Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light is a science fantasy media franchise that consisted of a short-lived toyline of action figures and vehicles produced by Hasbro, and an animated television series by Sunbow Productions that ran for one season of thirteen episodes in 1987.[2] Star Comics published a bimonthly comic book series that lasted six issues from November 1987 to September 1988. The animated series was the first Hasbro property to be produced by Sunbow without the aid of Marvel Productions, and utilized Japanese studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha for overseas animation work.

IDW Publishing published a five-issue crossover comic miniseries featuring the series characters and the Transformers from January to May 2018.

Overview

The story is set on the fictional planet of Prysmos, a futuristic society where all technology and complex machinery suddenly cease functioning, and its citizens are forced to rely on ancient magic to survive. This happens when the three suns of the planet align and their combined radiation emissions deactivate all technology on the planet, similar to an

Characters

Spectral Knights

Headed by Leoric, the Spectral Knights are magic users who use magic for the purposes of good; they are the protagonists of the series.

Darkling Lords

Headed by Darkstorm, the Darkling Lords use their powers for selfish aims and are the antagonists of the series.

Other characters

Merklynn (voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne) – A wizard who occupies a shrine inside Iron Mountain. Merklynn invites knights from across the land to compete in an obstacled race to his shrine, rewarding those who reach its hall with magical abilities. In exchange for recharging their power staffs, Merklynn contracts both the Darkling Lords and Spectral Knights to venture on other quests on his behalf. He sometimes offers magical devices in exchange for their services as well, but Merklynn's gifts usually prove to be more trouble than they are worth. The character was named after Hasbro sculptor Bill Merklein, who developed the holography for the toyline.[11]
Falkama (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A member of the same circle of wizardry as Merklynn. He is first seen in possession of an artifact called the Dragon's Eye, which Merklynn needs to replenish his magical pool. He is later used by Darkstorm in the latter's failed plot to depose Merklynn, and is then among a trio of fugitive wizards apprehended by the Spectral Knights and imprisoned by Merklynn. The character's name was created by Flint Dille from the surnames of comics writers Lee Falk and Larry Hama.[12]
Bogavas (voiced by Jim Cummings) – An enigmatic wizard who is among the three escapees from the Wizards' Jail along with Falkama and Weazaskweaza. When the Spectral Knights capture and bring him to Merklynn, Bogavas denies knowing any real magic. Merklynn subjects him to a test to prove his honesty, which he seemingly passes and is thus allowed to go free.
Weazaskweaza (voiced by Bernard Erhard) – A wizard who is condemned to never tell the truth and was imprisoned in the Wizards' Jail along with Falkama and Bogavas. After the Darkling Lords take advantage of his curse to locate a lost underground shrine, Weazaskweaza betrays them and seeks a source of power inside the shrine that would allow him to supplant Merklynn, but is thwarted by Leoric and reimprisoned. According to Flint Dille, Weazaskweaza's name was an instance of inserting "crude adolescent humor" into the show.[12]
Heskedor (voiced by Susan Blu) – An ancient crone who lives in an isolated cave. When Darkstorm seeks Heskedor's aid in defeating Leoric, she creates a potion that will permanently trap Leoric in his lion totem form if the spell is not broken by sunset. The Spectral Knights manage to catch on to Darkstorm's scheme and Witterquick confronts Heskedor, forcing her to hand over an antidote to the potion.
Fletchen (voiced by Jennifer Darling) – A young woman from a peasant village outside New Valarak. Darkstorm uses her superstitious people as unwitting pawns in his plan to permanently trap Leoric in his lion form. Though she is able to convince his fellow Spectral Knights of the truth, the other townspeople refuse to listen and only stop attacking the Spectral Knights once Leoric is freed from the spell.
Gleering (voiced by Peter Cullen) – Fletchen's father. He and his fellow villagers are fearful of all magic and lean on superstition to ward off evil. Darkstorm exploits this to turn them against the Spectral Knights by convincing them that they are evil wizards guarding a magical beast. Gleering and his people learn that they had nothing to fear from magic, provided it is used for good.
Orzan (voiced by Peter Cullen) – The ruler of Khemir, a city that thrived in the Age of Science and utilized robotic slaves. Despite falling into destitution after the death of technology, the Khemirites stubbornly refuse to change their way of living. Darkstorm preys on Orzan's pride and his people's desperation by using them to assist in the Darkling Lords' takeover of New Valarak. After experiencing a fearful vision of his robot slaves rebelling against him, he renounces slavery and pledges to adapt to the current times.
Belizar (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A young Khemirite man who first alerts the Darkling Lords to his people's plight, and aids them in conquering New Valarak and enslaving the Spectral Knights. After being told that, since he was not a Darkling Lord, he was ineligible to compete for the Spectral Knights' power staff, Belizar vents his frustration on Leoric and Ectar by forcing them to move furniture for him. Later, however, he and his fellow Khemirite, Mana, help the Spectral Knights escape and regain their totem powers. Belizar vowed to one day prove worthy of knighthood; in the meantime, he would stay in New Valarak and help the people rebuild.
Marna (voiced by Jennifer Darling) – A young Khemirite woman who suggests that her people begin fending for themselves after the death of technology has rendered their robotic slaves obsolete, but she is rebuked as they consider it demeaning to their culture. After taking part in Darkstorm's invasion of New Valarak, during which the Spectral Knights are captured and enslaved, Marna realizes that freedom at the expense of others is wrong. She then assists in freeing the Knights and helping them drive the Darkling Lords out of New Valarak.

