- by Owen Morton
Today we're going to focus on one of, as above advertised, the unsung heroes of Eternia. I mean, forget He-Man. He may have got a show about him saving the planet hundreds of times, but that's only because he had wily TV executives working for him. He-Man was nothing, compared to many of the other Heroic Warriors. I draw your attention to … Moss-Man!
At first glance, Moss-Man may be a strange choice for selection as one of Eternia's greatest warriors for the forces of good. I don't remember him ever appearing on the show, but that is undoubtedly because He-Man knew better than to allow the much more impressive hero Moss-Man appear and upstage him. But Moss-Man truly was an incredible figure, who did more to repel Skeletor's repeated attempts to invade Eternia.
Just think about it: all we ever saw on the show were Skeletor's more farcical plans. I mean, did Skeletor really think that by stealing all the books on Eternia, he would bring the planet to its knees (as he attempted in 'The Great Books Mystery')? Or that the same effect would be achieved by making massive rock monsters appear (as he did in virtually every single episode)? No, what we saw on the show were Skeletor's plans which he came up with to waste his time, and make He-Man think that he was really good. Skeletor could have decimated He-Man in an instant if he'd chosen to, but he just decided He-Man wasn't worth his time.
Moss-Man, on the other hand, was another matter.
If it hadn't been for Moss-Man, Eternia would have been under Skeletor's domination from Day 1. Moss-Man masqueraded as one of the Heroic Warriors under He-Man's command, but as it turned out to all of us who have been careful enough to research (i.e. make up) Eternia's history, Moss-Man was in fact the one who foiled each of every one of Skeletor's cleverer schemes. I quote from a leading history book:
In 1349, Skeletor led all of his Evil Warriors against the might of Castle Grayskull. Instead of trying to blast his way in using some new invention, as he so often did, he decided to comply with the rules. The jawbridge asked him a riddle, and he got it right. Then he and his minions were able to enter the Castle.
The secrets of Grayskull stood open to Skeletor. Eternia had never faced a more serious threat. The Sorceress was powerless to stand against the Evil Warriors, and He-Man was nowhere to be seen. But fortunately, Moss-Man appeared in the nick of time, and used his special ability to distract the Evil Warriors while he knocked hell out of them.
It couldn't say it plainer than that, really, could it? Doubtless many of you are wondering precisely what Moss-Man's special ability was. Well, it was something which provided him with an indisputable advantage. In fact, with this special ability, he could do almost anything. Yes, Moss-Man's special ability was … to be able to camouflage with bits of moss.
No wonder Skeletor feared him so. Without this deadly ability, Moss-Man would have been just an ordinary Heroic Warrior, perhaps less. He wouldn't have been called Moss-Man; his name would have been simply Man. But by being able to disguise himself as a bit of moss, he gained the advantage over virtually everybody on the planet, and perhaps even in the universe. I mean, if you were suddenly attacked by what appeared to be a bit of moss, you'd be extremely confused, wouldn't you? Probably too confused to fight back. And that's how Moss-Man gained the victory, each and every time. You would think that Skeletor would learn that he was being attacked by Moss-Man, not a bit of moss, but he evidently didn't.
And, to be honest, I think that's about all I have to say about Moss-Man. Other than that whoever came up with the idea for him was completely round the twist.