DEMO-MAN - EVIL SPIRIT OF DESPONDOS

December 2011 saw the release of an eagerly anticipated Classics figure - Demo-Man. This character is the second figure to pay tribute to Mark Taylor's concept sketches (the first being Vikor). Vikor was the Classics character created from the He-Man drawing. Demo-Man is a character based on Taylor's Skeletor concept. While the name Demo-Man is rather clumsy, it actually fits in with the naming style of the original toys. It is a contraction of demon man and demo is pronounced as such.

Demo-Man may be one of the best figures in the line so far. The Four Horsemen have created a very good sculpt which makes use of every detail in Taylor's drawing. The skull in the helmet, as shown on the right, is one of those tiny details from the sketch which you might even miss at first glance. It is actually possible to put this head on a Classics body, but it isn't really for that, and looks odd without a lower jaw. Having the original ideas for both He-Man and Skeletor in the Classics line is a treat for fans and a respectful nod of appreciation to the earliest days of the Masters.

Demo-Man also came with an additional head that was not shown in the concept artwork. It is known as the minicomic Skeletor head. It is a tribute to the artwork of Alfredo Alcala, who provided the art for the first series of vintage minicomics. Some fans are referring to this head as the Alcala head for this reason. It looks pretty good on Demo-Man's body, but ideally you should have a spare Skeletor body for this one!

The inclusion of a Skeletor head reflects the Demo-Man Classics biography. The modern story attributes the creation of Skeletor to Hordak's blending of Keldor with the evil spirit of Demo-Man. The biography is as follows: Realizing his pupil Keldor had no intention of releasing him from Despondos, Hordak merged him with an extra-dimensional being called Demo-Man. While this saved Keldor's life, it also drove him temporarily insane and convinced him to open a portal to Despondos and lead what he thought were "his people" to Eternia. Hordak intended to use this ruse as a means to escape once the portal was opened, but the new merged being "Skeletor" was quickly defeated by Oo-larr, the jungle He-Man, and Hordak remained trapped. Soon after, with the help of Evil-Lyn, Skeletor gained control of the powerful spirit inside of him, increasing his abilities ten-fold. He was now the true Overlord of Evil and one of the most dangerous men on Eternia!

The first two images below are of Demo-Man. The third is Demo-Man with the minicomic Skeletor head. The fourth shows the Skeletor head on a Skeletor body. I have also included a copy of Mark Taylor's sketch and a Vaults Of Grayskull digital sketch of Demo-Man.