NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Youngest Hero

The Youngest Hero title card
E09

Official Synopsis

Two Skeletors stand side by side on a grassy slope, one with pale eyes.

Flogg launches a surprise raid on the shield with small fighters, while Skeletor and Quakke plan their own attack. Caz, Drissi's little brother, is told he is not ready to join the Primus Space Force, and takes a ship out anyway. Skeletor and Quakke capture him, infect him with a virus and send him back as bait. Skeletor demands He-Man's sword in exchange for a cure and, at the oasis, takes it. Two Skeletors then stand on the meadow, the sword's power returns to He-Man, and he explains how he picked the real one: he squinted when the suns were in his eyes. Grot closes with a lesson about machines.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing lesson, spoken by Grot after Caz crashes a harvesting cart, is that you should never try to operate a machine unless you know exactly what you are doing, and should ask someone who knows how to use the machine before you go near it.

heman.org Episode Review

What does a boy who is tired of being treated like a kid actually want? Caz says he is tired of tending the animals and waiting around all day, that he wants to join the Primus Space Force and fight the mutants beside Hydron and Flipshot, and that he is ready, whatever they say; the story then hands him a chance, and it is a bad one.

The setup moves along briskly. Flogg opens with a raid on the shield by small fighters launched without the mothership, so that the guards will not expect them so soon, and Skeletor, seeing a distraction he can use to go one on one with He-Man, later tells Quakke that Flogg has left them both behind and proposes that they combine forces. His invention for it is a coating on his fighter that stays hidden until the right moment, when its light will blind the guards manning the holes, and Quakke's reaction, that King Quakke has a nice ring to it, is a small joke that fits his appetite for a crown.

When Flogg's attack is repelled, one ship makes it through a hole, and Caz, in a ship of his own, is shouting that Commander Caz rules the sky. In plain words, the story is about a boy who wants to be grown up and the villain who treats his wish as an opening, and the rest of the half hour answers one question: what does it take to be ready? Skeletor does not shoot the boy down. He calls the child a real opportunity, tells him he will be sent back to Primus like a gracious host, and the sickness is the perfect bait for He-Man, which is meaner and smarter than a chase.

The standout stretch is the worried one in the middle. Alcon and the others work on an illness none of them can identify, one colleague's idea for a new way to resuscitate the boy is dismissed as no time for a scatterbrained invention, and the scene draws its power from how ordinary it is: worried people and a boy who is not getting better, with no sword fight in sight. The vision phone call that follows has Skeletor enjoying the begging, as he says, before he names his price: the sword.

The ending at the oasis shows what the story does with the hero's wit. He-Man asks for the illness to be removed first, the sword's power returns, and afterwards someone asks how he knew which Skeletor was which. His reply that the real one squinted when the suns were in his eyes is a good, small piece of observation, and he turns it into advice for Caz: strength does not decide everything, knowledge can be as powerful as a sword, and being a good student will help when Caz is ready for the Space Force.

The weakness is Flogg. He starts the story with a confident raid, and then drops out of it, with only a passing guess that he has gone to Goron City for some rest, so his assault feels like a prologue. Skeletor and Quakke carry the plot from there, which leaves a loose end in the first half of a short story.

Verdict: a warm and well structured episode that gives Caz a real want and a real consequence, strong on character and lighter on spectacle than its space battle promises.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says this episode features the first proper space battle in the series.
  2. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, Caz is Drissi's little brother, works with her shepherding wildlife on Primus, and idolizes He-Man while hoping to become a Galactic Guardian, which is the hook of this episode.
  3. Behind the scenes: According to the He-Man wiki, the name Drissi began as a nickname that writer Jack Olesker used for one of his ex wives.
  4. Voice cast: Mark Hildreth voices Caz and Tracy Eisner voices Drissi, with Garry Chalk doubling He-Man, Alcon and Grot, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  5. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Vizar has a silent cameo here, and that his toy was brown skinned while the cartoon leaves his skin tone ambiguous.
  6. Behind the scenes: The closing moral has Grot telling viewers not to use any machine unless they know how it works after Caz crashes his harvesting cart, according to the He-Man wiki.
  7. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, Quakke often partnered with BH but sometimes worked alone beside Skeletor, as he does in this episode.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg

Episode screenshots

Skeletor stands with his staff before Flogg, Slush Head and a masked mutant in a purple ship.
Skeletor stands with his staff before Flogg, Slush Head and a masked mutant in a purple ship.
A masked mutant in green and a helmeted grey-faced mutant lean in close with a rifle between them.
A masked mutant in green and a helmeted grey-faced mutant lean in close with a rifle between them.
Skeletor laughs with a gloved hand raised, his eye sockets dark.
Skeletor laughs with a gloved hand raised, his eye sockets dark.
Skeletor laughs with his red eyes glowing and a hand held up.
Flogg stands with mutants in a dim ship hold while Skeletor waits at right.
Flogg stands with mutants in a dim ship hold while Skeletor waits at right.
Skeletor in armor holds his staff and gestures with a raised hand, red eyes aglow.
A pale blue sky with streaks of cloud fills the frame.
A pale blue sky with streaks of cloud fills the frame.
A blonde girl in pink sits among white horned sheep as a large green creature carries a basket.
A blonde girl in pink sits among white horned sheep as a large green creature carries a basket.
The blonde girl sits among sheep as the green creature stands at right.
The blonde girl sits among sheep as the green creature stands at right.
A boy in a yellow tunic leans on a tree and pets a lavender furred animal.
A boy in a yellow tunic leans on a tree and pets a lavender furred animal.
A boy in yellow lies in the grass with his hands behind his head, staring up.
A boy's bent leg and arm rest against a tree trunk in the grass.
A boy leans on a tree as the blonde girl and green creature stand nearby.
A big green creature in a brown hood smiles down toward the camera.
The big green creature and the blonde girl stand together as a white sheep nuzzles at left.
A blue control panel stands in a ship with a dark dripping lamp hanging above.
A red-haired man in a teal suit and green gloves smiles over his shoulder at a console.
The red-haired man in teal grips the shoulders of the boy in yellow, smiling.
The boy in a yellow tunic stands alone beside a white aircraft in a hangar.
A round dark ship opening glows with a white light at its center.
Skeletor swings his staff toward a glowing pink duplicate of himself in a purple hold.
Two faded images of Skeletor overlap in the purple hold.
Skeletor stands with his staff in the hold as a faint second figure vanishes beside him.
Skeletor laughs in profile beside a gold-hooded figure at the edge of the frame.
Skeletor grins with red eyes beside a red-faced mutant in a gold hood.
A red-faced mutant in a gold hood stares wide-eyed with Skeletor's arm beside him.
Skeletor with his staff and a red-faced mutant in gold armor stand beneath a ship's round doorway.
Skeletor gestures with one hand beside the gold-armored mutant in a ship's bay.
Two armored guards stand on either side of a grey fighter craft inside a ship.
Skeletor reaches out with a hand while the red-faced mutant in gold looks on.
Skeletor and the gold-hooded mutant face away from the camera, Skeletor's staff raised.
Thin clouds drift across a pale blue sky.
Flogg snarls with bared fangs in the red-armored pilot seat of his fighter.
Flogg snarls with bared fangs in the red-armored pilot seat of his fighter.
A white-and-purple fighter streaks over a blue planet's surface.
Flogg stares ahead sternly inside his grey helmet at the controls.
Mutant fighters race through space along bright streaks of white light.
A purple-and-gold mutant fighter blasts through the dark with a glowing exhaust.
He-Man looks ahead with a stern frown from the pilot seat.
He-Man looks ahead with a stern frown from the pilot seat.
Shards of blue-white light scatter in an explosion against black space.
He-Man grips the controls in a fighter cockpit with a stern profile.
He-Man grips the controls in a fighter cockpit with a stern profile.
A blue planet's cloudy edge curves across the frame.
A red-faced mutant in gold and Skeletor sit strapped into a cockpit as Skeletor laughs.
A pilot in a dark helmet with a raised visor looks forward as sunlight glares past.
A white-hot flash fills the frame with bright rays.
Three uniformed crew stand beside a white fighter in a large hangar.
The empty cockpit of a fighter shows a seat and a control column.
The boy in yellow grips the fighter controls, strapped into the seat and grimacing.
A white fighter jet banks through wispy clouds in a blue sky.
A dusty rocky desert stretches below a pale sky with a small ship near a crag.