Sun Imps

The Sun Imps are diminutive and mischievous creatures who appear in the final episode of the animated series. They were imprisoned inside an underground tomb after causing much havoc during the first Age of Magic, but earthquakes have exposed the tomb over time, prompting Merklynn to send the Visionaries to rebury it. Cindarr is tricked by his fellow Darkling Lord Lexor into releasing the creatures, which leads to a frantic attempt by both factions to recapture them.

Abraxas (voiced by Neil Ross) – A Wizard Imp who can reflect spells onto their caster. He is outwitted by Merklynn with a "Capture Thyself" spell that is reversed and leads to Abraxas' capture.
Gorge (voiced by Peter Cullen) – A Pig Imp who can turn ground to mud and force pigs to stampede. His weakness is gluttony, which the Visionaries exploit by tricking him into overindulging himself.
Growl – A Cat Imp who can control felines and generate sonic waves, allowing him to cause landslides and break windows. Cindarr uses his power of Destruction to recapture him.
Knightmare (voiced by Hal Rayle) – A Dream Imp who can hypnotize others and uses a hammer to quickly knock them out. He is caught after being dizzied to the extent that he knocks himself out.
Mysto – A Fish Imp who can turn ground to ice and control fish. Galadria and Virulina work together in their animal forms to trap him underwater inside a treasure chest.
Shaggy – A Hair Imp who can cause hair to grow rapidly, which he uses to humiliate Darkstorm. However, he cannot use his powers if his own hair is cut, and he is consequently converged upon with oversized shaving implements.

Adaptations

Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel's Star Comics imprint published a bimonthly miniseries beginning in November 1987 that was cancelled midway through a four-part adventure in September 1988 after only six issues. The first issue was an adaptation of the first episode, "The Age of Magic Begins", but subsequent issues took the storyline in a different direction with changes from the animated series such as characters having unlimited use of their power staffs, with Witterquick and Cindarr combining the powers of their staffs to defeat an enemy in one issue. The animal totems were depicted in their natural forms instead of the two factions' representative blue or green.[17]

IDW Publishing

IDW Publishing released a five-issue Transformers vs. Visionaries miniseries from January to May 2018, written by Magdalene Visaggio and illustrated by Fico Ossio.[24]

Marvel Comics

IDW Publishing

IDW Publishing released a five-issue Transformers vs. Visionaries miniseries from January to May 2018, written by Magdalene Visaggio and illustrated by Fico Ossio.[24]

Film

In December 2015, Hasbro and Paramount Pictures were planning to create a cinematic universe combining Visionaries with the G.I. Joe, Micronauts, M.A.S.K. and Rom properties.[25] A group of writers, including Michael Chabon, Brian K. Vaughan, Nicole Perlman, and Cheo Hodari Coker, was hired to develop storylines the following year in April,[26] but the writers' room disbanded in July 2017,[27] and the series has since remained in development.

