Hordak facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hordak
Masters of the Universe character
Hordak (left) with a Horde Trooper
First appearance	The Secret of the Sword (1985)
Created by	Mattel
Voiced by	George DiCenzo (1985) Colin Murdock (2002–2004) Keston John (2018–2020)
Information
Aliases	Hec-Tor Kur Lord Hordak Little Brother
Gender	Male
Family	Horde Prime (creator/brother)

Hordak is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe stories. He is a powerful villain who fights against both She-Ra and He-Man. Hordak was once a teacher to Skeletor, another famous villain, and helped make him evil. In the She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon, Hordak is the main bad guy and She-Ra's biggest enemy.

Hordak rules the planet Etheria with his army, the Horde Troopers. Most of his soldiers wear a red bat symbol on their chests. Many stories say that Skeletor once tricked Hordak and trapped him in another dimension. After this, Skeletor tried to take over the planet Eternia. But Hordak found a way to return, wanting to conquer Eternia for himself.

Hordak has a unique look. He has a white face, sharp red eyes, a flat nose, and red fangs. His ears are pointed, like a bat's. He wears a collar made of bones and black armor with the Horde bat symbol. He often looks like a bat-like creature, but in some versions, he looks more like a cyborg (part human, part machine). When he talks, he often snorts between his sentences. The person who created the toy line, Roger Sweet, said Hordak's face was based on an African witch doctor's mask.

Hordak in Cartoons and Toys

She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)

Hordak and his group, the Evil Horde, first appeared in the She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon. Hordak is the main villain in this show. He is a cruel ruler who enjoys seeing others suffer, even his own followers. He rules Etheria from his main base, the Fright Zone.

Hordak has a special power: he can change parts of his body into weapons. For example, his arm can become a cannon, a rocket, a tank, a saw, a drill, or a flamethrower. His powers seem to come from both magic and science. Horde Prime, who might be his brother, is the evil leader of the huge Horde Empire. Their home planet is called Horde World. The Horde uses many robots, tanks, and spaceships to conquer planets. Hordak also wants revenge on Skeletor, his old student, who betrayed him.

Masters of the Universe vs. The Snake Men (2002–2004)

In the 2002 cartoon series, Masters of the Universe vs. The Snake Men, Hordak is shown as a very old and powerful sorcerer. He was a warlord from ancient Eternia, long before He-Man's time. He fought against King Grayskull, who was the original ruler of Castle Grayskull.

Their fight ended when Hordak tried to pull Castle Grayskull into a dark dimension called Despondos. King Grayskull stopped the spell, but it still pulled Hordak and his army into that dimension. Even though Hordak was trapped, his spirit managed to hurt King Grayskull badly.

While in Despondos, Hordak saved Keldor (who would become Skeletor). Keldor had acid splashed on his face, and Hordak magically removed the damaged skin, changing him into a demonic, skeletal form. Hordak saved Keldor's life, making him promise to pay a price later. He then renamed Keldor as Skeletor. Hordak was much scarier to his followers than Skeletor was. He even destroyed one of his generals just for giving him advice he didn't like.

Later, Hordak tried to make Skeletor free him from Despondos. But Skeletor surprised everyone by destroying Hordak's temple, hoping to keep his old master trapped forever.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018–2020)

Hordak is the main villain for the first four seasons of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. In this version, Hordak is a flawed clone of Horde Prime. Horde Prime is a powerful being who makes many clones of himself to create a huge army. Hordak was once Horde Prime's best general, but his body started to fail. He was sent on a mission and fell through a portal, landing on Etheria.

On Etheria, Hordak created his own group of the Horde. He wanted to conquer Etheria to prove himself to Horde Prime. He also tried to build a portal to bring Horde Prime to Etheria.

In the first season, Hordak got annoyed with his second-in-command, Shadow Weaver. She was too focused on getting Adora back, which Hordak saw as a distraction. He then promoted Catra and later made her his new second-in-command.

In the next seasons, Hordak started to lose trust in Catra. He also became friends with an engineer princess named Entrapta. She helped him with his portal technology, and they became close. When the portal almost destroyed the planet, Catra tricked Hordak into thinking Entrapta had betrayed him. Catra then sent Entrapta away to hide her own actions. Even though the portal was destroyed, it sent a signal to Horde Prime, who found Hordak's location.

In the fourth season, Catra forced Hordak to speed up the conquest of Etheria. Hordak became more active in battles and won many victories. When he learned the truth about Entrapta, he attacked Catra, but she defeated him. Horde Prime's forces then arrived on Etheria, and Hordak was taken to his ship. Horde Prime was angry that Hordak had acted on his own. He erased Hordak's memories and sent him away to be "reconditioned."

