Origins Night Stalker rearing on a display stand, a black and gold armored horse with a purple horned mask and a purple seat

STRIDOR'S DARK TWIN

Night Stalker

Skeletor's armored horse, a 1985 Mattel toy whose rider sits inside him and steers from a control panel.

Night Stalker is Skeletor's armored robot horse from Mattel's 1985 Masters of the Universe line, the evil counterpart of the heroic Stridor.

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1985
The vintage steed arrives
Knight Mare
His name before release
Jitsu
His rider in the gift set
Origins
In stock at BigBadToyStore

The record

The facts

What he is
An armored robot horse for Skeletor's side, the evil counterpart of Stridor
Vintage toy
Mattel, 1985
Moving parts
The tail, the rear gun and the two front guns
Box art
Believed to be William Garland; William George painted the gift set

THE 1985 TOY

A horse with a cockpit

Skeletor got his own armored horse in 1985, a year after He-Man's side had Stridor, and Mattel made him from the same molds: Night Stalker is Stridor recast in black and gold with purple trim. Nothing about him is organic: the rider sits down inside the body, legs out of sight, and steers from a control panel in place of reins.[1]

Very little on the toy moves. The legs are fixed, and the tail, the rear gun and the pair of guns at the front are the only parts that turn. He was sold on his own and in a gift set with Jitsu riding, the same pairing Mattel gave Stridor and Fisto. Battle Ram believes William Garland painted the box, and William George painted the gift set.

[1] ^ Battle Ram dates the US release to around June 14, 1985. Mattel's 1985 Spring Program booklet introduced him as Knight Mare. The US toy came without a head armor piece; releases in Brazil, Venezuela and France included a recolored version of Stridor's, and his stickers differ from Stridor's as well.

The vintage Night Stalker in its window box, a gold and black robot horse with a purple gun and seat
The vintage Night Stalker in his box, 1985.

THE STORIES

Knight Mare on paper

He was planned for Filmation's He-Man under the Knight Mare name, according to James Eatock's He-Man and She-Ra guide as Battle Ram reports it, but he never made it into an episode, and he never appeared in a minicomic either. Europe gave him more to do. He shows up in the British Masters of the Universe comic, in a couple of the German audio plays, which kept the Knight Mare name in places, and often in the German comics from Ehapa.

The one screen appearance attributed to him by fans came decades later, and in it he is wearing Stridor's colors.

Before the Sorceress stand a blond He-Man, a red tusked brute, a blue spiked warrior tied with rope and an armored orange and silver horse
The disguised party at Grayskull, "The Power of Grayskull."

REVELATION, 2021

The Power of Grayskull

Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Netflix's 2021 continuation of Filmation's story, sits on this encyclopedia's non-canon shelf, and it holds his only likely screen moment. Kevin Smith's "The Power of Grayskull," released July 23, 2021, opens at the gate of Castle Grayskull, where a He-Man who is not He-Man arrives with what looks like Clawful leading a roped Spikor, and an armored horse with Stridor's look.

It is a trick of Skeletor's Shaping Staff, and the Sorceress sees through it. "Poor Skeletor," she says. "Did you really think your latest ruse could fool the Sorceress of Grayskull?" Skeletor throws off his disguise, but the horse is still orange and silver when the scene moves on, and it is the He-Man wiki that identifies it as Night Stalker in disguise.[2]

[2] ^ The He-Man wiki's entry on the Revelation Shaping Staff says Skeletor used it to make Faker appear as He-Man, Evil-Lyn as Clawful, himself as Spikor and Night Stalker as Stridor. The episode never names the horse, and it is still in Stridor's colors when the others drop their disguises, so the identification rests on that reading.

LATER FIGURES

Gold, black and posable

Masters of the Universe Classics made him for its 2016 subscription, late enough in that line that Figure Fan Zero was surprised he was made at all; its legs turn at the top and bend at the knees and ankles, it has a neck of jointed plates and a ball-jointed tail, and wears a purple mask with a single horn.[3]

The Origins Night Stalker, first sold through Mattel Creations, is a horse seven and a half inches tall and eight long, built to carry one of the five-and-a-half-inch Origins figures in the seat. Mattel packs him with two helmets, two launchers, laser blast effects, bridle strings and a stand that holds him in a rearing pose. Funko put a vinyl Skeletor on his back for its Pop! Rides range.

[3] ^ Figure Fan Zero's review lists a subscriber price of $40 and $54 for everyone else on MattyCollector.

A blond warrior who looks like He-Man stands before the skull face of Castle Grayskull, an armored orange and silver horse beside him
The horse at the gate of Grayskull, still in Stridor's colors, "The Power of Grayskull."
Masters of the Universe Classics Night Stalker, a gold and black robot horse with a purple tail, guns and seat
The Masters of the Universe Classics figure, 2016.
Origins Night Stalker rearing on its stand above a purple rock base, purple mask and reins on its head
The Origins Night Stalker on its display stand.
Funko Pop! Rides vinyl Skeletor in a purple hood riding a gold and black Night Stalker
Funko's Pop! Rides Skeletor on Night Stalker.

THE FIGURE TO OWN

The Origins Night Stalker

Origins keeps the vintage look and adds the posing the vintage horse never had. BigBadToyStore has him in stock.

Origins Night Stalker

5.5" · Origins · 2024

$49.99
In stock at BigBadToyStore

Buy at BigBadToyStore, $49.99

Full details and photos

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

IN BRIEF

From Stridor's molds to Origins

1984

Stridor

The heroic armored horse that Night Stalker is cast from.

1985

The vintage steed

Night Stalker reaches US stores around June, alone or with Jitsu.

2016

Masters of the Universe Classics

A fully posable Night Stalker for subscribers, with a horned purple mask.

2021

Revelation

A horse in Stridor's colors at Grayskull's gate, which the He-Man wiki takes for Night Stalker in disguise.

Today

Origins

An Origins-scale Night Stalker, in stock at BigBadToyStore.

Box art (vintage, attributed)
William Garland
Per Battle Ram, who calls the attribution a belief
Gift set art with Jitsu
William George

Questions

Night Stalker, answered

What is Night Stalker?

Skeletor's armored robot horse, a Masters of the Universe toy from 1985.

When did the Night Stalker toy come out?

Battle Ram puts the US release at around June 14, 1985.

What comes with the Origins Night Stalker?

Two helmets, two launchers, laser blast effects, bridle strings and a display stand.

Why was he called Knight Mare?

Mattel's 1985 Spring Program booklet used that name, and some German audio plays kept it.

Who rides Night Stalker?

Jitsu, in the vintage gift set. Funko's Pop! Rides version puts Skeletor on his back.

Is Night Stalker in the Filmation cartoon?

No. He was planned for it as Knight Mare but never appeared.

Is Night Stalker in Revelation?

Probably, in disguise. The first episode has a horse that looks like Stridor in Skeletor's party, and the He-Man wiki identifies it as Night Stalker.

Is he in either He-Man movie?

No. He is not in the 1987 film, and the 2026 cast list does not include him.

Is a Night Stalker figure in stock?

Yes. BigBadToyStore has the Origins Night Stalker.

Buy the Origins Night Stalker, $49.99 See the figure

Compiled by the heman.org desk from Battle Ram's history of the vintage toy (Adam McCombs, September 12, 2016), Figure Fan Zero's review of the Classics figure (December 2016), the Revelation episode "The Power of Grayskull" and its English subtitles, the He-Man wiki's entry on the Revelation Shaping Staff, Mattel's and Funko's product copy and BigBadToyStore's current listings.

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