The io9 Guide to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

He-Man was probably the most highly effective man within the motion determine universe throughout the ‘80s, a pioneer in kid’s cartoons that made the toy firm Mattel $400 million in 1986 alone throughout the peak of his reputation. But after that, he and the opposite Masters of the Universe fell from grace to close whole obscurity, minus the franchise’s die-hard followers. Now that He-Man is getting an opportunity to wield the facility of Grayskull as soon as extra due to a new animated Netflix collection from Kevin Smith (with one more collection on the way in which), it’s time to brush up on all issues Eternia. Here’s every thing it’s good to learn about Masters of the Universe.

Welcome again to the io9 Guide collection, the place we take an introductory however complete have a look at a very powerful universes of science fiction and fantasy. These guides are geared toward lay-people in the hunt for a fast refresher, in addition to seasoned followers who wish to debate the which means and important information of a topic.

What Is Masters of the Universe About?

Masters of the Universe, typically referred to easily as “He-Man” after its star, is a sword, sorcery, and sci-fi franchise that got here to the forefront of popular culture within the early and mid-‘80s through a massively successful toyline and its accompanying animated series. In it, He-Man (a noble, Conan the Barbarian-esque hero) and his friends fight the evil Skeletor (an evil, blue-skinned sorcerer) and his minions to prevent them from stealing the massive, mysterious powers residing inside Castle Grayskull and conquering the planet of Eternia, along with thwarting other assorted evils, rescuing people, and just generally saving the day.

The combination of the toyline and the cartoon was part of the reason for Masters of the Universe’s immense reputation, however that wouldn’t have mattered if the franchise hadn’t had one thing particular: everybody. There had been warriors and wizards, gunfighters and sorcerers, anthropomorphic beasts and bugs and extra. There was a firefighter who had a robotic elephant’s head, a glow-in-the-dark ghost, ninjas, and extra. Giant inexperienced tigers ran alongside automobiles that smashed boulders on individuals but in addition appeared vaguely like a brontosaurus. Masters of the Universe had one thing for nearly anyone, however the truth that it seemingly had every thing was what made the franchise so compelling and distinctive.

Who are the heroes in Masters of the Universe?

He-Man—The strongest man within the universe. Unfortunately, He-Man has a secret: in actuality, he’s Prince Adam, a youthful, scrawnier teen who should maintain aloft his magical sword and yell, “By the power of Grayskull… I have the power!” to rework into He-Man. Additionally, he should preserve his id as He-Man secret from his royal mother and father, his finest buddy Teela, and everybody else to maintain them protected; solely Man-at-Arms, the Sorceress, and the bumbling sorcerer Orko know. As a consequence, most individuals assume Adam is a lazy, cowardly child who disappears every time there’s bother—simply earlier than He-Man steps on the scene.

Teela—The adopted daughter of Man-at-Arms, and the captain of the Royal Guard. Even again within the ‘80s cartoon, Teela has been shown to be just as capable and brave as He-Man, she’s simply unable to carry mountains together with her naked palms. However, she has a large secret even she doesn’t know—she’s the daughter of the Sorceress, guardian of Castle Grayskull, and can sooner or later must take up her mom’s mantle.

Man-at-Arms—The mustachioed chief of the Royal Guard, a father to Teela, and a foster father to Adam as he’s one of many few who know the key of He-Man.

Orko—An elfin, blue, hovering, bumbling wizard from the dimension of Trolla. He means effectively, however he’s typically horrible at magic. Sometimes his wizardry simply futzes out, however many occasions it causes issues so big and harmful that He-Man has to step in to repair them.

Other “Masters of the Universe”: Stratos, Mekaneck, Ram Man, Man-E-Faces, Buzz-Off, Fisto, Sy-Klone, Roboto, Clamp Champ, Rio Blast, Snout Spout, and extra.

Who are the villains in Masters of the Universe?

Skeletor—The skull-faced lord of evil, decided to defeat He-Man, seize the facility of Grayskull for himself, and rule all of Eternia. He’s a strong sorcerer who has greater than as soon as endangered himself and the complete planet in his quest for dominance. Although this was solely hinted at within the unique Eighties cartoon, Skeletor was once Keldor, the brother of King Randor, and uncle to Prince Adam. He injured his face with acid throughout an try to usurp the throne, used his darkish magic to change into Skeletor, and vowed revenge.

