU figures and vehicles; I had "Zodac's Chair" listed but must have been conflating the Greyskull throne and Sky Cycle part of Battle Ram as that. This is great for me because I still hand-write figures lists like that to this day. 😂 Now I realize exactly when the habit started. 😃 Thank you, Mr. Neitlich!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you liked! Kirby did all the work

[@jpkreations2647]

The almighty Zodac... AN EVIL WARRIOR? A HEROIC ENFORCER? A BOUNTY HUNTER? A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS? A NEUTRAL CHARACTER? HE'S THE BEST!! He deserves his own series... THE ENFORCERS! Thanks for sharing these videos man!! They're very informative 👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

He;s everywhere you want to be!

[@ryansargent661]

Thank you for sharing! I was looking through some vintage MOTU stuff the other day and was getting confused by Zodac’s placement. I am confused no more.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And knowing is half the knowing

[@colinmathura-jeffree9829]

When I first ever saw an advert in a magazine for MOTU in 1983 in Fiji I wanted Zodak then Merman and Stratos.

[@infernalstryfe]

I remember back in the 80'sas a kid, I could never find him in stores. Sadly, I have yet to add him to my collection. Perhaps, "By the Power of Greyskull..." someday.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Someday indeed

[@sonnycrockett6527]

What are you waiting for? ! I completed first wave two years ago buying Battle Ram and Wind Raider... Now everything makes sense...

[@nerdrock8087]

Dude, I was on top of the world when the DC vs. MOTU 2-pack came out, and I was finally able to have a Zodac with human feet!! I can't even tell you how happy that made me!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Me too! So long overdue

[@derekshropshire2513]

Always my favorite. My original figure still sits in the Greyskull chair on my shelf.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A worthy place to sit

[@jamesstoops821]

He was one of my favorite characters as well.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Mystery makes fun!

[@MiKeMiDNiTe-77]

The original Zodac from 82 is one of the best in the line, he had a gimmick too he was an enigma.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes. Yes he is

[@rom65536]

My favorite He-Man character was Jani-Tor, groundskeeper for Castle Grayskull. If you squeezed his legs, he'd push his battle-broom.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Is Battle Broom related to Broom from POP? Maybe a secret identity?

[@Corydon220]

🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣👍👍👍👍👍

[@kenmcvittie3584]

When I played with them I never lumped him in with the Evil characters, he just never came across that way. Interesting story tho.

[@spectorcreative1872]

What makes a man go neutral? Lust for gold?

[@BlackRobin71]

I've always lived by the philosophy : Never trust a man with clawed feet. So far it has served me well.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Anyone who tells you differently is selling something

[@b.lloydreese2030]

I was never sure what that guy was about. Thanks!

[@spectorcreative1872]

And knowing is half the knowing

[@ultramaximusreviews]

This was one of my favorite characters as a kid and loved the toy. I never saw him as a bad guy - but a good guy- in fact I always put him in the throne of Grayskull for his chair.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He has a way of creeping into favorites all the time

[@mangamegs]

I had my own fanfic zodac as a kid. basically a (sinerstro type even having red skin) evil zodac/cosmic warrior but with that huge thanos type look, with zodac chest armor and helment.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is so cool!!!

[@PrivateEye10]

I just realized he is sitting on the castle Grayskull throne from the playset... Not the first one to point that out, obviously, but that just makes you wonder if there is a meaning behind it... If the human feet were the good guys and the reptile feet were the bad guys, what were supposed to be the beast feet?

[@spectorcreative1872]

I used to use the throne to fly people around!

[@jcon6734]

I mean, what are they going to do, design two chairs? That's just crazy talk.

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

I loved how the helmet came off in the 200x series!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Me too!

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

Good way to start another day, Monday, work week, etc....

[@spectorcreative1872]

Go Monday go

[@vanceamania]

I had that zodak record . Man the memories

[@spectorcreative1872]

Toy memories are the best!~

[@theafroalien3169]

Nice 👍🏾

[@nilus2k]

Surprised you got through all that without one joke about him flying around on a space toilet.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Damn, I may need to add that

[@HexNottingham]

It's fair to add that when "evil" disappeared from the card backs, it was also absent from the other villains, as was "heroic". I remember pointing that out as a kid.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is true

[@JulianPerez-zv6os]

There was always a "neutral" character in a lot of these series, for example, Crystarr the Crystal Warrior had Feldspar, who was crystal from the waist up, and lava from the waist down.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And Futurama had a whole planet of Neutral people