References

David Reddish. 15 Animated Superhero TV Shows You Completely Forgot about Screen Rant, 1 September 2016, retrieved 23 June 2018^

David Perlmutter. The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows Rowman & Littlefield, 2018^

Hal Erickson. Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 McFarland & Co, 2005^

Appears only on official toy packaging and never spoken in the cartoon or comic series.^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Sunbow Productions (Episode 11: "Sorcery Squared"), 1987^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Sunbow Productions (Episode 9: "Horn of Unicorn, Claw of Dragon"), 1987^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Sunbow Productions (Episode 2: "The Dark Hand of Treachery"), 1987^

Featured only in the 1987 Star Comics series.^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Sunbow Productions (Episode 1: "The Age of Magic Begins"), 1987^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Sunbow Productions (Episode 12: "Honor Among Thieves"), 1987^

Gary Head, Jaiman Stone. GI Joe Sculptor Bill Merklein Interview HissTank.com, November 6, 2010, retrieved September 30, 2018^

Rod Hannah. Q&A with Flint Dille Prysmos.com, 2004, retrieved February 7, 2020^

80's Visionaries Toy Commercial 2 YouTube, 20 May 2008, retrieved 13 September 2017^

Visionaries Action Figures Guide 1987 Complete Collector List toysntat.com, May 31, 2025^

SDCC 2017 Hasbro's Revolution Exclusive Box Set Images! July 10, 2017^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Amazon, 17 May 2004, retrieved 22 November 2018^

{{gcdb series|id=3442|title=''Visionaries''}}^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Marvel Comics, November 1987^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Marvel Comics, January 1988^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Marvel Comics, March 1988^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Marvel Comics, May 1988^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Marvel Comics, July 1988^

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light Marvel Comics, September 1988^

Oliver Sava. This Visionaries vs. Transformers exclusive revives a forgotten Hasbro property The A.V. Club, 8 September 2017, retrieved 13 September 2017^

Gregg Kilday. Paramount, Hasbro Creating Movie Universe Around G.I. Joe, Four Other Brands The Hollywood Reporter, December 15, 2015, retrieved September 13, 2017^

Borys Kit. Hasbro Cinematic Universe Takes Shape With Michael Chabon, Brian K. Vaughan, Akiva Goldsman (Exclusive) The Hollywood Reporter, 21 April 2016, retrieved 13 September 2017^

Dani Di Placido. The 'Transformers' Writers Room Isn't Coming Back Forbes, August 2, 2017, retrieved March 4, 2019^

genre	Action-adventure Science fantasy Superhero‡R1R‡
runtime	22 min.
creator	Flint Dille
director	Yoshi Mikamoto
executive producer	Joe Bacal Yutaka Fujioka Tom Griffin
theme music composer	Ford Kinder Anne Bryant
composer	Thomas Chase Jones Steve Rucker
company	Hasbro Sunbow Productions TMS Entertainment, Inc.
voices	Susan Blu Roscoe Lee Browne Peter Cullen Jim Cummings Jennifer Darling Bernard Erhard Jonathan Harris Chris Latta Michael McConnohie Hal Rayle Neil Ross Beau Weaver
narrated	Malachi Throne
country	United States
language	English
network	First-run syndication
first aired	September 20, 1987
last aired	December 13, 1987
num seasons	1
num episodes	13

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

Overview

Characters

Spectral Knights

Darkling Lords

Other characters

Sun Imps

Action figures

TV series

Episodes

Home media

Adaptations

Comics

Marvel Comics

IDW Publishing

Marvel Comics

IDW Publishing

Film

External links

References