NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

You're in the Army Now

You're in the Army Now title card
E45

Official Synopsis

Adam stands with his wrists shackled as a young man in a yellow tunic gestures at him.

Adam stands before the Court of Judgment, accused of deserting his post when Mutants attacked the training camp on Titus, and of betraying Primus, because a Mutant vision phone was found in his rucksack. He cannot clear himself without revealing that he is He-Man, and he is sentenced to the Prison Moon. In his cell he tells Master Sebrian about the camp, the recruit Evan, and a hole in the shield. Adam slips away, helps drive off Skeletor as He-Man, and then confronts Evan as Adam, who has planted a bomb meant for the Titus Observatory. The charges are dropped, and a closing lesson is about saving energy.

Morals by closing lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

A character closes with energy-saving advice: whenever you leave a room, turn off the light; use natural light when you can, because it is free; and turn off any TV or stereo you are not using.

heman.org Episode Review

How do you prove your innocence when the only proof is a secret you cannot tell? "You're in the Army Now" hands Adam that problem at the outset, and the writers resist the easy solution, which would be for He-Man to turn up and explain. Adam stands before the Court of Judgment accused of fleeing in the face of the enemy during a Mutant attack on the training camp on Titus, and the prosecution adds a Mutant vision phone, tuned to an enemy frequency, found in his rucksack. Evan, who works at the Titus Observatory, speaks of a hole in the shield made by a solar storm, and the prosecutor says Evan told Adam of it hours before the Mutants arrived.

The courtroom scene is brisk, the judge calls the evidence overwhelming, and then the episode asks its hero to accept a sentence he does not deserve. Someone visits his cell and tells him to end the mockery of a trial by telling them he is He-Man; Adam answers that it would be too dangerous for everyone if Skeletor learned of his secret identity. The visitor concedes the point, asks what really happened, and the flashback begins. The sentence, per the He-Man wiki, is 18 Telks on the Prison Moon, and a sentence on the Prison Moon makes his silence feel costly.

Put in a plain sentence, the story is about winning as Adam, with nerve rather than strength. We see the camp, where the instructor says that two weeks of training will not make them Galactic Guardians but might teach them to survive a Mutant attack, where Adam admits he is not good with weapons, and where a lesson about knowing when an enemy is most vulnerable is delivered to a class that includes Evan. We see Evan introduce himself to Adam, which makes the later reveal sting: the recruit who turns out to be the villain is the one who befriended the hero, a decent piece of misdirection for a children's cartoon.

The climax belongs to Adam, and the cleverness is in the details. He does fight Skeletor as He-Man, but he works out that Skeletor's main attack must be aimed at the Titus Observatory, and the line that follows is this is a job for Adam. He finds Evan and claims Skeletor sent him to change the timer on the bomb; Evan, relieved, apologizes for making him look guilty. Then the red button comes up, Evan points out that there is no red button on the bomb, and the bluff is blown. What wins the scene is resolve: Evan says he does not want to be here when the bomb goes off, Adam says that if he will not tell, the two of them will go up together, and Evan blurts out that it is in the cabinet under the telescope and that the switch is on the side. Adam has already said that he does not like to fight but is willing to fight for Primus, and the scene proves him right.

The weakness is the shape: the trial, the cell, the flashback and two confrontations share one slot and leave the middle crowded, and Evan's nature gets a single exchange, in which someone says he is not a Priman but looks like one. How a Mutant passed through a training camp as a recruit is left to the viewer, and presumably the time did not allow for more.

