NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Guns of Nordor

The Guns of Nordor title card
E47

Official Synopsis

He-Man walks through a doorway with the sword glowing as Skeletor stands in the foreground.

The Mutants fire the guns of Nordor through holes in Primus's shield, and Hydron's craft is crippled while a rescue attempt follows him toward the Primus Space Base. A briefing sets out a plan: He-Man, Gepple and the troops will scale the cliff on the dark side of the moon while astrosubs stage a decoy attack. Slush Head, left in charge of the guns, fires on a model of the Colossus, and Flogg learns Skeletor encouraged it. Skeletor reasons that an invasion party will now come, He-Man with it. Later He-Man sets a timer on his explosives and gives the Mutants three dollops to get clear. A closing tip urges viewers to get a good night's sleep.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

Flipshot, who stayed up late watching a movie, nearly hits an asteroid, and the scene turns out to be a flight simulator. The closing lesson is to get a good night's sleep so you are at your best, and if you are tired, do not ride a bike or work with tools until you are properly rested.

heman.org Episode Review

What do you do when the other side is baiting you with what you want? "The Guns of Nordor" gives both camps the same weakness, which is a readiness to believe in the easy route, and then lets each side use it against the other. The Primans bait Slush Head with a ship that looks like the Colossus, and Skeletor, once Flogg has finished shouting about what happened, reasons that the Primans now believe the dark side of the moon is their way in.

The setup is brisk. The Mutants have built guns that can strike Primus with pinpoint accuracy through the holes in its shield, and the opening scene is a comic squabble in which Slush Head insists it is his turn to fire them, and the countdown runs. Soon Hydron's craft is hit, its ejection system and power are gone, and Tuskador is told to guide him toward the Primus Space Base while Flipshot stays right behind him. When an order comes to break off the rescue operation, the answer is negative, and the reply sums Flipshot up: you never could follow orders, and a good thing for you. A briefing explains that the Primans have become prisoners on their own planet because nobody can guard the holes, and sets out the plan: the starship cannot get close, a land assault will not work, and the only unguarded position is the cliff on the dark side of the moon, where nobody who has gone has returned.

In plain words, the story is about plans that succeed by arranging for the enemy to see what it already hopes to see. The decoy is the best example. Slush Head, put in charge of the guns, is nudged toward firing by Skeletor's advice and blasts what he believes is the Colossus, and he is delighted, reminding everyone that they do not call him the hero of the Quagmi Swamp for nothing. A moment later the Primans reveal that the target was a model, built to look just like the real ship, and the reload gives them time to slip past. The one who cannot resist pulling the trigger is the one who gets fooled.

Skeletor's reply is the sharper idea. Told that the Primans are heading for Nordor, he does not worry; he tells Flogg that they now think they can attack, that the starship cannot get close and so an invasion party must come to the ground, and that they will have all of them, He-Man especially. It makes the dark side less a secret than a trap, and a voice among the Primans remarking that this is too easy lands with that in mind. Gepple's bad feeling about the approach also proves right.

The finale is where the writing takes a turn I like very much. When Skeletor asks where He-Man is, He-Man answers with a pack of explosives, says he has already set the timer, and gives the Mutants three dollops to leave. Flogg wants no part of going up in flames, Skeletor insists it is a bluff, and then supplies the answer himself, a small statement of character: unlike you and me, He-Man feels there are some things more important than himself.

The weakness is the aftermath, which comes in so quickly that the cost of the mission barely registers; a question about where the charges were placed and a toast to the Galactic Guardians stand in for a conclusion, and the dark side, so much discussed, turns out to be a cliff and a Mutant welcome, with little of the dread the briefing promised. The likely reason is the half hour slot.

