Masters of the Universe

csoRictus
Nov 15, 2024
5 min read

One of my earliest memories of my toys growing up revolve around my collection of He-Man action figures, He-Man early reader books, and the massive Castle Grayskull playset. I regularly watched the He-Man cartoon on Saturday mornings and could frequently be heard playing in the back yard, holding a stick high above my head shouting the immortal words..."BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL! I HAVE THE POWER!" I was even a fan of the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie staring Dolph Lundgren. I was a He-Man kid, and proud of it. As my life progressed through the decades, I regularly returned to the Masters of the Universe with fondness. I was so happy to hear that in 2002 and again in 2021, Netflix would be launching new He-Man series. But, after trying to watch them, I was left thoroughly disappointed. What went wrong? Where were my epic Masters of the Universe? What happened to He-Man?

Let's jump in the Way Back Machine and take a trip back to 1991. It's early on a warm Saturday morning. You sit down in your favorite Ninja Turtles pajamas and pour a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. You settle in on the carpet and turn the TV on, careful to quickly turn the volume down as to not disturb your parents and ruin the sanctity of your weekend cartoon ritual. Thundercats has just ended another action packed episode and there's only one more chance for real adventure before Bobby's World and Darkwing Duck take over the airwaves. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Is there any more iconic character for us 80s kids... especially for boys of the 80s? Who among us doesn't know the battle between He-Man

and Skeletor? And for those of us that indulged in this epic adventure, the names Teela, Man-at-Arms, Orko and Cringer (Battle Cat) all hold a treasure trove of memories. And of course, what are heroes without memorable villains? What would Skeletor be without Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, and Trap-Jaw? Or the forces of Hordak without Catra, Imp, Leech and the other creatures of The Horde? Just listing off the names takes me back to those amazing and simpler days.

Now, anybody can relate to the classic He-Man cartoon, but only the true fans still hold 1987's live action Masters of the Universe in high regard. Let's be honest right off...the acting is rough....very rough at times....but the charm of the film is undeniable. Be it Dolph Lundgren, two years out of Rocky 4, still trying to find his stride as an actor. Or, Frank Langella's iconic portrayal of a truly terrifying (for a child) Skeletor. Or the ice cold glare of Meg Foster's Evil-Lyn. The cast of this underappreciated film did an incredible job embracing the campy nature of the story. Legendary names like Frank Langella (Skeletor) James Tolkan (Detective Lubic) and Billy Barty (Gwildor) working alongside young upcomers like Courtney Cox (Julie), Robert Duncan McNeill (Kevin), and Dolph Lundgren (He-Man) came together with great chemistry to make a truly fun film. If you enjoy campy 80's action movies, or if you have a soft spot in your heart for the He-Man stories, you owe it to yourself to watch 87s Master's of the Universe. It's a gem

But, what happened to these iconic characters? 2002's He-Man series on Netflix was canceled in the middle of it's second season. 2021's He-Man went CGI and lost all the nostalgic magic I found in the original cartoon. The design of the 2021 remake seemed like a generic sci-fi action cartoon with a World of Warcraft skin applied. The reimagined parts of the lore and characters as well as the shift away from the sword and sorcery setting, felt like the show missed the mark. I believe, that if the Masters of the Universe series is to survive and continue to satisfy it's audiences, it has to break into a dual series. Much like our friends at the Pokémon company have learned, success with a broad age gap in your fanbase, means having separate branches of your story aimed at different groups of fans. We older fans enjoyed Legends Arceus for it's new formula and gameplay while the younger fans enjoyed Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet. The Masters of the Universe would thrive with cartoons aimed at the younger, newer audience and a more grimdark, fantasy adventure movie for the original fans to enjoy. Trying to make a single product that satisfies all demographics is a surefire way to fail. It's like the old adage, "jack of all trades, but master of none".

As a forever-fan of 80s/90s storytelling, I will always push for the return of my childhood heroes, but I have yet to see a real retelling of one of my childhood stories that satisfies my nostalgic desires. I believe this to be because our current understanding of re-boots tries to both bring in new fans and satisfy old fans at the same time. But, but spreading themselves so thinly, they leave new fans confused and old fans bored. The other major obstacle holding back a triumphant He-Man reboot is Hollywood's nagging obsession with injecting modern politics and agendas into their films. It's nearly unspeakable in the modern arena to make a film like He-Man. He-Man was created as a way to market and sell toys for boys. Mattel's toy line, Masters of the Universe, was created to appeal to young boys' love of sword and sorcery and large, muscular barbarian characters. Inspired by the Conan architype, the Masters of the Universe was very successful. Filmation was then brought onboard to create the original animated series based on the toy line. Mattel struck marketing gold with the simple question, "what do young boys like most? Cool swords, big strong heroes, creepy villains, and figures that DO things." On top of it all, young kids always long for the day they'll be grown up and not be told what to do all the time....so what is He-Man's catchphrase? "I have the power!" How could Masters of the Universe be any more tailored for success?

The modern film industry would likely label He-Man as rampant toxic masculinity and such, missing the real joy that lives below that simple surface analysis. And that's the real reason, as much as I still hope to see a truly matured He-Man story come to the big screen, I'll likely always have to continue being satisfied with my nostalgic memories and returning to the land of Eternia in my DVD's of the original 1983 series. So, for my fellow Eternians, He-Man fans, or friends that long for the days when politics didn't get in the way of good ol' storytelling, take a trip back to the good old days and enjoy some He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. No matter what the social trends are or what social media tells us, when it comes to our nostalgic joy, we have the power! Find what makes you happy, what brings back those good memories, and go for it!...and as always my friends, Game On.