Orko
Encyclopedia
Orko is a fictional character
from the Masters of the Universe
franchise. He was not part of the original toy collection on which the show is based but, when he was created by the show's writers as comic relief
, a toy figure of him was then manufactured. Orko appears in the 1980s Filmation
series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
and in the 2002 remake of the series
. The character was named Gorpo in the early original series drafts, and that name was still used in the Brazilian Portuguese
dub of the original series, but he was renamed Orko for animation purposes; Filmation artists often flipped the character cel
s, a technique that works best when the characters are symmetrical in design, and putting a "G" on Orko's shirt would have complicated the process because the letter G is not a symmetrical shape.
. Trollans wear red robes, red hats, and hide their faces beneath hats and behind scarves. In Trollan society, showing your face to each other is considered an intimate act, similar to humans sharing a kiss. There is a production drawing of Orko without his hat, in which he looks like a little blue elf, but it was never used in the series. Orko does reveal his face in the episode "Dawn of Dragoon", but his back is turned and his face is not visible, though his shadow indicates he is bald. Trollans appear to be blue-skinned humanoid
s with pointy ears. However, their feet remain hidden under their robes. Trollans have natural magic
al abilities, including levitation, which they use exclusively instead of walking. In one episode, Orko temporarily loses the power of levitation, and can be seen crawling around on his knees. Still, some Trollans have greater magical power than others; Orko's uncle, for example, is a famous magician. Orko is one of three people that know He-man
's true identity.
Orko has always had trouble with his magical powers. A recurring joke in the series is that almost every time he tries to use magic, it backfires in some amusing way. The reason for this is not clear; in one episode, it is suggested that Trolla operates with natural laws that are the opposite of Eternia's, and that in Trolla, Orko was a good magician. However, in later episodes this is contradicted, and Orko is shown to be equally incompetent even on Trolla. Another episode indicates that Orko possessed a magical pendant that allowed him to use magic correctly, but that he later lost it. The amulet later turned up stuck on the back of a dinosaur resurrected by Skeletor. When Orko got back the amulet to erase the happening events, it goes back on the dinosaur before it all happens.
In addition to his magic spells, Orko also stores a plethora of items, some useful, some not-so-useful, inside his hat. The sheer number of things he stores inside the hat is impossibly great, suggesting that the hat itself is a bag of holding
under some kind of magic spell.
Orko came to Eternia
when a "cosmic storm" accidentally transported him there. He appeared in the Tar Swamps, where he found a young Prince Adam and his pet, Cringer, at the time a tiger cub, and saved them both from dying in the tar. However, he lost his pendant in the process after colliding with a tree.
Stuck on Eternia, Orko was made Royal Buffoon by the King of Eternia
in gratitude for having saved his son. Orko became one of Adam's closest friends; in fact, Orko knows that Adam is secretly He-Man
, although it is never revealed how he found out. However, Orko frequently annoys Man-At-Arms
, due to his magic constantly backfiring or Orko coming into his lab unexpected and uninvited and messing with his equipment, which gets on Man-At-Arm's nerves rather than amusing him as it does others. Orko has proven to be a good friend and a valuable ally, despite his unpredictable powers and the fact he is more than a little clueless. Sometimes Orko wonders how useful he is to He-Man, but despite his apparent cowardliness, he never fails to help those in need. Also, throughout the series, Adam/ He-Man is constantly in Orko's debt for saving his life when he was a child. On two occasions, He-Man has helped Orko regain his magical powers.
Orko returns to Trolla, with the help of others, on a number of occasions. The first time, he helps He-Man save the life of several Trollans captured by a humanoid dragon
called The Dragoon, and begins a romance with a Trollan girl named Dree Elle. However, he decides that his place is now on Eternia, and so he returns there. However, he still occasionally visits his friends and relatives on Trolla.
In the 2002 series, Orko is more or less the same, but it is revealed that he and Cringer followed Prince Adam to Castle Grayskull
and watched him transform into He-Man for the first time. Orko then follows He-Man and the new Battle Cat
into battle and almost reveals He-Man's identity to Teela
and the other Masters, despite having been warned by both The Sorceress
and He-Man not to. Fortunately, Man-At-Arms, who recognizes He-Man as the alter ego of Adam, quickly steps in and stops him, informing Teela and the other Masters that the new hero is He-Man and that the Sorceress had told him of He-Man's coming beforehand. In this series Orko was a very powerful wizard but when he came to Eternia and saved Prince Adam, he lost his wand, which was needed to control his magic. A flashback episode, "The Power of Grayskull", which reveals the history of Adam's ancestor King Grayskull, going on a quest for power to defend Eternia, and Grayskull encountered an Oracle who looked and sounded much like Orko, suggesting that other Trollans might have found their way to Eternia.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe is a media franchise created by Mattel....
franchise. He was not part of the original toy collection on which the show is based but, when he was created by the show's writers as comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
, a toy figure of him was then manufactured. Orko appears in the 1980s Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
and in the 2002 remake of the series
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series. Developed for television by Michael Halperin, who created the original series, it was animated by Mike Young Productions...
