Masters of the Universe

Original action figures and minicomics (1981-1982)

The 'Masters of the Universe' toyline was created by Mattel in 1981, and first released to stores in 1982 as 5 1/2 inch action figures (as opposed to the 3 3/4 inch size used by Kenner's Star Wars and Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero lines).^[4] The two main characters, He-Man ("the most powerful man in the universe")^[81] and his arch-enemy Skeletor ("evil lord of destruction")^[82] were the first released in action figure form, along with other core characters of the series: Man-At-Arms ("heroic master of weapons"), Beast Man ("Skeletor's savage henchman") and Battle Cat ("He-Man's fighting tiger").^[83][84][85]

Later on that year, the first wave of action figures in 1982 would also include Teela ("heroic warrior goddess"), Mer-Man ("evil ocean warlord"), Stratos ("heroic winged warrior") and Zodac ("the cosmic enforcer").^{[86][87][88][89]} Alongside the first wave of figures were the Battle Ram ("mobile launcher") and Wind Raider ("assault lander") vehicles and the playset Castle Grayskull ("fortress of power and mystery").^[90][91][92] These first figures as well as Castle Grayskull were primarily designed by Mark Taylor,^[70][93][94] although the final production sculpt of the original He-Man action figure was completed by Tony Guerrero^[68] and the first vehicles were designed by Ted Mayer.^[69]

Brief descriptions of the characters would appear on the packaging and box art (with illustrations by Errol McCarthy, Rudy Obrero, William Garland, William George and others).^[95][96] However, the lore of Masters of the Universe would be first fully explored through the minicomics that accompanied the action figures throughout the duration line (with 49 distinct comics being issued from 1981 until 1987).^[97] The original four minicomics, He-Man and the Power Sword, The King of Castle Grayskull, Battle in the Clouds and The Vengeance of Skeletor were made by Mattel in 1981 and written by Donald F. Glut, with artwork by Alfredo Alcala. He-Man is introduced in the first minicomic, He-man and the Power Sword, as a wandering barbarian, leaving behind his jungle tribe on Eternia.^[21] The world of Eternia is initially depicted as dealing with the aftermath of a great war that has devastated once powerful civilizations, leaving behind their fantastical machinery and weapons. The events of the war have also opened a rift between dimensions, which has allowed the evil warlord Skeletor to travel to Eternia. This inaugural incarnation of Skeletor sets his sights on obtaining both halves of the Power Sword (originally split in two in these early stories), in order to gain entry into the ancient Castle Grayskull (depicted, in these early comics, as being inhabited by the ghostly 'Spirit of Castle Grayskull').^[21] The main premise being that whomever attains control of Castle Grayskull, will gain the power to become Master of the Universe. To combat Skeletor, in the first of the minicomics, He-Man is given special powers, armour and weapons by the Sorceress (also referred to as "The Goddess" in many early comics, the Sorceress appears to have green skin in her debut appearance and is shown wearing the 'snake armor' that came with the original Teela action figure; instead of adorning her more familiar bird-like attire, as seen in the Filmation series).^[12] He-Man (not yet with the dual-identity of Prince Adam),^[6] is supported in these initial stories by his heroic allies, Battle Cat (without the dual form of Cringer),^[14] Man-At-Arms (depicted as clean-shaven, without a moustache),^[15] Teela (often drawn with long blonde hair and accompanied by a unicorn/horse in these early depictions),^[16] and Stratos, the winged warrior (who erroneously cameos fighting on the side of Skeletor in the initial mini-comic).^[18][21] Skeletor, in-turn, enlists the help of the brutish ape-like Beast Man and fish-like Mer-Man to battle He-Man and his heroic warriors.^[98][99]

2nd wave of action figures and minicomics (1983)