Skeletor shouts with a hand thrown up, strapped into the cockpit seat.
The red-faced mutant in a gold hood stares wide-eyed with his mouth tense.
A red targeting screen with crosshairs shows a bright glowing point at its center.
The red-faced mutant in gold and Skeletor sit strapped in as Skeletor gestures with one hand.
Caz shields his eyes from a blinding glare inside the cockpit, strapped in his seat.
A grey fighter with twin cannons flies over clouds with a boy visible in its cockpit.
The red-faced mutant in a gold hood glances at Skeletor, who grins with a hand raised.
A white fighter streaks through puffy clouds with orange exhaust trails.
Skeletor and the gold-armored mutant stand side by side as Caz, a boy in yellow, faces them.
The gold-armored mutant folds his arms beside Skeletor, who grins behind him.
Skeletor and the gold mutant stand in the ship's bay facing Caz in yellow.
Caz sits at the right edge of the frame as Skeletor and the gold mutant talk beside him.
Skeletor laughs with a hand raised as Caz sits on the floor behind him.
Adam and the white-haired elder face a viewscreen showing Skeletor with his staff.
Adam and the white-haired elder face a viewscreen showing Skeletor with his staff.
Skeletor smiles smugly on a viewscreen, his hands clasped over his armor.
He-Man and three companions stand on a sunlit green meadow.
A small dark craft flies low over a green field under a blue sky.
A purple ship's ramp door stands closed with a skull staff silhouette on its surface.
The gold-armored mutant looks on uneasily as Caz leans toward a blonde woman in pink.
He-Man and a blonde woman face Skeletor and the gold-armored mutant on the meadow.
He-Man carries Caz in his arm beside the white-haired elder, his brow furrowed.
Caz lies on a bed in a ship with his eyes shut, looking ill.
A scientist in a tall red hat waves one hand as he talks.
The scientist in the tall red hat looks aside with a wide-eyed expression.
A blonde woman in pink watches over Caz, who lies in a medical bed.
A domed tower stands on a rocky plain under a starry night sky with crystals nearby.
He-Man and the white-haired elder stand apart in a pale hallway talking.
The white-haired elder holds his gnarled staff and looks aside with a tired face.
Skeletor spreads both hands on a viewscreen, his red eyes aglow.
Skeletor folds his arms and grins on a viewscreen.
A lone figure stands on a meadow near a tree where a group waits.
He-Man stands with hands on hips on a hill, seen from behind.
A purple ramp lowers from a white ship onto the grass.
Skeletor and the gold-armored mutant wait by a landed ship on the meadow.
Skeletor grins with eyes wide, leaning in close against the sky.
The gold-armored mutant stands beside Skeletor, who holds his staff and spreads a hand.
Sparkles shimmer over Caz as he lies on the grass while He-Man and others stand around him.
Caz sits up in the grass beside a blonde woman, the elder and a green creature.
Skeletor looks down at his open hand, grinning with red eyes.
A pale sky fills the frame with the tip of a sword at the lower right.
Skeletor stands on the meadow with his staff and one hand spread open.
Skeletor steps forward with his staff trailing behind him.
Skeletor clutches his armor as pink energy flares around his staff and helmet.
He-Man stands with clenched fists in a meadow, facing off to the side.
Skeletor stands with his staff beside a glowing pink double of himself.
Two overlapping images of He-Man tumble in a swirl of pink and white smoke.
A black staff pins a purple boulder among broken tan rocks.
The gold-armored mutant lunges with a bladed weapon beside a huge tan boulder.
Tan boulders tumble against a blue sky.
A huge boulder crashes down on the grass among scattered weapons.
A big green creature shoves the gold-armored mutant, who raises a sword on a hillside.
The big green creature walks away from a rock with a staff in hand, grinning.
A grey ruined craft lies on a wide dusty plain beneath a pale sky.
The big green creature and He-Man stand in a rocky cave mouth.
A blonde woman in a pink gown clasps her hands, smiling up.
He-Man smiles warmly at the camera with the Power Sword hilt over his shoulder.
He-Man rests a hand on Caz's shoulder beside the blonde woman and a lavender animal.
Pink crates on a harvest cart hold yellow pears as more pears fall from the tree above.
A pink harvesting cart with open crates rolls under a leafy tree.

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