Verdict: a well-constructed episode and a good fit for the middle of the run, with a hero who solves his own problem in the guise nobody expects. A line near the end observes that things are not always what they seem, which is as good a summary as any.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Adam faces 18 Telks on the Prison Moon unless he can unmask the real traitor, because he will not reveal his secret identity.
  2. Voice cast: Doug Parker voices both Adam of Grayskull and Meldoc, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  3. Voice cast: Ted Cole voices both Slush Head and Gleep, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  4. Voice cast: Mark Hildreth voices Caz in this episode, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  5. Voice cast: Don Brown voices Werban, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Continuity: The He-Man wiki lists Alcon as appearing in the moral only, in a non-speaking role.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Prince Adam
Good

Prince Adam

Episode screenshots

Slush Head aims a bazooka beside Flogg on a canyon rim.
Slush Head aims a bazooka beside Flogg on a canyon rim.
White crosshair lines cross a grey striped rock surface.
White crosshair lines cross a grey striped rock surface.
He-Man carries Flogg and Slush Head, one under each arm, through the air.
He-Man carries Flogg and Slush Head, one under each arm, through the air.
A mutant in red armor tumbles head over heels beside a canyon wall.
A mutant in red armor tumbles head over heels beside a canyon wall.
A man in a blue visor helmet raises one arm as trainees raise their hands behind him.
A man in a blue visor helmet raises one arm as trainees raise their hands behind him.
A man in a blue vest faces a purple-haired man in brown robes in a courtroom.
A man in a blue vest faces a purple-haired man in brown robes in a courtroom.
A man in a blue vest looks on as a purple-haired man in brown robes turns toward him.
The purple-haired man gestures toward three judges seated at a high bench.
The purple-haired man in brown robes speaks with one hand raised.
A dark-haired man in a black uniform answers the purple-haired man.
The purple-haired man looks aside and listens.
The purple-haired man raises a finger as he speaks.
Two judges sit behind the bench, a white-haired elder and a man in purple with a moustache.
A wide view of the courtroom shows a speaker before the bench and spectators in rows.
An elderly white-haired judge in a blue robe sits behind the bench.
A small blue robot with a camera-like head raises a hand-held pad.
Adam sits on a bench beside the small blue robot as an elderly man stands near.
Adam sits on a bench beside the small blue robot as an elderly man stands near.
Adam speaks with a smile, looking off to the side.
Adam stands among trainees in black uniforms with a figure in red at the right edge.
A line of trainees in green walks across a purple desert behind a man in red.
Skeletor and Flogg sit side by side inside a curved ship.
Skeletor and Flogg sit side by side inside a curved ship.
Skeletor grins widely with his teeth showing.
Skeletor grins widely with his teeth showing.
Skeletor raises a hand as Flogg crosses his arms inside the ship.
An instructor with a white face and a blue eye patch grips a machine beside Adam.
Adam wipes his brow with his forearm.
Trainees in black uniforms gather around a mounted gun on a tripod as one takes aim.
Ghosted trainees stand around a hexagon-tiled mat where a man kneels with a sword.
Two trainees lie on the mat while a man in brown armor kneels with a sword.
Adam stumbles forward over a dark-haired trainee on the tiled mat.
A brown-haired instructor glances aside as trainees in black follow behind him.
A trainee in black climbs over a blue wooden wall on an obstacle course.
Adam hauls himself up beside the water with a rope next to him.
Adam balances on a metal skiff and swings a pole amid flames.
A brown-haired man in a blue vest speaks outdoors with a canyon behind him.
A man in a blue vest steps behind a group of trainees in black uniforms.
A man in a blue visor helmet and backpack faces a red cliff beside a small machine.
A man in a white mask and a man in a visor helmet stand in a canyon.
A man in a blue visor helmet climbs over a rocky ridge as others crouch behind him.
A pink glow shines over a rocky canyon floor.
Adam gestures with an open hand beside a grey heap near a pink beam of light.
Adam raises a sword amid swirling blue rings of light.