Other major characters introduced the following year in these early waves of action figures included He-Man's allies, Ram Man ("heroic human battering ram"; with spring loaded legs),^[19] Man-E-Faces ("heroic human… robot …monster"; with three alternate faces)^[20] and Zoar ("the fighting falcon"; whose sculpt was taken from the Big Jim toy-line's 'Eagle of Danger Peak');^[13] along with Skeletor's evil warriors Tri-Klops (described on his packaging as "evil and sees everything"; with a three-eyed rotating visor),^[100] Trap Jaw ("evil and armed for combat"; with alternate weapons to place in his arm socket),^[101] Panthor (Skeletor's "savage cat"; a fuzzy purple adaptation of Battle Cat's toy mold),^[102] Screeech (Skeletor's "barbarian bird"; a purple recast of the orange Zoar),^[103] Faker ("evil robot of Skeletor"; a blue-skinned clone of He-Man, seldom featured in MOTU media, without an introductory minicomic during his initial release)^[104] and Evil-Lyn ("evil warrior goddess"; the last figure released in this wave, she would not yet feature in any MOTU media until her prominent role in the Filmation animated series).^[25] The Attak-Trak vehicle and the Point Dread & Talon Fighter playset were also released in the 1983 line.^[105][106]

This second series, consisting of seven new minicomics, released in 1982-83, were produced by DC Comics, written by Gary Cohn and featured artwork by Mark Texeira.^[107] These minicomics would devote several issues towards introducing the new action figure characters into the line. He-man's new ally Ram Man is initially tricked into fighting on the side of Skeletor in He-Man Meets Ram-Man;^[108] and Man-E-Faces is introduced in The Ordeal of Man-E-faces as an Eternian actor turned into a monster by Skeletor, freed by the Sorceress, only to be magically possessed by three multiple personalities: man, monster and robot.^[109] Skeletor's evil warriors also get their own introductory minicomics, with Tri-Klops as a skilled swordsman and mercenary in The Terror of Tri-Klops,^[27] and Trap Jaw, portrayed in The Menace of Trap Jaw, as a criminal from another dimension.^[26] In these pre-Filmation stories, the primary characters of Prince Adam, Cringer, Orko, and Evil-Lyn did not yet feature in the series; although the Eternian Palace and Royal Court with King Randor and Queen Marlena (both yet unnamed, looking decidedly older than in the later series)^[10] are featured in several of these DC minicomics, as are the mystical falcon Zoar (not yet an alternate form of the Sorceress)^[13] and the Attak-Trak (battle machine, based on the toy, and not yet a robotic voiced van-like vehicle, as in the Filmation cartoon).^[105] The storyline concept of Teela as the secret daughter of the Sorceress (albeit as a clone) and adopted daughter of Man-At-Arms was first introduced at this time as well in the minicomic The Tale of Teela.^[110][48] A special comic and record entitled The Power of Point Dread/Danger at Castle Grayskull was also produced for the Talon Fighter and Point Dread playset.^[111]

Additional waves of action figures, creatures, vehicles and playsets were released every year until 1987; totaling 70 distinct figures in all (including 24 creatures, 12 vehicles, 6 playsets and 10 accessories) with the final overseas releases from the original line coming from Italy in 1988.^[112] A major proponent of the 1980s action-figure boom, Masters of the Universe figures proved to be very popular and were produced & marketed all over the world.^[113] Most of action figures were made in Taiwan and Malaysia, however Mattel also had production facilities in the United States, Mexico, France, Spain, and joint ventures with Leo Toys of India, Top Toys of Argentina, Estrela of Brazil and Takara of Japan.^[114]

DC Comics - 1980s series (1982-1983)

In July 1982, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe would appear for the first time in the pages of DC Comics with DC Comics Presents issue #47, in the story From Eternia With Death, followed by a special insert comic in many DC's titles from November 1982, entitled Fate is the Killer.^[115][116] In these first two DC MOTU stories, Superman ends up on Eternia, joining with He-Man to combat Skeletor and his minions.^[98] He-Man's original DC comic run finished up with a three issue mini-series at the start of 1983 (all written by Paul Kupperberg, with artwork by Curt Swan and George Tuska).^[117] These issues would introduce the Eternian Royal Family, most notably Prince Adam, and his transformation into He-Man into the series. This version of Adam, however, was originally depicted wearing a blue vest and portrayed as somewhat of a philanderer; rather than his later more wholesome pink-vest wearing character.^[98] Also unique to these issues, Adam transforms inside the 'Cavern of Power', instead of his more famous 'By the Power of Grayskull!' line.^[118] The Sorceress, now residing in the Cavern of Power, is still depicted wearing the Teela Snake Armour, and is often referred to as "The Goddess" throughout the series.^[12] Other entries into the Masters of the Universe mythos, such as Cringer as the alter-ego of Battle Cat, Zodac as a neutral cosmic enforcer, Stratos' as leader of his home world of Avion, and Adam's mother, Queen Marlena as an astronaut hailing from Earth, were all partly introduced in these early DC issues.^{[14][119][120]}