Evil-Lyn—Skeletor’s associate in evil and a mighty magician in her personal proper. She schemes with Skeletor in his bid for energy, however typically has her personal agenda—which has led to her betraying him on a number of events. However, Evil-Lyn is much less monomaniacal than Skeletor, and much more rational and down to earth, to the purpose that she’s prepared to work with the great guys if a real want arises.

Skeletor’s minions—Beast Man, Mer-Man, Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops, Clawful, Jitsu, Two Bad, Whiplash, Ninjor, and Scare Glow, amongst others.

The Horde and the Snake Men—There are two different large factions of dangerous guys who didn’t actually issue into the unique animated He-Man collection, though they acquired motion figures and have since been adopted into the general MotU canon. The first is the Horde, commanded by the aptly named Hordak, who briefly got here to Eternia for a particular film occasion (and starred in She-Ra). The second is the Snake Men, led by King Hiss (though they had been a serious a part of the 2002 collection). Right now, none of them have appeared in any Masters of the Universe: Revelation footage, so whether or not they’ll present up is anyone’s guess.

How was the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise created?

The toy firm Mattel introduced He-Man and the Masters of the Universe into existence as a competitor to Kenner’s best-selling Star Wars figures (which Mattel had handed on making). The aim was to make a line centered on fantasy somewhat than Star Wars’ sci-fi angle as a kind of counterprogramming. Lead toy designer Roger Sweet, packaging director Mark Taylor, and different Mattel personnel created figures that will stand 5 inches tall to tower over Star Wars and G.I. Joe toys, be rippling with muscular tissues, and have a reputation that epitomized boys’ adolescent energy fantasies: Masters of the Universe. When the primary wave of MotU figures, automobiles, and playsets got here out in 1982, they had been rapidly best-sellers… and that’s earlier than Lou Scheimer’s animation studio Filmation debuted the additionally extensively profitable He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon in 1983, which pushed gross sales even greater.

In a means, President Ronald Reagan helped create He-Man. In 1969, the Federal Communications Commission made an announcement that TV applications couldn’t be “program-length commercials”—i.e., reveals centered on merchandise children might buy or purchase—hoping the TV networks would regulate themselves. But when the Republican Reagan took workplace, youngsters’s programming was one of many issues he wished to decontrol. The president put Mark S. Fowler in control of the FCC in 1981, and Fowler rapidly allowed networks and firms to do just about no matter they wished. To wit, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe turned the primary syndicated collection to be primarily based on a toyline ever.

The mixture proved very profitable for Mattel and Filmation. Dozens extra figures, automobiles, monsters, and playsets had been offered, the present racked up 130 episodes, and He-Man was spun-off right into a literal sister collection when the 2 corporations launched She-Ra: Princess of Power collection and toyline in 1985. However, in 1987, pleasure in He-Man had diminished thanks partly to an unrecognizable and fairly horrible live-action film the identical 12 months, starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella as He-Man and Skeletor. Mattel and Filmation needed to scrap plans for a brand new collection set on this planet of He-Man, titled The Powers of Grayskull, that very same 12 months and the complete toyline was discontinued in 1988.

Mattel has made a number of makes an attempt to revive the once-popular franchise since then, nearly all the time with an accompanying cartoon. The first was in 1990, the place He-Man and Skeletor went to the celebrities within the extra sci-fi-targeted New Adventures of He-Man; it solely lasted till 1991. The subsequent try was in 2002, when it was revamped and rebooted for a brand new viewers on Cartoon Network. While some older Masters of the Universe followers loved it, the audience of youthful children was not and the present was canceled. Mattel additionally mismanaged the toyline, flooding the market with He-Mans and Skeletors however virtually no different characters had been made accessible.

There has solely been one profitable Masters of the Universe relaunch, and it wasn’t an animated collection. It’s the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline, which was geared particularly to these die-hard followers who had grown up watching and loving the franchise within the ‘80s. These figures had much improved sculpts and articulation compared to the original toys, but perhaps the real reason for its success is how it pulled from all eras of He-Man. Mattel finally made figures of countless characters that had never been manufactured—from the old mini-comics, the 2002 cartoon, and Powers of Grayskull. It even recreated the cast of She-Ra in the same style and managed to make the New Adventures iterations of the characters look cool. At the same time, the “bios” on the characters’ packaging tried to create one unified storyline utilizing all these wildly totally different, and generally outright contradictory, components of the franchise. Between 2008 and 2020, greater than 200 figures, automobiles, and playsets had been launched to collectors’ delight.

Where and when was She-Ra launched?

