Dreadator

A visiting challenger who can blend into his surroundings asks the Mutants about He-Man, and Skeletor teases that he is afraid to face him. On Primus, Hydron reports a shadowy ship image, and in the desert Caz and Drissi watch the creature confront Sagitar, who then vanishes. Alcon and Gepple study sand samples, and a priority message arrives for He-Man: meet in combat if he values his friend. Flogg turns the duel into a moneymaking show. Gepple's goo helps He-Man make the challenger visible, the fight ends with a respectful exchange, and the challenger is pointed toward Moon Nordor. Caz then announces that school is stupid and he wants to fight the Mutants now.

Caz says school is stupid and that he wants to fight the Mutants now, and a voice asks to see his diploma and whether he has finished his schooling. The lesson is to stay in school: if you want to make it into space one day, finishing your education can take you anywhere.

You cannot beat what you cannot see, and that is the problem "Dreadator" hands its hero. The opening, with a sales pitch that promises travel, great working conditions and paid vacations, sets the tone: this is a comedy with a monster in it. Skeletor teases that the visitor is afraid to fight He-Man, the visitor asks who that is, and the answer comes as a brag, the most powerful man in the universe, to which the reply is that no one could defeat Dreadator.

The story then does something quietly clever with its first act, which is to keep Dreadator off screen from the Primans' point of view. Hydron reports a shadowy image of a ship that is not really there, the council wonders whether the Mutants have a cloaking device, and the next scene is a picnic: Caz and Drissi in the desert, the flock being minded by Grot, a pleasant afternoon that a frightened little animal interrupts. Sagitar arrives on patrol and tells the unseen visitor that nothing will get past him. The children are sent to stay put, and the creature asks whether he is the one called He-Man; the answer is no, He-Man is a friend to all on the planet, and the creature decides that a friend will bring him out.

In plain words, the story is about visibility, and about what a challenge is worth when you can make your enemy easy to find. Alcon, studying samples from the sand, concludes that the creature can blend in completely with its surroundings, and the plan that follows is the show at its most cheerfully inventive: Gepple's goo, which sticks to the challenger and exposes him, produced with a salesman's pitch for the goo of a thousand uses. As He-Man puts it, being able to see Dreadator is half the battle.

Flogg's treatment of the duel is the other joke. Hearing about the combat, he sees a way to raise money for the Mutant treasury and announces that his production company presents He-Man against Dreadator, which turns a threat into a spectacle. It is a pleasing touch of satire, and it keeps the stakes light even as a friend is held captive.

The fight itself is the weakest stretch. He-Man arrives and calls out to an enemy he cannot find, it becomes plain that not all of Gepple's goo found its target, and He-Man taunts his opponent to come closer before a quiet line that it is over. What follows is better: an exchange in which a remark is taken as a high compliment, and then a challenger still searching for others to fight is steered toward Moon Nordor, where, as a voice explains to Sagitar, people think they are tough. Pointing him at a place full of people who think they are tough is a satisfying punchline.

The closing safety scene has nothing to do with invisibility, but it makes a cheerful button: Caz announces that school is stupid and he has decided to fight the Mutants now, a voice asks to see his diploma and whether he has finished his schooling, and the lesson that follows is that staying in school is how you make it into space one day, since finishing can take you anywhere.

Verdict: a light, well-judged episode that wins on ideas, not on spectacle. Dreadator is a thin character, but the goo, the show and the redirect are the sort of small comic solutions that make a half hour pleasant company, and the story keeps its promise: once you can see the enemy, you can decide how to treat him.

1. Homage: The He-Man wiki says Dreadator's name and powers appear to be an homage to the 1987 film Predator.
2. Animation: The wiki also notes that Dreadator's armor strongly resembles Skeletor's classic design.
3. Animation: The He-Man wiki lists an animation error where the cloaking shimmer is briefly projected over Caz by mistake when Drissi notices Dreadator's light.
4. Continuity: Dreadator and Ganos are listed on the He-Man wiki as first and only Jetlag Productions appearances.
5. Behind the scenes: In the closing moral, Caz announces he will quit school to join the Galactic Guardians, and He-Man explains why finishing an education matters, per the He-Man wiki.
6. Voice cast: Mark Hildreth voices Caz and Tracy Eisner voices Drissi in this episode, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
7. Continuity: Artilla, Spinwit and Tuskador appear only as non-speaking cameos, per the He-Man wiki.