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Filmation animated series (1983-1984)

In 1983, Masters of the Universe would debut perhaps its' most famous incarnation, with the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Created by Filmation, under the direction of executive producer Lou Scheimer, the cartoon made its' television debut on September 5, 1983 with the episode The Diamond Ray of Disappearance. Running through 2 seasons, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, was one of the first animated series produced directly for weekday syndication, as opposed to re-runs primarily based on Saturday mornings. Totaling 130 episodes, with each season of 65 episodes stretching across 13 weeks, the series last aired The Cold Zone, on November 21, 1985.^[5][121]

Similar to the comics that came before, the series is set on Eternia, which is ruled by King Randor and Queen Marlena (visibly younger in age and with more colourful attire than their previous comic versions).^[10] Their son, Prince Adam (now wearing his more familiar pink vest), pretends to be somewhat lazy, clumsy, and irresponsible, much like his pet tiger Cringer (depicted in the series as being very cowardly and with the ability to speak).^[9][14] For the first time Prince Adam is shown to transform into He-Man by holding aloft his magic sword and saying the magic words, "By the power of Grayskull...I have the Power!!!".^[122] It is revealed in the introduction that Prince Adam's secret identity of He-Man is known only by the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull (now with the familiar bird-like costume, who often takes the form of Zoar the falcon),^[12] Man-At-Arms (now sporting a mustache, and often referred to by his first name Duncan; he is portrayed as scientific inventor as well as a warrior)^[15] and Orko (making his full debut as a mainstay in the franchise, Orko is presented as a floating childlike Trollan magician, often used for comic relief and as a point-of-view character for children).^[17] Rounding out the main cast of heroes is Teela (now firmly depicted with red hair, she is the Captain of the Royal Guard, the adopted daughter of Man-At-Arms and secret child of the Sorceress; who serves as a teasing and semi-antagonistic love interest of Adam and He-Man throughout the series).^[16] Also featuring in the series with semi-regularity are Stratos (the flying leader of the bird-people of Avion) and Ram-Man (portrayed as a dim-witted but likeable bouncing warrior).^[18][19] Appearing with much less frequency in the series are He-Man's recurring allies Zodac (less neutral and more of an omniscient cosmic peacekeeper, often assisting He-Man),^[119] Man-E-Faces (presented this time as a master of disguise, once mistaken as evil but turned to good),^[20] Buzz-Off (oddly voiced leader of the Bee People),^[57] Fisto (debuts as powerful loner and adversary of He-Man's before joining forces),^[123] Mekaneck (loyal warrior with a bionic neck, searching for his lost son),^[56] Roboto (robotic alien explorer marooned on Eternia),^[124] Sy-Klone (spinning tornado-like warrior, who appears without a backstory),^[125] Moss Man (transforming plant being and enemy of Evilseed)^[126] and several characters that would not receive action figure releases in the original line such as Lizard-Man, the Royal Archeologist Melaktha, Trollans Dree-Elle and Montork, Avion bird-people Delora and Hawke, Adam's grandfather King Miro, Squinch and the Widgets and the wise and ancient dragon, Granamyr.^[120][5]

