Hordak is a villainous character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is the ruthless leader of the Evil Horde, an interstellar empire driven to conquer all worlds. Though he has been an enemy of He-Man, Hordak is best known as the arch-enemy of He-Man's twin sister She-Ra.
Overview[]
Hordak is a vile and ruthless creature, seeing everything before him as something to be dominated. He rules the Horde with an iron fist, commanding a group of evil warriors and legions of soldiers in his quest to conquer the universe. In most depictions of the character, Hordak was once the mentor of Skeletor, teaching the would-be Lord of Destruction in the ways of magic and science. Skeletor would ultimately betray Hordak and banish him from Eternia by casting him into another dimension, leaving Skeletor free to conquer the planet himself.
In the majority of his appearances, Hordak relies more on technology than magic and has even been shown as a cyborg. Other times, he has relied on both science and sorcery.
Notable Incarnations[]
Masters of the Universe minicomics[]
In his original incarnation, Hordak was once a dark sorcerer and warlord who threatened Eternia before the rise of He-Man. However, he was betrayed by his student Skeletor and banished to the dark dimension of Despondos.
Many years later, Hordak would use a combination of both magic and science to escape from his prison and return to Eternia, scheming to take revenge on Skeletor as well as destroy He-Man and his fellow heroes.
She-Ra: Princess of Power[]
Hordak served as the main antagonist of the 1985 Filmation series She-Ra: Princess of Power. Commanding a Horde army from the Fright Zone, he had occupied much of the planet Etheria. However, his total conquest of the planet was always thwarted by the Great Rebellion, led by none other than his former Force Captain Adora, who wielded the Sword of Protection to transform into the mighty She-Ra.
Ironically, Hordak himself is responsible, in part, for creating his greatest enemy. When Princess Adora and Prince Adam were infants, the Horde attacked the Royal Palace of Eternos and Hordak kidnapped Adora, taking her back to Etheria. Raising her in the Fright Zone, Hordak trained Adora to be his most lethal and loyal enforcer. Years later, however, He-Man would come to Etheria, bringing the Sword of Protection with him which had been entrusted to him by the Sorceress. When he encountered Adora, the sword reacted to her presence. Through the gemstone in the sword, the Sorceress revealed that He-Man and Adora were twin siblings and that Adora had been stolen from her family by Hordak. After taking the sword and transforming into She-Ra for the first time, Adora vowed to help the Rebellion free Etheria from the Horde's tyranny.
This incarnation of Hordak favoured technology over magic, even demonstrating the ability to transform his body - either partially or entirely - into various machines. He was not above using magic, however, as he employed mystics such as Shadow Weaver into the Horde. While he commanded the Horde force on Etheria, Hordak was not the Evil Horde's absolute ruler; that position fell to the enigmatic and sinister Horde Prime, who was supposedly Hordak's brother.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Mike Young Productions)[]
In the 2002 animated series, Hordak appeared in Season 2 as a threat to Eternia in the distant past. He was responsible for splitting Eternia into its Light and Dark Hemispheres and had once commanded the Evil Horde as they sought to conquer Eternia, only to be thwarted by King Grayskull, the original wielder of the Sword of Power. Hordak and his sorcerers had attempted to cast Castle Grayskull into the dark realm of Despondos, but the spell failed when King Grayskull intervened and Hordak and his army were banished instead.
Though trapped in Despondos, Hordak was able to reach out across time and space, contacting others and manipulating them into doing his bidding. This was how he contacted the Gar alchemist Keldor, who would try to conquer Eternia himself only to be thwarted by King Randor. After Keldor had his face splashed by acid, he contacted Hordak and begged him to save his life. Hordak agreed on the promise that Keldor would pay a price later on, magically stripping the damaged flesh from Keldor's head, reducing it to a bare skull floating above his shoulders, thus creating the Overlord of Evil: Skeletor.
Hordak was intended to be the main antagonist of the third season, but the series was cancelled after Season 2.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power[]
See Hordak (SPoP).
Powers and Abilities[]
- Dark Magic - In his original incarnation, Hordak was a powerful mage who wielded greater mastery over the arcane than Skeletor. His magical feats have included scrying, astral projection, energy projection, teleportation, weather manipulation and mind control.
- Science - In most incarnations, Hordak has relied more on technology than magic. He has shown to be capable of designing and building various weapons and devices.
- Shapeshifting - Whether via magical or scientific means, Hordak has been known to alter his shape at will. In She-Ra: Princess of Power, he could turn his whole body, or parts of it, into different weapons and machines. He has frequently been shown morphing his arm into an energy cannon, or transforming into machines such as a rocket and a tank.
External Links[]
- Hordak in the Villains wiki.