Origins Snake Face, a gray Snake Man with a green crown of snakes and red eyes, gripping a coiled green snake staff with a green shield on his arm

THE SNAKE MAN WHO TURNS YOU TO STONE

Snake Face

Raise the lever on his back and snakes burst out of his face, shoulders and chest: Mattel's 1987-line Snake Man, sold as a stare that turns enemies to stone.

Snake Face is a Snake Man from Mattel's Masters of the Universe line, released at the end of 1986, whose lever pushes snakes out of his face and chest to turn enemies to stone.

See the figure, $26.99
Scroll
Late 1986
The vintage figure reaches stores
Wolfram
David Wolfram designed him
Lever
Pushes out the snakes
Origins
In stock at BigBadToyStore

The record

The facts

What he is
A warrior of King Hiss's Snake Men, whose snakes turn enemies to stone
Vintage figure
Mattel, sold with the 1987 assortment
Action feature
A lever on his back pushes snakes out of his face, shoulders and chest
In the box
Serpent Staff and Medusa Shield
Screen appearances
None in Filmation's series; the 2002 version has his own entry

THE VINTAGE FIGURE

A lever and a face full of snakes

Snake Face is a figure built around his action feature. He came out at the end of 1986, ahead of the rest of his Snake Men wave, as a gray, warty warrior in purple, black and green with snakes wrapped around his arms and a green spray across his head and arms that Battle Ram calls unusual for the line.[1] Raise the lever on his back and small snakes push out of his face, his shoulders and his chest, which is what the card promises: "Snakes strike out of face & body!"

The idea is older than the figure. An early concept had snakes popping out of the face and chest of a figure built from Skeletor's limbs, and it came back under the working name Medusa Man before David Wolfram designed the toy around the feature; his drawing is very close to the figure that shipped, colors aside. Mattel gave him King Hiss's staff and a green Medusa Shield, and Bruce Timm drew him for the front of the card while Errol McCarthy painted the battle on the back.[2][3]

[1] ^ Battle Ram puts the US release at around November 27, 1986. The figure belongs to the 1987 assortment and reached stores a little early.

[2] ^ Battle Ram identifies the early concept in the Power and Honor Foundation catalog, with snakes popping out of his face and chest and Skeletor's arms and legs reused; it suggests Alan Tyler drew it, from the style. The idea came back under the working name Medusa Man before David Wolfram designed the figure. His staff is King Hiss's, borrowed.

[3] ^ Battle Ram credits the character art on the card to Bruce Timm, on a tip from Jukka Issakainen, and the action scene and instructions to Errol McCarthy.

The vintage Snake Face sealed on his red card, a gray Snake Man with a green head and purple shorts
The vintage Snake Face on his card.

THE STORIES

King Hiss's right hand

The 1987 Style Guide made him old. In its account he is one of the Snake Men sealed beneath Snake Mountain long ago, called back by King Hiss, whose right-hand man he was in the days of Grayskull, and the stone his snakes leave behind can be undone only by He-Ro or by He-Man.[4]

The minicomic packed with him, Revenge of the Snake Men, has him and Sssqueeze kidnap Queen Marlena, and Energy Zoids turns his stare on Rotar. In Star Comics' eighth issue, he turns everyone in the city to stone while Hordak's new allies steal a weapon, and it falls to He-Man and Orko to put things back.[5] The British Masters of the Universe magazine used him in 1987 as well, and Earl Norem painted him for the American one.

Filmation never animated him. He arrived after He-Man and the Masters of the Universe had finished, and he is not in She-Ra: Princess of Power, the 1987 film, Masters of the Universe: Revelation or Revolution, the 2021 CG He-Man series, the 2018 She-Ra reboot or the 2026 film.

[4] ^ Mattel's 1987 Style Guide, quoted by Battle Ram, calls him an "Evil beast with a head full of shocking snakes" and gives his power as "When his snakes strike out, enemies are turned to stone." The same entry says only He-Ro and He-Man can undo the spell.

[5] ^ Revenge of the Snake Men was written by Phil White and drawn by Chris Carlson, per Battle Ram.

