King Hiss (spelled King Hsss in the 2002 version, and sometimes King Hsssss) is a fictional supervillain, and the ruthless

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the Snake Men in Mattel toyline ''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anima ...

''. Although he never appeared in the original

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

series by

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...

itself, Hiss made a belated animated debut in the 2002 revamped ''He-Man'' animated series ''

Masters of the Universe vs. The Snakemen ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series. Developed for television by Michael Halperin, who created the original series, it is produced by Mike Young Productions. It served as an update of the 1980s ...

'' by Mike Young Productions, as the main villain of the second season. In both incarnations his default appearance is human but he is capable of shedding his skin revealing everything from his waist up to be a writhing mass of serpents. Hiss possesses a host of somewhat vague magical powers.

History

According to the original toys'

minicomics A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

, King Hiss was the ruler of a race of interstellar conquerors. Although his people were a race of humanoid snakes, Hiss for some unexplained reason had the default appearance of a human, a notional disguise to hide his true form of an upper body comprised several intertwined serpents (although one head is clearly central and dominant, the 2002 MYP animated series depicts all five heads speaking in unison). Hiss and his Snake Men were fighting a protracted war of conquest on the planet

Eternia ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the '' He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince ...

, when they were eventually overcome by the combined

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

powers of the planet's Elders. The Elders' magic flung King Hiss and his army into a

limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

-like

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...

. While being trapped outside of normal time, Hiss and his minions did not seem to age. Centuries in limbo with his serpentine underlings also gave King Hiss the ability to shed his human disguise and become a hideous being composed of squirming five snakes of heads. After millennia of imprisonment, King Hiss was freed by his right-hand man General Rattlor and a descendant of the original Snake Men, Kobra Khan. Skeletor's base Snake Mountain had formerly been King Hiss's headquarters (and the petrified body of Serpos, the god of the Snake Men) and he, King Hiss, temporarily took Snake Mountain over. The two villains formed an uneasy alliance, so they might conquer Eternia and destroy its champion He-Man. King Hiss was unable to free his entire army, however some Snake Men rallied to him. They were

Kobra Khan Kobra Khan is a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is a member of the Evil Warriors, and a cross between a man and a cobra, who has the power to spray a "sleep mist" from his hood which immediately renders his oppo ...

Tung Lashor The ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' franchise debuted in 1982 with the creation of American company Mattel and the toyline of the same name. This is a list of characters that appear in the toyline, television series ''He-Man and the Mas ...

Rattlor The ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' franchise debuted in 1982 with the creation of American company Mattel and the toyline of the same name. This is a list of characters that appear in the toyline, television series ''He-Man and the Mast ...

, Snake Face, and Sssqueeze (sometimes called Tanglor). King Hiss' personality in the 2002 cartoon was best described as tyrannical but somewhat honorable. While indeed power-hungry and ruthless, Kobra Khan described him as being as generous to his friends as he was merciless to his enemies. Unlike Skeletor who regularly abused and humiliated his minion, King Hiss respects his minions as he praised and congratulated them as appropriate. In return, the Snake Men were fiercely loyal to him, ignoring any personal ambitions they might have in order to serve their leader out of sincere devotion.

Appearances

''Masters of the Universe vs. The Snakemen''

In ''

'', The Sorceress describes King Hsss as wielding magic as great of that of the Elders. King Hsss was defeated by Hordak and his minions in the times of

King Grayskull King Grayskull is a fictional character first introduced in the 2002 animated series ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''. In 2021, the character was introduced in the '' Masters of the Universe: Revelation'' animated series which has no c ...

. Ages later, King Hsss and his henchmen were sealed away beneath Snake Mountain (which King Hsss built) by

Zodak Zodac () is a fictional character, a cosmic superheroic entity in the Masters of the Universe mythology. The spelling varies between Zodac and Zodak in different sources (until the two were later defined as separate characters). In a unique ...

, to be released during the reign of

King Randor King Randor is a fictional character, a warrior king who appears in the popular 1980s ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise. In early material, the character is called King Miro; this was later given in the Filmation cartoon series as King Rand ...

, General

, and

Evil-Lyn Evil-Lyn is a supervillainess in the Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''. An evil witch who aids Skeletor as his second-in-command with her powers of darkness. She is va ...

. From there, King Hsss serves as the main antagonist of the second season.

Other Media

King Hiss appeared in the game '' He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe''.

Reception

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

listed the character as part of He-Man: 15 Most Powerful Masters of the Universe. King Hiss was voted No.11 in The 14 Least Masterful Masters of the Universe by

Io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

. IGN recommended that King Hsss be a character introduced into any potential Masters of the Univerese movie franchise. King Hsss was voted 7th out 7 in the 7 Stupidest He-Man Characters by

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched i ...

References

{{Masters of the Universe Villains in animated television series Extraterrestrial supervillains Fictional anthropomorphic characters Fictional characters introduced in 1986 Fictional characters who can stretch themselves Fictional characters who use magic Fictional commanders Fictional humanoids Fictional snakes Fictional kings Masters of the Universe Snake Men Male characters in animated series Male supervillains