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This article is about the Mike Young Productions character. You may be looking for the original character.

King Hssss is a character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. Though absent from the original cartoon series, Hssss appeared in the 2002 relaunch of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Mike Young Productions, this time as the major villain of the second season.

History[]

Reign of the Snake Men[]

Hsssscomics

King Hssss speaks with the Faceless One.

King Hssss and his armies menaced Eternia's ancient past. Hiss's stronghold was Snake Mountain, which was actually the petrified body of the great Serpos.

The Evil Horde, led by Hordak, saw the Snake Men as a threat, and launched a campaign against them. In the wake of the battle, Hordak, though his forces were depleted, set his sights on King Grayskull. Hordak's attack on Grayskull ended with the Horde being banished to Despondos, and the King himself falling in battle, allowing Hiss time to rebuild his forces.

However, despite the removal of Hordak, Hssss now had to contend with the Council of Elders, which was formed in the wake of Grayskull's death[1].

The Elders sent an emissary, Zeelahr, to treat with Hssss, but the King, not wishing to negotiate, consumed Zeelahr while his devastated brother, Zodak, looked on. Zodak would form an intense hatred of Hssss after this. Eventually, Zodak and the Elders combined their strength and sealed Hssss and his armies away in a void beneath Snake Mountain, where they would be trapped for thousands of years[2].

Release from the Void[]

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Hssss in his snake form.

Centuries later, King Hisss would nearly escape from the Void due the machinations of one of the Snakemen's descendants known as Kobra Khan. While he failed to escape on this occasion, his loyal General, Rattlor, did manage to free himself the timeless prison and allied with Kobra Khan to plot the Hssss's return[3]. Enlisting the aid of the treacherous Evil-Lyn, Khan and Rattlor ambushed Zodak and took his staff, which was the key to the Void. Using the staff, they released King Hssss at last, who immediately set about reclaiming his throne.

Hssss and his forces proceeded to defeat Skeletor and his Evil Warriors effortlessly. Disgusted by her arrogance, Hssss would have devoured Evil-Lyn, but agreed to spare her life on the condition that she reveal to him where the power of the Elders now resided; Castle Grayskull. Hssss assaulted Grayskull with his army, and, working in tandem with Evil-Lyn, managed to open the jawbridge of the castle and enter the Sorceress's throne room. Hssss and the Sorceress engaged in a fierce magical duel, which ended when Hssss used his magic to poison her.

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King Hssss fights The Sorceress.

With the Sorceress dealt with, Hssss then entered the crystal chamber beneath Grayskull and prepared to claim the power of the Elders, but was confronted by his old enemy, Zodak. Hssss and Zodak fought a vicious battle throughout the chamber, with Zodak ultimately emerging as the victor. Carrying Hssss's body to the top of the castle, Zodak proclaimed to the onlooking Snake Men that their leader had fallen, and tossed Hssss's body into the chasm beneath the castle. The distraught Snake Men, believing their leader to be dead, jumped after his body, plunging into the chasm[4].

In reality, Hssss 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[5].

Unleashing Serpos[]

After failing to use the Serpent's Ring to conquer Eternia, King Hssss next engineered a plan to release the ancient Snake God, Serpos. Hssss briefly put his plan on hold when he heard of Evil Lyn's plan to release his old enemy, Hordak, determined that Hordak never free himself from Despondos[6].

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King Hssss battles Zodak.

Eventually, Hssss was able to awaken Serpos, who was actually sealed in the stone Serpent coiled around Snake Mountain. Hssss personally rode Serpos into battle, and was on his way to Castle Grayskull, before being intercepted by Zodak. The two enemies fought once more, with Hssss appearing to have the upper hand, but Zodak, having been planning this confrontation for some time, used his mental abilities to take control of King Hssss's heads whilst he was in his snake form. Zodak caused four of the heads to turn on the central head and devour it, apparently killing Hssss. Meanwhile, He-Man and the Sorceress once again turned Serpos to stone, restoring the snake god to its place on Snake Mountain, though now with two additional heads. Hssss's body was given to the Heroic Warriors, who, despite it seeming lifeless, placed it in an Eternian prison[7].

Though apparently defeated, Hssss was able to regenerated his central head. His body was recovered from an Eternia prison by a vengeful Skeletor, but recuperated in a cell at Snake Mountain. After healing himself, Hssss surprised Skeletor and the two fought across Snake Mountain, eventually toppling over a lava waterfall after fighting to a standstill. The battle was broken up by the arrival of Skeletor's evil warriors, and Hssss's Snake Men, and Hssss retreated. After regrouping with his men, Hssss revealed he had transformed Man-at-Arms into a Snake Man[8].

Appearances[]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)[]

Season One (2002-2003)

  1. Snake Pit

Season Two (2003-2004)

  1. Rise of the Snake Men - Part 1
  2. Rise of the Snake Men - Part 1
  3. The Price of Deceit
  4. Second Skin
  5. Web of Evil
  6. Rattle of the Snake
  1. History
  2. Awaken the Serpent

Comic Book appearances[]

  1. Rise of the Snake Men #1
  2. Rise of the Snake Men #2
  3. Rise of the Snake Men #3
  4. MOTU vol 3 #1
  5. MOTU vol 3 #2
  6. MOTU vol 3 #3
  7. MOTU vol 3 #4
  8. MOTU vol 3 #5
  9. MOTU vol 3 #6
  10. Episode 40: Captured

Behind the scenes[]

  • The spelling of the character's name was changed to King Hssss in the 2002 relaunch of the Action Figure franchise, but the cartoon series' end credits still spelled his name as "Hiss".
  • Unlike in other iterations, the King has a serpent-like face in his human form.

References[]

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