FILMATION - 1983

The Dragon Invasion

The Dragon Invasion title card
S01E09

Official Synopsis

The Dragon Invasion synopsis still

Beast Man and Skeletor steal dragon eggs to build an army, only to find that Beast Man's control over animals stops at the Mother Dragon guarding them. Skeletor improvises instead: grow the hatchlings with serum, storm Castle Grayskull under cover of the chaos, and trap the Sorceress inside the Dragon Pearl while He-Man tries to turn the dragons themselves against him.

Watch the Full Episode

The Dragon Invasion Official upload, Masters of the Universe channel

Morals by He-Man closing message, original Filmation broadcast

Orko: "In today's story, Skeletor tried to conquer Eternia by using animals in an evil way. Animals, like all living things should be treated with kindness and respect. I hope that those of you who have a dog or cat or maybe even a hamster, remember that. When we have a pet we also have a responsibility because they depend on us. But you can be sure of one thing: however much we love them, they return that love, and more. Well, time for me to disappear, bye!"

Voice Cast

John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, Beast Man, and Ram Man

Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, and Battle Cat

Linda Gary as Teela, Evil-Lyn, and the Sorceress

Erik Gunden as Orko, Jitsu, and King Randor

Norm Prescott as Stratos

Memorable Quotes

"Grayskull has fallen, He-Man... to me! The Sorceress is my prisoner. And with her power added to the Dragon Pearl, all of Eternia will be mine!"

― Skeletor

heman.org Episode Review

Michael Reaves's script does something the show rarely bothers with: it establishes a limit on a villain's power and then makes the plot hinge on it. Beast Man can command any animal on Eternia except, it turns out, the Mother Dragon whose eggs he and Skeletor steal to open the episode; she attacks anyway, and Skeletor has to drop her into a ravine himself rather than rely on his own lieutenant's signature ability. It is a small piece of writing discipline that pays off later, when He-Man's actual solution to the dragon army is not to fight the dragons but to free them from Skeletor's control and let them turn on him instead.

The middle stretch earns the episode's title honestly. A baby dragon hatches inside the Royal Palace and grows to full size fast enough to set the throne room on fire before Man-At-Arms's new Stasis Ray can freeze it, and Skeletor's growth serum repeats the trick across Eternia while he and the Evil Warriors use the chaos as cover to storm Castle Grayskull itself. Trapping the Sorceress inside the Dragon Pearl, an artifact built to weaponize Evil-Lyn's magic, is one of the more genuinely dangerous positions the show puts her in this early, and sealing Grayskull behind a force field raises the stakes past the show's usual template.

Orko's closing moral, that animals deserve kindness rather than use as tools, sits a little awkwardly next to a plot where the dragons themselves barely register as characters; they exist to be menaced, then freed, then thanked in the abstract. That is the episode's real gap. He-Man's fight with an enlarged Skeletor at the cliff edge, including the odd, almost tender beat where He-Man catches his enemy's hand rather than let him fall, gives the villain more texture in thirty seconds than the dragons get across the whole runtime. The Dragon Invasion is a strong action episode built on a smart piece of villain-limitation writing, let down only by treating its own title characters as scenery.

Behind the Episode

cereal:geek's commentary on The Dragon Invasion, with behind-the-scenes detail on how the episode was made.

The Dragon Invasion: episode commentary cereal:geek TV

Notes of Interest

  1. Script approval came December 10, 1982, with a final revision dated July 11, 1983.
  2. Loosely built on an earlier Filmation premise called Dragon Seeds, where Jitsu was still named Chopper and Skeletor's War-Sled was a Doom-Buggy.
  3. Early VHS prints carried He-Man's original narration line about 'the Evil Masters of the Universe' rather than 'the evil forces of Skeletor,' since corrected for TV.
  4. Concept art for the dragons by Charles Zembillas fed directly into Morningstar's design for the later episode Battle of the Dragons.
  5. Dragonmount, where the eggs are stolen from, gets reused as Dragon Valley in Disappearing Dragons.
  6. Michael Reaves's script sends Skeletor's growth serum loose on a clutch of stolen dragon eggs, and Castle Grayskull ends up under siege from the same dragons he intended as weapons.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
Prince Adam
Good