. The character was named Gorpo in the early original series drafts, and that name was still used in the Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
dub of the original series, but he was renamed Orko for animation purposes; Filmation artists often flipped the character cel
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
s, a technique that works best when the characters are symmetrical in design, and putting a "G" on Orko's shirt would have complicated the process because the letter G is not a symmetrical shape.
Character information
Orko is a "Trollan", a race of beings from Trolla, a world in another dimensionDimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
. Trollans wear red robes, red hats, and hide their faces beneath hats and behind scarves. In Trollan society, showing your face to each other is considered an intimate act, similar to humans sharing a kiss. There is a production drawing of Orko without his hat, in which he looks like a little blue elf, but it was never used in the series. Orko does reveal his face in the episode "Dawn of Dragoon", but his back is turned and his face is not visible, though his shadow indicates he is bald. Trollans appear to be blue-skinned humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
s with pointy ears. However, their feet remain hidden under their robes. Trollans have natural magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
al abilities, including levitation, which they use exclusively instead of walking. In one episode, Orko temporarily loses the power of levitation, and can be seen crawling around on his knees. Still, some Trollans have greater magical power than others; Orko's uncle, for example, is a famous magician. Orko is one of three people that know He-man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
's true identity.
Orko has always had trouble with his magical powers. A recurring joke in the series is that almost every time he tries to use magic, it backfires in some amusing way. The reason for this is not clear; in one episode, it is suggested that Trolla operates with natural laws that are the opposite of Eternia's, and that in Trolla, Orko was a good magician. However, in later episodes this is contradicted, and Orko is shown to be equally incompetent even on Trolla. Another episode indicates that Orko possessed a magical pendant that allowed him to use magic correctly, but that he later lost it. The amulet later turned up stuck on the back of a dinosaur resurrected by Skeletor. When Orko got back the amulet to erase the happening events, it goes back on the dinosaur before it all happens.
In addition to his magic spells, Orko also stores a plethora of items, some useful, some not-so-useful, inside his hat. The sheer number of things he stores inside the hat is impossibly great, suggesting that the hat itself is a bag of holding
Bag of holding
A bag of holding is a fictional magical item in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, capable of containing objects larger than its own size. Since its introduction, it has appeared in other roleplaying games and media.-Description:...
under some kind of magic spell.
Orko came to Eternia
Eternia
Eternia is the name of the fictional planet that serves as a setting for the Masters of the Universe toy collection and animated series.-Origins:...
when a "cosmic storm" accidentally transported him there. He appeared in the Tar Swamps, where he found a young Prince Adam and his pet, Cringer, at the time a tiger cub, and saved them both from dying in the tar. However, he lost his pendant in the process after colliding with a tree.
Stuck on Eternia, Orko was made Royal Buffoon by the King of Eternia
King Randor
King Randor is a fictional character who appears in the popular 1980s Masters of the Universe franchise. In early material, the character is called King Miro, this was later given in the Filmation cartoon series as King Randor's long-lost father's name....
in gratitude for having saved his son. Orko became one of Adam's closest friends; in fact, Orko knows that Adam is secretly He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
, although it is never revealed how he found out. However, Orko frequently annoys Man-At-Arms
Man-At-Arms
Man-At-Arms is the primary title of Duncan, a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. The figure's tag-line is "Heroic Master of Weapons".-He-Man and the Masters of the Universe :...
, due to his magic constantly backfiring or Orko coming into his lab unexpected and uninvited and messing with his equipment, which gets on Man-At-Arm's nerves rather than amusing him as it does others. Orko has proven to be a good friend and a valuable ally, despite his unpredictable powers and the fact he is more than a little clueless. Sometimes Orko wonders how useful he is to He-Man, but despite his apparent cowardliness, he never fails to help those in need. Also, throughout the series, Adam/ He-Man is constantly in Orko's debt for saving his life when he was a child. On two occasions, He-Man has helped Orko regain his magical powers.
Orko returns to Trolla, with the help of others, on a number of occasions. The first time, he helps He-Man save the life of several Trollans captured by a humanoid dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
called The Dragoon, and begins a romance with a Trollan girl named Dree Elle. However, he decides that his place is now on Eternia, and so he returns there. However, he still occasionally visits his friends and relatives on Trolla.
