SKELETOR'S HE-MAN

Faker

Skeletor made him to pass for He-Man in bad light, and in 1983 he fooled the Sorceress of Grayskull long enough to get her outside.

Faker is Skeletor's copy of He-Man. Mattel's 1983 figure is He-Man in blue with orange armor; in Filmation's "The Shaping Staff" he is He-Man with glowing eyes, voiced by John Erwin.

See the figure, $19.99 The episode: The Shaping Staff

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1983

The vintage figure arrives

John Erwin

Voices him and He-Man

The Shaping Staff

His Filmation episode

Origins

In stock at BigBadToyStore

The record

The facts

What he is

A copy of He-Man made to fight for Skeletor

Vintage figure

Mattel, 1983

Filmation episode

"The Shaping Staff," written by Paul Dini, September 29, 1983

Voice

John Erwin

Comics

The minicomic The Search for Keldor and Star Comics' seventh issue

THE 1983 FIGURE

He-Man in the wrong colors

Faker is the He-Man that Skeletor built. Mattel's figure, in stores by the spring of 1983, is the He-Man toy recast in blue with red hair, wearing Skeletor's armor and carrying Skeletor's sword, both in orange, with a sticker of exposed circuitry on his chest. The card calls him the "Evil robot of Skeletor," and the series bible had already said the same thing in other words: he looks just like He-Man and was built by Skeletor's evil science.^[1]

Battle Ram points out that blue and orange are complementary colors, which is why he stands out so sharply next to He-Man on a shelf, even though the body underneath is the same.

[1] ^ Battle Ram (Adam McCombs, September 22, 2015) puts the US release in the spring of 1983, around April 17. The prototype had red eyes and orange hair; the production figure has black eyes. The 1982 series bible, written by Michael Halperin, describes him as looking "exactly like He Man, but he's an android created by Skeletor's evil science."

The vintage Faker sealed on his red card, a blue-skinned He-Man in orange armor — The vintage Faker on his card, 1983.

THE SIGNATURE EPISODE

The Shaping Staff

Filmation used him once. In Paul Dini's "The Shaping Staff," first shown on September 29, 1983, Evil-Lyn has already turned He-Man into a golden statue and Teela into a frog, and Skeletor wants the Sorceress out of Castle Grayskull, where her magic is strongest. "I will make another He-Man," he says, "an evil one called Faker," and a glowing figure forms out of thin air beneath the castle.^[2]

The cartoon dropped the toy's colors. Filmation's Faker is He-Man in every line of the drawing except his eyes, which glow a blank white, and Skeletor's instructions are built around that: "In this dim light, she'll think you're He-Man." Faker calls up to the Sorceress, explains that his voice sounds strange because Skeletor ambushed him, and draws her outside, where Evil-Lyn turns her into a tree. John Erwin, who voiced He-Man, voices the copy too.^[3]

When the real He-Man breaks free, the episode stages the fight it has been promising. Faker taunts him, "You forget, He-Man. I have your power too," and the two trade blows at the edge of a gorge until He-Man, hanging from the ledge, grabs his double's leg: "In this case, a leg will do just fine." Faker goes down into the bottomless gorge. Skeletor swears to restore Evil-Lyn and Faker and come back for revenge, and Filmation never brought Faker back.

[2] ^ On the Blu-ray, Faker is made at about 15:05 and goes over the edge at about 18:30.

[3] ^ Battle Ram describes the screen Faker as "just He-Man with glowing eyes." The cast list for the episode credits John Erwin as He-Man, Prince Adam, Beast Man and Faker.

Faker stands at full height outside Castle Grayskull, identical to He-Man except for his glowing white eyes — Faker, just made, at the foot of Castle Grayskull, "The Shaping Staff."

Skeletor and Faker, seen from behind, walk through a stone arch toward Castle Grayskull — Skeletor leads Faker to the castle, "The Shaping Staff."

Close view of Faker beside a tree, his eyes glowing white, Skeletor's purple hood at the edge of the frame — Faker waits for his cue, "The Shaping Staff."

