Saurod is a villain in the Masters of the Universe franchise. Although he was originally created for the 1987 live-action film, he went on to appear in both the Mattel action figure series as well as various comic books, proving to be a very popular character. In the movie, he was played by veteran suit actor Pons Maar (best known as Roy in Dinosaurs and as the leader of the Wheelers in Return to Oz).
Live-Action Film[]
Saurod is one of four Eternian mercenaries sent by Skeletor to go to Earth to capture He-Man and retrieve the Cosmic Key. He is a very slender reptilian creature clad in head to toe bronze armor, most notable with a large helmet shaped like a cobra's hood. He doesn't speak. Ability-wise, he carries a laser pistol and seems to be a good shot with it. Additionally, he can extend the claws on his hand like a cat to slash at opponents with. He also has syringes on his mask which would appear to be used for injection venom, although he nevers uses this ability.
Along with fellow mercenaries Karg, Blade and Beastman, Saurod travels to Earth through a dimensional portal. The four, assisted by a trio of Snake Mountain troopers, fail to find the Key, but decide to capture an Earthling to interrogate. Their target, Julie, flees from them and encounters Skeletor's arch-enemy He-Man. A battle breaks out between He-Man and the forces of evil. Saurod attempts to intervene in a swordfight between Blade and He-Man, but He-Man flings him into the other evil warrior. Following the arrival of He-Man's friends Man-At-Arms and Teela, Karg orders a retreat, and the mercenaries escape back to Eternia.
Returning to Castle Grayskull to report their failure, the four find themselves threatened with the wrath of Skeletor. When Blade begs for another chance, Skeletor responds by firing a bolt of lightning from his hand, hitting Saurod with it. Saurod, anticipating the blow, drew his pistol, but was too slow. He screams as he is consumed by reddish energy and fades out of existence as the other three warriors watch in shock.
Other Media[]
Although Saurod died in the film, he proved popular enough with audiences to make numerous appearances in other media.
Toy Line & Mini Comics[]
Saurod was one of three characters from the film to get an action figure. He came with his laser pistol, and, thanks to a small lever on his back, shot sparks out of his mouth. He displayed no such ability in the movie, although it's possible that the ability is a nod to the fact he apparently could inject venom into opponents. In the mini-comic accompanying the figure, he, along with Blade, is given to Skeletor as a gift by the Evil Cloud. The two assist their new master in attempting to steal the Cosmic Key from Gwildor, but they're defeated by He-Man.
Comics[]
Starting with the comic adaptation of the film, Saurod began making semi-regular appearances in the Star Comics series. In the movie comic, he has a speaking role and displays uncanny senses of smell. The scene where the mercenaries return to Eternia to report their failure isn't present in the comic, and so Skeletor never kills Saurod. Despite this, he disappears from the comic without explanation after being seen one final time when the villains are ransacking Julie's house. Because he survived the movie comic, subsequent comics set after the events of the film felt free to use him.
Masters of the Universe Classics[]
Saurod got an action figure in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. He was sculpted to resemble his movie counterpart more than the original toy and came with a single laser pistol as an accessory. He lacked the sparking feature, as almost all of the Classics toys do not have action features. Despite this, the figure's card still refers to him as an "evil spark-shooting reptile." Par for the course for the Classics line, Saurod was given a bio card which revealed his backstory. His real name was given as C'ngrel Chouloth. Known as Saurod the Terrible, he was a member of once of the reptilian races called the Klybian Lizard Men that were among the reptilian species used to create the Snake Men. A supremacist, Saurod was offended that his race's DNA had been used to make the Snake Men. As a result, he was a long-time enemy of King Hiss. Seeking to obtain the Cosmic Key so as to go back in time and prevent the Snake Men from ever being created, Saurod joined forces with Skeletor. While serving Skeletor, he killed many Snake Men including Sssqueeze and Snake Face.
Notes[]
- Originally, Saurod was designed with yellowish green armor. In the movie he has bronze armor. Several comics color him green, though.
- Saurod has a tail in the film and on both action figures, however many of his appearances depict him without a tail, including the movie poster, comic adaptation and even the mini-comic which came with the original figure.
- Saurod's helmet was later used for the 1998 film star hunter. It was now silver then it's original bronze
Gallery[]
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 Villains
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Evil Warriors Evil Horde Snake Men Evil Mutants | ||