In the 2002 series, Orko is more or less the same, but it is revealed that he and Cringer followed Prince Adam to Castle Grayskull
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....
and watched him transform into He-Man for the first time. Orko then follows He-Man and the new Battle Cat
Battle Cat
Battle-Cat is a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is a large green tiger, with yellow stripes who serves as He-Man's fighting mount.-Battle Cat :...
into battle and almost reveals He-Man's identity to Teela
Teela
Teela "Warrior Goddess!" is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. She is the Captain of the Royal Guard at the palace of Eternos and thus responsible for training and protecting Prince Adam of Eternia. While Adam is He-Man, Teela often assists him in his battles, but...
and the other Masters, despite having been warned by both The Sorceress
Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, also known as The Goddess and Teela Na, is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise.-Original MOTU mini-comics:...
and He-Man not to. Fortunately, Man-At-Arms, who recognizes He-Man as the alter ego of Adam, quickly steps in and stops him, informing Teela and the other Masters that the new hero is He-Man and that the Sorceress had told him of He-Man's coming beforehand. In this series Orko was a very powerful wizard but when he came to Eternia and saved Prince Adam, he lost his wand, which was needed to control his magic. A flashback episode, "The Power of Grayskull", which reveals the history of Adam's ancestor King Grayskull, going on a quest for power to defend Eternia, and Grayskull encountered an Oracle who looked and sounded much like Orko, suggesting that other Trollans might have found their way to Eternia.
Other Trollans
Other members of Orko's race who have appeared in the Masters of the Universe shows include:- Dree Elle - Orko's girlfriend, who appears in the episodes "Dawn of Dragoon", "Dree Elle's Return", "Trouble in Trolla" and "The Bitter Rose" as well as the She-Ra: Princess of PowerShe-Ra: Princess of PowerShe-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated television series produced in 1985 by Filmation. It is a spinoff of Filmation's highly successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, aimed primarily at a young girls' audience to counter-balance the latter show's popularity with boys...
episode "The Greatest Magic".
- Yuckers - Dree Elle's prank-playing younger brother from "Dree Elle's Return".
- Uncle Montork - Orko's uncle, from the episodes "Orko's Favorite Uncle", "The Return of Orko's Uncle" and "Trouble in Trolla" as well as the She-Ra episode "The Greatest Magic".
- Snoob - misguided Trollan wizard who appears in the episode "Trouble in Trolla".
- Prankster/Wakrapanike - a member of a race of Trollans who excels in practical jokePractical jokeA practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
s, who appears in the episode "Trouble's Middle Name"; the only Trollan not to conceal his face.
- Squunge - Orko's friend from the episode "Orko's New Friend", identical to Orko aside from wearing a pilot helmet, known for concocting tall taleTall taleA tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories such as, "that fish was so big, why I tell ya', it nearly sank the boat when I pulled it in!" Other tall tales are completely...
s.
- Doctor Zoog - an evil Trollan scientist who believes that Trolla should be run by machines, not magic. He appears in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode "The Greatest Magic".
- The Oracle - all-knowing oracleOracleIn Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
from the episode "The Power of Grayskull" of the 2002 series; resided on Ancient Eternia in a flashback sequence. The Oracle is the only other Trollan besides Orko to appear in the modern series.
Cultural references
- In an episode of the television series Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
, after seeing He-Man dead after Beast-Man killed him with his axe, Orko used his sword to become powerful and defeat Skeletor and his minions singlehandedly. When the SorceressSorceress of Castle GrayskullThe Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, also known as The Goddess and Teela Na, is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise.-Original MOTU mini-comics:...
wanted to take He-Man back to Castle GrayskullCastle GrayskullCastle 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....
to bring him back to life, Orko kills her with his sword instead of wanting to be court jester again. In the episode "I'm Trapped," Orko appeared as a partygoer at King Randor's birthday party when Faker (who was mistaken for the real He-Man) showed up. Claiming Faker was cold, Orko offered him some hot coffee only for Faker to spill it into Orko's hood. - In "ImaginationlandImaginationland"Imaginationland" is a three-part episode of the American animated television series South Park.*Episode I*Episode II*Episode III...
", an episode of the television series South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, Orko appears as an inhabitant of a dimension with the same name. In the episode, all fictional characters created by the human mind live in Imaginationland. - The character GwildorGwildorGwildor is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. He was introduced into the franchise after appearing in the 1987 Masters of the Universe film.Gwildor is a member of the Thenurians, a dwarf-like race of people...
(played by Billy BartyBilly BartyBilly Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
) was created especially for the live-action movie as a substitute for Orko, whose design was too complex for the studio to produce in live action with its limited budget. Frederick S. Clarke explains that Gwildor was "reportedly a stand-inStand-inA stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting.Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of production. Lighting setup can be a slow and tedious process; during this time the actor will often be somewhere else...
for Orko...In the series Orko has no feet or legs and is always seen floating or flying, a difficult concept to film live..."