Castle Grayskull
| Castle Grayskull | |
|---|---|
| Masters of the Universe location | |
| Created by | Mattel |
| Type | Castle |
| Notable locations | Throne Room Travel Corridor Chamber Elevator Jawbridge Crystal Chamber Dungeon Monitor Room Armory |
| Notable characters |
He-Man King Grayskull Sorceress of Castle Grayskull |
Castle Grayskull is a fortress located on the fictional planet Eternia. It forms a central location in the Masters of the Universe toy/comic/animation universe, and also appears in the 1987 live action adaptation.
In the storyline of the franchise, it is the target of numerous attacks by Skeletor, Hordak and the Snake Men, all of whom believe that the secrets inside will allow them to conquer Eternia and become the titular Masters of the Universe.
Castle Grayskull was conceived as the central location for the battle between the forces of good and evil. The original playset was released in 1982, and all other depictions of the castle originate from it. It is a large hollow green castle, consisting of two halves connected by a hinge. The toy is designed to open for play, and close for storage. A carrying handle is molded into the top of the castle. A large skull decorates the front, with a hinged "Jawbridge" allowing access to the interior, through the "mouth" opening. The interior has a throne room, elevator, and a trap door. Multiple accessories are also included - a ladder, removable flag pole, turret cannon, weapons rack with 9 weapons, and a "battle trainer" device,
The original concept art and prototype show a large swamp surrounding the castle, which was going to be printed on a playmat that would be positioned beneath the playset. This moat playmat was not included with the finished toy, in order to keep costs down.
The origin of Castle Grayskull was related in the read-along book "Castle Grayskull" as once being the beautiful "Hall of Wisdom," the "center of Eternian culture and a storehouse of all knowledge of the universe." The Hall was the meeting place of the Council of Elders. One day, the elders saw a vision of a beautiful woman dressed in snake armor (note that this description matches early versions of Teela AND the Sorceress, see for example, making an intended identity with the Sorceress very possible) who warned of future danger and also the coming of He-Man. The elders concentrated all of their power into a magical orb. The elders then magically transformed the Hall of Wisdom into Castle Grayskull in order to frighten away intruders and protect the orb. This was to have all taken place several centuries before the coming of He-Man. The Castle was then largely forgotten until Man-At-Arms eventually led Prince Adam to Castle Grayskull, where Prince Adam became He-Man using the Sword of Power.
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Wikipedia