THE ARMOR THAT KEEPS SCORE
Battle Armor Skeletor
The armored Skeletor that William George painted for Mattel's box art and posters, years before any cartoon animated the suit.
Battle Armor Skeletor is a 1984 Mattel variant of Skeletor whose chest drum turns to show battle damage. The 2002 series put him in a bone-armored suit in "Of Machines and Men" (2003).
The record
The facts
THE 1984 FIGURE
A chest that shows the hits
Battle Armor Skeletor came out with Battle Armor He-Man in 1984, the line's third year, and what sets him apart from the first Skeletor is the chest. Under the purple chest plate sits a spring-loaded drum, and a press on the figure turns it to the next bat crest in the cycle: clean, scratched, then badly scarred.[1]
The rest of him is the original Skeletor. The arms, legs, head and weapons all come from Mark Taylor's 1982 figure, so the new armored torso is the difference. The card front carries a burst explaining the feature where most figures had a tagline, and Errol McCarthy drew the fight scene and instructions on the back.[2]
Filmation never animated the armor, and the minicomics packed with the figures left it out as well, according to Battle Ram's history of the figure. He turned up in print instead, in the Golden Book The Magic Mirror and on the cover of Dangerous Games, and William George painted him for Mattel's box art and a 1984 poster.
[1] ^ Battle Ram's history of the figure dates the US release to around March 1984 and notes that it reuses the original Skeletor's arms, legs, head, crotch and weapons.
[2] ^ The patent for the turning-drum feature, filed December 29, 1983, credits Ronald H. MacBain and Tony Rhodes, according to Battle Ram. Martin Arriola also worked on the figure's design; Mark Taylor designed the original Skeletor.
THE 2002 SERIES
Of Machines and Men
The armor reached the screen nineteen years after the figure, in the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a series this encyclopedia files as an extra to the Filmation canon. Michael Halperin's "Of Machines and Men," first aired on November 29, 2003, knocks out every machine on Eternia at once; the cause is Sortech, an old scientist kept alive by an energy device called the Ergon, who sends He-Man a suit of battle armor and demands his help.[3]
Sortech summoned the most powerful beings on Eternia, and Skeletor answers the call with no intention of repairing anything. He arrives in a bone-armored suit of his own,[4] with a horned collar and clawed gauntlets, goes for the Ergon, and fights He-Man suit against suit through the wreckage of Sortech's cavern. He-Man ends it by switching both suits off, giving up the borrowed strength so Skeletor loses his too. Brian Dobson voices Skeletor throughout the series.
[3] ^ According to the He-Man wiki, the episode was written to promote Mattel's 2003 Battle Armor He-Man and Battle Armor Skeletor figures.
[4] ^ Skeletor also wears armor in "The Mystery of Anwat Gar" (2002), but that suit is the Legacy Armor from the island's stones, which the He-Man wiki ties to the Samurai Skeletor figure rather than to Battle Armor.
LATER FIGURES
The armor on later shelves
Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line brought him back in March 2011 as a seven-inch figure with removable armor and three different chest plates, one for each state of damage. The Fwoosh's review at the time also noted a purple repaint of He-Man's axe in the box.
The newest version comes from Mattel's line for the 2021 Netflix CG series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Action Figure Barbecue's 2022 review describes an eight-and-three-quarter-inch Skeletor with snap-on translucent green armor, a Havoc Staff and two claws, and a spring-loaded Power Attack joint in the torso where the 1984 figure had its drum. It is a different era's design from the vintage figure, and it is the Battle Armor Skeletor that is on shelves now.
On film, Frank Langella's Skeletor in 1987 and Jared Leto's in 2026 wear costumes of their own with no turning chest plate.
THE FIGURE TO OWN
The Battle Armor Skeletor on shelves now
No vintage-styled Battle Armor Skeletor is in stock at BigBadToyStore. The one that is comes from another era: the large scale figure from Mattel's line for the 2021 Netflix CG series, with translucent green armor, a Havoc Staff and claws.
Large Scale Battle Armor Skeletor
- Snap-on translucent green Battle Armor
- Havoc Staff
- 2 forearm claws
Buy at BigBadToyStore, $16.24 Paid link
Full details and photosPrices and stock read from BigBadToyStore on November 2, 2026. In collaboration with BigBadToyStore. #BBTSpartner
IN BRIEF
From the 1984 card to the CG series
The vintage figure
Mattel ships Battle Armor Skeletor alongside Battle Armor He-Man, both with a turning chest drum that shows battle damage.
Of Machines and Men
The 2002 series puts Skeletor in a suit of bone-armored battle armor against He-Man's own.
Masters of the Universe Classics
A Classics Battle Armor Skeletor arrives with removable armor and three chest plates for the damage states.
The 2021 CG series line
A large scale Battle Armor Skeletor with translucent green armor joins Mattel's line for the Netflix CG series.
Questions
Battle Armor Skeletor, answered
When did Battle Armor Skeletor come out?
In 1984, alongside Battle Armor He-Man. Battle Ram's history of the figure dates the US release to around March of that year.
How does the Battle Armor work?
A spring-loaded drum sits behind the chest plate. Pressing the figure turns it to the next of three bat crests, from undamaged to badly damaged.
Is Battle Armor Skeletor in the Filmation cartoon?
No. Filmation never animated Skeletor in the armor.
Which episode shows Skeletor in battle armor?
"Of Machines and Men" in the 2002 series, aired in November 2003, where he fights He-Man suit against suit for Sortech's Ergon.
Is the armor in "The Mystery of Anwat Gar" the same thing?
No. In that episode Skeletor wears the Legacy Armor from the island's stones, a different suit tied to the Samurai Skeletor figure.
Who voices Skeletor when he wears the battle armor?
Brian Dobson, Skeletor's voice throughout the 2002 series.
Who designed the vintage figure?
Martin Arriola worked on the figure's design, and the turning-drum feature was patented by Ronald H. MacBain and Tony Rhodes, according to Battle Ram. The original Skeletor underneath it is Mark Taylor's design.
Is there a Battle Armor Skeletor figure in stock?
The vintage and Classics figures are long retired. The one in stock now is the large scale figure from the 2021 CG series line, a different era's design with translucent green armor.
Buy the 2021 CG Series Large Scale Battle Armor Skeletor, $16.24 Paid link See the figure
Compiled by the heman.org desk from Battle Ram's history of the vintage figure (Adam McCombs, May 12, 2017), The Fwoosh's review of the Classics figure (March 2011), Action Figure Barbecue's review of the 2021 CG series figure (April 2022), Metacritic's cast lists for the 2002 series, the Of Machines and Men episode guide, the 2002 series episode "The Mystery of Anwat Gar," the film cast page and BigBadToyStore's current listing.
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