Trap-Jaw
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Trap Jaw is a character from the popular toy line and cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
A member of the evil warriors, he is a cyborg warrior with a mechanical, sharp-toothed jaw with a deadly bite, and a robotic arm onto which he can slot a wide range of different weapons. He also has a loop in his helmet from which he can slide down wires.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Toy line/Mini-comics
Trap Jaw was one of the first characters to be designed for the Masters of the Universe toy line. According to the line's creator Roger Sweet he was inspired by the character Jaws from the James Bond film Moonraker, although many also speculate his design stems from the character of Iron Jaw from Mattel's earlier toy line Big Jim, to whom Trap Jaw bears more than a passing resemblance.
The first story to feature him was the mini-comic "The Menace of Trap Jaw", packaged with his action figure, which portrayed him as a psychotic criminal from another dimension (notably seen here with a green body instead of his regular blue), whom Skeletor accidentally brought back with him on a return journey from the alien dimension. Trap Jaw landed inside Castle Grayskull and managed to harness the castle's power, almost enabling him to defeat He-Man. He-Man and Skeletor made an unprecedented effort to combine their powers, joining each half of the Sword of Power, yet holding on together. After the power was swiped back, Skeletor took the injured Trap Jaw with him as a new servant.
[edit] The Cartoon
Trap Jaw was introduced into the toy line's accompanying cartoon series by Filmation, in the show's pilot episode "Diamond Ray of Disappearance" in which Skeletor described him as a 'wizard of weapons'. He went on to become one of the most frequently used villains of the series, usually paired alongside Beast-Man. His character portrayal was significantly toned down from the psychotic mass murderer of the mini-comics to render him more suitable for a younger audience. He was therefore portrayed generally as bumbling and incompetent, one of the least intelligent of Skeletor's warriors, played mostly for laughs. However, he still had his moments in the spotlight, most notably in the episode "Double-Edged Sword" in which he went after the mineral Eternium (Eternia's most powerful mineral which powers the Royal Kingdom) and ate it, giving him power equal to that of He-Man.
Trap Jaw was one of the few characters who wasn't designed by Filmation to appear symmetrical (allowing the animation cells to be flipped over when needed, saving animation costs). Given this, it's maybe surprising that he appeared as often as he did. However, very occasionally, his mechanical arm can be seen on the wrong side of his body.
In the series bible, Trap-Jaw was a criminal, who became stranded on Infinita, and fell under the command of Skeletor[1].
[edit] 2002 series
Trap Jaw was used in the 2002 relaunch of the Masters of the Universe toy line and cartoon series. His appearance was slightly modified to appear more menacing, although strangely in the cartoon his metal jaw was not actually part of his body, but was being worn over a normal jaw.
Although his appearance may have been more intimidating, his character portrayal was generally in-keeping with his 80s counterpart and the cartoon portrayed him mostly as another of Skeletor's bumbling assistants. His biggest role was in the episode "Trust" which made links with the classic episode "Double-Edged Sword", featuring Trap Jaw again heading after the mineral Eternium to gain invincibility.
The cartoon's accompanying comic series featured a background story for Trap Jaw, revealing him to have once been a blue-skinned criminal named Kronis who was injured by Skeletor after he attempted to overthrow him. His damaged body was repaired by Skeletor and Tri-Klops who turned him into the being he is today, and after the damage he suffered at Skeletor's hands he has remained loyal to him ever since. The cartoon showed him in his original form of Kronis twice: first at the beginning of the show's pilot episode, then in flashback in the episode "The Price of Deceit".
[edit] Portrayal
In the original TV series, Trap Jaw was portrayed by producer and voice actor Lou Scheimer, who also voiced many other important characters in the series.
In the 2002 relaunch, Trap Jaw's voice was provided by veteran voice actor Paul Dobson.
Trap Jaw does not appear in the live-acion movie. However, there is another cyborg, Saurod, who might be inspired by Trap Jaw. Saurod does not have weapons instead of hand, but he does have an armored cover and has the ability to spit sparkles. He is destroyed by Skeletor because of a failure. He is portrayed by puppeteer Pons Maar. It has also been speculated that the character of Karg may have replaced Trap-Jaw in the script due to his hook hand.
[edit] Weapons and tools
Trap Jaw had various weapons at his diposal. He was able to attach these to his mechanical arm. A list of weapons[2] follows:-
- Hook - The hook was the weapon used most by Filmation.
- Lasertron - This weapon appears as a gun and was used in various ways, a freeze ray, a shrink ray, or just a regular laser gun.
- Energy bow - This was a one-off alternate to the Lasertron, which would fire a laser out of the centre of the bow.
- Sword blade - This weapon only appeared at the end of one episode and was never seen being used against He-Man or any of the Masters of the Universe.
- Pile-driver - Acts as a mechanical battering ram.
- Dropper - This attachment is more a tool than a weapon, and was used in the same manner as a winch to lower Mer-Man over the edge of a cliff.
- Grabber - Possess claws which enabled Trap Jaw to grab things.
- Fly Swat - This device is never shown being used and only appeared for a short time during one episode.
- Claw.
- Miniature laser - This was shown as being the hook attachment but with the hook missing.
- Flamethrower - This weapon was used in the Cave of Winds.
- Fire extinguisher - This was used in conjunction with the Flamethrower in case the fire got out of hand.
- Elongated laser - This was another variation on Trap Jaw's laser guns.
- Freeze Ray - This attachment was actually a freeze ray, it appeared as a big cannon on Trap Jaw's arm.
- Rocket - The rocket appears as the same attachment as the Freeze Ray, but was used to enable Trap Jaw to fly.
[edit] References
- ^ Masters of the Universe Series Bible p.48. He-Man.org.
- ^ Wizard of Weapons. He-Man.org. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.