He-Man's nemesis, the evil wizard Skeletor (now famously portrayed by voice actor Alan Oppenheimer as a cackling and more comedic villain), still wishes to conquer Castle Grayskull and learn of its' secrets, but also now desires to take over the royal palace and rule Eternia; often seeking ancient and mysterious beasts and artifacts to try and stop He-man and his allies.^[5] Skeletor often hosts his rogues gallery inside his headquarters, Snake Mountain, gathered around his bone-filled throne, plotting and peering through a magic orb to spy on He-Man and his friends.^[127] Often this group of evil minions consists of the cunning female sorcerer Evil-Lyn (making her full debut into the MOTU mythos as Skeletor's most dangerous counterpart in the Filmation series),^[25] and his most frequent sidekicks: the bumbling Beast Man (who possesses the ability to control various creatures through telepathy) and the equally inept weapon-armed Trap Jaw.^[23][101] Skeletor's original henchmen in the cartoon also include Mer-Man (with a distinctive gurgling voice portrayal, also by Alan Oppenheimer), Tri-Klops (with a more robotic voice and persona), and Skeletor's purple pet feline Panthor.^{[24][100][102]} Other henchmen making a few appearances later in the series are Webstor (one of Skeletor's more intelligent henchmen, often paired with Kobra Khan),^[128] Kobra Khan (menacing Repton able to spray sleeping gas from his cobra hood),^[129] Two-Bad (bumbling henchman with two often arguing heads),^[130] Spikor (depicted as possibly Skeletor's most dimwitted minion in all of the Filmation series),^[131] Modulok (deranged and mutated scientist, once known as Galen Nycroft),^[43] Clawful (a far more cunning villain in this version, than other representations of the character),^[58] and Whiplash (appearing the most out of the later henchmen).^[59][5] Some of Skeletor's rogues would appear only once in the Filmation cartoon, such as Faker (appearing only briefly as a magical clone of He-Man before being tossed into the bottomless abyss outside Castle Grayskull),^[104] Jitsu (called 'Chopper' in the script),^[132] Batros, Icer, Fang-Man, Dragoon and Strong-Arm. Other villains, not allied with Skeletor would occasionally appear as well, such as the powerful wizard Count Marzo, the plant-demon Evilseed, Kothos, Shokoti, Negator, and the rabbit-like space-pirate Plundor, to name a few.^[120]

Despite the limited animation techniques that were used to produce the series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was notable for breaking the boundaries of censorship that had severely restricted the narrative scope of children's TV programming in the 1970s. For the first time a cartoon series could feature a muscular superhero who engage in on-screen combat (although most of the time wrestling-style moves were utilized instead of direct violence). The cartoon was also ground-breaking in that it was produced in connection with marketing a line of toys, as advertising directly to children was controversial during this period. As an attempt to mitigate the negative publicity generated by these controversies, a "life lesson" or "moral of the story" was played at the end of each episode; which was usually tied to the action or central theme of the episode in question (although in the United Kingdom, the closing "morals" were often edited out of the original broadcasts).^{[133][134][135]}

The series featured the voice talents of John Erwin, who starred as He-Man/Prince Adam, Beast Man, Ram Man, Webstor, Whiplash (and many others); the aforementioned Alan Oppenheimer, voicing Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Battle Cat/Cringer, Mer-Man, Buzz-Off (also voicing many others); Linda Gary as much of the female cast with Teela, The Sorceress, Evil-Lyn and Queen Marlena; and executive producer Lou Scheimer providing the voice work for a multitude of other characters such as Orko, King Randor, Stratos, Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops, Man-E-Faces, Mekaneck, Fitso, Clawful, Kobra Khan, Spikor and Two Bad, to name a few. The series was often produced by Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland and directed by Gwen Wetzler, Marsh Lamore, Lou Kachivas, Steve Clark, Ernie Schmidt, Ed Friedman and others; with Tom Sito serving as a main storyboard artist, along with Tom Tataranowicz, Warren Greenwood, Robert Lamb, Don Manuel, Bob Arkwright and many other contributors. Writers on the show included Larry DiTillio, David Wise, Robby London, Michael Reaves, Doug Booth, J. Brynne Stephens and many others, including early script-writing work from Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, Paul Dini of Batman: The Animated Series fame and one episode, Battle Cat, by D.C. Fontana of Star Trek fame.^[136][5]