Verdict: a neat plot, built on two traps that nest inside each other, with a decent joke at Slush Head's expense. It leaves its spine intact: whoever believes in the easy route has already lost to someone who planned for it.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: The He-Man wiki says the title is inspired by the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone.
  2. Continuity: Prince Adam does not appear in this story, per the He-Man wiki.
  3. Behind the scenes: In the closing moral, Flipshot, who stayed up late watching a movie, nearly crashes into an asteroid, which turns out to be a Flight Simulator session with Hydron, according to the He-Man wiki.
  4. Continuity: Crita and Sagitar are listed by the He-Man wiki as non-speaking cameos.
  5. Voice cast: Ted Cole voices Slush Head, Spinwit and Staghorn here, and Don Brown voices Hydron, Gepple and Quakke, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Voice cast: Scott McNeil is credited for both Flipshot and BH, and Campbell Lane for Skeletor, per the wiki cast list.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead
Staghorn
Evil

Staghorn

Episode screenshots

Flogg bares his teeth between Slush Head and a gold-armored mutant inside a cockpit.
Flogg bares his teeth between Slush Head and a gold-armored mutant inside a cockpit.
Slush Head presses his palms together inside a tubed helmet, mouth open.
Slush Head presses his palms together inside a tubed helmet, mouth open.
Staghorn raises a white-gloved hand beneath a window with small figures.
Staghorn raises a white-gloved hand beneath a window with small figures.
A control panel holds a small joystick lever and a red button.
A control panel holds a small joystick lever and a red button.
A pink-tinted cliff face looms over two small white ships.
A pink-tinted cliff face looms over two small white ships.
Flogg snarls from inside his tan hood.
Flogg snarls from inside his tan hood.
A pilot in a blue flight suit with an orange mask reaches toward the controls.
The dark curve of a planet shows against a field of stars.
White clouds drift across a blue sky with a faint trail at the top.
A brown-haired man in blue and a bald muscular man in red sit in a cockpit.
A pilot in an orange mask grips a control lever.
A white ship trails orange flame and smoke, with a masked pilot small inside it.
Flipshot sits in a cockpit seat with a calm face.
A brown-haired man in green looks across a cockpit at two other crew members.
A masked pilot looks to the side as a smoking ship trails behind him.
Captain Hydron grimaces behind his orange mask as smoke trails from a ship behind him.
A small ship trailing flame descends over a coastline and sea.
A ship trailing yellow flame flies above a large white wing.
A ship trailing flame dives over a forested hillside.
A blue and white craft sits on the grass while a smoking ship glides in above it.
Captain Hydron looks to the side in his masked helmet beside a blue wing.
A damaged ship with a smoking orange engine flies low over a grassy plain.
Captain Hydron grips a handle and looks ahead from the cockpit.
A white and purple ship skims past a domed building, trailing flame.
A red mechanical arm sprays foam above three crew members standing together.
Two small figures stand outside a lit domed hangar at night.
He-Man stands with arms crossed beside Captain Hydron in a hangar.
He-Man stands with arms crossed beside Captain Hydron in a hangar.
An eye-patched armored man and the bespectacled man sit side by side with arms folded.
Captain Hydron stands before a wall map of rugged terrain with glowing marks.
A starship lowers onto a night landing field on beams of light with buildings behind it.
A control room seen from above holds crew members seated at stations.
He-Man looks across a control room at the bespectacled man and Captain Hydron at a console.
He-Man looks across a control room at the bespectacled man and Captain Hydron at a console.
The bespectacled man rests his chin on one hand and speaks at a console.
Two mutants sit at stations in a purple cockpit with a cratered landscape beyond the window.
Slush Head and a mutant in a grey metal mask look ahead from the cockpit.
Slush Head and a mutant in a grey metal mask look ahead from the cockpit.
Slush Head grins with wide eyes inside his helmet.
Skeletor spreads his open hands in a purple chamber.
Skeletor spreads his open hands in a purple chamber.
A yellow finger presses a red button on a control panel.
A brown-haired man looks over his shoulder at a radar screen.
A white starship is hit by streaks of blue energy and flaming debris.
Slush Head and a grey-masked mutant shout in the cockpit.
Slush Head stares wide-eyed with his mouth open.
