The weirdest deep cut 'Masters of the Universe' characters

Released in MOTU’s third wave in 1984, at the franchise’s peak popularity, was Buzz-Off. A humanoid bee with a pun for a name, the introduction of Buzz-Off showed a shift from the “Dungeons & Dragons meets Star Wars” vibes of the first two waves into something sillier and even more kid-friendly. Leader of the Bee People of the Mystic Mountains, Buzz-Off was an aerial spy for He-Man. His people received a proper name in the 2002 reboot, and became the entrants. The in-universe explanation for his punny name is that his true name is just bee sounds. He’s technically “Tzzzzt zzz zzTTTzz.” Try filling that out on a form.

Stinkor

The main target audience for MOTU was always young boys, and there’s nothing young boys love more than gross stuff. This was especially true in the ‘80s, the era of Garbage Pail Kids and Madballs. To cash in on the “icky-chic,” Mattel introduced Stinkor in 1985’s Wave 4, an action figure that literally smelled bad. One of Skeletor’s minions, his odor repelled He-Man and friends. But it mostly just grossed out parents. A fun fact about the Stinkor figure, he was just a Mer-Man figure repainted black and white like a skunk. Also, his real name, Odiphus, is as much of a groaner as his nickname. The creators of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon decided not to utilize him, as they saw him as an extended fart joke. But that’s why we love him.

Snout Spout

Mattel introduced He-Man’s ally Snout Spout in MOTU Wave 5 in 1986. Easily one of the most bizarre designs in the toyline, Snout Spout was a mechanical elephant head on a ripped (and orange) human body. A cyborg elephant? Sure, why not? Since he sprayed water from his trunk, he was He-Man’s favorite firefighter. The action figure had a water-spraying feature, which kids loved. Because the character was introduced late in the MOTU line’s existence, after the 1983-1985 cartoon had ended, he appeared in the She-Ra cartoon instead. His first name was Hose Nose, because Filmation had not received the memo that Mattel had changed his name. Eventually, they changed his name to Snout Spout to match the toy.

Rio Blast

He-Man’s home planet of Eternia has many things that evoke Earth, and apparently, one of them is cowboy culture. This is best represented by Rio Blast, a spacefaring lawman who’s packing several big guns. So many some even come out of his knees. The figure arrived in MOTU Wave 5 in 1986. He never appeared on the classic Filmation cartoon, but several comics gave him the real name Riolus Blast, a name that would make Stan Lee proud. Rio Blast had a big, thick mustache, probably meant to evoke Chuck Norris, but which looked far more Village People. Especially as he’s also wearing a pair of chaps. We’re sure Rio Blast was someone’s gay awakening.

Sssqueeze

Most MOTU figures came with a standard body that they reused over and over. Every male figure (which was 99% of them) had the same bulked-up arms. All except for one — Sssqueeze of the Snake Men. The Snake Men were late-stage new MOTU villains, who never appeared in the classic cartoon. But the best of King Hiss’ minions was Sssqueeze, who had long, bendy arms that themselves were just snakes. And he could use them to grab people and squeeze them to death, hence the name. His arms didn’t retract though, so he was just a dude with a snake head and super-long arms that we guess he just dragged around behind him. He’s so ridiculous looking we can’t help but love the guy.

Blast Attak

This member of the Evil Warriors came in the final MOTU wave in 1987. Although he looks like an evil and menacing robot, his power is to explode. So what’s so weird about him? Who doesn’t love a good explosion? He doesn’t just explode in the regular sense, he splits himself down the middle, hurling his bifurcated body at his enemies. The figure had an action feature that allowed kids to split Blast Attak right down the middle. Mattel introduced him into the toyline long after the series ended producing new episodes. But he finally appeared on screen, however briefly, in Masters of the Universe: Revelation on Netflix. We’re glad this weird deep-cut character finally had his TV moment.

Will any of these deep-cut characters make it into the Masters of the Universe movie? While we know the main heroes and villains are the most iconic ones, who knows? We might see Snout Spout or Stinkor make a cameo. We know seeing these weird but fan-favorite characters would make a lot of classic fans very happy. We’ll have to wait and see when Masters of the Universe hits theaters on June 5.