Prince Adam
Cringer
Good

Cringer
Man-At-Arms
Good

Man-At-Arms
Orko
Good

Orko
Ram Man
Good

Ram Man
Stratos
Good

Stratos
Teela
Good

Teela
King Randor
Good

King Randor
Queen Marlena
Good

Queen Marlena
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Good

The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Beast Man
Evil

Beast Man
Evil-Lyn
Evil

Evil-Lyn

Episode screenshots

Close-up of a rocky, spine-ridged nest on a mountain outcrop at dusk, with no characters visible.
Beast Man, holding a blue ray gun, stands near a cluster of large white eggs nestled among rocky spires, with a green flying vehicle parked beside him.
Beast Man aims his ray gun while Skeletor, seen from behind holding his ram-skull staff and a white egg, looks toward their parked green ship loaded with eggs.
Skeletor stands beside the open rear hatch of the green ship, which is filled with white eggs, holding his staff and grinning.
Skeletor stands beside the green ship, its rear loaded with white eggs.
Skeletor stands beside the green ship, its rear loaded with white eggs.
Skeletor holds his ram-skull staff in one hand and a white egg in the other.
Skeletor stands beside the loaded green ship holding a white egg.
Beast Man peers out from behind a jagged rock near flowing lava.
Beast Man peers out from behind a jagged rock near flowing lava.
Skeletor holds a white egg and his ram-skull staff.
Skeletor holds a white egg as Beast Man's red fur shows behind him.
Beast Man's red furred shoulder fills the frame against a purple sky.
Orko floats in a palace hallway with orange pillars.
Orko floats beside a platter of roasted turkey legs.
Orko floats holding a turkey leg in one hand.
Orko floats holding a large white bone in one hand.
Orko sits on the palace floor with his chin on his hand.
Orko tumbles upside down in the air with his arms raised.
Orko tumbles upside down in the air with his arms raised.
Three Orkos stand side by side holding turkey legs over a platter.
Orko stands with his hands on his hips in the palace hallway.
Prince Adam raises both hands beside a golden goblet, speaking.
Prince Adam smiles and speaks while seated in an orange chair.
Teela eats a salad with a fork at the table.
A white egg rests in a dark rocky nest on a pink and purple hillside.
A white egg rests in a dark rocky nest on a pink and purple hillside.
Teela looks to the side with a startled, wide-eyed expression.
Teela looks to the side with a startled, wide-eyed expression.
A teal dragon rears up in a red room as silhouettes watch from a triangular window.
A large shadow falls over Orko and Cringer beside a throne chair.
Orko covers his mouth beside a snarling Cringer.
A silhouetted figure raises a sword inside a burst of white light.
A silhouetted figure raises a sword inside a burst of white light.
He-Man raises one arm skyward in a halo of white light.
He-Man raises one arm skyward in a halo of white light.
He-Man stands firm gripping his Power Sword, still haloed by transformation light.
He-Man rides atop the dragon's neck, gripping a horn as it flies against a deep red sky.
A green dragon tail curls across a cracked pink floor.
A purple and red hall with angular architecture and a cracked floor.
He-Man stands beside a broken rock wall, sword in hand.
He-Man holds the Sword of Power upright inside the rocky interior.
A cracked pink stone floor meets a triangular archway opening.
Teela, Man-At-Arms with a blue ray gun, and He-Man stand together.
Beast Man and Skeletor sit at a bone-fringed table in Snake Mountain.
Beast Man and Skeletor sit at the bone table, Beast Man looking ahead.
A red clawed hand reaches toward a round window showing a dragon breathing fire.
Beast Man snarls with his eyes narrowed and fangs showing.
Skeletor holds his ram-skull staff in a dark cave passage.
Orko holds his hands to his face beside Teela in a green vehicle.
Teela gasps with her mouth open as Orko covers his face in the vehicle.
Teela fires a blue ray gun, sending a stream of orange flame ahead.
Man-At-Arms and He-Man stand side by side in a dark cave.
He-Man pushes against a large blue boulder in a dark cave.
A dragon's head with open jaws and a long tongue appears above a boulder.
A dragon's head with open jaws and a long tongue appears above a boulder.
Skeletor sits at the center of the bone table with Beast Man, Evil-Lyn and others.
Skeletor's hooded skull face fills the frame with bone shapes behind him.
A round viewing window shows ruined castle structures below as red clawed hands rest above.
A round viewing window shows ruined castle structures below as red clawed hands rest above.
Skeletor grins in front of bone decorations.
Skeletor smiles broadly with a bone throne behind him.
A golden glowing portal stands open in a cave as a hooded figure walks through it, a purple panther-like creature crouched nearby beside a red barred grate.
Skeletor's group of five stand together on a rocky outcrop: Trap Jaw, Panthor, Skeletor holding his staff and a glowing orb, a tan warrior, and Evil-Lyn.
Close-up of a tan, topknotted warrior beside Evil-Lyn, both looking ahead.
Close-up of Skeletor holding his ram-skull staff and a glowing white orb against a purple cave backdrop.
Close-up of Skeletor cradling a glowing white orb in his clawed hands, staff beside him.
The Sorceress of Grayskull, in her orange and blue falcon-feathered costume, stands within a stone archway, arms crossed.
Close-up of the Sorceress of Grayskull's face, her white hair and falcon headdress prominent against a dark background.
Close-up of the Sorceress of Grayskull's face, her white hair and falcon headdress prominent against a dark background.