[@TuxKamen]

So, I remember two different types of clawed feet, the Skeletor straight claws type and the one like Zodac's that seemed to be at the end of a pair of boots. Was that a way to show him being balanced, along with having parts from other character types? And I can think of one example that goes against the "clawed feet are evil" rule, Buzz-Off! I'm sure there are examples the other direction, though, like Tri-Klops

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well after Wave 1, the claw feet = evil concept was tossed

[@sparklesparkle3370]

I love the idea of cosmic enforcers in fiction and MOTU hits the spot home for me Heroic warrior across the multiverse form an organization to keep others in check while not intervening is awesome and I want more of it

[@spectorcreative1872]

More I say more!

[@SkullCowboy333]

A fav of mine also because absolutes do get dull and it shows how things were meant to be in flux i.e. such as Castle Grayskull.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He does stand out

[@dividendz]

Zodac! Was my first figure in Vintage, and to this day one of my favorites. I wish there was a spin-off series with Zodak, to explore the rest of the Cosmos. Can we talk Mattel into doing that plz?! And can i help write it too! Just say Yessss...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Make it happen Mattel! Try writing the brand manager a snail mail letter, it is the best way

[@dividendz]

@@spectorcreative1872 ok how do i find out who that is?

[@xazylsclubhouse]

It still surprises me that Man-E-Faces is a hero. Zodak looks cool but I never found him as visually interesting as BuzzOff and Fisto. Those were my guys

[@spectorcreative1872]

Gang up

[@manlymcstud8588]

you'd think he would be considered neutral given some of the development. he certainly seems to be one of the more complex personalities, which could have been an issue, i guess. by that i mean i always considered he-man to skew younger, so multi-faceted characters could be a bit too mature for the kiddies.

[@Helicondrummer]

I was to young to see all the original MOTU cartoons, but ended up with all the toys from my older brother. I always treated Zodac as the side kick of Stratos. I guess it was because they both had masks I treated them more like characters I was more familiar with like Batman and Robin.

[@GenerationX-WingPodcast]

I specifically remember how surprised i was to see Zodac in the toy aisle as a kid. Told my parents how rare it was. One of my first memories of acheiving a hunt in the wild. Zodac has a soft spot for me because of its rare availability

[@spectorcreative1872]

And that is one of the awesome emotional connections about MOTU, seeing a fig first as a toy!

[@mikeyjhilli]

In regards to his neutral moniker was he depicted bouncing back and forth helping each side?

[@spectorcreative1872]

Pretty much. Keeping the peace and all

[@geechie-don7157]

I like the idea of a Cosmic Enforcer Force. Since the universe is so vast, it makes sense to have multiple ones. What woulda been neat is if he had swappable armor/weapon to show which side he was supporting during a particular fight...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah cool to be off Eternia for some of the play

[@jasonvoorhees5964]

Mer-man: uses his aquatic powers to help He-man....whaaat?!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup. He started as a good guy!

[@BrianGeers]

I always kinda wondered about that. I remember seeing the cross-sell that listed him as “evil”, and I think I remember him on the side of the baddies on something not-so-canon like a coloring book or somesuch, but he was definitely more neutral/goodish in the DC mini and the Filmation show.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup, he was late to the game and with the wrong feet

[@joevolpini137]

I just bought a mini Zodac just a couple of weeks ago.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Mini neutral

[@andrewgrant2990]

Me in 2020 & before Zodac's feet- who cares (no offense). Now in 2021 thanks to awesome videos by Scott- wow interesting story! It's all connected, so is Teela the Kevin Bacon of MotU? Another great video sir!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, Teela is Kevin Bacon

[@cinnamonbun1379]

I love the lineup Tim Seeley gave us in MOTMV. Especially seeing Strobo and Spector being cemented as proper characters that will survive past Classics (I mean, I guess Strobo technically isn't a Classics character, but you know what I mean). Also, having a female member of the group is really cool and I hope she gets a figure someday

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh what Tim is doing is amazing!