Skeletor, Slush Head and other mutants cheer with raised fists in the cockpit.
Skeletor, Slush Head and other mutants cheer with raised fists in the cockpit.
Slush Head gestures with a yellow arm beside the grey-masked mutant.
Slush Head sits in his clear helmet, seen from behind in a purple cockpit.
Slush Head grins beside Skeletor in the cockpit.
Staghorn scowls behind a glass panel in his blue hood.
Staghorn scowls behind a glass panel in his blue hood.
Slush Head looks worried at a console between a bearded man in blue and an orange-armored figure.
A tiny ship flies through a starfield seen through a curved window.
Gepple points with one hand and rests his chin on the other while speaking at a console.
Skeletor lounges in a purple cockpit while Slush Head stands beside an orange-armored mutant.
Seen from above, an orange-armored mutant crouches on the cockpit floor as two others lie sprawled nearby.
Skeletor gestures with open hands as he talks to Flogg in the cockpit.
Skeletor shouts at Flogg, who glowers back from his hood.
Skeletor points toward Flogg with his mouth open.
A white ship's purple canopy glows under a flat antenna dish with engines blazing.
Flipshot grins in his white winged helmet inside the cockpit.
Gepple in a white spacesuit rests a hand against his glasses in the cockpit.
A starship flies in formation with two smaller ships against the stars.
A small ship trailing blue light flies above a starship in space.
A ship streaks blue light above the dark surface of a moon.
He-Man stands beside a white ship where Gepple sits in his spacesuit.
Two missiles rest inside a rectangular opening cut into rock.
Flogg sits in orange armor while a tubed mutant stands in a doorway behind him.
Three small ships fly low over a cratered orange landscape.
Flipshot shouts from inside his white winged helmet.
A small ship trailing blue exhaust flies through space.
Two ships with pink exhaust trails fly above the edge of a dark moon.
A ship bursts into orange and white smoke against the stars.
A pilot in a blue visor helmet shouts from the cockpit.
He-Man stands in front of an armored man with an eye patch.
Gepple in a white spacesuit backs away from a rock formation with a green creature beside it.
A green lizard-like creature with red eyes lunges at an armored man.
A large armored lizard creature faces a man in gold and blue armor.
Dark green curved shapes fill the frame in shadow.
A large tan fold of hide with dark edges fills the frame.
He-Man and Gepple in his white spacesuit stand on rocky ground at night.
Gun barrels with orange tips stretch across the frame.
Flipshot looks ahead in his white winged helmet from the cockpit seat.
A blue and white ship crashes into the ground in a cloud of dust.
Two tiny figures stand on a rocky plain under a night sky.
Gepple in his white spacesuit stares with a startled face.
He-Man stands holding the sword low and looks to the side on a dark plain.
Gepple cowers inside a clear bubble while He-Man fires a blue beam in the distance.
A blurred armored man with an eye patch tumbles through brown dust.
He-Man grips the Power Sword face to face with a gold-armored mutant baring his teeth.
A grey armored guard in a white helmet crouches facing He-Man, seen from behind.
An armored man with an eye patch aims a red arm weapon beside a gold shape.
Flipshot crouches in his winged helmet beside Flogg and a green-vested mutant.
Skeletor grins with his mouth open in his grey helmet.
A dark rock cavern opens onto a pale floor with ships in the distance.
He-Man swings the Power Sword against a rock face as light flashes.
Smoke curls through a purple metal corridor as a sword glints at the right edge.
A grey-armored guard runs past tall columns while Gepple trails behind in his white spacesuit.
An armored man carries another figure through a doorway in a purple corridor.
Two helmeted guards aim guns at two captives sitting on the floor.
Two helmeted guards aim guns past a gold armored figure in the foreground.
Gepple and an armored man face a crackling blue flash in a dark hall.
Skeletor stands before Flogg and Flipshot in a dark hall.
He-Man looks to the side with one arm raised and a smile.
Skeletor grins at Flogg and Slush Head as Flogg holds a gun.
Skeletor and Flogg stand at a console while Flogg holds a gun.
Flogg glares at a console beside Skeletor's helmet.
Flipshot in his winged helmet stands beside He-Man in the dark hall.
A grey cloud rises against a cliff while He-Man and others watch.
Flipshot, He-Man and a gold armored figure with an elephant-like mask stand together.
He-Man stands beside a gold armored figure with an elephant-like face mask against a rock wall.
Flipshot sits with his eyes closed beside a red-haired man in a cockpit.

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