In the final season, Hordak was part of Horde Prime's clone army. But his memories slowly came back, especially after finding a special crystal Entrapta had given him and meeting her again. In the end, Hordak turned against Horde Prime to protect Entrapta. Horde Prime then took over Hordak's body. But She-Ra stopped Horde Prime's plan to destroy the universe and erased his soul. This freed Hordak, and he happily reunited with Entrapta.

Hordak Toys

Hordak and his Evil Horde were added to Mattel's Masters of the Universe toy line in 1985. This was done to bring new villains for both He-Man and Skeletor to fight. Hordak was introduced in a mini-comic that came with his action figure. In the comic, he returns from being trapped to get revenge on Skeletor. He also tries to defeat He-Man and conquer Castle Grayskull. In the toy line, Hordak is shown as a sorcerer who now uses more science than magic.

A second toy version, Hurricane Hordak, was released in 1986. He had shiny gold armor and spinning weapons. A third toy, Buzz-Saw Hordak, came out in 1987. This toy is very rare and valuable for collectors today.

Hordak's Powers and Abilities

In the Filmation cartoon series, Hordak has many powers. Unlike Skeletor, who mostly uses magic, Hordak's powers seem to come from science. He can change himself in many ways. For example, he can turn his arm into an energy cannon or become a huge tank. He can even fly long distances by turning into a rocket. In one episode, he even turned his arm into a vacuum cleaner! These changes happen very quickly with a glow and sound, so they might be magical, even if they look mechanical.

In the mini-comics and Marvel Star comic books, Hordak uses more magic than science. He is shown as a powerful dark mage, possibly even stronger than Skeletor. However, in most stories, Skeletor eventually defeats or even kills Hordak. Skeletor beat Hordak many times in the Filmation cartoon. In the Masters of the Universe Classics stories, Skeletor actually kills Hordak.

Later Hordak action figures had new features. As Hurricane Hordak, he could create strong whirlwinds with spinning blades on his right hand. As Buzz-Saw Hordak, he could shoot a spinning saw blade from his chest. The mini-comics that came with these toys explained these powers as being magical, even though they looked like technology.

In the 2002 Mike Young Productions cartoon, Hordak appears in flashbacks. He is shown as a very powerful magic-user, much stronger than Skeletor. He doesn't seem to use technology, except for his Horde Troopers.

In the 2018 Netflix cartoon, Hordak is very smart and has a brilliant mind for technology. He wears special armor that helps him stay alive. This armor is later upgraded with ancient technology, giving him superhuman strength. In the fourth season, Hordak starts using a powerful energy cannon on his right arm, similar to the original series.

Hordak's Family: Horde Prime

Relationship with Horde Prime in Filmation

In the original Filmation cartoon series and comics based on it, Horde Prime is the only being with authority over Hordak. Horde Prime is the ruler of the huge Horde Empire, which spans the galaxy. He controls all of the Horde's groups. His home world is called Horde World, but we don't know much about his past. We usually only see a giant, skeletal robotic arm of Horde Prime, which suggests he is a cyborg. He travels the universe in his spaceship, the Velvet Glove, watching over the Horde's activities.

It has been thought that Horde Prime might be Hordak's brother in the original stories, but this was never fully confirmed. In one She-Ra episode, Horde Prime's son, Prince Zed, calls Hordak "uncle." This could mean Prime is Hordak's brother or brother-in-law. However, "uncle" can also be a friendly term. Some DVD extras for the She-Ra cartoon do say that Prime is Hordak's brother.

Horde Prime in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018–2020)

In the Netflix cartoon, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Hordak is one of many clones made by Horde Prime. Horde Prime created many copies of himself to build a huge army and conquer everything. Hordak was Horde Prime's best general until he was found to be "defective." Because of this, Horde Prime cast him out and sent him to die. But Hordak fell through a portal and ended up on the planet Etheria. Horde Prime often calls Hordak his "little brother," even though he treats Hordak badly and sees him as just a part of himself.

Masters of the Universe Classics

In 2008, Mattel launched a new toy line called Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC). These toys were sold online to collectors. The toys came with short stories that mixed parts from different versions of the Masters of the Universe stories.

Hordak's story in the MOTUC line says his birth name is Hec-Tor Kur. He was the second son of the Horde Empire. He came to Eternia while fighting He-Ro. Hec-Tor then took the name "Hordak" and built an army to fight the Snake Men for control of Eternia. Hordak's army defeated the Snake Men, but then King Grayskull defeated Hordak and sent him to the dimension of Despondos. The official toy description also calls Horde Prime Hordak's brother.

Images for kids

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  Hordak (left) with a Horde Trooper

See also

In Spanish: Hordak (Masters of the Universe) para niños