Snout Spout is a fictional character in 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 ...

franchise. He is a cyborg with a

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

body and a metal

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

head. He serves the Heroic Warriors as a

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

, his main power being to spray jets of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

, stored in a special pack on his back, from his trunk, which he refills periodically from

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Character history

Cartoon

Snout Spout was introduced into the Masters of the Universe toy line in 1986. By the time his action figure was released, the accompanying cartoon series, '' He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' had been cancelled to make way for its

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

series, '' She-Ra: Princess of Power''. Therefore, Snout Spout makes his cartoon appearances in ''She-Ra'' rather than ''He-Man''. Appearing in 3 episodes: "Small Problems", "Out of the Cocoon" and "Day of the Flowers", Snout Spout's roles are little more than cameos and he receives no real character development. Several continuity discrepancies also surround his character, as in his first episode he is referred to as "Hose Nose", this being

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 ...

's working name for the character, yet "Day of the Flowers" refers to him as Snout Spout with no explanation for the name change. His first two appearances also seem to indicate he lives on

Etheria ''Etheria: Ang Ikalimang Kaharian ng Encantadia'' (International title: ''Etheria: The Fifth Kingdom of Encantadia'') is a Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is the second installment of the Encantad ...

, yet the latter episode ties him in with Mattel's continuity by depicting him as He-Man's friend, visiting from Eternia. He also made a cameo in the ''He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special'', shown extending his snout to place the star on the tree.

2002 series

Snout Spout is never shown in the 200X cartoon series but Eternian firemen are shown in the accompanying comic series dressed like Snout Spout, the line was canceled before his figure could be released. In 2004, a mini statue of the character was produced by NECA.

Masters of the Universe Classics

In the ''Masters of the Universe Classics'' toyline, Jaxton was an Etherian peasant who was one of three gladiators captured by Hordak and thrown into the experimental matrix which grafted cybernetic parts to him. The other two were Dragstor and Extendar. He later escaped to Eternia and sided with He-Man.

Other media

Although the cartoon offers no kind of consistency to Snout Spout's character, other media producing ''Masters of the Universe'' stories throughout the 1980s give the character more exposure, as well as a background story. A Mattel promotional card states that he was formerly an Etherian

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

who was captured by

Hordak Hordak is a fictional character in the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise who opposes She-Ra and He-Man, as well as the franchise's main villain, Skeletor, to whom he was once a mentor, and the cause of the latter's ambition and pursuits of evi ...

and subjected to fiendish

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

s which turned him into the elephantine cyborg he is today. Although initially intended to serve The Evil Horde, he managed to throw off Hordak's

brainwashing Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwash ...

attempt and escape to Eternia, where he joined

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 ...

and the Heroic Warriors. This backstory was adopted by the UK

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 ...

series published by London Editions, which introduces Snout Spout in a story entitled "The Unknown Warrior", in which he makes his way from Etheria to Eternia wearing a

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

, refusing to remove his mask or reveal his identity until he has proved himself a worthy

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

. He is presented in the comic series as insecure and

paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

about his appearance, yet never overly self-pitiful and determined to fight on against the Horde until he finds some way of returning to his human form. In the Star Comics series, he only had one major appearance, in issue #4, ''Snakes Alive''. Here, he was shown as being in a constant, not-so-friendly rivalry with Rio Blast, with both characters constantly trying to belittle and outdo each other.

Reception

Snout Spout was ranked fifth in The 14 Least Masterful Masters of the Universe by '' Io9''. Snout Spout was ranked third of 8 Crazy Masters of the Universe Figures by ''Mania.com''. ''

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 ...

'' ranked Snout Spout the 13th Most Useless He-Man Characters To Ever Appear On-Screen in 2018, and ranked Snout Spout as the 9th Best He-Man Action Figure in 2020.

References

{{Masters of the Universe Fictional androids Fictional cyborgs Fictional firefighters Male characters in animated television series Masters of the Universe Heroic Warriors Television characters introduced in 1985