The 90s Animated Series CONAN: THE ADVENTURER Fueled Kids with Massive Amounts of Testosterone
Conan: The Adventurer… the theme song alone and opening sequence for the 90s animated series was overflowing with masculinity and testosterone! After He-Man and Thundercats, this was the most testosterone-fueled cartoon series that a kid could watch in the 90s!
The series followed a young Cimmerian barbarian named Conan and his allies who "must stop snake-man wizard Wrath-Amon and his snake-men army from resurrecting evil serpent god Set. Conan must also destroy the evil wizard's ring that turned his family into stone.”
The series was based on the iconic character created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s. The series was created by Christy Marx, and it originally debuted on September 13th, 1992, and ran for 65 episodes. It came to a close on November 22, 1993. The series went on to spawn a small toy line in 1992 created by Hasbro.
Here’s a full detailed story summary for the series for those of you who want a little reminder:
Conan lived in Cimmeria with his parents throughout his childhood. While out with his grandfather one night on a trek, "fiery tears" or meteors dropped from the skies. Conan collected them and brought them back to his family. Conan's father, the village blacksmith, used the ore from the meteors to forge Star Metal and used it to create various tools and weapons that would never rust or break or dull. He sold them, but his finest work, a magnificent sword, he kept for Conan. It was laid in a crypt and covered over with a heavy stone slab. Conan's father told his son that only when he was "man enough" (i.e., strong enough) to push off the stone slab, could he rightfully claim the sword.
Meanwhile, the evil Serpent Man wizard Wrath-Amon learned of Star Metal and that in addition to its strength that it possessed the power to open portals between dimensions. He thus sought Star Metal to release his deity Set from "the Abyss" to which he long ago had been banished by the combined powers of virtually every living wizard then on Earth for trying to enslave the human race. As part of his search, Wrath-Amon sought out Conan's family. Conan's father told Wrath-Amon that he had sold all of the Star Metal, but the wizard refused to believe it. The wizard was right for aside from the sword, it was revealed in a later episode that Conan's father had hidden pieces of Star Metal with other villagers. Wrath-Amon used the spell of living stone upon Conan's family.
Conan by then had gone to claim his Star Metal sword to attack Wrath-Amon and his followers. When the Star Metal sword got near Wrath-Amon, it disrupted his magic and showed his reptilian face. To this, he said "Those who see the true face of Wrath-Amon must perish!" (this scene is similar to one in the film). Having chased away the wizard, Conan then turned to his family and swore in the name of their god Crom to find a way of releasing them from the spell.
Conan's adventures thus begin as he searches Hyboria looking for a way to cure his family and free the land from Wrath-Amon's rule. Wrath-Amon's henchmen are also shapeshifting Serpent Men. When Conan's Star Metal sword is close enough to them, it broke the spell that disguised them and revealed their true form to be Serpent Men. When Star Metal made contact with the Serpent Men, it banishes them to the Abyss with Set. Spies and agents of Set and Stygia, many of them also Serpent Men, were present in many cities, nations and tribes throughout the land in the age of Conan.
As compared with the original Conan stories and the Marvel Comics such as King Conan, Conan Saga, Conan the Barbarian and Conan the King, the cartoon Conan displays a higher degree of modern morality. While the original Conan is a thief, a killer, and a philanderer, the cartoon Conan has more in common with sword-wielding cartoon characters such as He-Man. At one point, he refuses to join a pirate crew on the grounds that it is wrong to steal, he refuses to strike unarmed or defeated opponents. He is a kind and caring character, albeit a little naive, who stands up for his friends and what he sees to be right and is very respectable. The show also reduced the violence of the original to cartoon levels, deliberately making the Serpent Men "banished" with any touch of the heroes' weapons rather than actually struck.
The Snake Cult in the cartoon is different from The Snake Cult in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, which the cartoon is based on. In the film, The Snake Cult is led by the evil sorcerer Thulsa Doom, and in the film, Thulsa Doom and his warriors raid Conan's village and murder Conan's tribe including his parents. In the cartoon, The Snake Cult is led by Wrath-Amon, an evil wizard, and Wrath-Amon turns Conan's family into stone statues.
As someone who is a fan of Conan, I enjoyed watching the series as it largely stayed true to Robert E. Howard's material. They just had to tone some things down for the kids. It was actually really fun, and I wish it would have gone on a little longer. Regardless, at least we got what we have!
Below you’ll fun the American opening title sequence for the series!
If you want to watch the series, it’s currently available on the free streaming service Tubi.