| “ | And now you perish, by the poisonous power of my serpents venom! | „ |
| ~ King Hiss |
King Hiss is the supreme ruler of the sinister and cruel race known as the Snake Men and a major antagonist in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He is the arch-nemesis of Zodak, the Cosmic Enforcer.
In ancient times, the Snake Men nearly conquered Eternia. King Hiss confronted King Grayskull before the Evil Horde, led by the ruthless tyrant Hordak, would attack. During the "Great War" Zeelahr, the brother of Zodak was eaten by King Hiss. The Snake Men were defeated by the Elders and mystic Zodak, but ions later would return from their prison to reclaim their reign over the world and clash with He-Ma, Zodak and Masters of the Universe. King Hiss was the original inhabitant of Snake Mountain.
In the 2002 animated series, he was voiced by Brian Dobson, who also voiced Skeletor in the same series.
History[]
Early life and reign of the Snake Men[]
Not much is known about King Hiss's past. Once in ancient times he was named Hiss of the Viper House and was a servant to the mysterious evil entity "The Unnamed One". He was the most sinister and ruthless of Snake Men and would become their King. He - just like all other Snake Men - was a humanoid snake but unlike them could transform into a human-like facade. King Hiss would become able to wield dark magic as ancient as that of the Elders. With his armies of vicious Snake Men, he marched to King Grayskull's castle to conquer Eternia.
As the "Great Wars" unfolded, King Grayskull and King Hiss were locked in mortal combat. When they were on the brink of victory, the Evil Horde led by Hordak appeared and defeated the Snake Men. King Grayskull battled Hordak and died in the battle. The mystic Elders were born. The Snake Men returned to Snake Mountain which once was their living God Serpos. In a battle at Snake Mountain, King Hiss and the Snake Men faced off against Zeelahr and Zodak, the mystic Enforcers. Zeelahr was brutally killed and consumed by King Hiss's snake form. The Snake Men general, Rattlor, beat Zodak and threw him in a stream. From that day forth, Zodak promised he would avenge his brother's death and destroy King Hiss. And so he did, and eventually the Snake Men were beaten by the combined strength of the Elders and Zodak. The Elders locked the Snake Men up in a deep dimensional void deep within the hidden corridors of Snake Mountain. Only the staff of Zodak could re-open the void and free the snakes from their captivity.
Release from the Void[]
Centuries passed. The Council of Elders was no more, the evil Skeletor and his warriors had taken shelter in Snake Mountain, and a new heroic warrior He-Man had risen to protect Eternia. A descendant of the old Snake Men, the viperous Kobra Khan was locked in the Eternian prison. Kobra Khan had all his life planned to somehow free his ancestors so they could rule Eternia once again. Khan escaped from his prison and left to Snake Mountain confronting Skeletor and his warriors.
In reality, Hiss had survived, and quickly prepared to resume his plans to conquer Eternia. His first plan involved recovering the Serpent's Ring, an ancient artefact which could turn human beings into Snake Men.
Personality[]
King Hiss's personality in the 2002 cartoon is lawful evil, power-hungry, and quite ruthless, while the cartoon also shows him gleefully eating people alive for pleasure. Kobra Khan describes him as being as generous to his friends as he is ruthless to his enemies. King Hiss is even capable of grudging respect towards some enemies; seen when he compares He-Man to King Grayskull. While shown to be contemptuous towards both the Elders and Cosmic Defenders and the power they wield, King Hiss is also leery and even fearful of Hordak; to the point of taking a great personal risk in order to avoid ever having to contend with Hordak and his power again.
Unlike Skeletor, who regularly abuses and humiliates his minions, King Hiss respects his warriors, giving sincere praise and rewards as appropriate. It is worth noting that when Kobra Khan threw himself in front, King Hiss, in order to protect him from Roboto's attack, and got injured as a result, King Hiss' eyes glowed with anger. 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 is quite the opposite of Skeletor's Evil Warriors.
The only fault King Hiss has in this regard is that he practices cronyism; his playing favorites, such as Kobra Khan over General Rattlor, led to much friction among his Snake Men. King Hiss seems completely oblivious of this; of course, it is possible that he intentionally plays one Snake Man against the other to make them compete for his favor.
Also, unlike Skeletor's tendency to come up with all his plans at random, which he immediately puts into motion 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.
Also distinctive is that King Hiss is portrayed as racist. 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; he would have eaten Evil-Lyn alive, despite helping to free him from the void, if she had not offered him the power of Castle Grayskull amidst pleas for her life. Even then, he only seems to grant her a brief reprieve. This is quite the opposite of Skeletor, whose minions are very racially diverse and whose hatreds seem reserved for individuals or political groups, rather than any racial groups.
Trivia[]
- He was created during the original series but did not appear there until later when he showed up in the comics and later appeared in the 2002 animated series.
- King Hiss was the third primary antagonist of the Masters of the Universe series the first being Skeletor and the second being Hordak.
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 Villains
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Evil Warriors Evil Horde Snake Men Evil Mutants | ||