Mer-Man

“	The Sea liege has no time to hear your pitiful pleas for life, but I have enough time to hear you die.	„
	~ Mer-Man

Mer-Man is a major antagonist in the popular toy line and cartoon series Masters of the Universe. He is one of Skeletor's most prominent minions. He is also the ruler of Eternia's undersea kingdom.

Portrayals[]

He was voiced by Alan Oppenheimer in the 1980s series, who is also famously known for doing the voice of Skeletor in the first place.
He was voiced by Scott McNeil in the 2002 series.
He was voiced by the late Kevin Conroy in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, who is also famously known to be primarily the voice of superhero Batman. Conroy also voiced Batman Clone in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman (Justice Lord) in Justice League and Hordak in He-Man and the Master of the Universe 2021.
He was voiced by George Takei in the 2021 series, best known for potrayed Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek franchise. Takei also played an evil version of Sulu, Warlord Shank in Space Cases, Mr. Fixx in Batman Beyond, Emperor Yoshiro in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Lok Durd in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Mr. Moto in Archer and Ricardio in Adventure Time.

Biography[]

Masters of the Universe[]

Mer-Man is generally depicted as the king of an amphibious humanoid species that inhabit in the oceans of the planet Eternia, possibly even ruling over all sea creatures. Notably, he has an ability to communicate telepathically with undersea animals. He also serves Skeletor, whom he frequently assists in the latter's plots to conquer Eternia, and is usually paired alongside Beast-Man. In the 1980s Filmation cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Mer-Man was portrayed as more of a bumbling villain and comic relief. Mer-Man sometimes acts independently of Skeletor and also has his own henchmen.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation[]

“	And when Skeletor died, we could've taken control of Eternia. With you on the land and me in the sea, we could've ruled the universe together! Without Skeletor's raging ego and with no He-Man to stand in our way, we could've taken control. But no! You forgot all about Mer-Man. Now you'll never forget Mer-Man!	„
	~ Mer-Man to Evil-Lyn.

“	The sea never forgets, Evil-Lyn. And neither do I.	„
	~ Mer-Man declaring that he will not forget the affront.

In the spiritual sequel to the original series, Mer-Man is both depicted as more dangerous than before and more of a reluctant ally/rival to Skeletor rather than his servant.

During a flashback, He-Man and Teela are taken prisoner by the minions of a Mer-Man who has allied himself with Skeletor, both sharing the same animosity for the hero to the point of being able to put their many differences aside. Before throwing the two prisoners into the icy Crystal Sea, Mer-Man viciously tells He-Man that once He-Man drowns, the Power Sword will be his. Unfortunately, He-Man and Teela are rescued by Duncan the Man-At-Arms and the trio outwit the villains, with Mer-Man being knocked down after being hit by Man-At-Arms.

In the present, many years have passed since magic vanished from Eternia after He-Man and Skeletor's last titanic clash which also resulted in their deaths and many things have changed. A small group consisting of Teela, Evil-Lyn, Beast-Man, Orko, Roboto, and Andra enter the Crystal Sea in search of a passage to Subternia but are quickly intercepted by Mer-Man's Aquaticans warriors before the latter does not show up in person, now sporting numerous scars including one on his right eye. He is then revealed to have grown particularly bitter towards Evil-Lyn for not allying with him after Skeletor's death to conquer Eternia and become the Masters of the Universe without Skeletor's sickly ego and He- Man as obstacle. Mer-Man mainly comes to accuse Evil-Lyn of having forgotten him but that now she will no longer be able to forget him as the Aquaticans' noose is tightening.

