Flipshot, (aka Icarius) is an action figure from the Mattel He-Man toyline and a character from the 1990 animated series The New Adventures of He-Man.
Character history[]
Toyline biography[]
Daring Space Ace Pilot from the cloud city, Levitan, on planet Primus. He is equipped and ready to "flip" into battle at a moment's notice. He leaves the Tri-Sloar System with Captain Hydron and travels back in time to search the universe for He-Man.
Mission: To aid He-Man and Captain Hydron in their fight to save the universe and to lead the air defense against Skeletor and the evil goons from planet Denebria.
Battle Equipment: Helmet, Jet Back-Pack, Wrist Rockets.
Minicomics[]
Flipshot was sent, along with Captain Hydron, to search for He-Man, but Skeletor tricked them into thinking he was the force of good they were searching for, and made them siphon the power of Castle Grayskull into their ship. Prince Adam soon arrived on the ship, transformed into He-Man and revealed the truth to the Galactic Guardians.
The New Adventures of He-Man[]
Lieutenant Flipshot was a member of the Primus military. Although the people of Primus were pacifists who had given up their advanced weapons years ago in place of their defensive shield, Flipshot longed for real combat and spent many hours in the starship simulator with his friend, Captain Hydron. Flipshot was often cocky and boastful, greatly exaggerating his own abilities, much to Hydron's annoyance. Nevertheless, he was an expert pilot who frequently claimed he "born ready!". Flipshot wore a pair of metallic wings on his back which allowed him to fly.
Along with Hydron, Flipshot was chosen by Master Sebrian to take the time vessel into the distant past and find "the power of the good and the way of the magic", which would save Primus from the Mutants, who were constantly laying siege to their world. Flipshot and Hydron travelled back in time to Eternia, but were captured by Skeletor, who convinced them he was the force of good they sought. Unable to figure out who was good and who was evil, Flipshot and Hydron were forced to take both He-Man and Skeletor back to the future with them before the time portal closed for good. Once in the future, Skeletor revealed his true colours, and He-Man declared his loyalty to Primus, becoming the leader of the Galactic Guardians[2]. Flipshot became a good friend of He-Man and was one of the most active Galactic Guardians. He and Hydron decided to name their starship the "Eternia" in honour of the hero's home world[3].
When Skeletor and the Mutants conquered Primus, Flipshot and Hydron initially managed to evade capture and attempted to free the Starship Eternia, but were ultimately arrested by Mutant Troopers and imprisoned. They were later rescued by Adam and Mara and joined He-Man's resistance movement[4], helping to drive the Mutants back from the planet[5].
Some time later, Flipshot was offered the position of Sheriff of Gorn City. While He-Man tried to advise against it, Flipshot was eager to take up the post and restore law and order in Gorn City, selecting Spinwit as his deputy. In reality, it was a trap devised by Skeletor, and Flipshot found himself in over his head, facing local gangsters The Ugly Bunch in a showdown. Flipshot ultimately called in He-Man and the other Galactic Guardians to help, overcoming his pride, and turning the position over to the Mutant, Meliac[6].
Some time later, Flipshot joined the Galactic Guardians in "the games", a tournament devised by the mysterious Royka and Molden. Before joining the games, Flipshot had his weapons upgraded by Yolt, the Blacksmith of Crelus, who equipped him with a spring-loaded missile launcher atop his jetpack[7]. Flipshot fought in the games and later participated in the final battle against the Mutants. When Flogg surrendered, Flipshot was shocked that they were just letting the Mutants go, but He-Man told him their battle was no longer with the Mutants, and the end of the war had finally come[8].
Masters of the Universe Classics[]
A great pilot from the cloud city of Levitan on planet Primus, Icarius was equipped and ready to flip into battle at a moment's notice. After his 18th birthday, he left home to join the Galactic Protectors. Rising to the rank of Lieutenant, Icarius, traveled with Captain Hydron on his quest to find the legendary twin warriors prophesied to defeat the Horde Empire. Arriving on the distant planet Eternia shortly after the end of the Second Ultimate Battleground, they recruited not only He-Man and She-Ra, but several other Masters of the Universe who were eager to pursue Skeletor to the stars[9].
