| “ | All creatures, no matter how small, have a place in service of Horde Prime.
— Horde Prime
|
” |
Horde Prime, also known as "Prime", was the progenitor and creator of the Horde, as well as Hordak's genetic template, and emperor of the known universe. He takes Hordak's role as the main antagonist of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, starting in Season Three. In the series finale, he was destroyed by Adora after she freed the Heart of Etheria and restored magic to the universe.
Personality
Horde Prime is a cold, self-centered, megalomaniac, and a very controlling person. His main motivation seems so far to be conquering the known universe, and he has no problem gloating about it. He is much less temperamental than his clone Hordak. However, he still has a temper. Hordak was "reconditioned" after Horde Prime rebuked him for his belief that the two could stand as equals. He is also enthusiastic about becoming more powerful, as seen when Catra told him that the entire planet of Etheria was a weapon.
His first major appearance paints him as a narcissist and egotistic person, with a sincerity resembling a messiah complex. He demonstrates this by telling Glimmer that "all creatures, no matter how small, have a place in service of Horde Prime," a way of saying they matter, but are less than him. Later, he says that he does not enjoy destruction, but that 'weeds must be burned for new life to flourish' as if his actions are helping the universe. He does, though, show a form of politeness, as he addressed Glimmer as royalty, and politely bowed before her. He cares about his image, seeing as he called Hordak's efforts to make an empire in his name a "botched conquest," and saying that word must not spread of it. To start with that, he implied he would kill Glimmer, but was stopped by Catra telling him of Etheria's true nature. Despite this outwardly gentlemanly nature, he has a noted habit of placing his hand on Glimmer's shoulder and pushing her around.
Prime seems to have very real sadism and a sense of grandeur. When he invited Catra and Glimmer to dine with him, he went on about how the dish was a delicacy from a planet many light years away... and had been destroyed. He also seemed to show a great deal of pleasure in showing Glimmer her friends being fired-upon, and later revealing to Catra that her plan to uphold her usefulness was an utter waste. Further, when Adora and co. apprehended a Horde Clone, it went on a tangent of how great Prime was by listing off many increasingly grand titles. Finally, Prime likes to keep trophies of the planets he's conquered.
Prime has something of a god complex claiming he "Sees all and Knows all."
Appearance
Like his clone and Hordak, Horde Prime has blue-gray skin, long bat-like ears, and a white face resembling a skull. Unlike Hordak, however, his body appears healthier and well-built, with no dark scaring or deterioration, and has a well-toned muscular form. He has white hair and four fluorescent neon green eyes, one on either side of his nose where most people would expect them, and two smaller ones above and below his primary right eye. The interior of his mouth is noticeably green, with his teeth being neon-green, unlike Hordak's red teeth(Prior to his "reconditioning"). Unlike Hordak and the other clones, among his hair, he has metallic tendrils in a dread hairstyle. Those are prehensile and can be used as tools. In terms of wardrobe, Horde Prime wears a white-and-gray sleeveless robe with an exposed chest, dark gray narrow pants, and shoes with metal soles and toe caps. He has articulated metal claws on each index finger that can show computer images. The dark gray pattern around his chest resembles the center of the Horde symbol.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Hive Mind
- Mind Reading/Control: He was able to tap into Hordak's mind. It is revealed he can read and control the mind of anyone connected to his hive mind, either they be one of his clones or someone that has a Horde Chip implanted on their necks.
- Consciousness Transference: He can transfer his consciousness to another body. This how he has survived for centuries.
- Prehensile Hair: Horde Prime's metallic tendrils in his hair are prehensile, and can be used to "recondition" clones.
- Technopathy: Prime's hair-like tendrils also let him connect to and control his machines.
Abilities
- Galactic Dominion: As emperor of the Horde, he has complete authority of the galactic empire.
- Manipulation
- Analysis
- Intimidation
Weakness
- Magic: When Adora and her friends visited the planet Krytis they discovered that Horde Prime is vulnerable to magic; this was seen as it was Adora used the power of She-Ra " A being of pure magic" that led to destruction.