Once again, Man-At-Arms arrives as reinforcements and then he and Mer-Man face off in a duel. The sea creature manages to grab Duncan's arm and uses his superior strength to throw him out of the boat but the human uses his grappling hook to launch a high-speed kick at Mer-Man which is then overpowered by Beast-Man and abandoned by his frightened minions. Slowly strangled by Beast-Man's lasso, Mer-Man receives an ultimatum from Evil-Lyn, either he leads them to the entrance to Subternia or he dies and his carcass rots in the sun. Forced to agree to the deal, Mer-Man uses his powers to have the sea move the boat to the island from where the group can access the underworld. Once free, Mer-Man leaves not without warning Evil-Lyn that the sea never forgets and neither does he.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2021[]

“	Mer-Man: Since the Dawn of Eternia, the people of Leviathae lived in the Darkest Depths... submerged in sweet silence and the blissful black... with no concern for the world above. And then His brilliant, golden light shone down through the waves and lit the path to our salvation. King Grayskull brought us culture and safety and power. In exchange, we took his side in the Great War. Fought for Him. Bled for Him. Died for Him. Teela: Why am I starting to feel like the Great War wasn't as "good versus evil" as we thought? Eldress: War is complicated. Mer-Man: And made none the simpler by traitors like you. Eldress: I did what I had to in order to ensure the safety of all Eternians. Mer-Man: And what has it gotten you, I wonder? The world turns on. Chaos continues.	„
	~ Mer-Man telling his story.

Once the benevolent ruler of the aquatic kingdom of Leviathae, Mer-Man along with his people held King Grayskull in high esteem who brought them culture, security, and power in return for which they aided Grayskull in the war against King Hiss. After King Grayskull died trying to use the Havoc to protect Eternia, the people of Leviathae built his burial place in his honor but so that no one would ever find the remains of the late king, Eldress unleashed the Monstroids war machines. and froze the surface of Leviathae, slowly driving the Underwater People to extinction until only Mer-Man remained who has since harbored a deep resentment against Eldress.

A thousand years later, Mer-Man intercepts a ship at the bottom of the sea and thanks to his telepathic powers, he discovers that Eldress is on board and declares that she will pay for her crimes. After locking up Eldress and her two companions Duncan and Teela, Mer-Man comes to confront his old enemy while telepathically sharing with the two teenagers why he despises the witch of Castle Grayskull so much. At the same time, he senses the conflict on the surface between the rest of the Masters of the Universe and the Dark Masters including Krass whom Mer-Man knows to be inhabited by a spirit and wants to bring the King Grayskull back to life, to the Mer-Man's delight. He then leaves not without telling Eldress to take advantage of the little time he has left to live, just like Teela whom Mer-Man recognized as a descendant of Eldress.

After the intruders take out the Monstroids, Mer-Man emerges from under the ice and subdues everyone with his telepathic powers. He asks who is coming to resurrect Grayskull and Skeletor's spirit reveals himself, Mer-Man being able to see him thanks to his telepathy. Although Skeletor and Krass prove somewhat hostile, Mer-Man rejoices upon seeing the Sigil of Hiss clinging to Krass' back and allows them to enter the grave. He-Man sets off after them, just so Mer-Man will recognize him as the wielder of the Power Sword and telepathically push him to the other side of the door so Grayskull can retrieve his former sword when he returns. Mer-Man then subdues the rest of the warriors.

Duncan and Teela escape from the cave and in turn confront Mer-Man in their transformed forms. Mer-Man proves to be a much more experienced opponent and easily dominates the duo. Teela tries to reason with him as she knows what it's like to be alone and claims Skeletor can't complete what Grayskull failed to do but Mer-Man states that if changed Eternia was Grayskull's last wish. his king so who are they to stop him. The girl then accesses the magic that Eldress gave her before disappearing and manages to better compete with Mer-Man until he puts her through both his own and Eldress's nightmares. As Mer-Man criticizes how weak the people of Eternos have become, Evil-Lyn lends a hand to Teela and their combined attack manages to repel the sea creature.

Mer-Man suddenly feels what he thinks is Grayskull awakening but to his misunderstanding, the thing that comes out from under the ice is a giant cobra summoned by Skeletor. He realizes his end too late before the cobra crushes him to death.

Trivia[]

In the French Dub, Mer-Man is renamed Oceanor.
In the 2021 series, Mer-Man's telepathic abilities are amplified, allowing him to subdue non-sea creatures and make them live out their worst fears. He can also pop tentacles out of the palms of his hands.
Mer-Man was originally scheduled to appear in the live-action film but was removed and replaced with an original character named Saurod because Mer-Man was scheduled to be killed off.

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