| “ | All creatures, no matter how small, have a place in service of Horde Prime. | ” |
–Horde Prime to Glimmer and Catra | ||
Horde Prime, also known as Prime, was a character of the A-B10's Saga. He was the progenitor, creator and absolute ruler of the Horde, as well as Hordak's genetic template, and emperor of half universe.
Horde Prime was the primary antagonist of Ultimate Princesses of Power Alien.
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 evidence of dark scarring or deterioration, with 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 dreadlock 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.
Personality[]
Horde Prime is a cold, self-centered, controlling megalomaniac. His main motivation is to "bring light" to the universe by bringing it under his control, and he has no problem gloating about it. He is much less temperamental than his clone Hordak. However, he still has a temper. 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 depicts him as narcissistic and selfish, with a genuinely sincere messianic complex. He states that "all creatures, no matter how small" matter, but they are less than him. Later, he also says that he doesn't like destruction, but that "weeds must be burned for new life to flourish", as if his actions help the universe. However, he shows a form of kindness and respect, as he addresses Glimmer with a polite bow before her. However, he in no way does anything to mask her cruelty, showing off a brainwashed Catra in front of Adora and Ben, calling the young girl her "little sister", but minutes later showing no hesitation to make her commit suicide. He cares about his image, calling Hordak's efforts to create an empire in his name a "failed conquest" and saying word must not spread. To begin with, he hints that he would kill Glimmer, but is stopped by Catra who tells him Etheria's true nature. Despite this seemingly gentlemanly nature, he has a well-known habit of putting his hand on Glimmer's shoulder and pushing her around.
Horde Prime seems to be a sadist and possesses a sense of superiority grandeur over others. When he invites Catra and Glimmer to dine with him, he boasts about how the dish is a delicacy from a planet many light years away... Which he destroyed. He also seems to show a great deal of pleasure in showing Glimmer images of her friends struggling in battle, and later reveals to Catra that her plan to uphold her usefulness was an utter waste. Finally, Prime likes to keep trophies of the planets he's conquered.
Horde Prime has something of a god complex claiming, "Prime sees all, Prime knows all". He has declared this on many occasions.
History[]
Background[]
Early Life[]
Horde Prime's life before becoming the despot of half universe is unknown. Anyone who knew him or even heard of him by fame did so when he was already the leader of the Horde. è molto probabile che gli unici a conoscere le sue origini siano stati da tempo sterminati.
The Galactic Horde[]
Many centuries ago, Horde Prime sought to conquer the universe and bring it into his "eternal light", justifying his actions with the claim that it was the only way to achieve ultimate peace. To this end, he created a massive clone army using his genetic material. To ensure his clones were obedient, Prime implanted all of them with cybernetics that connected them into a hive mind under his control. Through the hive mind, Prime essentially became immortal, as he would easily transfer his consciousness into a fresh clone body anytime his current body broke down or aged.
Horde Prime embarked upon a mass conquest of the universe. After conquering his first planet, Prime took the planet's prized treasure, a glass orb, as a souvenir. He would later consider the orb to be his favorite trophy amongst his collection of artifacts and objects taken from conquests. Eventually, Prime had the entire world's population killed before continuing on his conquest.
From then on, Horde Prime would go on to successfully conquer countless worlds and eventually entire galaxies with his vast army. During this period, one of his clones gained enough of his favor to become Prime's top general. This unnamed clone was later be known as Hordak and Prime gave him the nickname "little brother".
Conflict with the Eternians[]
During his reign, Horde Prime came into conflict with the Eternians. The war remained at a stalemate for several centuries for both factions, which led to the destruction and degradation of numerous planets, such as Petropia II, due to their continuous clashes.
At some point, the turning point for the conflict came with the disappearance of Etheria from the universe and the subsequent civil war that broke out on Eternia, which significantly weakened the Eternians. With this advantage, Horde Prime managed to overthrow their empire and wipe out most of them before they too disappeared.
Following the victory, Horde Prime began taking over the Eternians' old colonies and harming them in the process. However, on some planets, such as Krytis, the magic was so wild that it was not usable and/or controllable, so they were abandoned and forgotten to hide its failure.
Fight the other side of the Universe[]
Once he consolidated his power over the Eternians territories, Horde resumed his crusade to conquer the entire universe.
The Plumbers reacted and quickly charged at the Horde Armada, but were cornered just as quickly. Subsequently, numerous other factions aligned themselves to oppose the Horde, such as the Incurseans and the Tetramands, but they too were defeated. But when it seemed that Horde had already won, a Chimera Sui Generis of "ambitious disobedience" appeared: he was Vilgax.
Horde Prime did not fear Vilgax at first, seeing him as a "tentacled punk" seeking fame. Vilgax, however, proved dangerously strategic and managed to hold back Horde's invasion, enough to fight his way to the Velvet Glove. The clash between the two groups culminated in a no-holds-barred battle between Vilgax and Horde on the edge of the Eternians' old territories. At one point, locked in a stalemate, Vilgax and Horde made a "peace treaty" that prohibited either from interfering in the other's part of the universe.
