NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Balance of Power

Balance of Power title card
E53

Official Synopsis

He-Man raises his sword as the Gleanon crouches before him, fist clenched.

On Necron, the peaceful Mites welcome a delegation from Primus for trade talks over Transium ore, while the brutal Gleanons of Velpine City and their Mutant allies plot to capture President Pell and exchange him for the location of the mine. Mara and Ambassador Bimo ride in with the Primus party when Pell's ship is forced down. The Mites agree to let a small team strike first, and He-Man, Hydron, Flipshot, Mara and the others slip into the city through a volcano museum between steam blasts. Caught, they are saved by a bluff about a plague, free Pell, and part from General Nifel without a fight. The close sends Bimo to Primus.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

Skateboarding is fun, but wear protective knee and elbow pads, because even the best skateboarders fall and banging your knees or elbows is not cool.

heman.org Episode Review

Is it possible to win a war by refusing to finish it? "Balance of Power" takes that question to Necron, a world split between the peaceful Mites and the Gleanons, and decides that it is. The setup is clean: the Mites have found Transium ore, the Mutants want it for their ships, the Gleanons want a bargaining chip, and Mara, sent as Master Sebrian's representative, has already made a friend of Ambassador Bimo by the time Pell's ship is forced down. The Mutants' part is almost an afterthought, a fighter mingling with Gleanon squadrons, but it ties the Mutants to the Gleanon plan and to the Transium they want for their ships.

The middle of the half hour is a heist, and it is the part most worth watching. The Mites' command has a plan that amounts to a full assault, the Guardians suggest a small team instead, and a debate follows in which somebody reminds the doubters of earlier rescues in the wilderness and in prison. It is a nicely compact piece of character work, because the argument is settled by reputation rather than by rank. Then comes the route: Velpine City sits on an inactive volcano, there is radar and a ring of laser cannon around the crater, and the only gap anyone can find is a tube beneath the Volcano Museum that vents steam on a timetable. Plan the entry after a blast, go up fast, get out before the next one. When the first geysers go off, someone protests that the volcano was supposed to be inactive and is told these are only steam vents, a small moment of comic indignation.

Put in plain words, the story is about peace as the only result worth taking home. The Gleanons are cruel, but the closing scene has one of the Primus party tell their general that the Mites want the war to end and that he should think about it on his way back to Velpine City. Pell is rescued, and the general is told he will be set free once the party is safely away, so the final image is of mercy shown to an opponent. When Pell says he owes his life to Mara and the talk turns to sending Bimo to Primus so each people can learn the other's ways, the payoff is a trade partner, not a trophy.

The rescue itself depends on a tidy bit of improvisation. When the visitors are cornered, a bluff about a contagious illness, one that keeps coming back, persuades the Gleanons to hand the prisoners over with scarcely a protest. It is the cartoon's way of reminding us that this team wins with brains before swords, and the confrontation that follows, with He-Man calling his sword back to his hand, gets the muscular payoff the viewer was promised.

The weakness is the scale of the supporting cast. President Pell, Vice President Etor, General Nifel, Sergeant Krone, Captain Zang and Bimo all arrive in a single half hour, and the Gleanons and Mites, according to the He-Man wiki, were planned as toys that were never released, which may be why they come with so little to hold on to. It is a classic trap of the 22-minute format: introduce everyone, resolve everything, and hope the names stick. The bluff that frees the prisoners is also close to a one-line solution, and the Gleanons give way before the scene has had time to be tense.

Verdict: a sturdy, tidy mission story that rewards its heroes for patience and leaves a world at the edge of peace. It sits near the middle of the run, a notch above the average for its plotting and a notch below the better episodes for its cast.

Notes of Interest

  1. Toys: The He-Man wiki says this episode has the first appearances of the Gleanons and the Mytes, who were planned as toys but never released.
  2. Continuity: Prince Adam does not appear in this story, per the He-Man wiki.
  3. Continuity: President Pell, Vice-President Etor, General Nifel and Sergeant Krone also make their first Jetlag Productions appearances here, according to the He-Man wiki.
  4. Continuity: The He-Man wiki lists Captain Zang as a first and only Jetlag Productions appearance.
  5. Voice cast: Garry Chalk voices both President Pell and Sergeant Krone, and Ted Cole voices Vice-President Etor, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Voice cast: The He-Man wiki cast list gives Michael Donovan (uncredited) as General Nifel and Doc Harris (uncredited) as the narrator.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
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He-Man