Skeletor grins in the foreground while Faker stands behind him with glowing eyes — Skeletor and Faker wait for He-Man, "The Shaping Staff."

He-Man and Faker, two identical blond warriors, grapple on a stone path — He-Man and Faker grapple, "The Shaping Staff."

Faker, eyes glowing, lunges at He-Man and the two lock hands on a cracked path — Faker charges He-Man, "The Shaping Staff."

He-Man, hanging from a ledge, grabs Faker's red boot by the ankle — "A leg will do just fine": He-Man grabs Faker's boot, "The Shaping Staff."

Faker sits sprawled on the rocky ground below a dead tree, eyes still glowing — Faker knocked down by the gorge, "The Shaping Staff."

Faker, blue-skinned, holds blue chains in a skull-lined hall while a gold-braceleted fist fills the foreground — Faker holding the chains, "The Power of Grayskull" (2021).

Evil-Lyn stands with her staff beside Faker in a dim hall — Evil-Lyn and Faker, disguises dropped, "The Power of Grayskull" (2021).

Faker lunges forward with a clenched fist and red eyes — Faker in the fight for Grayskull, "The Power of Grayskull" (2021).

The vintage Faker sealed on his card, a blue-skinned He-Man with orange armor — The vintage figure on his card, "Evil robot of Skeletor."

Masters of the Universe Classics Faker on his card, blue skin and orange armor — The Masters of the Universe Classics figure on his card.

Super7's Faker with orange armor and sword, laid out beside spare heads, an axe, a shield and extra swords — Super7's Faker with his spare heads and weapons, 2017.

Origins Cartoon Collection Faker, a tan-skinned He-Man double with a sword on his back, flexing one arm — The Origins Cartoon Collection Faker, in his Filmation colors.

Faker on the job he was made for, standing in for He-Man.

Skeletor waits outside Castle Grayskull under a stormy sky, Faker, his glowing-eyed copy of He-Man, appears, and inside the Sorceress sits at her stone table.

Clipped from our own copy of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Shaping Staff (1983), 14:57 to 15:49, 52 seconds. Nothing is added and nothing is sped up. Copyright Mattel.

Voice, Filmation

John Erwin

Cast list, "The Shaping Staff"

Writer, "The Shaping Staff"

Paul Dini

1982 bible description

Michael Halperin

Per Battle Ram

Cardback art, 1983

Errol McCarthy

Per Battle Ram

Writer, "The Power of Grayskull" (Revelation)

Kevin Smith

THE CARDS AND COMICS

Two makers

The comics kept him on Skeletor's side. In the minicomic The Search for Keldor King Randor kills him with a spear, according to Battle Ram, and in Star Comics' seventh issue, "Long Live the King," dated May 1987, he is back with Scare Glow among the old friends Skeletor brings to his attack on Eternia.

Masters of the Universe Classics gave him a different past. Its card says Man-At-Arms built him to cover for He-Man whenever Prince Adam was needed, then left him in the royal junkyard after his first mission, where the evil warrior Tri-Klops salvaged him.^[4] The Classics version answers the oldest problem in the premise, how He-Man and Adam are never seen together, with a machine on the hero's side, and it leaves the 1983 card and the cartoon saying the opposite. Mattel has never chosen between them, and both stand as official.

[4] ^ Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics card, as quoted by the French retailer Lulu Berlu: "Originally built by Man-At-Arms to cover for He-Man when Prince Adam is needed," and "abandoned after his first mission in the royal junk yard and salvaged by the evil warrior Tri-Klops."

Faker grips his forearm, his blue face scarred and his harness torn — Faker unmasked, "The Power of Grayskull" (2021).

REVELATION, 2021

The Power of Grayskull

Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which this encyclopedia files with the non-canon later series, opens with the Shaping Staff trick played a second time. In Kevin Smith's "The Power of Grayskull," released July 23, 2021, a He-Man arrives at the gate of Grayskull with his friends, and once he is inside, Skeletor drops the act: "This isn't the real He-Man. He's more of a Faker!"

