Skeleton Warriors is a 13-episode cartoon series created by Landmark Entertainment Group, which originally aired in 1994 on CBS. The show was created by producer Gary Goddard.
Summary
The story takes place on the fictional distant planet of "Luminaire". The conflict of the plot revolves around the need to control the Lightstar Crystal, which powers the great city of Luminicity. Baron Dark, the show's main villain, tried to steal the crystal in order to gain control over its incredible power. He only succeeded in obtaining half of the crystal, with the other half being obtained by Prince Lightstar.
The half of the crystal that the Baron Dark managed to obtain turns him into a living skeleton. It also gives him the power to turn those with evil hearts into living skeletons for his army. Each episode involves Prince Lightstar, his siblings and Baron Dark attempting to obtain the other half of their respective crystals in order to gain control over the planet.
Prince Lightstar forms part of the "Legion of Light." It consists of Justin Lightstar a.k.a. Prince Lightstar, Joshua Lightstar a.k.a. Grimskull, and Jennifer Steele a.k.a. Talyn. They also have been endowed with great powers through their half of the Crystal. They team together with their uncle Ursak (a.k.a. Guardian) to battle the evil Baron Dark. While Baron Dark is transformed into an undead skeleton and given the ability to transform other living beings into his Skeleton Warriors, the Legion of Light gains other fantastic abilities: Lightstar gains the ability to channel energy through his hands, Talyn gains the power of flight, and Grimskull is transformed into an undead creature similar to the Baron, but also has the power to travel through shadows.
Characters
Heroes
Justin Steele/Prince Lightstar
Prince Justin is the leader of the Legion of Light and the one meant to protect the Lightstar Crystal. After its loss, he continually strives to protect humanity and defeat the skeleton warriors. He greatly frustrates the Baron by displaying the clear limits to his power: a person of good heart cannot be turned into a skeleton warrior. When the Lightstar Crystal was shattered, Justin received the ability to project powerful beams of energy out of his hands or through his sword, which later is declared by Ursak to be (or possibly contain, considering the relative sizes of the sword and crystal) an actual piece of the Lightstar Crystal. Jennifer Steele/Talyn
Talyn is a fierce warrior, a gracious princess, a caring soul, and an unwavering defender of the righteous. She somehow manages to combine all her devotion to the fight against evil with great compassion. After the struggle which shattered the Lightstar Crystal, she was granted the power of flight and managed to reconcile Justin and Joshua. Her later exploits include finding a way to actually restore skeleton warriors to the flesh – by removing the "heart gems" that appear after the transformation. Although this discovery is a tactical advantage and a source of hope, it also spurred Baron Dark on to worse acts; if any skeleton warrior is restored to human form, he could use his power to transform them back into skeletons, but, since he was the only one who possessed this power, if he himself was restored, no one else would be able to transform him back into a living skeleton. Joshua Steele/Grimskull
Justin's younger brother, who initially worked together with Baron Dark out of misplaced envy of his older brother. When Justin and Dark struggled for the Lightstar Crystal, Joshua interfered. The resulting surge of power turned him into an undead creature, but where Dark and his Skeleton Warriors are pure skeletons, Joshua - who was renamed Grimskull - is still covered in flesh. Grimskull is seeking redemption by helping his family; he saw the baron's evil during the fight which transformed him. Grimskull is granted the power to travel through shadows wherever he wishes. After his transformation, he befriended a wolf, which he named "Stalker." Ursak the Guardian
Ursak is the brother to the late king and the uncle to the Steele children. He serves as their adviser, second-in-command, mentor, and surrogate father. He is a skilled combatant who leads from the front, as well as a highly competent scientist designing various weapons and armor for the Legion of Light's members.