Birds are an important part of the Masters Of The Universe character set and Zoar was the falcon for the Grayskull team. The bird began as a pet for He Man, but eventually came to represent the essence of the Sorceress. Depending on if DC Comics, Filmation or the minicomics were involved, the falcon Zoar is different in each case. Mattel made an incarnation of the falcon in the early eighties.
The Falcon Zoar is not just another bird in the land of Eternia. He has the power to fight off ghosts. Such is what happened when Zoar was first seen in the world of the Masters Of The Universe. Skeletor was his regular self, looking for a way to find the key to the power of Castle Grayskull. He found a green pyramid that contains a switch to give this power to himself. All at once, the Castle Grayskull starts to feel weak. The Sorceress then sends out He Man along with Zoar to find out what happened. Once He Man gets close to his old enemy ghosts start to attack him. Zoar helps him to fight them off and eventually to win by using the cannons that the bird carries in flight. Skeletor is defeated once again, and all is well in Grayskull. Eventually Zoar comes to represent the spirit of the Sorceress and is also known as Teela.
Zoar came packaged with Teela in the early eighties. The size of the falcon was much larger than normal in the original version. In later versions this was corrected. The color and size of Zoar are nearly the same as Skeletor’s falcon Screeech. Zoar is orange with blue highlights while Screeech is dark blue with dark pink highlights. Both moldings are taken from the “Big Jim” toy line that preceded the Masters Of The Universe series in 1973. The instruction manual that came with Zoar was the same instruction manual that came with Screeech. The birds had rubber wings that could be flapped with a lever from one leg. The red armor that Zoar carried was placed around the neck of the bird earning it the title of “fighting falcon”. The figure came with a red stand, since it was unable to stand on its own. The original molding of Zoar was its only version.
Those that are curious about collecting the Mattel Zoar figure will not have far to look. The fighting falcon is readily found online in the markets. A Zoar with no accessories in used condition will range from one dollar to 12 dollars. If the accessories are included that price can go up to $25 dollars. If the bird comes in an unopened box, the numbers go up sharply. For an original Zoar in the package the range can be from $12 dollars up to $100 dollars. All the exterior accessories are easily found. The missile launcher that goes around the neck of the falcon as well as the perch can all be found in separate offers.
