- Moss Man
Infobox He-Man/She-Ra Character|Alliance=#87CEFA
Title=Moss Man
Name=Moss Man
Affiliation=He-Man
Heroic Warriors
Family=
Powers=Can control all plant matter
Weapons=
Actor=Moss Man is a
fictional character from the popularMasters of the Universe (MOTU) franchise.As his name indicates, he is a man made of
moss , whose power is tocamouflage into foliage and other green areas, as well as control all plant life. He lives in the Evergreen Forest in harmony among theanimal s and plants.The figure is essentially a green repaint of the
Beast Man action figure, covered with fuzzy "moss" with the fangs painted over and a pine scent added to the body. He has a mace that is a recast of a weapon from the originalCastle Grayskull .Character history
1980s
Moss Man was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1985. Given that the accompanying cartoon series was drawing to a close at the time his toy was released, his role in the cartoon is minimal and he appears in only two episodes: "Here, There,
Skeletor s Everywhere" and "The Ancient Mirror of Avathar". The former portrays him as aspy who can secretly observe danger by turning into a plant. The latter shows him using his abilities to rescue others by turning his arms intovine s, as well as communicating with plants. He also has acameo appearance in "", where he appears in the background atPrince Adam andPrincess Adora 's birthday party.2002 series
Moss Man features in the 2002 relaunch of Masters of the Universe as part of the cartoon series. He was not part of the new toy line, because it was cancelled before his figure could be released, although a limited edition figure was given away as a
Mattel exclusive.The cartoon series depicts him as one of the most powerful beings on
Eternia , possibly even more powerful thanHe-Man himself. He is introduced in the episode "Orko 's Garden", in which he is anurban legend ; an Eternian equivalent of theGreen Man . He seems to be a kind ofspirit whofarm ed and looked after the Eternianforestry and kept it in harmony. His rival in this episode isEvilseed , an evil counterpart who wants the plant world to overcome the human world. Moss Man's incredible powers help He-Man save the day, his power over all forms ofvegetation able to overcome just about any obstacle. In a subsequent episode, "The Last Stand", he uses his abilities to save all the Masters fromSkeletor 's strongest trap yet. Given that he is so powerful, his appearances are sparse; only coming to the Masters' aid in times of desperation. This is a considerable boost from the humble Heroic Warrior of the 1980s line.Trivia
Moss Man was originally conceived by Mattel in the 1980s as a
hero ic foe forStinkor , both of which had action figures which were scented. But since the latter never appeared in the original series, the two only come face-to-face in the mini-comic "The Stench of Evil ".The original Moss Man figure is a repaint of
Beast Man covered in green fur, with a brown version of the commonly-used mace mold. Likewise, the limited edition exclusive of the 2002 toy-line also uses Beast Man's mold, again covered in green fur. This version used a brown repaint ofMekaneck 's club. It was reported at the time of its release that there would be an all-new version of Moss Man (i.e. not a recycling of other figures molds) available as part of the regular toy-line, but the line was cancelled before this new version of Moss Man appeared.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.