Horde Prime subsequently retreated to his empire's territories, with the title "Emperor of Half Universe" hurting his pride.
Losing Hordak[]
At some point, Horde Prime came to discover the "imperfections" of his top general; although it possessed genetic defects, the clone had also developed free will and had become independent of the hive mind. Unwilling to allow his clones to possess free will, Prime demoted his "little brother" to a common clone.
Decades later, that same faulty clone disappeared. Horde Prime thought the former general was dead and continued to rule his empire.
Ultimate Princesses of Power Alien[]
Season 3[]
In "Mondi im-perfetti (Parte II)", following the opening and closing of the portal, Horde Prime managed to intercept the signal sent to him by Hordak. Horde was amused at how his "little brother" had been on Etheria the entire time.
Season 4[]
...
Powers and abilities[]
- Sharp Claws: Horde Prime possess razor-sharp claws that can scrape through metal and rock.
- Enhanced Strength: Horde Prime have strength far above the average human and are able to lift multiple times his own weight and bend various strong materials with ease.
- Enhanced Endurance: Their large size allows the Horde Prime to possess a high level of endurance.
- Enhanced Intelligence: Warlike as Garlan are, the Horde Prime have an analytical problem-solving and helpful mind. This allows him to think more strategically when brute force is inefficient.
- Enhanced Agility: Horde Prime are very agile and can perform acrobatics such as somersaults and forward flips.
- Manipulation: This ability stems largely from Horde Prime's skill of intimidation. He uses others' fear of him to control them, a possible reason as to why he has reigned for so long.
- Intimidation: Being an old, experienced ruler of a galactic dominion, intimidation of people below him comes easily. He seems to rather enjoy this ability, and constantly exploits it to manipulate anyone who dares go against him.
Cybernetic Enhancements[]
- Hive Mind
- Mind Reading and Control: Horde Prime 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, whether one of his clones or someone that has a Horde Chip implanted on their necks.
- Consciousness Transference: Horde Prime can transfer his consciousness to another body. This is 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.
Weaknesses[]
- Constrained by Large Size: Horde Prime may encounter problems in spaces created by smaller species such as Terrans.
- Limited Intelligence: Despite possessing superior intelligence, Horde Prime does not know everything and can still make miscalculations. However, he is too proud to admit it.
- Magic: The ruins present on Krytis would demonstrate that Horde Prime is vulnerable to magic, probably because it is not as controllable as technology.
- Arrogance: As noted by several characters, Horde Prime's greatest flaw is his overconfidence in his abilities and experience.
Appearances[]
Ultimate Princesses of Power Alien[]
Season 3[]
- Mondi im-perfetti (Parte II) (first appearance)
Season 4[]
- I misteri delle sirene [1] (cameo)
- Ritorna con la vendetta (flashback)
- Destino (Parte II)
Season 5[]
- Il Grande Horde[1]
- Decollo[1]
- Corridoi[1]
- Salviamo la gatta[1]
- Prendere il controllo[1]
- Venti di sventura
- Ritorno alla Zona della Paura[1]
- Il Cuore (Parte I)
- Il Cuore (Parte II)
Trivia[]
- In "Salviamo la gatta[1]", when Ben reveals that he is an Terran and not an Eternian, Horde is amazed that "apes finally evolved". This could mean that at some point he had been on Earth and had encountered specimens of Australopithecus.
- The character of Horde Prime is comparable to other villains from different franchises:
- Is similar to that of 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. They also have similar voices and personalities and both suffer a villainous breakdown near the end of their arcs.
- He is also similar to Emperor Zarkon from Voltron: Legendary Defender, as both have succeeded in conquering their own universes, wiping out an alien race thought to be dead. Both killed by family members, Hordak and Lotor. However the two diverge in the fact that Horde Prime survived Hordak's attempt to kill him, whereas Zarkon did not survive being killed by Lotor.
- He also has similarities with several antagonists from the Star Trek franchise: his appearance (his exposed chest and hairstyle) resemble Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, while his voice being a bit similar to that of Ricardo Montalban; his cult leader persona and belief that he is somehow helping the universe is similar to Gul Dukat from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; his role as leader of a hive mind bears similarity to the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact.
- He even shares similarities with Lobo from the DC Animated Universe, as they both wiped out their own kind to demonstrate their abilities after being vilified and mocked. The difference is that Horde did it out of revenge and years of abuse, while Lobo did it for his "high school science project" (he gave himself an "A").
- His obsession with perfection arose from the fact that he himself was not considered perfect by his species as he was albino and defective.
- The fact that Horde Prime considers Hordak his "little brother" is a reference to the Original Series, where the two were actually related brothers.