The 2002 Snake Face, green-skinned with snake-like ridges for hair and yellow eyes, in a black vest trimmed in purple
The 2002 series' Snake Face, "Rise of the Snake Men."

2002 AND AFTER

The stare on screen

What the 2002 series did with him is non-canon on this site. Mike Young Productions gave him his first screen appearance there, in a new design, freed with King Hiss's army in "Rise of the Snake Men" and voiced by Paul Dobson. That version has his own entry, and this one stays with the 1986 plastic.

The collector figures go back to the original. Masters of the Universe Classics made a seven-inch Snake Face for its 2012 subscription, and the Origins figure returns him to the vintage scale and colors with his snake staff, his shield and an alternate head in the box.

Painted art of Snake Face, a gray-skinned Snake Man with snakes bursting from his green face, holding a coiled snake staff and a yellow shield
The vintage cross-sell painting, snakes out and staff raised.
The vintage Snake Face sealed on his red Masters of the Universe card, with a green shield and staff beside him in the bubble
The vintage figure on his card.
Masters of the Universe Classics Snake Face in his window box with a Snake Men logo on the base
The Masters of the Universe Classics figure in its box, 2012.
Origins Snake Face crouched with a green snake staff across his body and a green shield behind it
The Origins figure with his snake staff and shield.

THE FIGURE TO OWN

Origins Snake Face

Origins is the closest thing to the vintage figure, and BigBadToyStore has it in stock.

Origins Snake Face

5.5"

$26.99
In stock at BigBadToyStore
  • Alternate head
  • Snake staff
  • Shield

Buy at BigBadToyStore, $26.99

Full details and photos

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

IN BRIEF

From Medusa Man to Origins

1986

The vintage figure

Snake Face reaches US stores at the end of the year, ahead of the rest of his 1987 assortment.

1987

The comics

Star Comics' eighth issue has him turn a whole city to stone.

2003

On screen at last

The 2002 series puts a Snake Face of its own in its second-season story Rise of the Snake Men.

2012

Masters of the Universe Classics

A seven-inch Snake Face in that year's subscription.

Today

Origins

The Origins Snake Face, in stock at BigBadToyStore.

Designer
David Wolfram
Per Battle Ram
Card art
Bruce Timm
Per Battle Ram
Action scene and instructions
Errol McCarthy
Pack-in minicomic
Phil White and Chris Carlson
Revenge of the Snake Men

Questions

Snake Face, answered

Who is Snake Face?

A warrior of King Hiss's Snake Men from Mattel's vintage line. His snakes turn enemies to stone.

When did the vintage Snake Face come out?

Battle Ram dates the US release to around November 27, 1986, a little ahead of the assortment he belongs to.

How does his action feature work?

Raise the lever on his back and snakes push out of his face, shoulders and chest.

Who designed Snake Face?

David Wolfram designed the figure. Bruce Timm drew the art on the front of the card.

What came with him?

A Serpent Staff, the same staff King Hiss carried, and a Medusa Shield.

Was Snake Face in the Filmation cartoon?

No. He came after Filmation's He-Man had finished. His first screen appearance is in the 2002 series.

Is the 2002 Snake Face the same character?

He takes the name and the stone-turning power, but the 2002 design is new. He has his own entry.

Which comics is he in?

The minicomics Revenge of the Snake Men and Energy Zoids, Star Comics' eighth issue, and the British and American Masters of the Universe magazines.

Can I buy a Snake Face figure now?

Yes. The Origins Snake Face is in stock at BigBadToyStore.

Buy the Origins Snake Face, $26.99 See the figure

King Hiss
Snake Men of Eternia
Snake Face (200x)
The Snake Men of King Hiss
Sssqueeze
Snake Men of Eternia

Compiled by the heman.org desk from Battle Ram's history of the vintage figure (Adam McCombs, October 6, 2019), the Grand Comics Database's index of Star Comics' Masters of the Universe, Mattel's product copy for the Origins figure and BigBadToyStore's current listings.

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Alongside

Characters in the same story

King Hiss King Hiss Snake Men of Eternia Snake Face (200x) Snake Face (200x) The Snake Men of King Hiss Sssqueeze Sssqueeze Snake Men of Eternia Rattlor Rattlor Snake Men of Eternia