I hope this summary of He-Man will be helpful to any folcs not familiar with the 80's cartoon.
www.he-man.org is a great site for more in depth info.
The main character of the show is of course, He-Man aka Prince Adam of Eternia. Adam's father is King Randor (Who is a real jerk)and he is married to Queen Marlena who came to Eternia when her spaceship (she was an atronaut here on Earth) crashed there. Unfortunately, there never was an episode in which her family or past life was ever really discussed. In one really good episode called The Rainbow Warrior, I think 3 Earth Astronauts come to Eternia and are surprised to find her living there but there's no talk even then about her past. She came to the Planet after Randor was already King. I do not think he had been King for every long at that time.
His father King Miro was captured (years)? awhile at least before by some evil being and not saved until Adam became He-Man. I THINK Miro only appeared in two episodes so he never came to live at the Palace or anything like that. Odd huh?
As you may know, Adam has a twin sister Adora whom he discovered at age 19. She became She-Ra on her planet of Etheria. I do not plan on featuring her at all in ROTF.
Man at Arms or Duncan, is the head advisor, scientist, mentor and trusted friend to Adam, and adopted father to Teela, daughter of the Sorceress. I can't find a working link now but there used to be (I have it printed out) an incredible fan fic script by O. Sharp that provided a wonderful backstory to MOTU.
Along with Adam, who reminds me of Clark, (don't worry folcs, Clark wins) the Sorceress was my favorite MOTU character. She, however was not always the Sorceress. She (check out on he-man.org the episode guide to Origin of the Sorceress-it's one of the best). She was a warrior from some Eternian village when her home land was brutally attacked. She and others of the town had heard many rumors of Castle Greyskull and its supposed magical powers but until that time it had been unseen. Her name then was Teelana. One day, she manages to escape and meets an old wise man who gives her the key to find the Castle. She does and is invited inside by the current Sorceress named Kodak Ungor. (KU for short
KU is very receptive to the young woman and tells her she has been watching her for some time and is impressed by her kindness and loyalty to her people. KU offers Teelana "all the power she needs to help her people" but for a price. The price is that if the Castle accepts her, she (Teelana) will then take over as Sorceress. KU feels she is too old to continue. As you can guess, T is accepted and emerges in falcon form (Zoar the falcon) (Yes, my message board name) She can change into a more human/birdwoman form too. Anyway, as Sorceress she is immortal and I think like 99 percent invulnerable as long as she is IN the Castle or outside in falcon form. When away from Greyskull and especially in her "human form" she's still immortal but unless she carries with her some temporary crystal thingie, her powers are not as....well powerful.
I THINK soon after becoming Sorceress, and Teelana looked maybe 17 or 18 at the time. She falls in love with a warrior named Dannon and they have a child together..Teela. Sadly Dannon dies in battle when Teela is a tiny baby and because of her basically being tied to the Castle, the Sorceress feels that would be no life for her child and so makes the choice to give her to her good friend Duncan who at the time might have been mid 20's. The King and Queen were probably older but not by that much I don't think. Also until it is time for Teela to take over for her mother, only the King, Queen, Duncan, and later by accident Adam, learn that the Sorceress=her mother.
Meanwhile, Adam and Teela grew up together like siblings. Adora had been kidnapped as an infant by the Horde, watch Secret of the Sword, and where as Adam upon being called on to accept his destiny as He-Man at like 16, ended up changing his outward personality, Teela was always like Lois, very fiery, brash, at times rude, and extremely dedicated to being the greatest Captain of the Royal Guards ever. She trains other Guards and is also Adam's bodyguard.
Adam needs a secret identity, I'd gather for the same reason as Teela's mom is kept a secret. If Skeletor (main evil doer on Eternia) or any other evil thing found out, not only would Adam's life be more in jeopardy but the whole kingdom would be. Also, unlike Clark who IS superman...Adam only has He-Man's physical powers when he uses his magic sword to transform-so if the sword were somehow stolen or lost (though supposedly if anyone else touches it they get burnt or a shock) then no more He-Man. The other reason being that the more people who know, especially family, the easier it'd be for the secret to slip out. It's the "job" of the Sword to detract people from asking too many questions or associating Adam's disappearance with He-Man's appearance at least enough so they cannot put two and two together. Teela, thinks Adam is nothing more than a lazy coward and is unwilling or wanting to find out what happened to her once best friend. We (He-Man fans) are almost positive Marlena knows her son's secret but she never comes right out and says she does.
I hope the above helps and that you enjoy the story!
Mona