A tiny blond figure climbs a steep brown cliff.
Adam looks ahead with a stern face.
Adam stands in a blue corridor looking forward.
A wide view shows Adam and the small blue robot standing before the judges' bench.
An elderly white-haired man in a blue robe talks with a bald man in red.
A big warship silhouette sits on a dark starlit shore.
Flogg, Slush Head and three other mutants stand on a rocky shore beside a large ship.
Flogg, Slush Head and three other mutants stand on a rocky shore beside a large ship.
Flogg and Skeletor face each other beside a dark rock wall.
A mutant in a silver helmet and orange face raises one hand.
Skeletor, Flogg and other mutants stand at left beside a huge skull and a dark figure.
Skeletor puts a hand on Flogg's shoulder.
A rocky night plain stretches toward a distant ship.
A figure in gold armor with white tusks watches a pink beam above a ridge.
A trainee in a blue visor helmet glides on white wings above a dark ridge.
Blue and pink energy beams fly across a night battlefield as fighters scatter.
Adam sits on a bench beside the small blue robot as red laser bars cover the doorway.
Adam turns his head with a tense look beside a blue wall.
Adam looks forward as pink beams cross his face.
Soldiers in green gear tumble through a cloud of white smoke.
A small saucer craft flies through a starfield.
A giant white skull with a tiny figure in its eye socket hangs under a dark disc.
Adam looks aside with a grim face as pink laser bars cross behind him.
Adam speaks with one hand raised beside pink laser bars.
Hands tinker with the casing of the small blue robot.
Adam raises an arm holding a small blue object and looks forward.
He-Man raises the Power Sword in front of a wall of flames.
He-Man raises the Power Sword in front of a wall of flames.
He-Man stands at the edge of a blue room, seen from the side.
The small blue robot sits in a dark cell as pink sparks cross its head.
A giant skull ship hovers in the night with a small figure in its eye socket.
A man in red and a visor helmet crawls across rocky ground through a pink beam.
A rocky moonlit landscape stretches under stars with the edge of the skull ship at right.
He-Man crouches with the Power Sword across his back and looks ahead.
Armed men in red, blue and tusked gold stand on a night field with weapons raised.
Skeletor stands on a dark hilltop holding his staff and gesturing.
He-Man looks aside with a tense expression.
A dark-haired man in black grips the shoulder of a man in blue and a visor helmet.
He-Man stands on a rocky slope with his sword lowered and looks aside.
Skeletor lunges forward with his staff on a blue rock slope.
He-Man and Skeletor clash across a night plain with sword and staff.
He-Man strains behind his sword blade pressed against grey armor.
He-Man swings his sword at Skeletor on a night plain.
He-Man stands with his back to the viewer holding the Power Sword low.
He-Man looks over his shoulder with a worried face.
He-Man stands with his back to the viewer overlooking a canyon where a small vehicle glows.
Evan crouches beside a blue machine panel with a watchful look.
Evan aims a small blaster from behind a blue machine.
Adam looks to the side and speaks inside a blue room.
Evan looks sideways with a sharp expression.
Adam speaks in the foreground as Evan stands behind him at right.
Adam leans against a tiled blue wall and looks sideways.
Adam stands with his fists clenched in a blue corridor.
Evan sits against a machine with his wrists tied and winces as a roped hand reaches in.
Boots stand inside a loop of blue rope on a tiled floor.
Adam grips a blue rope with both fists as he speaks.
Adam sits at the edge of the frame beside a dark blue machine panel.
Adam sits and looks forward in front of a dark panel.
Adam sits holding a small blue gadget.
A domed white building with columns stands under a swirling orange sky.
Several people gather at the far end of a blue corridor beside a gold door.
Three men stand behind a prisoner whose hands are tied.
A dark insect-like alien with antennae and yellow eyes sneers.
An elderly man with a staff smiles beside the purple-haired man and a man in red.
The purple-haired man smiles and pats Adam's shoulder as Adam looks at him.
Adam looks worried as men crowd around and one pats his shoulder.
The small blue robot looks up with a purple eye.
Blue wall panels with hanging chains fill the edge of a dark room.
Adam hugs a dark-haired boy in a yellow tunic.

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