Oracle "Orko" is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. A sorcerer and the last of his species (in Netflix's 2021 continuation), Orko first appeared in the 1980s Filmation series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He also made feature appearances in episodes of the shows' direct spinoff series She-Ra: Princess of Power and then in the 2002 remake of the original series. In 2021, Orko returned for Masters of the Universe: Revelation which serves as a continuation of the original 1980s series. The character was named ‘Gorpo’ in the early original series drafts, but he was renamed ‘Orko’ (his original name was used in the Brazilian Portuguese-language dub of the original series). Orko was not part of the original toy collection on which the 1980s show is based, but when he was created by the show's writers as comic relief, a toy figure of him was later manufactured.
Appearances
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983) Orko is first introduced in the 1983 animated series. Orko is a Trollan, a race of beings from Trolla, a world in another dimension. Trollans wear red robes, red hats, and hide their faces beneath hats and behind scarves. In Trollan society, showing one's face to each other is considered an intimate act, similar to humans sharing a kiss. A production drawing of Orko without his hat showed him resembling a little blue elf, but it was never used in the series. Orko does reveal his face in the episode "Dawn of Dragoon", but his face is not visible to the audience, though his shadow indicates he is bald. Trollans appear to be blue-skinned humanoids with pointy ears. However, their feet remain hidden under their robes. Trollans have natural magical abilities, including levitation, which they use exclusively instead of walking. In one episode, Orko temporarily loses the power of levitation, and can be seen crawling around on his knees. Still, some Trollans have greater magical power than others; Orko's uncle, for example, is a noted magician. Orko knows He-Man's true identity.
Orko has always had trouble with his magical powers. A recurring joke in the series is that almost every time he tries to use magic, it backfires in an amusing way; the reason for this is not clear. In one episode, it is suggested that Trolla operates with natural laws that are the opposite of Eternia's, and in Trolla, Orko was a good magician. However, in later episodes this is contradicted, and Orko is shown to be equally incompetent even on Trolla. Another episode indicates that Orko possessed a magical pendant that allows him to use magic correctly, but he later lost it. The amulet later turned up stuck on the back of a dinosaur resurrected by Skeletor. When Orko got back the amulet to erase the happening events, it goes back on the dinosaur before it all happens.
In addition to his magic incantations, Orko also stores an impossibly large plethora of items inside his hat, some useful, some not so useful.
Orko came to Eternia when a cosmic storm accidentally transported him there. He appeared in the Tar Swamp, where he found a young Prince Adam and his pet, Cringer, at the time a tiger cub, and saved them both from dying in the tar. However, he lost his pendant in the process after colliding with a tree.
Stuck on Eternia, Orko was made Royal Buffoon by the King of Eternia in gratitude for having saved his son. Orko became one of Adam's closest friends; in fact, Orko knows that Adam is secretly He-Man, it is revealed in season one episode one of the Masters of the Universe that Orko followed Prince Adam to Castle Greyskull, thus knowing He-Man and Prince Adam's true identity. Orko frequently annoys Man-At-Arms, due to his magic constantly backfiring or Orko coming into his lab unexpected and uninvited and messing with his equipment, which gets on Man-At-Arms' nerves, rather than amusing him as it does others. Orko has proven to be a good friend and a valuable ally, despite his unpredictable powers and the fact he is more than a little clueless. Sometimes, Orko wonders how useful he is to He-Man, but despite his apparent cowardliness, he never fails to help those in need. Also, throughout the series, Adam/He-Man is constantly in Orko's debt for saving his life when he was a child. On two occasions, He-Man has helped Orko regain his magical powers.