NEW MOTU

Spoiler alert:

"I am a HUGE He-Man Fan!"

I'm either DIRECTLY quoting Kevin Smith, the director of his new pet project, "Masters of the Universe: Revelations;" or I'm giving an HONEST assessment of my OWN love for the franchise. (Albeit that it was in its rerun phase before I could discover it).

...You get the point.

So, the promise of "...Revelations" came along and online was a-chatter.

"Did Kevin Smith LIE about being a fan of the franchise?"

"Would this be more 'woke' nonsense from Netflix?"

"Are writers simply out of ideas and, therefore, have to constantly retread and reenvision functioning franchises?"

(SPOILER ALERT) "Would ...Revelations REALLY 'kill off' an important, beloved character; only for its director to run virtual victory laps and laugh IN THE FACES of his target audience/demographic?"

"...Is Masters of the Universe still Masters of the Universe in any way shape or form?" (Yes).

"Would viewing 5 episodes (essentially the length of The Secret of the Sword story arc that introduced She-Ra) really kill a childhood strong enough to continue collecting the new figures and revisiting old DVDs?" (No)

"Does Netflix offer a free trial for a month simply to test these episodes out?" (Yes)

"...Was I hooked into this free trial simply because ...Revelations existed?" (...Yes. My sister had Netflix for a while and I would occasionally use it back when it showed the original 80's cartoons; but it's not as though I don't have the exact same episodes on DVD [and still VIEW them]. Besides, it's not as though Netflix ONLY has Revelations...).

...I promise not to spoil too much about "...Revelations" (yet; I'll even leave a REAL Spoiler Alert before I get into some reservations about Revelations).

("...reservations about Revelations;" really??? Naw; that line's a keeper. Carry on...)

So; where do we begin...?

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (1983)

So this is where it all began for many "He-Fans" in their mid-30s-early-40s (At [Filmation Chimes to cut off age number], I think I fit the bill).

I picked up the remote at age two, learned to turn on the TV of my own accord, and there was animation (Specifically: "THERE were He-Man and She-Ra.")

I think I might have been hooked from one or two episodes each. I HAD TO have the toys! I needed VHSes of episodes (that I then had to watch EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.)! I needed the bigger "Golden Books" (probably to complement the minicomics that already CAME WITH the toys)!

...Today, I have the DVDs, "Dark Horse" books to remember the "Masters of the Universe" lore, and the Masters of the Universe Classics figures. (Yes, I still watch the DVDs from time to time. In fact, I could tell you the precise moment that I had managed to scratch up one of them where it would stop my favorite episode before I managed to successfully clean the disc).

So, what was so great about "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" to even draw me in as a child in the first place? The animation was great. The characters (to me) were satisfactory. The action sequences were well drawn-out. The musical score was entertaining. The writing on them was enough to prompt me to turn right around and script my own adventures with the figures; if not sit down and WRITE/ILLUSTRATE EXTRA adventures once the established ones were over and I was giving the tapes of episodes a brief break (I was four and didn't yet know what "Fan Fiction" was; this was '88, and the term "Fan Fiction" may or may not have been coined yet). ...and Prince Adam/"He-Man" was a character with a moral compass. (He had a sword; but it was a catalyst for the power of Grayskull. From then, it served to deflect bolts, joust with Skeletor's Havoc Staff, slice open doors, and only really bash established non-living opponents [Skeletor's Robot Knights, monsters animated by magic, etc.).

Okay, did even Filmation go wrong in certain places? Me back then: "NO!" (Read "HELL NO!!!!) Me today: "...Eh..."

"He-Man..." Season 1 had a larger library of superior episodes (though even Season 2 had a handful). Besides, you could see Skeletor's henchmen becoming remarkably more and more buffoonish as Season 2 wore on. I guess that treatment was only fair; as it's EXACTLY how their leader, Mister "Lord of Destruction/Demon From Another Dimension/Bain of Eternia" was treated as Season 2 got older as well; he was slowly but surely reduced from a passable threat to a clown. ("He-Man..." famously first included the thirty-second moral spots to cap off episodes and justify 22-minute toy commercials with breaks for REAL toy commercials to be shoehorned in. One particularly egregious Season 2 episode might as well have included the moral segment of "NEVER bring a circus into Eternian lore. It will NOT work out well!")

I guess in most episodes, my gripes were with King Randor and Teela even back then. I never did care for how they borderline MISTREATED Prince Adam as a character; until he became He-Man and they fawned over him, never dawning on either of them that maybe the hero with such great accomplishments in their eyes could be one and the same as the prince who they barely wanted existing in their presence. (That being said, I took issue with a couple of things about Adam as well. He was supposed to be the care-free, relaxed, almost cowardly prince of Eternia; the VOICE that they gave him was almost off-puttingly effeminate when Adam is ALSO supposed to be a young man [it's particularly noticable on the DVDs where they used the sped-up versions of the episodes]).