Icarius served with He-Man in the war against Skeletor and his space Mutant army. At some point during the war against Skeletor and the Mutants, Icarius lost an eye in battle and began wearing an eyepatch. He was promoted to Captain some time after the battle of Fetra V and accompanied He-Man back to Eternia when he returned to take the throne. [10]
Nicknamed "Flipshot," Icarius utilized a battle helmet, back mounted jetpack and concussion grenade wrist rockets.
Appearances[]
He-Man (minicomics)[]
Masters of the Universe Classics Minicomics[]
- The Powers of Grayskull: The Second Ultimate Battleground! (cameo)
- Homecoming
The New Adventures of He-Man[]
- A New Beginning
- Quest for the Crystals
- The Heat
- Attack on Onnor
- The Ultimate Challenge
- Sword & Staff
- The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword... Or Is It?
- Glastnost Schmaznost
- The Youngest Hero
- The Festival of Lights (non speaking role)
- The Gift
- Skeletor's Victory
- The Seeds of Resistance
- The Battle for Levitan
- Escape from Gaolotia
- He-Man Mutant
- Juggernaut
- Fading Star
- Skeletor's Revenge (cameo) (non speaking role)
- The Mind Lens
- Adam's Adventure
- Planet of Junk (cameo) (non speaking role)
- Sanctuary
- Council of Clones (cameo) (non speaking role)
- Cold Freeze
- He-Caz (cameo) (non speaking role)
- The Galactic Guardians
- A Plague Upon Primus
- The Test of Time
- Four Ways To Sundown
- The Sheriff of Gorn City
- The New Wizard in Town (mentioned only)
- The Nemesis Within (cameo) (non speaking role)
- He-Fan
- The Dream Zone (non speaking role)
- You're In the Army Now (non speaking role)
- No Easy Way
- The Guns of Nordor
- Mutiny on the Mothership
- Rock to the Future
- The Running of the Herd
- Balance of Power
- The Tornadoes of Zil (mentioned only)
- The Taking of Levitan
- The Power of the Good and the Way of the Magic
- Queen's Gambit
- There's Gems In Them Hills
- The Call to the Games
- The Blacksmith of Crelus
- A Time To Leave
- The Games
- Flogg's Revenge
- The Final Invasion
DC Comics[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- The character was originally developed for the proposed He-Ro: Son of He-Man series bible, where he was called Icarius. Most of the concepts from this series bible ended up in the He-Man toyline and it was decided that Icarius needed a more toyetic sounding name, hence he became Flipshot. However, for the European market the original name of Icarius was still used.
- When the character was released in the MOTU Classics toyline, they had to revert to the original name of Icarius because 'Flipshot' was owned by rival toy company Hasbro in connection with their collection of Nerf guns.
- In the MOTU Classics toyline, Icarius' face resembled actor Val Kilmer as he appeared in the 1986 film Top Gun.
- The MOTUC bio revealed Icarius' full name to be Tc Icarius Kaz. The first to letters are a reference to Mattel toy engineer TC Chen, who worked on both the original version of the toy and on the MOTUC version. The last name 'Kaz' appears to be a reference to another character from The New Adventures of He-Man series.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Episode 31: The Galactic Guardians
- ↑ A New Beginning
- ↑ Quest for the Crystals
- ↑ The Seeds of Resistance
- ↑ The Battle for Levitan
- ↑ The Sheriff of Gorn City
- ↑ The Blacksmith of Crelus
- ↑ The Final invasion
- ↑ Masters of the Universe Classics: Icarius Bio
- ↑ Masters of the Universe Classics Minicomic: Homecoming