King Hiss

Latest revision as of 13:43, 29 October 2017

King Hiss is a powerful villain that features in the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon.

History

King Hiss.

King Hiss was the ancient ruler of the Snakemen of Eternia with a desire of controlling the entire world. However, his conquests were thwarted due to the machinations of King Grayskull who defended the people from King Hiss and his minions. At some point in this early period in Eternian history, King Hiss came into conflict with another great evil which was Hordak and his dark army that managed to defeat the Snakemen and their ruler. However, King Hiss was not vanquished and arose again to attempt to claim the planet. Two of his enemies were defeated in the last conflict namely Hordak and King Grayskull but new opponents came to challenge his right to claim the world. These would be the Elders of Castle Grayskull and the mystical warrior Zodak. Zodak's brother was sent as an emissary to King Hiss to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict but King Hiss desire for power meant that there would be no such option and he devoured Zelal right in front of Zodak's eyes. After numerous conflicts with the two, King Hiss unleashed the Snake god Serpos in order to rule the world but it to was defeated by the magic of the Elders who proceeded to defeat the Snakemen and seal them as well as their ruler within a timeless prison called the Void which was deep within the petrified remains of Serpos, later known as Snake Mountain.

There King Hiss would remain for centuries and have a short encounter with Zodak and Eternia's latest defender, He-Man when Kobra Khan attempted to free his master. This plot failed but allowed General Rattlor to escape where he plotted with Evil Lyn and Kobra Khan to free King Hiss. When Skeletor and his Evil Warriors were distracted fighting against the Masters of the Universe, King Hiss's minions opened the Void and freed him. Once out of the Void, King Hiss proclaimed that it was time to reclaim that which was his and took Snake Mountain where he challenged Skeletor and his forces stating that he was the true king of Eternia. After defeating them, Hiss attempted to devour Evil Lyn as a reward for her assistance but she offered the power of the Elders in exchange for her life. King Hiss spared her life for the time in exchange for her aid and assaulted Castle Grayskull where his Snakemen overran its defenders. Hiss himself entered the Castle's inner sanctum after breaching its magical barrier through the aid of Evil Lyn where he moved to gain the greatest power of all of time.

Once within, King Hiss encountered the Sorceress where he demanded that she kneel before her new master and tell him where the great power was located. She refused stating that the Elder's magic would never go into the hands of the Snakemen. Seeing her defiance, King Hiss attacked only to face strong resistance. Now knowing that he was facing a powerful opponent, King His stated that for her attack, her death would be a slow and painful one and the two engaged in a magical duel with Hiss becoming the victor stating that there was no doubt that between snake and bird that he would be victorious. Changing into his true form, he would poison her with his bites after which he entered the crystal caverns underneath the Castle. He was about to gain the great power when Zodak attacked. King Hiss easily defeated the great warrior and stated that even his weakling brother put up more of a fight which angered Zodak greatly to the point that he fought on with renewed vigor. He used the power of the Elders to aid him and he defeated King Hiss. Taking the fallen body, he would move to the top of the Castle and declare to the Snakemen army that their leader was defeated after which he threw it into the chasm around the Castle. The Snakemen plunged themselves into the darkness to follow their leader and it seemed that King Hiss was defeated.

However, King Hiss had managed to survive within the underground world of Eternia where he gathered his strength and attempted other avenues through which he could control Eternia.

