He-Man and the Masters of the Universe started as a toy line that Mattel introduced to the world in 1981. The toy line focuses on the adventures of He-man, a supernaturally gifted character who is on the mission of saving the world from the powerful dark forces of Skeletor, his archrival.
To promote their toy line, Mattel reached out to Filmation to produce the cartoon series in 1983. The first series then aired on television in September 1983 and ran till 1985. Gwen Wetzler produced the series. The show’s success led to its adaptation in comic books, live-action films, animated shows, and comic strip form. The first series has two seasons with 65 episodes each.
In 1987, Masters of the Universe was eventually adapted into a movie with Gary Goddard in the director’s seat. However, the success of the series failed to rub off on the movie. The movie fell below its expectation and became a commercial failure, failing to exceed its $22 million budget. However, the movie’s significance grew with time, and it became a cult classic. Despite its controversial financial outcome, the movie remains one of the best narrations of the He-man franchise.
The success of the TV show left an indelible footprint on other animation houses. Thus, other studios changed their strategy for creating cartoons and adopted cartoon shows as a means of advertisement.
Filmation also created a spinoff series of the franchise in 1985 titled She-Ra: Princess of Power. Both series created a platform for Mattel to market their toys until the series ended in 1987.
Join us on a retrospective of the He-man series:
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983) Season 1
Filmation modeled their 1983 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe after Mattel’s successful toy line. It is a fantasy-action animated TV show that was set on a planet called Eternia. The major character, who is popularly known as He-man, is the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena.
The Characters
Originally known as Prince Adam, He-man possesses a sword of power that empowered him with strong magical attributes, specifically an unmatched level of strength that makes him the strongest man in the universe. Prince Adam often shouts ” By the power of Grayskull” when he needs his show of magical features.
His associates such as The Sorceress, Battle Cat, Teela, and others provided him the needed support to fight off the aggression of his archrival and nemesis, The Skeletor. The Skeletor aims to destroy the Castle Grayskull, He-man’s source of strength, and become the most powerful being in the universe.
Introduction and Closing Messages
Each episode of the show begins with the lead character introducing himself to the audience.
“I am Adam, prince of Eternia, defender of the secrets of their Castle Grayskull. This is Cringer, my fearless friend. Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said, ‘By the power of Grayskull! I have the power….”
Such introduction was typical of the TV show that aimed to address a young audience.
Another major uniqueness of this series is its emphasis on the moral message of each episode sent to the audience. Each episode ends with a character describing the morale of the episode. Episode one ends with Man-At-Arms telling viewers about persistence even after making mistakes. The second episode ends with Orko telling viewers to be cautious about receiving gifts from strangers. The first season of the series significantly expressed these trends of moral messages.
He-man’s first season is the best series that Filmation created. Both critics and the public gave positive receptions to the show.
He-Man and Masters of the Universe Season 2 (1984)
The second season also contains 65 episodes and retains all the major features of the first season. The introduction and epilogue, which provided a unique flavor to the series, continued through the second season.
A New Evil
Skeleton and his dark forces continue the search for a perfect opportunity to destroy the Castle of Grayskull. The Skeletor capitalizes on internal disorders to launch an attack on the Castle. After a failed experiment by Man-at-arms, he considers resignation from his position considering the arm his failed experiment inflicted on the king and the queen. The Skeletor seizes that opportunity to attack the computer system of the Castle and ensures all machines failed to function. However, He-Man and his friends soon suppressed Skeletor’s machinations.
After his series of failed attacks, Skeletor decides to invite a powerful demon called Sh’Gora to Eternia. He desired to manipulate the demon to destroy the Castle. However, things took a negative turn when Sh’Gora overpowered Skeletor and his forces then approached Eternia. He-man and his associates realize the overwhelming challenge ahead of them and embrace humility by deciding to team up with Skeletor to banish the evil demon.
New Regions
Aside from the heroics of He-man and his associates in Eternia, their neighboring kingdoms and societies invited He-Man to help protect them from danger. At a time, Orko, an associate of He-man, received an invitation to Trolla, a land an associate of Skeletor named “Whiplash” was terrorizing. The magical powers of Whiplash created chaos in Trolla until the timely intervention of Orko and others.
He-man’s assistance was also necessary to investigate the consistent disappearance of dragons from the dragon mountains. He-man then discovered that a place called “Mero” used the dragons to fight each other as a form of entertainment.
Aiding He-Man’s Friends and Kingdom
Aside from protecting any other territory, He-man’s adventures also involve rescuing his friends and others from different forms of evil. At a point, He-man, alongside Man-at-Arms, rescues Teela after she falls into an abyss. Despite following a false trail, He-man and his associates were able to rescue queen Marlena from one of the accomplices of Skeletor. Queen Marlena returned the favor when she piloted a spaceship to rescue members of the royal family who Skeletor held captive.
The second season ends with Kobra Kahn, an evil king requesting the help of He-man and his associates to help rekindle the furnace which heats their kingdom. The King promised a truce in return for the favor to save his species from destruction via the cold.
The second season was a continuation of the first season, and it lived up to expectation and sustained all uniqueness of the series.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
Mike Young Productions based a rebooted He-Man and The Masters of the Universe in 2002, once again basing the show on Mattel’s toy line. Michael Halperin, who had a significant creative role in Filmation’s He-Man, developed this reimagining of the story. The series, an attempt to revisit the original franchise created in 1983, aired between August 16, 2002, till January 10, 2004. Cartoon Network featured the new He-man series on their Toonami line-up. The series was a total of 39 episodes which ran for two seasons.
This series retains the introduction and conclusion of the original franchise. However, this series provides more insight into the origin of each character. The series also retains Prince Adam’s famous line “By the power of Grayskull,” which had already become a familiar statement among the movie’s young audience.
Season 1
The first season contained 26 episodes which ran between August 16, 2002, and October 11, 2003. Also, the first season began with what transpired before Eternia, and Prince Adam came into the scene.
The season began with a confrontation between Captain Randor and Keldor. Captain Randor emerges victorious in the duel despite Keldor’s attempt to attack Randor with acid, a move that backfired. After the victory, Zoar prophesied to Captain Randor that Eternia should be a monarchy with Randor as the first king, and from him shall a great hero emerge.
Eternia emerged as a peaceful territory. But when it seemed their dark days are behind them, Skeletor announces himself by wreaking havoc on the palace and capturing the king. Returning from where he has learned of his fate to rescue Eternia, Prince Adam accepts the responsibility and rescues his father from Skeletor. More people gradually believed in the mission of He-man and soon joined forces with him.
Season 2
The second season contains 13 episodes, making it the shortest season of both the original franchise and the sequel.
Unlike other previous seasons and series of the Masters of the Universe, Skeletor gradually phases out as the main antagonist of the movie. Instead, a race of people trapped under Snake Mountain, the “snake men” with King Hiss as their leader, replaced Skeletor.
The season moved deeper into the origin of the major characters, although not every part of it provided enough clarity.
Conclusion
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe set out to advertise Mattel’s toy line which means the costume and character development were crucial parts of the series. For young people who watched the show within the ’80s, it spiced up their childhood experience with memories that may not be easily replaced by modern shows. The show also initiated a new method of advertising toy lines.
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About the author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!