NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Galactic Guardians

The Galactic Guardians title card
E31

Official Synopsis

Flogg sits scowling in a chair while Skeletor looms behind him.

On a camping trip, the Guardians look back on their first mission of the Galactic Guardians. A ship called Blatazine 5, loaded with poison gas from the chemical wars, is knocked off its orbit by a solar storm and heads for Primus. Hydron and Flipshot size up three visiting soldiers and bring in scientists, while the Mutants talk over how to get the heroes aboard. Inside a shrinking cocoon of light, He-Man uses his sword to draw the energy away, and Hydron and Gepple bluff Flogg with a warning of an explosion. The Mutants board anyway, the heroes split up, and the ship's guidance system is reprogrammed and locked in. Back at camp, Flipshot is reminded to put his tools away.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing lesson is a safety tip about tools: working with them can be fun, but put them away when you are finished.

heman.org Episode Review

How does a squad of soldiers turn into a team? "The Galactic Guardians" answers by sending its heroes back to the days when they were still being sized up, and the camping trip that frames the flashback gives that question a pleasant setting: friends cleaning fish and pitching tents in the woods, teasing one another about who is doing the work, while one of them muses that it feels strange to have no battles to fight and no reason to be on guard. From there the talk turns to the first mission.

The mission rests on a tidy idea. Blatazine 5 is a super-container ship carrying poison gas left over from the chemical wars, ordered into an orbit far from inhabited planets and guarded by combat robots, and everyone felt safe because it was built to withstand almost anything. What undoes it is the hazard its designers overlooked, space dust and pebbles, thrown at it by a solar storm until the guidance system is out of control and the ship is on a collision course with Primus.

In plain words, the episode is about trust being earned before it is given. Hydron tells Gepple that he and Flipshot cannot reprogram the ship's orbit themselves, which is a job for scientists, and Master Sebrian is brought in to persuade them. When three visiting soldiers volunteer, one officer wants to see what the newcomers can do before taking them along, while another reminds Flipshot that the Guardians desperately need recruits and must be open to new ways. The auditions that follow are the best stretch of the episode: a walking weapon system named Artilla is matched against a wall of paladurium steel, another recruit can spin his arms fast enough to raise a controlled tornado, and a third can stop whatever is fired at him and send it back. Each is a small answer to the doubters, and they let us meet the team by watching it work.

The Mutant scenes are pitched at comedy, as when a plan to lure the heroes onto the ship is waved off because the ship is already heading for Primus, but the sharper sequence is the bluff. Hydron and Gepple get Flogg on a viewer screen and warn him that the ship has a security system that will cause a massive explosion if it is attacked again, and afterwards Gepple celebrates it as his greatest acting role. Flogg's side has heard such a story before, from the day they wanted to blow up the Vasionic Resonator, an event the wiki ties to Skeletor's Victory, and one of them concedes that scientists do not lie unless they are about to be blown into the next galaxy. One of the Mutants admits the speech almost had him convinced.

The cocoon of light is the other set piece, and it gives He-Man something to do that does not involve hitting anything: energy passes through it, objects are held captive, and it tightens around the ship, so he gets his sword outside to draw it away, and Artilla says afterwards that the energy is stored in his weapon system for later use.

The weakness is the closing stretch. The Mutants board, the heroes divide, one of them says he will give the boarders something else to think about, and a moment later the guidance system is reported reprogrammed and permanently locked in. A short slot with a framing story at both ends leaves little room, so the finish arrives faster than the build deserves.

Verdict: an amiable origin story that cares more about how the Guardians learn to rely on one another than about the gas on the ship, and, if the wiki is right, it sits in the run between Sword & Staff and The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword... Or Is It?, closing on a cheerful reminder to put your tools away.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: The He-Man wiki argues the flashback can only fit between Sword & Staff and The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword... Or Is It?, because Skeletor wears his Disks of Doom armor in it and Artilla, Spinwit and Tuskador are already Guardians in the later episode.
  2. Continuity: The wiki notes a wrinkle: Tuskador and Artilla fly Battle Birds in the flashback, though the scientists first built those from spare parts in The Battle for Levitan.
  3. Continuity: Skeletor mentions the Mutants' earlier attempt to blow up the Vasionic Resonator, an event from Skeletor's Victory, per the He-Man wiki.
  4. Fan observation: According to the He-Man wiki, Flipshot calls himself "The Fabulous Flipshot" in this episode.
  5. Continuity: Wikipedia describes the flashback as the Guardians' new recruits Artilla, Spinwit and Tuskador training under Hydron and Flipshot, alongside the previously unseen Sagitar.
  6. Voice cast: Garry Chalk voices both He-Man and Artilla, and Alvin Sanders voices Flogg and Tuskador, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  7. Voice cast: The wiki cast list gives Ted Cole as Slush Head and Gleep, and Scott McNeil as Flipshot and Krex, in this episode.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg

Episode screenshots

He-Man stands beside a red-haired man in a blue suit who holds a fish, in a jungle.
He-Man stands beside a red-haired man in a blue suit who holds a fish, in a jungle.
A campfire blazes in the foreground as hands hold a metal mug.
A campfire blazes in the foreground as hands hold a metal mug.
He-Man and a red-haired man sit with two others and a robot around a campfire, holding mugs.
He-Man and a red-haired man sit with two others and a robot around a campfire, holding mugs.
A bald man in red talks to two seated men as they hold mugs, seen from behind.
A bald man in red talks to two seated men as they hold mugs, seen from behind.
A bald man in red stands before a group seated around a campfire, with a robot beside them.
A bald man in red stands before a group seated around a campfire, with a robot beside them.
He-Man, a red-haired man and two others sit by the fire, looking toward a robot's arm.
A grey space freighter with radiation symbols drifts through space as sparks flash on its hull.
A grey space freighter with radiation symbols drifts through space as sparks flash on its hull.
Green robots stand guard on the deck of a white cargo ship, seen from above.
Green robots stand guard on the deck of a white cargo ship, seen from above.
A dark domed chamber holds a stand topped with a glowing red disc.
A close view of the grey freighter hull with a purple radiation symbol.
Rows of golden robots stand along a long red-lit hall.
The freighter flies through a swirl of dust and pebbles that strike its hull.
A control room window shows the freighter far off among flashes in space.
An old man with spiky blond hair and round glasses points straight ahead.
A red-haired man, a man in a toga, a blond man and two elders stand at a panel.
A red-haired man in green leans in as an elder with a ponytail and others look on.
A man in a toga, a red-haired man in green and two elders stand by a control stand.
A red-haired man in green stands with a blond man, a woman and two elders at the panel.
A blond man with a red headband looks off to the side inside the control room.
A blond man with a red headband looks off to the side inside the control room.
A figure in a red-crested helmet walks across a hillside of purple foliage toward a distant group.
A big man in a red helmet with a blue visor reaches toward the camera.
A red-haired man in green talks with a brown-haired man in blue beside a vehicle.
A big man in red armor faces a tusked figure in gold armor on a grassy field.
A man peers over the rim of a red helmet from behind a gold armored mask.
A gold-armored man with white curved tusks spreads his arms wide.
A robot-like fighter in blue and black armor with a red-crested helmet stands in a haze of light.
A grey metal wall glows with a bright blue flash on a grassy field.
A small figure stands far off across an open field beside a white platform.
A lone figure in blue stands in the middle of an open field between two tall poles.
A man in a blue vest spins inside a whirling white blur of wind.
A figure in red and blue stands in a field as white discs fly past.
A tall black and silver space station hangs above the blue surface of a planet.
A bald man in red clasps a brown-haired man's shoulder as a red-haired man looks on.
Three small grey ships sit parked in a metal hangar.
He-Man raises the Power Sword high against a wall of orange flame.
A spiky green alien spacecraft floats in a dark, glowing rift.
Skeletor grins and holds up his staff as a white puff of smoke bursts before him.
Skeletor grins and holds up his staff as a white puff of smoke bursts before him.
Flogg sits in a chair while Skeletor stands beside a staff in a dim, rounded chamber.
Flogg sits in a chair while Skeletor stands beside a staff in a dim, rounded chamber.
Flogg and Skeletor stand with their backs to the camera.
Flogg and Skeletor stand with their backs to the camera.
Flogg talks with a worried look as Skeletor stares beside him.
Flogg and Skeletor walk together across the chamber, Skeletor carrying his staff.
Flogg grins, showing sharp teeth.
A square white craft with blue boosters flies through a pale sky as small ships follow.
He-Man stands behind a group in seats at a ship's control console.
He-Man stands beside seated companions in the cockpit, with a small elder holding a spiky blond wig.
The grey freighter's hull shows a purple radiation symbol as the ship passes.
He-Man and the crew shield their eyes from a bright flash in the cockpit.
A hand presses a panel above rows of white goggles with blue lenses.