If the first miniseries of "...Revelations" is supposed to be Teela's story, then even Filmation tried to make her a "strong" female character back in the 80s; and a lot of things they did well there. They gave her the skills of a warrior. They gave her a brash bravado that made sure that she was just as ready to stand-up to evil as He-Man or anyone else was. They made her the Captain of the Royal Guard in a high rank. "Filmation" even made several (very successful) episodes centered around her (along with a favorite episode of mine that not everyone agrees was so well-written). However (and this goes back to how she treated others on the series), did she have to be particularly nasty to and dismissive of Prince Adam or Cringer about 80% of the time that she saw them to make her a "strong female character?" (And, if that's all that it took, was or was not KING Randor a "strong female character" as well as he shared those qualities). Could there have been a way to write Teela as a "strong female character" without coupling that with a petulant, disobedient child constantly going on missions that her adoptive father, Duncan, the "Man-at-Arms," asked her not to? (Yes; "strong female" that Teela was, she did generally manage to be of help even after disobeying her adoptive father figure to do so).

You haven't heard the last about Teela yet.

Anyway, let us move on from my beloved Filmation days and into...

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HE-MAN (1989/90)

Hmmm; the "New Adventures..."

How do I put this?

...Mattel was right there to make some great figures to go along with this new series, just as the old one. Mattel knew how to make a visually-fascinating toy line.

Now, about this series itself...

BLEHHHH-CH!

He-Man was pulled off of Eternia (and given the WRONG incantation to summon the power). His parting shot was to give away his double-identity to his parents (who then reacted as if he had announced a surprise change in the weather). Teela is the only other "Master of the Universe" in sight; and even then, only once, and late in the series. Give up on the series in time and you'd have missed this occurence. The Masters of the Universe are replaced by cookie-cutter characters called "The Galactic Guardians" as Skeletor now leads the "Evil Mutants" as opposed to his former well written, visually stunning underlings. Oh; and Skeletor himself is drawn to look far goofier than his former self; and he ACTS even goofier than he looks...

"The New Adventures..." received a hard-pass from many fans of the original series; with absolute good cause. ANYONE who refused to watch "...Revelations" thanks to what was revealed on the internet has probably already forgotten that THIS was the most egregious, offensive use of the "...He-Man..." name of all time.

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2003)

Once upon a time, Cartoon Network aired great cartoons.

Once upon a time, they PRODUCED some great originals as well.

Thanks to Mike Young Productions, the reboot of "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" was the reboot that TRUE fans of the "HE-MAN..." part of the title DESERVED.

Eternia is a fantastic world of fantasy, full of rich history and lore. Mike Young Productions went the extra mile and actually EXPLORED the history of Eternia that even "Filmation...," the be-all-end-all for the animated "He-Man" franchise, only skimmed over a couple of times. Perhaps Mike Young's greatest achievement over the late, great Lou Scheimer and the folks at Filmation: It was Mike Young who, close to 20 years after He-Man's animated debut, finally give He-Man and Skeletor the origin stories that they DESERVED! (Filmation had skillfully written origin stories for The Sorceress and Battlecat; He-Man's "origin story" was "I am Adam, Prince of Eternia and...fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day that I held aloft my magic sword and said...")

Nope; that was it. She-Ra got a five part adventure/animated motion picture about her origins out of "Filmation;" He-Man got his opening title sequence.

So, besides finally writing an origin story, Mike Young's "He-Man..." series was chocful of other great episodes as well. And they dared to make underutilized characters like Mekanek and Sy-Klone (two of my favorite action figures from the Mattel line and heroes on-screen, besides the titular "Most Powerful Man in the Universe") actual SUPPORTING characters instead of giving them each a couple of throw-away appearances here and there.

So, Mike Young treated the "Masters..." well. He honestly treated Skeletor's minions, besides Evil-Lyn and Skeletor himself, rather poorly. Clawful and Trapjaw, two of my favorite rogues, were reduced to the most buffoonish of all (It was especially obvious with Clawful, who at least once or twice in the Filmation series, was treated as competent and strong enough to TAKE CHARGE a couple of times).

Also, on MY version of Eternia, animals can SPEAK! This version of Eternia was taken away from Cringer/Battle Cat. Also, Larry DiTillio, who famously created so many great characters, including Granamyr and the Darksmoke-based dragons for the "Filmation" series, was a writer on quite a few episodes for the "Mike Young..." series; yet, no Granamyr was in sight. Sure, they explored dragons once or twice but no big, red, speaking, magic-wielding, take-charge "oldest and wisest of dragons..."

Sadly, the true kicker about "Mike Young Productions" is that it wasn't NEARLY as successful as it deserved to be. The toy line didn't sell well. The PS2 game was a disgrace. The network would inexplicably, and without warning, shift its time slot.

Long story short, we finally saw a powerful Hordak and evil Horde, we finally saw the origins of "Castle Grayskull" and where the sword had come from, King Hiss and the Snake Men had finally appeared in animated form, and, without so much as a warning,...fans were right back to where they started from in reruns.