The series, although still popular, would not be renewed for a third season in 1985. Instead Filmation opted to create the She-Ra: Princess of Power Series, and deliberately crossover the existing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe characters and continuity into the new series. The original He-Man series would end and She-Ra begin with animated movie The Secret of the Sword, released theatrically in the spring of 1985, featuring most of the main characters from both cartoons. The two animated series, would however, join up one last time for He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special in December 1985; in which two children from Earth end up accidentally coming to Eternia and are protected by Skeletor, who in a rare act of kindness, is overtaken by the Christmas Spirit. The very last appearance of Filmation's He-Man and Skeletor is in one of the final She-Ra episodes, entitled Assault on the Hive, airing December 13, 1986.^[137][5]

Filmation era MOTU action figures and minicomics (1984-1985)

Sales of the toyline continued to increase with the exposure of the animated series, and new waves of figures and vehicles were produced during this peak of popularity.^[4] First introduced into the action figure line in 1984 were new 'Battle Armor' versions of He-Man and Skeletor, who could be "battle damaged" when the mechanism on the figure's chest was pressed.^[138][139] These new renditions of He-Man and Skeletor did not appear in the animated series or the minicomics, but several new featured characters in the Filmation series would find releases in these 3rd and 4th waves of action figures. Making their toyline debuts in 1984 were He-Man's allies Buzz-Off ("heroic spy in the sky"; bee-like insectoid warrior with wings),^[57] Fisto ("heroic hand-to-hand fighter"; bearded warrior with a large smashing fist as an action feature)^[123] and Mekaneck ("heroic human periscope"; featuring an extending bionic neck).^[56] The first action figures for Prince Adam ("heroic secret identity of He-Man") and Orko ("heroic court magician"; utilizing a pull cord feature that would send the figure spinning around when placed on a flat surface) would also be produced in this 3rd wave.^[9][17] Skeletor's evil warriors would receive new recruits as well, with Clawful ("warrior with the grip of evil"; crab-like creature with an oversized pincer for a hand),^[58] Jitsu ("evil master of martial arts"; human warrior with a gold chopping hand action feature),^[132] Kobra Khan ("evil master of snakes"; reptilian warrior able to be filled with water to spray "poison" mist on his enemies),^[129] Webstor ("evil master of escape"; spider-faced warrior with a working grappling hook/backpack pulley system)^[128] and Whiplash ("evil tail-thrashing warrior"; reptilian with a rubber tail) all added to the line in 1984.^[59] Vehicles produced in 1984 include the Dragon Walker ("sidewinding beast/vehicle"), Road Ripper ("warrior carrier", with a fast action pull-cord), Roton ("evil assault vehicle", with a round rotating outer disk) and Stridor ("heroic armored war horse", often paired with Fisto);.^[140] The major playset that year was Skeletor's evil stronghold, Snake Mountain (looking quite unlike the Filmation version, with a giant ghoulish-face molded into the plastic and a voice distorting wolf-headed microphone).^[127][141]

Series three of Mattel's MOTU minicomics would follow a far more similar canon to that of the Filmation animated series, with minicomics such as Dragon's Gift, Masks of Power and Double-Edge Sword adapting stories straight from the first-season episodes of the same name.^{[142][143][144]} There would be some differences from Filmation however, as can be seen in The Temple of Darkness minicomic with the Sorceress, now in her bird-like Filmation attire, but in an all white version of the costume.^[12] The minicomics He-Man and the Insect People and The Clash of Arms would feature many of the new characters from the toyline such as Buzz-Off, Mekaneck, Fisto, Stridor, Webstor, Clawful and Whiplash;^[145][146] while others such as The Secret Liquid of Life, Slave City and The Siege of Avion had less to do with the toyline and would introduce new original minicomic characters instead, such as He-Man's childhood friend Prince Dakon, the evil Geldor, the Kobold master Lodar and Haramesh the demon.^{[147][148][149]}

