As a kid in the early 80s, the coolest thing to me was “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.” I collected every He-Man toy that I could get my little hands on. My Mom would buy me figures as a reward for being a good boy… and you could bet I was the best-behaved little boy on the block.
To me, He-Man was more than just action figures; it was clothing, lunch boxes, and, of course, the animated cartoon series. As cheesy as the cartoon is now as an adult, it was awesome to me as a child… so to me, it was the greatest thing ever. He-Man stuff was the master of my universe.
He-Man History…
Masters of the Universe (MOTU) is a planetary action-adventure franchise, which features protagonists such as twin heroes, He-Man and She-Ra of the planet Eternia. The MOTU has several animated cartoons, comic books, action figure lines, and a major motion picture.
The action figure line was awesome. The cartoons were pretty cool. The comic books were pretty sweet as well. The 1987 motion picture starring Dolph Lundgren was… ummm… Yeah, so there is a new MOTU movie coming out this summer. And it looks amazing.
Old school He-Man fans, like myself, have waited nearly 40 years for that cinematic abomination to be rectified. Afterall, we are still owed a sequel. The original film concludes with a post-credits scene, in which Skeletor’s head emerges from the water, saying, “I’ll be back.” And he never returned. Though the original movie was initially a box office flop, it has become unceremoniously adored by fans as a cult classic.
Origin…
The Masters of the Universe took place in an extraterrestrial land called Eternia. The planet was futuristic and prehistoric at the same time, kinda like Conan goes to space or when the Flintstones met the Jetsons. In fact, the character of He-Man was “loosely” inspired by Conan the Barbarian by toy designers at Mattel in the late 1970s, after the toy company had passed on a toyline for a little movie called Star Wars… Phew, they really dodged a lightsaber there with that money pit. (Insert eye roll here)
Originally, when the folks at Mattel were developing action figure concepts, they presented a trio of prototypes. The first was a soldier with a tank for a head. The second was a helmeted spaceman, similar to my favorite Star Wars character, Boba Fett. In the end, developers opted for the third option, the barbarian hero that we know and love. The trio would later be released as a part of the Masterverse in 2012.
He-Man Has the Power…
In 1982, He-Man and his arch-nemesis, Skeletor, hit the toy shelves. Later in the year, Teela, Mer-Man, Zodac, and Stratos would join them in the toy aisle. The toys’ packaging displayed a brief description of the action figure, but inside were brightly colored mini-comics telling the lore of our beloved hero, He-Man, and the maniacal warlord, Skeletor. The mini-comics became almost as popular as the action figures themselves.
Comic book powerhouse, DC Comics, produced a series of MOTU Universe (Masterverse) comic books in 1982-83. The first two DC Comics’ MOTU comics featured He-Man and his new ally, Superman, battling Skeletor and his bumbling brood of baddies. The latter issues of this comic book run introduced early versions of He-Man’s un-He-Man-like alter-ego, Prince Adam, and his scaredy-cat pet tiger, Cringer, also known as Battle Cat, and further developed the backstory of Eternia’s favorite son.
Following the successful run in the pages of DC Comics, He-Man made the jump from print to television. “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” had the honor of being among the first cartoons created strictly for weekday syndication, as opposed to Saturday morning reruns. The series ran for two seasons, breaking down the walls of censorship. The show featured more realistic fights, utilizing wrestling styles as well as hand-to-hand battles with barbaric weapons, with sci-fi action.
She-Ra Has the Girl Power…
Following the end of the animated He-Man saga, the toys became more popular than ever. Two more waves of figures and accessories, and of course the mini-comics, made their way to stores. The popularity of the new MOTU toys opened the door to a new animated feature, this time featuring a female protagonist, “She-Ra and the Secret of the Sword.” Then another animated series, “She-Ra: Princess of Power,” was introduced to attract little girls to the MOTU franchise.
Of course, like her brother, He-Man, She-Ra got her own toy line as well. The Princess of Power (POP) line featured mostly female characters and added some girl power to the Masterverse. These figures were more like dolls than action figures, with different clothing and accessories.