Episode screenshots

Dark rocky cliffs hold a city of blocky stone houses.
Dark rocky cliffs hold a city of blocky stone houses.
A green Gleanon commander in a spiked blue uniform scowls at the camera.
A green Gleanon commander in a spiked blue uniform scowls at the camera.
A scowling Gleanon officer stands beside a red-haired woman with a hand on her hip.
A scowling Gleanon officer stands beside a red-haired woman with a hand on her hip.
The red-haired woman looks to one side with a faint smile.
The red-haired woman looks to one side with a faint smile.
Niffle sits at his desk with a red-haired woman standing behind him against a fiery backdrop.
Niffle sits at his desk with a red-haired woman standing behind him against a fiery backdrop.
Niffle rests his chin on his hand, his eyes half closed.
Niffle rests his chin on his hand, his eyes half closed.
The red-haired woman walks away toward Niffle's desk, her long hair swinging.
The red-haired woman walks away toward Niffle's desk, her long hair swinging.
A small ship flies alone through the stars.
A small ship flies alone through the stars.
He-Man, Mara and a pink-armored mite stand behind two seated pilots on a ship's bridge.
He-Man, Mara and a pink-armored mite stand behind two seated pilots on a ship's bridge.
He-Man, Mara and the pink-armored mite stand behind the pilots in the cockpit.
He-Man, Mara and the pink-armored mite stand behind the pilots in the cockpit.
A red-haired pilot in a blue flight suit smiles from his seat.
A red-haired pilot in a blue flight suit smiles from his seat.
Snow-capped brown mountains rise under a blue sky.
Snow-capped brown mountains rise under a blue sky.
President Pell and a blue-uniformed mite captain look worried in their ship.
A scowling Gleanon grips a headset while Gleanon fighters fly behind him.
A screen shows a squadron of dark fighters flying in formation.
Two mite gunners in orange helmets aim the cannons of their ship.
A cloud of brown smoke drifts across the blue sky.
Dark Gleanon fighters swarm through the clouds.
A laser bolt streaks past the wing of a dark fighter.
A parachute-borne pod drops onto a rocky hillside as an explosion bursts below.
Gleanon pilots in green and blue armor flinch and cluster together.
A viewscreen shows a single purple fighter in a blue sky.
A white spaceship trails smoke from its engines as a dark fighter flies overhead.
The red-haired woman grips the controls of a fighter, her mouth slightly open.
A small dark craft flies through a cloudy sky.
The red-haired woman grins, one fist raised, her pendant swinging.
A smoking white ship is circled by dark fighters over brown hills.
A Gleanon on a monitor snarls with bared teeth.
A black lattice tower rises over a round plaza seen from above.
A white ship with a damaged hull is surrounded by dark fighters.
Gleanon soldiers stand before a large screen showing the white ship and its escorts.
The red-haired woman, shown on a monitor, aims a pistol from her cockpit.
The red-haired woman smiles in her cockpit seat.
A pilot in a red helmet and visor leans over the controls while others watch from behind.
A toad-like mite in sunglasses and a blue uniform grins on a viewscreen.
He-Man, Mara, a pink-armored mite and two pilots gather on the ship's bridge.
The pink-armored mite looks up, his eyes wide.
A white and red tower stands on a landing field beside a parked shuttle.
He-Man and Mara sit at a curved table with the pink-armored mite.
A toad-like mite in sunglasses and a blue uniform sits at a table with his fists clenched.
People sit at a large round table in a hall with a volcano on the screen behind.
He-Man points as he talks at the meeting table.
He-Man looks off to the side, his brow furrowed.
Mites in armor sit at the table, glaring and murmuring.
He-Man and Mara listen, Mara raising a hand to her chest.
A white and red egg-shaped tower stands on a gold base against a night sky.
He-Man, back to us, looks at a brown-haired man in a blue uniform who gestures with one hand.
A map shows a volcanic crater with a lake and a tower at its center.
The pink-armored mite grins nervously at the camera.
He-Man and a brown-haired man in a blue uniform look ahead.
A red-haired pilot in a blue flight suit sits relaxed at the controls.
A white and blue ship flies low over dark hills at night.
He-Man, Mara, the pink-armored mite and others stand on a ledge as a beam hits the ship.
Steam billows from rocky cliffs at night.
Mara looks through a pair of purple binoculars.
He-Man, Mara and the pink-armored mite stand in a pool of light on a rocky floor.
A pale green skull-shaped cannon glows at the end of a boom against a night sky.
Three men crouch behind a boulder with pistols drawn.
Mara runs across a rocky hillside as a white ship hovers nearby.
The pink-armored mite stumbles across the rocks, his eyes wide with fright.
Four Gleanon soldiers race forward on hover sleds.
Mara stands alone on a dark rocky plain.
He-Man leaps through the dark, sword in hand.
A Gleanon soldier fires a skull-shaped cannon mounted on a green tracked vehicle.
A white ship with red engine pods hovers over a dark crater, its beam pointing down.
Gleanon soldiers crouch around a skull cannon on the green vehicle.
Rocky cliffs lie in shadow as a gloved hand reaches in at the edge.
He-Man swings his sword overhead as it throws off two beams of light.
The pink-armored mite peers around a rock wall.
Mara and He-Man look ahead warily.
Lava bubbles and splashes in a red pool.
Molten lava churns at the bottom of a crater.
A round platform with a railing sits in a lava tube with people on it.
The pink-armored mite waves his arms in alarm in a cavern.
He-Man, Mara and the mites ride a round platform seen from below.
A dark chamber holds a figure in white at the edge of the frame.
A Gleanon soldier crouches behind a blue crate in a rocky cave.
Mara raises her hands, her expression calm.
The red-haired woman faces the captured group, with He-Man and Mara among them, Gleanon soldiers on either side.
Niffle points a finger as a second Gleanon grins.
A dim hallway holds a pillar and a small framed picture on the wall.
A brown-haired man in blue raises a hand beside Mara.
President Pell and a group of mite captives glare at the camera.
A Gleanon turns a key in a cell door lock.
He-Man, Mara and a red-haired man stand with hands raised as a Gleanon watches over a fallen man.
A man in a blue flight suit lies curled on the floor beside boots and white shoes.
A Gleanon in armor stumbles as a small bottle slips from his hands.
A squad of Gleanon soldiers marches forward in a tight group.
A squad of Gleanon soldiers stumbles, one on his back on the floor.
Mara stands close to a figure in a yellow and orange cloak.
A Gleanon gripping a sword swings it with a scowl.
The Gleanon points the sword forward.
He-Man holds his sword over a crouching Gleanon while mites look on.
A group stands outside a cave mouth on a dark plain.
He-Man looks ahead beside Mara under a starry sky.
President Pell frowns, his eyes wide.
A mite captain crouches beside President Pell, who rolls his eyes.
He-Man looks at Mara, who looks back at him.
The pink-armored mite and a blue-uniformed mite stand beside President Pell, who holds out a hand.
He-Man leans against a tree, arms behind his head, as a man rides a hoverboard.

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