Sorceress of Castle Grayskull - He-Man and The Masters of The Universe (2002)

He-Man and The Masters of The Universe (2002)

In the 2002 series, the attire of the Sorceress was redesigned to evoke the feeling of an Egyptian goddess rather than a falcon. She is still Teela's mother, and that fact is still kept secret. The episode "Out of the Past" briefly reveals part of the Sorceress' history, and how Teela was conceived after the Sorceress married an unnamed soldier, who supposedly died in battle. Her husband is seen in heavy bandaging throughout his appearance, and his identity remains unconfirmed throughout the series. However, it is suspected to be Man-At-Arms himself, as the heavily bandaged soldier has a close body-type to Man-At-Arms and when the Sorceress says "your child", Man-At-Arms immediately says, "my adopted child", sounding as if correcting her. However, the writers of the series later revealed that Teela's father was actually meant to be Man-At-Arms' brother Fisto, which would have been shown later on in the series had it not been cancelled.

When not in formal attire, the Sorceress looks strikingly like Teela, only taller. If the series had continued, it was intended that in the third season, Teela would discover that the Sorceress is her mother, but would not have lost the memory as she does in the original series.

The Sorceress is also shown as a capable fighter on two occasions: In the episode "Out of the Past", she saves a village from a band of marauders led by Prahvus, while in another, "Rise of the Snakemen Part II", she fights against King Hiss by unleashing an atomic-like blast against the evil Snake-Men's leader before attacking him with her staff; unfortunately, the Sorceress is defeated by the ancient villain, and the scars she receives remain with her throughout the remainder of the series.

The comic book produced by MVC, which follows the 2002 canon, also depicted the Sorceress' fighting prowess when she defeats Evil-Lyn in direct conflict during a storyline that saw the first appearance of Hordak.

Just as there were previous Sorceresses in the 1980s He-Man series, the current Sorceress is not the first. The wife of King Grayskull, known as Veena, was seemingly the original Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. She bears a similar appearance, and it was she who was first entrusted with the Power Sword's protection following the death of King Grayskull.

Had the series continued into a third season, She-Ra would have been introduced, with the Sorceress again sending He-Man on the quest to locate his sister with the Sword of Protection.