A web of glittering light fills the cabin as four figures look up at a spiky-haired elder.
He-Man in white goggles raises an arm and smiles.
An elder with spiky blond hair, seen from behind, faces a red-haired man in a green suit.
An elder with spiky blond hair and white goggles raises a finger.
He-Man in white goggles stares ahead with his arms crossed.
A gold robot with a red cap watches a swirl of light as a small ship flies by.
A group of goggled crew members huddle behind a console as sparkling light crawls over the cabin.
A brown-haired man in a blue suit and white goggles smiles as light sparkles around him.
Crew members cower at the far end of a corridor streaked with crackling light.
He-Man in white goggles looks to the side, jaw set.
He-Man in goggles thrusts his sword hand into the air inside a dark hatchway.
A curved grey hull is crossed by a streak of bright light.
A pale yellow flash bursts from a single point of light.
Strands of white light stream past a cannon on the ship's hull.
A gold robot with a pale face stands before a small ship as red-capped boosters fire.
He-Man, two elders and a red-haired man in green crouch behind a console.
A bright yellow explosion fills the frame around the nose of a ship.
A glowing outline of a robot raises an arm with a spinning blade through grey smoke.
The grey freighter's hull with its purple radiation symbol and cannon turrets drifts through space.
He-Man, a masked man in green and two elders crowd together in a corridor.
A man in a blue suit stands inside a clear bubble of swirling wind in a round room.
Seven warriors in a row, including He-Man, stand in a corridor over a pile of broken yellow robots.
The group stands in a row with their backs to the camera, facing a grey wall.
The group stands in a long grey corridor with two elders in front.
The group stands in a corridor before a wall covered in glowing gold lines.
A man in blue is held inside a glass tube as He-Man leaps with his sword raised.
Flogg sits in a chair with a purple face and scowl as Skeletor stands behind.
A man in a green suit, red mask and clear helmet stands with arms at his sides.
An elder with spiky blond hair and round glasses frowns and looks ahead.
The spiky-haired elder points at a glowing drawing of a ship and a burst of spikes.
Skeletor and Flogg sit side by side in the dim chamber, Skeletor gripping his staff.
Skeletor leans forward holding his staff, with a pale ghostly overlay across the frame.
He-Man, a masked man in green and an elder in white sit crowded beside a spiky-haired elder.
The group runs down a grey corridor in a line.
A grey curved wall glows palely, with a yellow robot piece at the bottom edge.
A green dragon-headed spacecraft with red eyes chases the grey freighter through space.
A teal claw arm with grey fingers hangs against a metal floor.
A masked man in green and a blue-suited man with a jet pack stand in a corridor.
He-Man grips his sword as a gold robot walks beside him in a metal corridor.
A dark domed pod with red lights hangs in the shadows of a ship's ceiling.
An empty grey corridor stretches toward a closed door.
He-Man holds his sword low while a red-helmeted fighter and others fire bright blue blasts.
A white dome bears a black and yellow fan emblem above dark red machinery.
Green robots work a control bank in a grey chamber as a group waits far behind.
A woman in white and a spiky-haired elder work at a control panel behind green robots.
The back of a gold robot fills the frame as a beam of light streaks across it.
He-Man, a shield-bearing warrior, an elder and a spiky-haired elder stand at a window looking out at space.
A long grey corridor recedes to a tiny group of figures at its far end.
Yellow sparks crackle above the spiky-haired elder as He-Man and others stand at the window.
A spiky-haired elder with round glasses and an orange mallet in his mouth looks at a control stand.
A dark hole bursts through a ship's hull as the group is flung out into space.
He-Man hangs from the hull holding his sword up while another warrior floats nearby.
Skeletor snarls at a window with stars beyond it.
Rows of dark robots with red lights sit in a dim hall.
Skeletor stands holding his staff with a startled look, a hand raised.
A group sits around a campfire in a night forest beside a tall white stand.
He-Man holds a flaming torch against a night sky with palm fronds.
Two men work on a white spaceship in a hangar, one at the cockpit, one at the engine.
A red-haired man sits in the open cockpit of a white ship as another man stands nearby.

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