I’m so glad you requested! She-Ra was created by Mattel when it found what number of ladies had been watching the present it had assumed would solely be watched by boys. The toyline debuted in 1984 as precise motion figures, very totally different from dolls like Barbie (though they nonetheless had hair you would comb, fairly horses to journey, and an abundance of pink). However, the accompanying animated collection, She-Ra: Princess of Power was nothing just like the girl-targeted cartoons of the time, reminiscent of Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake.

She-Ra was launched within the first animated He-Man film in March 1985, titled the Secret of the Sword. Like Prince Adam, She-Ra was the alter ego of Adam’s twin sister Adora, besides the evil Hordak had kidnapped her as an toddler, spirited her away to the planet Etheria, and raised her to be a part of his military. Obviously, she finally sees the reality however decides to remain on Etheria and struggle Hordak alongside the Great Rebellion—as a result of not like on Eternia, the dangerous guys had received, and only some heroes had been left to face in opposition to it. In reality, She-Ra was arguably richer and extra dramatic than He-Man.

She-Ra by no means made it to The New Adventures of He-Man or the 2002 collection, and there’s no signal of her being in Revelation, both. Happily, Lumberjanes creator Noelle Stevenson rebooted the story for Netflix in 2018 with She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which centered solely on her story together with the opposite Princesses of Power as they fought to free Etheria from Hordak’s forces. (This time, He-Man sat the collection out.) The present ran for 5 seasons all through 2020, racking up a number of awards alongside the way in which for its multidimensional characters, range, and LGBTQ inclusivity.

Where can I watch Masters of the Universe?

The Eighties He-Man and She-Ra cartoons ran a large 130 and 93 episodes, respectively. Even The New Adventures managed to rack up a good 65, in comparison with the 2002 He-Man reboot’s 39 and the latest She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’s 53. So there’s a lot of MotU content material on the market to look at, and weirdly, it’s fully unfold out over the web. While Netflix has the 2018 She-Ra cartoon and Kevin Smith’s upcoming Revelation miniseries, it has neither of the traditional ‘80s shows. For those, you’ll both want a Starz subscription or be prepared to purchase them on Amazon or Apple TV. The New Adventures of He-Man is inexplicably streaming on Peacock, whereas the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe collection is on Vudu. It’s actually bizarre.

But assuming you’re right here since you wish to see what the fuss is about, or desire a little bit of background earlier than Netflix premieres Revelation on July 23, all it’s good to watch is a handful of the episodes from the Eighties cartoon (which Revelation is a “continuation” of, anyway). I recommend these three:

“The Diamond Ray of Disappearance” (s1, ep4)

• While there’s nothing wonderful about this early episode, it’s value watching as a result of it’s quintessential He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Skeletor will get a magical merchandise, energy, or ally and raises havoc with it/them till He-Man figures out a strategy to save the day. This time, it’s a gem that sends individuals into one other dimension.

“Teela’s Quest” (s1, ep6)

• When her adoptive father Man-at-Arms refuses to inform her who her mom is, Teela units out to search out the Oracle of the Crystal Sea to get the solutions for herself. This episode accommodates Teela kicking ass, quite a lot of backstory (which not often got here up later), and an excellent have a look at the scope of Masters of the Universe’s fantasy world.

“The Problem With Power” (s2, ep45)

• Here’s the traditional cartoon at its most dramatic. Skeletor tips He-Man into believing he’s by chance killed somebody, leaving him emotionally devastated and unwilling to make use of his powers lest another person get damage. Meanwhile, Skeletor makes use of the chance to seize Teela and summon a goblin military to invade Castle Grayskull.

However. If you have got an additional 40 minutes to kill, I’d wish to personally advocate you try The Secret of the Sword film. Even although it technically makes up the primary 5 episodes of She-Ra: Princess of Power, it’s additionally the complete Eighties He-Man and the traditional Masters of the Universe cartoon at its most epic and most watchable, in my view. It’s actually obtained the very best emotional stakes as He-Man learns he has a long-lost sister who was indoctrinated into the evil Horde. However, I may be extremely biased.

Hey, what’s a Master of the Universe, precisely?

That’s an awesome query that doesn’t really have a solution. The unique toyline and cartoon by no means specified who was and was not a Master of the Universe, not to mention what the title entailed. The 2002 cartoon referred to as its collective heroes the Masters of the Universe for no canonical purpose. Maybe this would be the titular revelation within the upcoming Netflix collection?

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