Under the disguise is the blue figure from the toy, scarred, his harness torn, standing beside Evil-Lyn, and he goes on fighting for Skeletor in the battle for the castle without a line of dialogue.^[5] He is absent from the Mike Young Productions series, Revolution and the Dolph Lundgren film, and from the cast named so far for the 2026 film.

[5] ^ Revelation's subtitles give him no lines, and TVmaze's cast list for the series names no actor for him.

LATER FIGURES

Blue or tan

Collector lines have had to pick which Faker to make. Masters of the Universe Classics and Super7 made the blue robot, and Masterverse made the scarred Faker of Revelation. Origins has made both: the vintage blue figure, and a Cartoon Collection Faker in He-Man's tan with the sword on his back, which is the version Filmation put on screen.

THE FIGURE TO OWN

Origins Cartoon Collection Faker

The Cartoon Collection Faker is the screen version from "The Shaping Staff," and BigBadToyStore has it in stock.

Origins Cartoon Collection Faker

$19.99

In stock at BigBadToyStore

Faker figure
Alternate head
Sword
Mini comic

Buy at BigBadToyStore, $19.99 Paid link

Full details and photos

Prices and stock read from BigBadToyStore on November 2, 2026. In collaboration with BigBadToyStore. #BBTSpartner

IN BRIEF

From the bible to Revelation

1983

The vintage figure

He-Man recast in blue with Skeletor's orange armor and sword, in stores by spring.

1983

The Shaping Staff

Skeletor makes him at Castle Grayskull, September 29.

1987

Long Live the King

Star Comics brings him back among the old friends Skeletor gathers for an attack on Eternia.

2021

The Power of Grayskull

Revelation's premiere brings him back for Skeletor.

Today

Origins Cartoon Collection

The Filmation-colored Faker, in stock at BigBadToyStore.

Questions

Faker, answered

Who is Faker?

Skeletor's copy of He-Man, made to fight for evil and to fool He-Man's friends.

Who created Faker?

The 1983 card, the series bible and Filmation all say Skeletor. The Masters of the Universe Classics card says Man-At-Arms built him as a stand-in for He-Man and Tri-Klops salvaged him. Mattel has never withdrawn either version.

Why is the toy blue when the cartoon Faker isn't?

The figure is the He-Man toy recast in blue with orange armor and a circuitry sticker on the chest, and the card calls him the evil robot of Skeletor. Filmation drew him as He-Man's twin so he could fool the Sorceress.

Which Filmation episode is Faker in?

Only "The Shaping Staff," written by Paul Dini and first shown on September 29, 1983.

Who voices Faker?

John Erwin, who also voiced He-Man and Beast Man, per the episode's cast list.

What happens to him in The Shaping Staff?

He lures the Sorceress out of Grayskull, fights He-Man at the edge of a gorge and falls in. Skeletor promises to restore him, and the series never does.

Is Faker in Revelation?

Yes. In "The Power of Grayskull" Skeletor disguises him as He-Man, and he fights for Skeletor once the disguise drops. He has no lines.

Is Faker a robot?

The cards and the bible call him a robot or android. The cartoon only shows Skeletor making him by magic and never says what he is.

Can I buy a Faker figure now?

Yes. The Origins Cartoon Collection Faker, in his Filmation colors, is in stock at BigBadToyStore.

Buy the Origins Cartoon Collection Faker, $19.99 Paid link See the figure

Compiled by the heman.org desk from the Filmation episode "The Shaping Staff" and its English subtitles, the Revelation episode "The Power of Grayskull" and its subtitles, Battle Ram's history of the vintage figure (Adam McCombs, September 22, 2015), Lulu Berlu's listing of the Classics figure, the Grand Comics Database's index of Star Comics' Masters of the Universe, TVmaze's Revelation cast list and BigBadToyStore's current listings.

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Alongside

Characters in the same story

Skeletor Evil Warriors

He-Man Heroic Warriors

Evil-Lyn Evil Warriors

Tri-Klops Evil Warriors

On Screen

Episodes to watch

Filmation September 29, 1983 The Shaping Staff Revelation S01E01 The Power of Grayskull