Overview

Personality and Attributes

King Hiss appeared as a Human shaped snake skinned opponent with glowing red eyes with an armor that had snake decorations around it. He was equipped with a snake shaped staff with an orb at the top which served as a way of channeling his magical powers. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P1)

Power hungry and ruthless, the cartoon also shows him gleefully eating people alive for pleasure. According to Kobra Khan, King Hiss was described as being as generous to his friends as he is ruthless to his enemies. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P1) In battle, he was known to show no mercy against his enemies as seen in the fight against the Sorceress when she defied him; he told the guardian of Castle Grayskull that for her attack, her death would be "slow and painful". He later fulfilled his promise by subjecting the Sorceress to the agonizing affects of his poisonous venom. When fighting and almost defeating Zodac, he taunted his foe by telling him that his "weakling brother" had put up more of a fight. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2) Whilst this was the case, he was known to show a certain level of respect towards worthy enemies as he was shown to had somewhat admired the courage of King Grayskull. However, similar to how he taunted Zodac, Hiss was known to had said that he "knew King Grayskull" and "fought King Grayskull" and that He-Man was no King Grayskull. This indicating that he felt that He-Man was a pale comparison to his ancient foe. After his initial defeat by Zodak, he claimed that the mighty Zodak had failed to defeat him and asked He-Man what chance did he have in accomplishing such a feat. (Episode: Second Skin) Whilst confident against these foes, the one enemy that King Hiss showed genuine fear in confronting was Hordak. This went as far as risking his plans, ambitions and life in preventing Hordak's return as he described this act as being vital to his operations on Eternia.

Hiss was known for a single ambition which was the complete conquest of Eternia similar to his counterparts Skeletor and Hordak. His ultimate ambition was acquiring enough power to become the undisputed master of the planet. When he learnt of the power of the Elders following his release, his prime goal was claiming that great power in order to gain enough might to rule till the end of time. Thus, he felt that he was the ruler of Eternia to the point that he commanded his enemies to bow before their new master. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2) This was seen upon his release when he demanded from Skeletor to "bow before your King". In addition, he claimed ownership of many things such as his throne at Snake Mountain which he believed had been usurped by Skeletor. During this confrontation, he even stated that he was the true ruler of Eternia which highlighted his belief that he was the master of the world. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2)

Unlike Skeletor, who regularly abuses and humiliates his minions, King Hiss respects his warriors, giving sincere praise and rewards as appropriate. In return, the Snake Men are fiercely loyal to him, ignoring any personal ambitions they might have in order to serve their leader out of fanatic devotion, to the level of being self-sacrificing minions willing to die for him. This was first seen when his entire army and followers jumped into the Abyss after he was defeated by Zodak and thrown off Castle Grayskull (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2) Another noted time was when Kobra Khan jumped in front of King Hiss in order to intercept a shot from Roboto. (Episode: Second Skin)

Much of King Hiss's plans seemed to be cold and calculating approaches with the aim of bringing about the re-emergence of some great power that had been available to him in the past. This differs from Skeletor's machinations which appeared more random and chaotic in formation without much forethought. King Hiss seems to put a lot of time and thought into his plans before he puts them into action; making sure he has had every weak link tied and has handled all details, no matter how small. This is made clear in "Second Skin" when he utilizes the tablet of the "Serpent's Ring", making sure he knows exactly how to use it and the vastness of its power.

In addition, he sees his Snake Men as a master race, and all other people as food or, at best, slaves. Even non-Snake Men who assist his cause are not above his wrath. This was seen when he decided to "honor" Evil-Lyn by devouring her alive which was considered by his subjects to be the highest reward to one of his non-Snakemen servants. This was despite the fact that she was responsible for releasing him from the Void. He was only stopped when Evil-Lyn offered Hiss the power of the Elders located at Castle Grayskull though this proved to be a short reprieve as he said that he would spare her only for the moment. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2)

Powers and Abilities

According to the Sorceress, King Hiss possessed a magic that was an ancient as that of the Council of Elders with her own power might not being enough to stop him. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2) This was in fact true as the leader of the Snake Men predated the creation of the Council of Elders as he used to challenge King Grayskull in ancient times. (Episode: The Power of Grayskull) Furthermore, similar to many villains on Eternia, he believed that the acquisition of the power of the Elders would further augment his magic to the point that he could rule till the end of time. (Episode: The Rise of the Snakemen, P2)

Notes

• Season Two Slithers to a Successful if Premature Ending

Appearances

• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:

External Link

• Comicvine Entry

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