Skeletor's five-member group stands silhouetted against a swirling purple and red radiant background: Trap Jaw, Panthor, Skeletor, a tan warrior, and Evil-Lyn.
The Sorceress of Grayskull stands with orange wings spread wide, glowing light streaming through the archway around her.
Close-up of the Sorceress with hands raised, casting a spell as sparkling light surrounds her.
Teela, Man-At-Arms, and a soldier ride blue hover-sleds above a dark rocky landscape beneath a purple dusk sky.
He-Man rides Battle Cat below as Stratos flies overhead and Teela pilots a hover-sled nearby, more vehicles in the background.
Skeletor raises a glowing white orb overhead with both hands, radiant light streaming from it.
The Sorceress, wings spread, raises both hands as sparkling light pours down around her inside the archway.
Skeletor's clawed hand holds the Sorceress trapped and shrunken inside a glowing white orb, the Dragon Pearl.
A tan, topknotted warrior stands in a blue cavern lined with huge curved claw-like formations.
Close-up of the massive blue claw-shaped rock formations lining the cavern walls.
A skull-faced stone fortress with a giant open claw for an entrance stands against a pink and purple dusk sky, flanked by crumbling towers.
Five of Skeletor's warriors stand over a fallen He-Man and Battle Cat on rocky ground: a grey masked fighter, Queen Marlena, an armored red and blue figure, and an orange-armored soldier.
Close-up of Skeletor's hooded face dissolving into a radiant starburst of light.
Close-up of Skeletor's grinning hooded face surrounded by sparkling radiant light.
An abstract radial blur transition shot with a glimpse of a castle door at its center.
A clawed stone archway framing a small blue door marked with a crest, radiant light streaming past it.
Close-up of He-Man beside Man-At-Arms, who frowns, inside a dark purple cave.
Close-up of He-Man's face looking ahead with a determined expression against a dark cave backdrop.
Teela looks to the side in profile, her red hair and headpiece lit.
Skeletor's group of five stands together inside a blue icy cavern: a tan warrior, Evil-Lyn, a green-faced masked figure, Skeletor holding his staff, and Panthor.
Wide shot of the same group standing at the base of a long stone stairway leading up to a glowing orb cradled atop a giant stone claw.
Extreme close-up of Skeletor's skull face, a tiny reflected image of the Sorceress trapped in an orb visible in his eye socket.
Close-up of giant clawed hands cradling the glowing white Dragon Pearl, the Sorceress visible trapped inside.
Close-up of the Sorceress, wings spread, trapped and struggling inside the glowing orb held by massive stone claws.
He-Man and Teela ride together in the cockpit of a green flying vehicle above a purple sky.
He-Man and Teela sit in the Battle Ram's cockpit, He-Man looking ahead.
He-Man and Teela sit in the cockpit, Teela speaking with a concerned expression.
He-Man, seen from behind beside Teela, looks down a spiky cave passage.
Close-up of a large dragon's clawed blue feet standing on a tiled floor.
He-Man crouches atop the back of a huge blue two-headed dragon inside an industrial interior lit by a red glow.
Teela lies sprawled on the ground, a red shape at the edge of the frame.
Close-up of He-Man flexing both arms triumphantly, eyes closed.
Close-up of Beast Man's furious red face baring his teeth.
Close-up of He-Man looking tensely to the side.
Close-up of He-Man's face, lips parted as he speaks, in the dim cave light.
Close-up of Man-At-Arms's helmeted head and shoulder armor against a purple sky.
Battle Cat, a grey-armored soldier, Orko, Man-At-Arms and Teela face a two-headed teal dragon.
Battle Cat, a grey-armored soldier, Orko, Man-At-Arms and Teela face a two-headed teal dragon.
Teela and Man-At-Arms stand close together as a dragon's long neck curls behind them.
Orko floats beside Teela, both looking off to the side.
Close-up of Skeletor's villain group: Skeletor, a tan warrior, a green-faced masked figure, and Evil-Lyn, standing together.
Teela aims a large blue ray gun mounted on a stand inside the cave.
Close-up of Skeletor's profile, fist clenched, standing in a dark cave.
A glowing white orb, the Dragon Pearl, is cradled by massive clawed hands beside a bright golden burst of light.
Skeletor stands with his hands at his sides, grim-faced, in a dark cave.
Skeletor stands full-length holding his ram-skull staff beside a huge red leg.
He-Man stands with his sword on a dragon's spiked back among blue teeth.
A black silhouette with raised arms holds a glowing ring in a swirl of purple light.
Abstract close-up of a red beam of light passing between craggy dark rock formations.
Skeletor crouches defensively on a rocky ledge inside a spiky blue cavern, a small white orb in one hand.
Skeletor reaches out toward a glowing white orb hovering before him in the cavern.
A red beam of light shines beside a huge dragon claw, with a small silhouetted figure riding a blue hover-sled nestled among the talons.
Close-up of He-Man standing before a deep red cave wall, dragon claws visible at the edge of frame.
An abstract white dragon-wing silhouette set against a dark red background.
A huge horned, rocky dragon head looms over a line of silhouetted allies as a brilliant golden beam of light blazes beside it.
Close-up of He-Man beside Stratos, who wears his red and blue winged helmet, both standing in a dark cave.
Orko floats beside a glowing golden portal of light, pointing downward with one hand.
Teela holds a blue device in front of a huge teal dragon head.

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