THE SORCERESS'S OTHER FORM
Zoar
When the Sorceress needs to leave Castle Grayskull unrecognized, she goes as a falcon, and in "Temple of the Sun" the disguise is what gets her caught.
Zoar is the falcon form the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull takes to travel beyond the castle's walls, carrying her messages without revealing who she is. She appears in 15 episodes of the Filmation and 2002 series, and when she communicates, it is in the Sorceress's own voice.
The record
The facts
THE SORCERESS'S OTHER FORM
A falcon who is never just a falcon
Zoar is not a separate creature kept at Castle Grayskull; in nearly every continuity, Zoar is the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull herself, transformed into a falcon to travel beyond the castle's walls without revealing who she really is, which is why this page calls the falcon "she." The show plays this two ways: sometimes Zoar is a visible, background presence, circling overhead or perched near a scene while the plot happens around her, and sometimes the disguise itself becomes the point, as in "Teela's Triumph," where Skeletor mistakes Zoar for an ordinary bird and fires a weapon meant to banish He-Man at her, not realizing he has just struck down the one person protecting Grayskull.
That double identity is also why the falcon has no dialogue of her own. Zoar never speaks as a bird; when she talks, it is in the Sorceress's own voice.
Zoar in flight, the Sorceress in her falcon form.
Clipped from our own copy of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Teela's Triumph (1984), 3:33 to 4:51, 1 minute 19 seconds. Nothing is added and nothing is sped up. Copyright Mattel.
HER BIGGEST EPISODE
The one story where the falcon is the one in trouble
"Temple of the Sun" is the exception to the background-presence pattern: Zoar herself is captured by Nepthu, a man who has gained mystical power in the ancient Temple of the Sun, and held as a trophy rather than a courier. She is no strategic target, only a messenger who flew over the wrong stretch of desert. He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Battle Cat ride out the moment the alarm reaches them, and the rescue plays out as the show's clearest statement yet of how seriously Eternia's heroes take a threat to the Sorceress, no matter how she's disguised.
A RECURRING PRESENCE
Mostly a sighting, occasionally the plot
The rest of her episodes mostly keep Zoar in the background: a signal that the Sorceress is near, a courier delivering an urgent summons to Castle Grayskull, a shape circling overhead while the real plot plays out below. "Diamond Ray of Disappearance," his first appearance, plays this for dramatic irony, Skeletor demonstrates a weapon on a nearby falcon without realizing who he's just struck. "The Search" and "The Secret of Grayskull" both use the falcon as the Sorceress's method of reaching someone directly, intercepting Prince Adam on a stranded Sky-Sled in one and meeting a frightened Orko at the gate in the other. Zoar carries on into the 2002 series with "The Power of Grayskull," and in "Beauty and the Beast" she is only a shape in flight near Castle Grayskull, never named in the story.
IN BRIEF
Zoar, episode by episode
"Diamond Ray of Disappearance"
Skeletor demonstrates the Diamond Ray on a nearby falcon to show his warriors what it does, not realizing the bird is Zoar.
"Temple of the Sun"
Captured by Nepthu as a trophy inside the Temple of the Sun; He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Battle Cat ride out once the alarm reaches them.
"Day of the Machines" has the Sorceress carry He-Man, shrunk, into the palace circuitry as Zoar
A different kind of appearance: the falcon form used as transport rather than disguise.
"Teela's Triumph" has the falcon mistaken for an ordinary bird and blasted into another dimension
Skeletor's new displacer weapon strands the Sorceress, disguised as Zoar, on a volcanic world, and Grayskull's guardian role falls to Teela for the first time.
"Beauty and the Beast"
Background shots of the falcon in flight near Castle Grayskull; the story never names her.
"The Power of Grayskull" brings Zoar into the 2002 series
The 2002 series counts as additional material outside the classic canon.
Questions
Zoar questions, answered
Who is Zoar?
The falcon form the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull takes to travel beyond the castle's walls, carrying her messages and warnings without revealing who she really is.
What is Zoar's biggest episode?
"Temple of the Sun," where the falcon is captured by Nepthu as a trophy and the episode becomes He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Battle Cat's rescue.
Does Zoar talk?
Not as a bird. When Zoar communicates, it is in the Sorceress's own voice.
When does Zoar first appear?
"Diamond Ray of Disappearance," where Skeletor demonstrates a weapon on a nearby falcon without realizing it is Zoar.
Is Zoar in the 200x series?
Yes, in "The Power of Grayskull" (2003).
Is there a Zoar figure to buy?
Not new. Mattel's standalone Zoar, the 1984 original, is long retired.
Compiled by the heman.org desk from the episodes Zoar appears in, including "Diamond Ray of Disappearance," "Temple of the Sun," "Battlecat," "Day of the Machines," "Teela's Triumph" and "The Power of Grayskull," their on-screen credits, and Mattel's vintage product listing.
Alongside
Characters in the same story
On Screen