[@brianpratt3224]

He was my 1st Master's of the Universe Toy.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A worthy first buy

[@brianpratt3224]

@@spectorcreative1872 Nothing like being a kid in the early 80s.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

I really liked Zodac when I saw him in the show. I never really saw him as a neutral character. When I bought the DVDs and got to the point where he said he was helping Skeletor, I kind of understood that, but since what he did was more like bait Skeletor into a trap, I thought it was more of the archetype of a wise one temporarily misdirecting the hero to help expand their perception. After all, he delivered the moral in that episode and possibly another (I didn't get through the whole season before everything went into storage for nine years). I remember not being able to find a Zodac figure for the longest time even though i knew they existed. I think I ultimately found one in a mall department store display. Mall department stores were weird about toys in the '80s--phasing them out as a department but sporadically having them. I don't know if I actually got mine there or found one later. It didn't say "He's back!" like Faker or "the original" like He-Man and Skeletor, so it was a bit of a grail at that point even though they became more common. I thought it was odd that they continued to present him as an evil warrior. I never owned any with the original card back, just the 12 design.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Everything has morals, even evil feet

[@CatraDhtem]

And yet, no mention of the early Masters character bible that explained he was an evil cosmic bounty hunter, which is perhaps a more literal translation of the word "enforcer."

[@spectorcreative1872]

Ah, could be!

[@mattm6580]

7:07 apparently Mer-Man was meant to be a hero. Says he "uses his aquatic powers to help He Man."

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup. He swapped sides

[@startoys2113]

I always loved Zodac , idk why but there was something about him that I liked cool but mysterious and powerful. Zodac !!!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Everyone does

[@gokugoma3258]

When I first had him back in 1982 I always had him as a evil character because I didn't have enough bad guy characters..he fleshed it out for me

[@spectorcreative1872]

Its good to have options!

[@colinmathura-jeffree9829]

I spied him in your image of cosmic warriors, have you made your Mighty Spector "the Master of Time" in the MOTU origins buck yet?

[@TheChadTI]

As a kid I was never sure what his deal was. Very little about him even from the mini comics, what a great look too. He wasnt evil on my 1982 OG packages. That Teela/green goddess thing was so confusing. In my opinion, even as a kid I felt the mini/DC comic lore was so much better than the Filmation ideas

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah he was a bit mysterious for the lack of content alone

[@TheChadTI]

@@spectorcreative1872 The fact his chair in the comics looked like the grayskull throne was not lost on me.

[@BlackieNuff]

Back in the day, when I first discovered MOTU toys, there were 8 figures, and I just assumed Zodac was with the baddies for a balanced 1:1 combat scenario (Me-Man, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Stratos vs Skeletor, Beast-Man, Mer-Man, and Zodac). But the comics added more confusion when it looked like Stratos was aligned with Skeletor's ranks (original mini comic, when Man-At-Arms spies Skeletor and his thugs fixing on seizing Castle Grayskull). This made me rethink Zodac's placement, and I "swapped" the good/evil monikers between Stratos and Zodac. Then the cartoon came along ,and Stratos was clearly a good guy... ugh... But when the next "terrible trio" rolled out - Trap-Jaw, Tri-Klops, and Evil-Lyn - balance was restored... sorta... 5 good vs 6 evil... me and my OCD for balance & symmetry.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah very little continuity back then

[@berkajr3685]

As per usual excellent video One of the greatest mysteries for me was how could you NOT include the Hordak forearms on the DC 2 pack? To give him proper white gloves as he has in Filmation. Not just painted on the skin. Then you would have had an as close to Filmation accurate Zodac you could without new tooling.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup. Damn close. No tooling

[@manlymcstud8588]

i got out of playing with toys right before he-man came out, but my friend's younger brother had all this stuff. i wish i could have gotten into it! but, gotta grow up at some point. supposedly. so, is the throne in the castle grayskull playset zodac's? cuz they sure look too similar to not be.... fair to say he-man has a famously convoluted development. that makes me wonder if there was one that was more, well, screwed up! lol.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well it is not too late to pick him up, now part of Origins and in a store near you. Maybe

[@SylentEcho]

Another super video! When will we get a Clamp-Champ video? That guy looked like such a beast! Do you think the MOTU line would have been more successful, if we got Clamp-Champ as a He-Man from an alternate universe, along with a crew for him?

[@spectorcreative1872]

I am doing the figures in release order!