- Arrogance
Relationships
Hordak
Horde Prime shows revulsion at how Hordak has changed during his absence.
Hordak is one of his many clones and, at one time, his greatest general, but he was "defective," so he cast him aside. Hordak yearned to please Prime and prove his worth, so he spent years trying to conquer Etheria to show Horde Prime what he is capable of. After briefly opening a portal, Hordak was able to successfully send a distress signal to the emperor of the Horde. When Prime arrived in Etheria, he transported Hordak to his ship and then peered into his mind. Then Prime showed disgust towards his "little brother" for giving himself a name and thinking he could stand by Prime's side; he then wiped Hordak's mind clean and had some of his other clones take him away to be "reconditioned."
Glimmer
When he first met Queen Glimmer, he apologized for Hordak's actions calling them an embarrassment, but he wanted to make sure that this "mess" would be wiped away; however, he spared her when he learned from Catra that she was a part of the Heart of Etheria. Prime then thanked Glimmer for her "allegiance," implying she has no choice in the matter.
Catra
Horde Prime about to sick an enslaved Catra on Adora
Catra is the one who convinced Horde Prime not to destroy Etheria by telling him about the ancient super weapon at the planet's core. To that end, Horde Prime accepts Catra's offer to serve him for that purpose. When she betrayed him and helped Glimmer escape his ship, he decided to "bring her into the light" by implanting a special chip into her nervous system, connecting her to his hive mind, and then make her attack Adora. During the final battle, he said it was a shame to kill his "little sister" and that he had high hopes for her.
Adora
| “ | ” |
Horde Prime showing disdain for Adora's people
Horde Prime only spared Adora because Glimmer told him about She-Ra's connection to the Heart of Etheria. When they met for the first time, he saw through her bluff about using the Heart because she would not risk Catra's life and when she claimed he did not know her, he revealed that he knew much about her including that her ancestors were the First Ones as well as reveal that they were once his greatest enemies. Prime then revealed that he turned Catra into his puppet and used her as a bargaining chip to bring out She-Ra and then made Catra fight her. When Adora was finally able to transform into She-Ra, she saved Catra Damaged his ship and escape Prime's clutches. An enraged Horde Prime enslaved the minds of countless Etherians with his horde chips, including many of her friends and allies, as an act of revenge. When the Horde began losing its grip on other worlds because of She-Ra's influence, Prime had to look for an alternative way to activate the Heart. When he met her in the Fright Zone, Horde Prime could not help but boast that thanks to Hordak's research, he no longer needed She-Ra to activate the super weapon he sought, so nothing was keeping him from killing Adora while saying that her need to save her friends made her weak. During the final battle, he hacked into the very planet and attacked her with an ancient security system left behind by her people, infecting her with his virus to prevent her from transforming. However, Adora and Catra's love for each other proved to be more powerful than his hatred and megalomania as Adora was able to transform She-Ra and use the fail-safe to free the magic inside the Heart of Etheria. When Horde Prime vowed, he would "rise again," Adora corrected him by destroying him, putting an end to his evil reign once and for all.
Plot
Past
Many centuries ago, Horde Prime created an army of clones of himself and used them to conquer vast quantities of the known universe. He has survived by moving his consciousness from one clone body to another, so his reign lasted for centuries. At some point, he encountered the First Ones and destroyed their empire. One of his clones would later become known as Hordak. At some point, Hordak was his greatest general, but he cast Hordak aside due to him being deemed defective by Horde Prime. After this happened, Hordak fell through a portal and landed on Etheria, where he starts building an empire to prove his worth to Horde Prime.
Horde Prime also attacked the planet Krytis, destroying much on it, but the magic was too wild for him to use or defend against, so he left and tried erasing his failure.
Season Three
Contacting Horde Prime was the primary aim of Lord Hordak's efforts, to create a portal into the rest of the universe so that Horde Prime's armies can enter Etheria and finish conquering it. This forms the basis of the conflict in Season 3, as Adora attempts to prevent this from happening while Catra attempts to hasten it. Catra does successfully open a portal using Adora's Sword of Protection as a key. Still, it warps reality and forces Adora to resolve the instabilities to preserve the universe and stabilize the portal.