The 1985 wave of action figures would again feature new versions of He-Man and Skeletor with special action features: Thunder-Punch He-Man (whose backpack could be loaded with plastic ring caps to create a loud "bang" when turning He-Man's waist) and Dragon Blaster Skeletor (which included a small water squirting dragon chained to Skeletor's armour).^[150][151] Heroic warriors included in the line were Moss Man ("heroic spy & master of camouflage"; a fuzzy pine-scented re-tooling of the Beast-Man mold),^[126] Roboto ("heroic mechanical warrior"; featuring moving gears and multiple weapons that could be inserted into his arm socket)^[152] and Sy-Klone ("heroic fist-flinging tornado"; with a dial on his waist allowing his torso to be spun around continuously).^[125] Evil warriors in 1985 would consist of Spikor ("untouchable master of evil combat"; covered in purple rubber spikes with a trident for an arm),^[131] Two Bad ("double-headed evil strategist"; whose spring action arms would allow the figure to punch himself in either face)^[130] and Stinkor ("evil master of odors"; a foul smelling re-working of the Mer-Man mold and the only character from the 1985 line that would not make an appearance in the Filmation cartoon).^[153] Vehicles produced in this 4th wave were Bashasaurus ("heroic combat vehicle"; with a large bashing club-arm),^[154] Battle Bones ("collector's carry case" and dinosaur skeleton brought to life in the minicomics),^[155] Land Shark ("evil monster/vehicle"; Skeletor's tank with a purple chomping shark mouth),^[156] Night Stalker ("evil armored battle steed"; a re-coloured Stridor toy, often associated with Jitsu)^[157] and Spydor ("evil stalker"; Skeletor's giant mechanical Spider).^[158][112]

The largest addition to the 1985 Masters of the Universe toyline would come in the form of the Evil Horde, whose characters were set to debut in the animated He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword motion picture. Although primarily villains in the soon to debut, She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series, five out of the six initial Evil Horde action figures were produced for the Masters of Universe line, instead of the Princess of Power toyline (with the Horde villainess Catra being the sole exception).^[42] The main new villain Hordak ("ruthless leader of the Evil Horde"),^[29] was followed in action figure form by his underlings, Mantenna ("evil spy with the pop-out eyes"),^[41] Leech ("evil master of power suction", with suction cup hands and mouth),^[45] Grizzlor ("hairy henchman of the Evil Horde", with actual imitation fur),^[44] and Modulok ("evil beast with a thousand bodies"; a unique figure with 22 segmented body parts that could be taken apart and re-assembled into over 1000 different combinations).^[43] Hordak's lair, the Fright Zone, was also released as a playset in 1985, although it bore no resemblance at all to the mechanical/industrial looking Fright Zone seen in the animated She-Ra series.^[159]

Series four of the minicomics in 1985, would begin to depart from some aspects of Filmation's continuity, as each member of the Evil Horde would feature in their own titular minicomic, focusing more on their attempts to attack He-Man and invade Eternia, rather than anything She-Ra/Princess of Power related.^[29] Likewise, Skeletor's Dragon-blaster and He-Man's Thunder-punch powers were never seen in the animated series, but debut here in the minicomics Skeletor's Dragon and The Treachery of Modulok.^[155][160] Roboto would also receive an alternate origin story in The Battle of Roboto, being a creation of Man-At-Arms, rather than a wandering alien, as in the Filmation series.^[161] Stinkor and Spikor would star in their own minicomics as well, in The Stench of Evil and Spikor Strikes, which would also feature Moss Man, Sy-Klone (referred to as "Tornado") and the Spydor vehicle.^[162][163] Only the minicomic, The Obelisk, would follow the established continuity more closely and did not feature any of the new characters or vehicles.^[164] Michael Halperin and Christy Marx would write many of the 1984 and 1985 minicomics, while Lee Nordling often served as editor. Larry Houston, Michael Lee and Alfred Alcala would compose most of the artwork for these issues, while DC Comics' Bruce Timm was the illustrator for Grizzlor - The Legend Comes Alive!^[165][107]

The introduction of She-Ra and "The Secret of the Sword" animated feature (1985)

