The Search

Zodac visits the Sorceress at Grayskull and uses his thought projector to show her the impending danger that Eternia is about to face. Only one person may be able to prevent it: the one who wields the powers of He-Man.

Adam and Teela use Sky-Sleds to scout a ridge after receiving a report of rumbling in the hills. Orko and Cringer try to keep up with them without transportation. When a storm starts to break, Teela and Adam race each other to the ridge, but Adam's sled malfunctions and throws him off. The Sorceress appears to him in the form of Zoar and tells him he is needed at Grayskull. Adam is told to send the Sky-Sled back to the palace on auto pilot. Orko and Cringer catch up with Adam, who transforms himself into He-Man and Cringer into Battle Cat before leaving for Grayskull. Caught in the rain, Teela spots the Sky-Sled heading back to the palace and follows it, intend to give Adam a piece of her mind.

At Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress tells He-Man the history of the Starseed, which he believed to be only a myth. This all powerful piece of energy from the explosion that created the universe had always been hidden in a location known only to a few of the Cosmic Enforcers, but now Skeletor has learned where it is and is tunneling his way to the center of Eternia. With it, he could easily capture Grayskull, and the entire universe. The Sorceress warns He-Man that the Starseed will tempt him to do evil, and tells him to resist it's evil urges.

Skeletor is using a large Drilling Machine to create a tunnel down the center of Eternia and is accompanied by Beast Man and Mer-Man. Skeletor wants to drill faster, even though his henchmen warn him to move carefully. The instruments on his dashboard detect He-Man and Battle Cat following them, and Skeletor causes an explosion that blocks the tunnel between himself and He-Man with a pile of rubble. He-Man asks Orko if he can use his magic to clear the path, but Orko's powers are too weak. He-Man and Battle Cat have to clear the rubble manually. After creating a gap, He-Man stomps his foot and creates a tremor that clears their way.

They catch up with the Evil Warriors as Beast Man and Mer-Man attempt to move a large crystal out of the way of the Drilling Machine. Skeletor uses the Force Field Projector from his vehicle to trap Orko inside a bubble and forces He-Man to move the crystal as well as some rocks out of the drill's path. They arrive in a crystal cave guarded by Crystal Demons. The demons trap the drilling machine in a crystal, simultaniously freeing Orko from his force field bubble. Knowing they need Skeletor's Force Field Projector to defeat the demons, He-Man strikes a deal with Skeletor. He-Man makes the demons use their crystal rays against each other, and frees the Drilling Machine from it's crystal cage. Skeletor uses the Force Field Projector to capture the Demons, then goes back on his word and orders his warriors to attack He-Man.

Meanwhile, Orko has found the Starseed and looks for something in his hat to swap it with. He finds a ball and switches the two items. After Beast Man and Mer-Man are defeated by He-Man, Skeletor enters the chamber on foot and grabs what he things to be the Starseed. He orders it to encase He-Man in chains and send him away to the furthest planet of the coldest star in the universe. He-Man has joined Orko and is now holding the actual Starseed. It begins to corrupt He-Man and tempts him to rule the universe. Skeletor urges He-Man to become evil like him, but the Sorceress telepathically reminds He-Man to fight the evil powers. He-Man realizes that if he uses the Starseed against Skeletor, he would be no better than him. Skeletor flees, and He-Man and Orko take the Starseed back to Grayskull for safekeeping.

At Grayskull, Zodac takes possession of the Starseed and reveals that it was he who revealed it's location to Skeletor. It was a test of He-Man's virtue and He-Man has proven himself worthy to wield the powers of Grayskull. Zodac takes his leave. Adam, Cringer and Orko return to the Royal Palace and find themselves being scolded by Teela for leaving her in the rain.

**Zodac:** "There are times when everybody dreams of becoming very rich or powerful. But what they don't think about are the problems and responsibilites that go with it. In today's story, He-Man was tested, and he proved his worth when he was able to resist the temptation to use his great power for any selfish gain. He knew that it's just as important to know when not to use force as it is to know when to use it."

John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Beast Man

Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Cringer and Mer-Man

Linda Gary as Teela and the Sorceress

Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko and Zodac

"Grave danger faces all of us this day, a danger so enormous the mind can scarcely conceive of it. And it's origin is right here, in Eternia itself."

― Zodac

1. Behind the scenes: Elements from this story were adapted into a mini-comic titled The Secret Liquid of Life!, written by Michael Halperin and illustrated by Larry Houston, that came with several Masters of the Universe action figures. In the comic version, the Starseed is replaced by the Liquid of Life, and Skeletor's place is taken by a new villain called Geldor, who never appeared in the original toy line or the cartoon, but was finally made into an action figure by Mattel in 2013. Script was approved on April 5, 1983 and final script revision was finished on May 27, 1983. It is revealed that the planet Eternia is located at the center of the universe.
2. Continuity: The design for the Crystal Demons was reused from an episode of another Filmation series, Blackstar, titled City of the Ancient Ones. Skeletor's drilling machine is used again by him in The Games and also appears as the Roto-Rocket used by the Heroic Warriors in The Energy Beast and was used by Modulok in Happy Birthday Roboto. He-Man's double-fisted punch on the rock pile was previously seen in Teela's Quest. The animation of Orko clapping his hands (with his ears missing) which is seen twice in this story, was first used in the episode Daimar the Demon and will be seen again in Return of the Gryphon and The Shadow of Skeletor.
3. Animation errors and goofs: He-Man asks Battle Cat to jump on the Crystal Demon's shoulder. As he does so, the background of the cave remains the same while the foreground elements change. Orko's ears are missing when he claps his hands. This same sequence is used twice, first when He-Man uses his fists on the pile of rocks and again when He-Man decides against using the power of the Starseed.

A lore-focused script that hints at pre-MOTU Eternian history without ever fully spelling it out — exactly the kind of structural restraint the 2002 MYP series would later abandon in favor of explicit King Grayskull worldbuilding.

Catalogue source: heman.fandom.com (CC BY-SA 3.0).