[@pop_motu_75]

Mind blown regarding the Mattel employee's admission of ranking Zodac as an "Evil Warrior" based on his clawed feet. Because I've thought to myself the same thing for years - if he did not have clawed feet, he would never have been assigned to the Evil Warriors, nor be "neutral" at all in my opinion. I collect several MOTU toy lines, and all of my Zodacs, clawed feet or not, are posed with my Heroic Warriors, because posing them with my Evil Warriors just looks out of place and odd. Especially while creating a balanced display of the first two waves of 14 action figures. Very interesting that Mattel was intent on creating an even balance between Heroic and Eviil Warriors, as you mentioned, because that would explain why Wave 2 of '83 included Four Evil Warriors but only 2 Heroic Warriors. Zodac needed to convert to a Heroic Warrior to make an even 7 for both sides haha! Perhaps this was all influenced by his first appearance in the '82 DC Comics Miniseries? Yes, a Cosmic Enforcer overlooking the cosmos, but only giving He-Man the clues of the talisman in order to overthrow Skeletor. So much emphasis on his neutrality, but there have been no examples of him corroborating with Skeletor to make sure that the balance of good does not overcome evil. In the Filmation episode, "The Search," Zodac told He-Man that he allowed Skeletor to know where the Starseed was located - though I interpreted that statement as Zodac's challenge for He-Man to prove to his comrades his character and integrity, not Zodac's indifference of Skeletor's triumph. And in the episode, "Quest for He-Man," not only was he enthusiastic in his help for Orko, Cringer and Ram Man to find and rescue He-Man, but he also wished them luck and referred to them as "his friends." Would he subsequently refer to Skeletor as his friend? I don't think so.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Have claws go to the evil line

[@SuperOAFMAN]

Zodac looks like an Intergalactic Landscaper

[@spectorcreative1872]

Its his other day job

[@NorthmostStudios]

As a four-five year old playing with these figures in 1984-1985, Zodak was instantly my favorite toy figure because he LOOKED neutral, and it was largely, as the designer said, because of his feet. The concept of “evil feet” was so ingrained in my brain, that as an adult I was shocked to see that Triclops and Faker had “good guy feet” when looking back at the toy designs recently. I noticed as a kid the “good guy” and “bad guy” features the characters had for figures, and it was evident to me that Zodak was an amalgamation of all the good guy and bad guy features, but most notable were his “Skeletor feet.” The other concept was that while having “evil feet,” he had a “good guy color scheme.” For some reason, until some of the later figures, good guys were way more likely to be earthy shades of red and green, while bad guys were way more likely to be vibrant shades of blue, green, and orange, but never white or grey. Zodak had combinations of vibrant color, but was also red (something I don’t think they did with the bad guy designs until the Horde started showing up) and his boots and shorts were grey. My point I guess was that making his feet look like that, I would have figured, worked the other way around. Not that he was evil because of his feet, but that he was given “evil feet” and “evil arms,” in conjunction with “good” parts and color scheme, to help him look more neutral. His expressionless mask definitely helped. To hear that he was just kind of given those parts because they were laying around is kind of surprising. I kind of wonder if someone saw the figure and got the exact same feel from the combination of visual cues and decided they’d give him the backstory of a neutral character.

[@spectorcreative1872]

As a late add it was "quick get another figure in there, we promised 8!"

[@MrColuber]

I wonder what Zapp Brannigan would say about Zodac. On another note, Zodac was the only He-Man action figure I had. My parents weren't rich enough for me to form any collections, so I had a bit from every line. Sometimes, I called him Zodiac.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He would question his heart full of neutrality

[@monsterhobbiesonlinestore]

I always wanted a Zodac and Stratos, but those were 2 figures I never got.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well they are still at retail in Origins!

[@monsterhobbiesonlinestore]

@@spectorcreative1872 Yes, but I would rather have an original 1980's figure to go with my collection.

[@gerainthorton8980]

I remember having all my MOTU on the floor and separating them into good and evil. Zodac was left by himself and I realized I didn't know much about him. Looked at my old card backs and got more confused. Not sure how it was cleared up back then, might have been a magazine or comic.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah he was an outlier for years

[@MrHouse406]

He was one of the ancients basically the last of the ancients or last generation of 'em this is in the episode the golden disc of knowledge , also in the cartoon he was the watcher he just basically watched everything going on in the Universe.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup, in the animation his role was expanded

[@Sammy_Boy_Smith]

Good .. I can finally die now, knowing this

[@mokin-rui717]

Lol, I had no idea. I kind of followed the line my whole life, but eventually favored G.I.Joe in the end, with Star Wars somewhere in the beginning, middle and end as well. These tidbits are welcome information for my inner child.

[@spectorcreative1872]

So thrilled you liked!

[@dannystorm856]

Wednesday I get my Motu origins Zodac. Finally

[@spectorcreative1872]

I was VERY close to picking one up

[@CosmicEnforcer]

Man, thank you for finally telling my story! 😉

[@spectorcreative1872]

It had to be done sir