Krass/Ram-Man is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
from the popular
Masters of the Universe
''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 Ada ...
toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...
line by
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
.
He is a member of the Heroic Warriors, characterized by his bulky, spring-legged, stumpy appearance and flat-topped
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
. Originally tagged by
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
as the "heroic human
battering ram
A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient history, ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, hea ...
", his special ability is propel himself forwards with his spring-like legs, to knock opponents or obstacles down with his super-hard helmet.
Original line
The Ram Man (or Ram-Man) action figure was released as part of the line's second wave, and was one of the first figures of the line to break away from the construction design of the standard figures. Instead, the figure has a hollow body, allowing his legs to slide up inside his torso and clip in place. A latch on the back of his boot releases him, causing him to spring forward with a headbutting action.
The original prototype for the figure gave Ram Man an orange tunic and red legs. The final release had a red tunic and green legs, but his original prototype colour scheme was still used on back of box listings and in a number of appearances in the franchise's other media.
Ram Man's first appearance is in the early Mattel mini-
comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
"He-Man Meets Ram-Man". In this comic Ram Man is portrayed as a loner who lives on a stretch of barren
land
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...
. He will attack anyone who crosses his land, believing their intention is to fight him, and although his past is not delved into it is implied he had retreated to this stretch of land after being continuously victimized by others. The story began with
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...
crossing his land, and despite stating his
peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
, Ram Man disbelieves him and attacks him. Left with no choice but to fight Ram Man, He-Man fights back and quickly beats him.
Humiliated
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
by this defeat, Ram Man swears to get revenge on He-Man, and his
confusion
In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion" is taken advantage of by
Skeletor
Skeletor () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of the protagonist He-Man. He is typically depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid who wears a purpl ...
, who was
spy
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
ing on the fight. Skeletor tricks Ram Man into believing He-Man is
evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
, and leads him to
Castle Grayskull
Castle Grayskull is a fortress located on the fictional planet Eternia. It forms a central location in the ''Masters of the Universe'' toy/comic/animation universe and also appears in the 1987 live action adaptation. The concept is credited to ...
, where he forces Ram Man into ramming the jaw bridge repeatedly to gain entry to the castle, where Ram Man believes He-Man is. When
The Sorceress witnesses Skeletor's attempt to break into Grayskull, she calls He-Man to her aid, who releases Ram Man from Skeletor's clutches and drives away the villain. Realizing he had been tricked and that He-Man means him no harm, Ram Man befriends He-Man and joins the Heroic Warriors.
As with several early characters, Ram Man's mini-comic appearances decreased as new characters were showcased.
1980s Filmation cartoon
Although large and aggressive in his mini-comic appearance, the 1980s cartoon ''
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 ...
'' 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 ...
depicts him as a small,
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
ish figure, which is actually closer in appearance to his action figure.
In order to make the character more
child
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
-friendly for the sake of the show's intended audience, Ram Man's aggressiveness is toned down for the series. He is portrayed generally as a
comical character, slow and dim-witted with an almost childlike mentality, but also strong-hearted and easily likeable. He often appears alongside
Stratos in early episodes, and later episodes flesh out his character more, particularly the season 2 episode "Not So Blind", which shows a degree of humanity in his mostly
slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
personality. Another notable moment for Ram Man is the episode "House of Shokoti part 1", in which he gives a memorable moral at the end of the episode, telling kids not to hit things with their head like he does in case they hurt themselves. Also, in the second part of this story, Ram Man irritates Shokoti by constantly mispronouncing her name, calling her "Shipoopi" among other things. This version of Ram Man also often has other cartoonish features such as his legs actually uncoiling like springs on occasion and making "boing" sounds when he used his abilities.
Unlike other early characters, such as
Stratos and Evil Warriors such as
Tri-Klops
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 ...
, who faded into the background as newer characters were introduced in the cartoon, Ram Man continued to appear regularly in later episodes of the cartoon.
2002 series
Ram Man features in the modern revival of Masters of the Universe, and his portrayal in the contemporary series is something of a mixture between his Filmation portrayal and his original mini-comic portrayal. Here he is once again drawn as a large and bulky rather than a dwarfish character, and is actually larger than even He-Man in size. In episodes were he removes his helmet, he appears to have a metal plate on top of his head with a military flat-top hair cut. Although this series depicts him in a more
macho
Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
fashion more in-keeping with the original concept of the character, his slow-wittedness and comic appeal is left intact. There is still a childlike dimension to his character, made most evident in the episode "Night of the Shadow Beasts", which reveals he is afraid of the dark. Perhaps his most significant episode of the modern-day series is "Siren's Song", in which he falls under a mesmerising spell by
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 ...
, which results in him coming under suspicion of being a
traitor
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
to the Masters. Unaware of the
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
he has committed under a
trance state, Ram Man is shown as excitable and overly-defensive as the Masters try to identify the traitor in their ranks.
One big difference from the Filmation series is that, in the 2002 series, Ram Man doesn't have springy legs that make him bounce, so he just walks and runs like a normal person.
Popular culture
In 2011,
BBC Online
BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...
reported that performer Jamie Moakes was trying to create "a new commodity, one to replace gold, silver and copper", by buying as many Ram Man figures as possible.
Reception
Ram Man was voted No.9 in The 10 Most Unfortunate Masters Of The Universe Toys 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 ...
.
Ram Man was voted No.12 in The 12 Coolest Masters of the Universe Action Features by
Topless Robot
Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the publicati ...
.
Ram Man was voted by Mania.com as the fourth most Crazy Masters of the Universe Figures.
CBR voted Ram Man 14th worst He-Man toy.
References
{{Masters of the Universe
Fictional characters introduced in 1985
Masters of the Universe Heroic Warriors
Fictional soldiers
Male characters in animated series