Some birds are just plain evil and the one that Skeletor keeps as a pet is one of them. Screeech is the name of this falcon that not only has a boring name, but an equally unimpressive role in the Masters Of The Universe series. The falcon is seen as the antithesis of Zoar but less so. Mattel did not make an action figure out of Screeech, but they did include the “barbarian bird” as part of a “two pack” with Evil-Lyn in the early eighties.
In the kingdom of Skeletor, Screeech played a weak part in the overall plan of things. Screeech has no magical powers, just the power of winged flight. At times he is used against the Castle Grayskull, as in the episode, “Visitors From Earth”, where Skeletor uses the falcon to implant explosives under the castle’s draw bridge. In other episodes Screeech is depicted as an alternate form of Evil-Lyn, similar to Zoar and the Sorceress. This only happened once in the series. At times Screeech is seen as a purely robotic creature as in the Filmation series. This version of the bird puts a computer screen on his chest. An elaborate scheme is cooked up by Skeletor to trap He Man with the power of his falcon. The plan backfires when Cringer, He Man’s tiger jumps on the back of Screeech and causes the robotic falcon to crash.
The original Mattel Screeech figure is six inches high and came as a stand alone figure or as an added accessory with Evil-Lyn. It is exactly like Zoar but with a different color scheme. The falcon came with missiles and a perch to stand on. Without the perch, the figure would not stand on its own. A button was included that, when pushed, caused the wings to flap. The wings of the falcon were dual red and blue with the missile launcher done in red plastic. One leg of the bird was cybernetic. Its stand was pure red.
There were no different versions of the original Screeech bird figure. It came in a red and black box with four Masters Of The Universe figures depicted on the back.
For those who want to buy a Mattel Screeech, they are plentiful online. If the figure is out of the box, or “loose”, the price will range between $10 for a low quality copy to perhaps up to $30 dollars for better quality. If Screeech comes in an unopened box and is AFA graded the price can go up to $150+.