Once stabilized, the portal was open only for a short time until Adora closed it, but it was long enough for Hordak to send out a distress signal to Horde Prime. In a massive command center, Horde Prime became aware of Hordak's position.
Season Four
Horde Prime learns of the Heart's existence.
Horde Prime's fleet arrived on Etheria, and Hordak, Glimmer, and Catra are teleported to his ship. He was amused to see his "brother" who he thought had perished long ago and then began talking about mysterious readings emitting from the planet below them. After he read his mind, Hordak was subdued and taken away to be "reconditioned" because Horde Prime saw his clone as an "abomination". At the same time, Catra convinced Horde Prime to spare Etheria by presenting it as a super weapon. He then welcomed Glimmer saying that her home world would become the "Jewel" of his empire.
Season Five
Horde Prime as dinner host
He imprisoned Glimmer in a comfortable holding cell while letting Catra wander about the space station under close surveillance. During the start of his invasion of Etheria one of his robots caught footage of Adora and the Emperor of the Horde took an interest in the young lady. After going over Hordak's memories Prime asked Catra to pledge loyalty to him, which she did. He later hosted a dinner with the two and discussed his plans to conquer Etheria, while showing images of his attack on the planet. He agreed to spare Adora's life when Glimmer pointed out that he needed all the Princesses, including She-Ra, to activate the Heart of Etheria. After dinner he noted Catra's distress and pointed that out to her, saying that Etherians are weak because of their close connection to each other.
| “ | Rejoice Etheria, for Prime has come to you. Do not fear, for you have been given the opportunity to share in a world soon to be made in my image. But first you must prove yourselves worthy. Your leader, your She-Ra, she would see you suffer in darkness for her sake. Cast aside this false hero and deliver her to me. Prime sees all, Prime knows all. They will not escape my judgment.
— Horde Prime's broadcast to Etheria
|
” |
Horde Prime Broadcasting across Etheria
A Horde Prime hologram addressed all the people of Etheria, demanding that they turn She-Ra over to him or suffer the consequences. On Horde Prime's space station Catra was caught near Glimmer's cell by a clone who chastised her. Horde Prime sensed this and possessed the clone, using his body to remind Catra that he was in charge. Once un-possessed, the clone opened Glimmer's cell and escorted the Queen to Prime's trophy room. There he bragged about destroying countless worlds to create his twisted sense of order. Glimmer desperately explains that activating the Heart of Etheria would destroy "everything." But Prime is pleased by this; he liked the idea of destroying the universe to eliminate pain and war so that there could be a new beginning for the universe. He offered to spare Micah if Glimmer would deliver She-Ra to him. Glimmer rejected his offer emphatically, smashing one of his prized trophies. He then sent reinforcements to Etheria.
| “ | Behold the purest among you, one to be honored
— Horde Prime after "reconditioning" Hordak
|
” |
Horde Prime summoned his then lackey Catra to his throne room to ask her about an ancient ship that he discovered leaving Etheria. He tasked Catra with questioning Glimmer about the ship and reporting back to him the information. When she said that was impossible, Prime called Hordak forward and demonstrated the reconditioning ceremony on him. He then told Catra to get the information from Glimmer. Prime used the information Catra gave him to locate Mara's ship and Adora. Catra then freed Glimmer. Prime had Catra bound and brought before him, where he accused her of treason and promised to find Glimmer and She-Ra.
Horde Prime rejuvenating himself
When the captured Adora entered Prime's throne room, he revealed that he implanted a Horde Chip into Catra and enslaved her mind. He left the two women, and they began to fight. Prime's connection to Catra severed during the fight, but not before he made her fall off the platform she was on. Surrounded by clones, Adora summoned her true She-Ra form and defeated them all with ease. Seeing this from a video feed, Horde Prime became angered by the turn of events. She-Ra scooped up her friend and found her way to the others with Catra still unconscious. They boarded Darla and escaped.