End of the Line…
As the popularity of the MOTU toy lines diminished, Mattel released one final wave of toys, featuring characters and alternate versions not seen in the comics or on screen. Rio Blast is one particular figure that I remember from my childhood. He was a transforming, gun-slinging cowboy, with guns exploding from his arms. He has been greatly mocked and ridiculed as one of the worst toys and characters in the Masterverse. Probably rightfully so, he was not one of my favorites…
A new “Preternia” line, The Powers of Greyskull, was planned for 1987, but was canceled early in development. The idea was centered around a prehistoric Eternia with cybernetic dinosaurs and giants, before He-Man and Skeletor. A few Dino-inspired figures were released, but despite this prehistoric effort, the MOTU toys were history.
Marvel of the Universe…
After the animated series faded into the distance, Marvel Comics continued the stories of Eternia’s favorite heroes and villains in continuity with the Masterverse sagas. MOTU’s comic run with Marvel lasted 13 issues, released bi-monthly from 1986 to 1988.
A number of other publications were released over the years, ranging from magazines to newspaper comic strips, children’s books, video games, and revamped television attempts. The toys have undergone a resurgence thanks to newer, updated versions of the classics. There are new characters, and brand collabs with merchandise cash cows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, WWE, Thundercats, and Transformers. I could write novels about these avenues individually; there is no limit to the brand’s worldwide popularity.
MOTU on the Big Screen…
In 1987, He-Man was brought to the big screen. A live-action film, starring Ivan Drago… I mean, Dolph Lundgren as He-Man, and Dracula’s Frank Langella as the evil-doer, Skeletor. The film also featured a young, unknown actress, who would later become our Friend, Monica Gellar, Courteney Cox. The film also starred Christina Pickles, who, interestingly enough, played Cox’s mother, Judy, on the television sitcom Friends.
The film’s premise pits He-Man against Skeletor for control of Eternia, after Skeletor conquers the planet with the Cosmic Key. He stole it from the locksmith, Gwildor, to unlock the gates of Castle Greyskull and capture the Sorceress. He-Man is joined by Man-At-Arms and Teela as they escape Eternia for Earth to retrieve the Cosmic Key from Earth-humans, who unknowingly possessed such power. They fight Skeletor’s minions on Earth as they also try to bring the Cosmic Key back to lord Skeletor.
The movie featured many epic fight scenes, but the script drifted too far from the Masterverse storyline fans knew and loved. There was no mention of He-Man’s alter-ego, Prince Adam, Battle Cat, the king and queen, or He-Man’s mystical sidekick, Orko. Critics and fans alike bashed these omissions from the MOTU film and its lack of fantasy elements that made the franchise so popular, and it became a universal box-office flop.
Skeletor Makes Good on His Promise…
We had heard rumors and rumblings of a new Masters movie, and finally, 40 years later, after several failed attempts… Skeletor lives up to his final words from the original, “I’ll be back.” The trailer has dropped, and so far, from what I have seen, it looks pretty awesome. The trailer implies that the filmmakers were paying attention to what fans are looking for and worked hard to correct past mistakes in the 1987 version.
The new MOTU film stars Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man/ Prince Adam and Jared Leto as Skeletor (hopefully, he is better than his Suicide Squad Joker). We will also see more stars such as Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress, and Camila Mendes as Teela. The movie has a star-studded supporting cast also featuring Alison Brie, James Purefoy, and the voice talents of Kristen Wiig. Masters of the Universe will hit theaters on June 5, 2026.
In this version, He-Man has been living on Earth as Adam Glenn, raised as a human, hiding his true identity as the Prince of Eternia. After twenty years on our planet, he finds the lost Sword of Greyskull and is summoned back to Eternia to become He-Man. He recruits a few new friends and Cringer/ Battle Cat to help reclaim his kingdom from Skeletor.
Will It Live Up to the Hype?
Whether or not this version lives up to the massive hype, one thing is for certain… We have waited long enough for a new MOTU movie! And, judging by the success of director Travis Knight’s 2018 “Bumblebee” movie and the brand’s overall worldwide popularity, the movie will have guys like me who grew up pretending to be He-Man, once again shouting, “…I HAVE THE POWER!!!”