In 1985, Mattel and Filmation decided to diversify the Masters of the Universe line beyond its traditional realm of "male action", in the hopes of bringing in a young female audience as well.^[121] Thus, She-Ra, a feminine warrior-woman heroine, in the same vein as He-Man, was proposed with an all new line of doll/action figure for girls.^[4] In conjunction with the toyline, Filmation would begin work on a new animated series titled She-Ra: Princess of Power, featuring this new main character. She-Ra, would be revealed as Princess Adora, the long lost twin sister Prince Adam/He-Man, living on Eternia's sister planet of Etheria, ruled by Hordak, the main antagonist of the new series and the tyrannical leader of the Evil Horde.^[29] She-Ra would first be introduced in the animated feature He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, released to theaters on March 22, 1985.^[166] The film would feature most major characters from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and introduce many of the new characters and concepts behind the new series (with the backstory developed by Filmation writers Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski).^[167]

She-Ra: Princess of Power - Filmation animated series (1985-1986)

Filmation's She-Ra: Princess of Power first aired "The Sword of She-Ra Part 1: Into Etheria" on September 9, 1985. The Secret of the Sword animated movie from earlier that spring was essentially a compilation of what would become the first five episodes of the She-Ra cartoon series. The series would run for 2 seasons, and 93 episodes from 1985 to 1986. She-Ra: Princess of Power was produced in lieu of continuing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for a third year; however, He-Man often appeared in episodes of She-Ra to aid his sister, and several other characters from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, both heroic and evil, also appeared in multiple crossovers.^[168][71]

She-Ra was born as Princess Adora on Eternia, Prince Adam/He-Man's twin sister and daughter of King Randor and Queen Marlena. As an infant, Adora is kidnapped by Hordak (vampire/demon-faced sorcerer with a cowl of bones, who can transform his body into various mechanical devices) and Skeletor (Hordak's apprentice at the time), and taken to the world of Etheria (a planet ruled by the Horde, and the main setting of the She-Ra series).^[169][29] Adora is raised and brainwashed by Hordak and his confidant Shadow Weaver (a red-robed witch with a hidden face, powerful in dark magic), to eventually become Force Captain of the Horde.^[28][39] After encountering her brother He-Man (who is on a mission from the Sorceress to find her on Etheria), she eventually acquires the Sword of Protection and seeks to learn the true evil of the Horde. After first transforming into She-Ra and seeing the error of her ways, she becomes a member of the Great Rebellion; a secret small band of rebels, living in the Whispering Woods and fighting to free Etheria from the tyrannical rule of Hordak.^[28][5] Just as Prince Adam transforms into He-Man with the use of his Sword of Power, Adora transforms into She-Ra via her Sword of Protection, a replica of He-Man's sword featuring a smooth blue gem in its hilt. Unlike He-Man's sword, She-Ra's possesses the ability to transform into different weapons and accessories, such as a lasso, a shield or a flaming blade.^[71] Like her brother Adam, however, Adora's transformation into She-Ra is similarly triggered by holding her sword over her head, but with her own unique invocation; "For the honor of Grayskull... I AM SHE-RA!". Also similar to He-Man and Cringer/Battle Cat, She-Ra transforms her horse Spirit into the flying unicorn Swift Wind.^[31] Though strong like He-Man, She-Ra is shown to have additional powers as well, such as the ability to heal with her touch, and communicate with animals via telepathy.^[170]

The premise of the She-Ra TV series was the reverse of the He-Man cartoon, where the heroes are actually rebels countering an evil establishment (rather than Skeletor trying to conquer Eternia).^[171] The Great Rebellion is originally led by Queen Angela (winged queen of Bright Moon, freed by She-Ra from the clutches of Hunga the Harpy);^[38] and her daughter Glimmer (pink-haired magic-user, with the ability to manipulate light);^[33] with the main cast of the Princess of Power cartoon also including, the skilled archer Bow (the main male heroic character of the series),^[34] Bow's timid companion Kowl (a flying owl/koala-like creature with large rainbow coloured ears),^[35] the absent minded magician Madame Razz and her wise-cracking sidekick, Broom.^[36][37] Also appearing in many episodes are the small imp-like forest-dwelling Twiggits (mainly Sprockett, Spritina, and Spragg)^[172] and the mystical Light Hope, who serves as a 'Sorceress of Grayskull-type' guide to She-Ra, residing high atop Mount Skydancer in the Crystal Castle.^[32] Throughout the series recurring characters and members/allies of the Rebellion included Adora's swashbuckling love interest Sea-Hawk, the flirtatious ice queen Frosta, powerful sorcerer queen Castaspella, butterfly-like Flutterina, mermaid princess Mermista, far-seeing Peakablue, flower-loving Perfuma, net-tossing Netossa, the intergalactic scout Sweet Bee, and the MOTU toyline characters, the elephant warrior Snout Spout (referred to as "Hose Nose"), and the Comet Warriors Rokkon and Stonedar (developed too late to appear in the prior MOTU Filmation series).^[120] A special character, Loo-Kee, was also introduced, hiding somewhere in the background of nearly every episode of the series; emerging at the end of the episode, revealing to viewers where he had been hiding and relating the moral of the story.^[173]