After that incident, he decided to make Adora hurt and began chipping as many Etherians as possible. Catra learned of his plan from a vision she had trough her chip before Entrapta removed it. It was not long before most of the rebellion was chipped and under his control, including some of their most powerful members; Spinnerella, Mermista, Scorpia, and King Micah.
Horde Prime also set up a blockade around Etheria, but Melog's invisibility enabled Adora and the others to get through on Darla.
Horde Prime looks though the memories of his former self
When a dozen planets occupied by the Horde were revolting, "In the name of She-Ra," he became more determined than ever to use the power of the Heart to bring "peace" to all the universe. He realized that he heard name Etheria once long ago, so he accessed the memories of a previous vessel, but found that the First Ones took their secrets with them when they were wiped out, so he had to look for other ways to access the super weapon.
Horde Prime bragging that he doesn't need She-Ra anymore
Eventually, Horde Prime appeared before Adora again in the Fright Zone, where he revealed he had viewed Hordak's research and found a way to activate the Heart of Etheria without She-Ra. He told Scorpia to kill Adora and Perfuma, but she was able to resist and intentionally miss them before Glimmer teleported them away.
Horde Prime began the process of awakening the Heart of Etheria, beaming Entrapta to his ship just as she was about to deactivate his chips. When She-Ra was on her way to the Heart of Etheria to destroy it, Horde Prime sent a monster created by the First Ones for security reasons after her, forcing Shadow Weaver to self destruct to destroy it.
The demise of Horde Prime
Bow was able to deactivate Horde Prime's chips with Entrapta's program, releasing everyone from his control, then used his holograms to tell everyone to fight against him. Horde Prime ordered Hordak to kill Entrapta, but Hordak resisted Prime's control through his friendship and love for Entrapta and sent Prime falling into a pit. Prime survived by possessing Hordak immediately after and intended to unleash the Heart's full power even if it meant destroying himself as well. As the Heart of Etheria awakened, She-Ra was able to destroy it, absorbing its power, which she used to defeat the Horde. Even with his army defeated, Horde Prime said he would return, but She-Ra exorcised him from Hordak and destroyed him, ending his once-mighty evil empire forever and restoring peace to the universe.
Trivia
- While Prime appeared in the original 1985 TV series, nor his face or his true appearance was never shown, just his voice. This marks the first time Horde Prime's face makes an appearance in all related animated media.
- The fact that any Etherian can even breathe on Horde Prime's ship is either a writing flaw or plot convenient, as Hordak specifically had difficulties with Etheria's atmosphere, and that Catra had difficulty breathing in a room where the atmosphere was adjusted to Hordak's. Though this could be attributed to Hordak being a "flawed" clone.
- "Horde Prime has no space in his empire for individuality; everything needs to be a reflection of his own ego. Characters like Glimmer and Catra, who have been striving for self-individuation this whole time, to be told that 'you're both cogs in this machine and will be used to flatten the universe and make everything uniform,' I think that's the most horrifying thing they've been confronted with." quote from Noelle Stevenson.
- Horde Prime's personal flagship is called "The Velvet Glove" but is never called by name in the series, as told by Noelle.
- Horde Prime is similar to Frieza from the Dragonball franchise as both are galactic tyrants who wiped out the vast majority of the protagonist's people and was ultimately defeated by a survivor.
 |
 |
 |
| She-Ra and the Princesses of Power's Characters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best Friends Squad | Adora/She-Ra • Glimmer • Bow • Catra | |
| Princesses and Rebellion | Perfuma • Mermista • Frosta • Netossa • Spinnerella • Queen Angella • Sea Hawk • King Micah • Entrapta • Scorpia | |
| The Evil Horde | Horde Prime • Horde Prime's Clone Army • Lord Hordak • Lonnie • Kyle • Rogelio • Grizzlor • Octavia • Scorpia's mothers | |
| Others | Castaspella • Swift Wind • Razz • Tung Lashor • Double Trouble • Shadow Weaver • Melog • Huntara | |