That was it.

It felt very much like the middle of a SEASON, let alone a series unfinished. We saw the Horde; but no She-Ra or Great Rebellion. We saw the Snake Men arrive; but never really defeated. (In fact, the last that we saw of the Snake Men, they were reducing our heroes to snake SERVANTS).

This show was the reboot/reincarnation that He-Man fans deserved. And it could have been treated better than it was...

Okay; each series that I've explored so far ranges from almost 20-nearly 40 years old. If I've spoiled ANYTHING for you about the PAST franchises, you're reading the wrong article.

FEW SPOILERS ARE COMING; FEW SPOILERS ARE COMING!

DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS AT ALL!

I WILL TALK ABOUT "...REVELATIONS" AT LEAST A BIT!

Okay; depending on how far you have to scroll, THAT could cost me a "read" count...

REVELATIONS (2021)

Here's a "...Revelation" that will raise a red flag for some fans and shed some light for others:

"This project is entitled "MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Revelations."

He-Man's name is no longer on the title card.

Fans were promised a "continuation" of the Filmation series. The writing, musical score, old favorite characters, and a certain cowardly cat's restored ability to SPEAK live up to something close to that promise...

Unfortunately, episode 1 alone sees the death of Moss Man (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, the original Skeletor/Merman/Man-at-Arms/Cringer/Battle Cat/others...) AND...the fall of "The Most Powerful Man In the Universe" and a hero to so many Eternians and a home-viewing audience.

It is one thing to kill He-Man in the first episode; but to not have Alan Oppenheimer reprise his iconic role and to relegate him to a character who is literally thrown away within 20 seconds of his arrival...?

(It does make sense for Mr. Oppenheimer to have another role besides Skeletor. He tried doing the voice again in "The Curse of the Three Terrors" about 6 or 7 years ago; and he was starting to struggle with it way back then. But to promise to bring back the voice-actor; then throw his new character away as soon as he appears...?)

I somewhat understand giving Teela a much stronger role and even a leadership role. I just would have done so differently.

• "...Revelations" could have been about her revelation as the Sorceress's daughter and about the passing of the mantle of Guardian of Grayskull.
• Okay, we went with the direction of Teela, the Warrior; the "Man-At-Arms" (so called by the king himself. Seriously; "Maiden-at-Arms," even "MISTRESS-at-Arms" couldn't have worked?) There must be a way to write Teela as a stronger warrior character without KILLING He-Man and, therefore, shoehorning her new role into the audiences' faces; while laughing at them and dismissing your target audience as "butthurt fanboys with nothing to share" (Many of us acted that way; SOME of us still DO have very valid reservations, suggestions...)

So, this is only a five part mini-series "season" so far. There is a lot to go through; and plenty of time. Besides, there is so much that was done so well if given half of a chance. Teela and Andra are a great team (yes, Andra was a character; she came from "Star Comics." Whether or not a side character was BLACK in said comic book iterations is a nonargument/smallest of the issues/EXACTLY the argument that is giving pure franchise fans a bad name). We get to see Scareglow on screen for the first time; and he's treated reasonably well. Then, there is the isle of He-Men (Vykor, He-Ro, King Grayskull himself [also race-swapped; but not even a legitimate issue] and...could it be...a revived Adam).

Now, where would Masters of the Universe be without the accompanying toy line? (The line of figures that, originally, came first). The "Masterverse" figures are great; I even have "Masterverse" Battle Cat and Skelegod on the "He-Man Table of Figures."

So, you have to understand that "Masters of the Universe Revelations" is about something of a changing of the guard. Fans aren't called upon to like it; just to understand it. Could it have been handled a lot differently? Yes; and I made those suggestions above as someone who was scribbling fan fiction well over thirty years ago. Does Kevin Smith deserve absolutely NO backlash? Well, when selling us this series, he swore up-and-down that he was a fan of the franchise; then, when caught in the lie, resorted to name-calling and even killed Orko to "piss off fanboys."

By the way, Kevin Smith is not the only person getting too big for his britches when it comes to this project.

"Teela is finally a strong woman; she is important; she matters!"

...and when in doubt about ANY of these points, just ask..."Buffy;" who, by some odd coincidence, gets the notoriety of VOICING the new star of this reawakened "Masters of the Universe" saga.

Give "...Revelations" a chance. It is far from perfect (from the eyes of an adult, so was Filmation). You are only investing yourself into 5 22-minutes episodes so far; 110 minutes of your time. (How many hours were spent arguing on the internet about something that had yet to exist until last Friday?)

Thanks for reading and, if you're a fan of "Masters of the Universe" lore, DO at least watch a couple of episodes of "...Revelations" with an open-mind. (Honestly the best eps were 1, 4, and 5; but they're all interconnected and intertwined with one another).

The author left this as spoiler-free as possible. If you see a strike-through, it's a spoiler.

Thanks for reading/hearting/tipping.

YOU have the power!/ YOU are...(state your name)!