The ruling antagonist faction of the series, the Evil Horde (whose members are often depicted with a bat-like insignia) is lead on Etheria by Hordak (as voiced by George DiCenzo, is portrayed with a snorting laugh and temperament slightly more fearsome than Skeletor's),^[29] who rules Etheria from the industrial/technological looking monstrosity known as the Fright Zone.^[159] The Horde enslaves the people of Etheria through Hordak's legions of armoured robot-like Horde Troopers, mechanized vehicles and his special task-force of henchman known as the Force Squad.^[174] The Force Squad, lead originally by Adora and now by Catra (raven-haired villainess with a magic mask, giving her the ability to turn into a vicious panther),^[42] consists of the bug-eyed Mantenna (whom Hordak loves to torment, often dropping him through trap-doors),^[41] the fearsome Beast-Island operator Grizzlor,^[44] the hulking life-force draining amphibian-like Leech,^[45] the whiny shape-shifting Imp,^[40] and the pincer-clawed scorpian-woman Scorpia.^[46] The Horde was later joined by others including Skeletor's former scientist henchman Modulok,^[43] his robotic creation Multi-Bot,^[175] the future Snake Men Tung-Lashor and Rattlor,^[176][177] Entrapta the evil inventor with deadly braids, the octopus-woman Octavia, the Horde zoo keeper Vultak, and the robot Horde Trooper commander Dylamug.^[120] The overarching inter-planetary supreme leader of the Horde, Horde Prime, who held leadership over both Hordak and Skeletor was also introduced during the She-Ra Filmation series.^[178] Some of the other popular one-off heroes and villains were Spinnerella, Huntara, General Sunder, False-Face, Colonel Blast, the Red Knight, Granita the comet warrior, Sorrowful the Dragon, the Meteorbs and the Star Sisters.^[120]

She-Ra and Adora were voiced in the series by Melendy Britt (who also voiced Catra, Castaspella, Mermista and Octavia), George DiCenzo was the voice of Hordak, Bow, Sea-Hawk, Tung-Lashor (and a few others) and Diane Pershing provided the voice for Netossa and Spinnerella. Alan Oppenheimer and John Erwin would reprise their roles from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, as would Linda Gary with Teela and the Sorceress, while providing the additional voice work for Glimmer, Madame Razz, Sweet Bee, Shadow Weaver, Scorpia and Entrapta. Credited as "Erik Gunden", Lou Scheimer returned as well to provide voices for a plethora of characters including Swift Wind, Kowl, Light Hope, Broom, Mantenna, Leech, Grizzlor, Modulok, Horde Prime, Multi-Bot, Rattlor, Orko, the Horde Troopers and many of the Twiggits; while his daughter, Erika Scheimer, took a more prominent role in this series providing the voices for Loo-Kee, Queen Angella, Frosta, Imp and several of She-Ra's female associates.^[5] She-Ra: Princess of Power would air its final episode 'Swifty's Baby' on December 5, 1986; with no real finale for either the She-Ra or He-Man Filmation series.^[137]

Princess of Power - Mattel toyline (1985-1987)

Released in 1985, Mattel's toyline Princess of Power (sometimes abbreviated as POP), featured almost exclusively female characters, all of whom featured an emphasis on hair and clothing, with "real" hair and partially softgoods costumes. Described as "fashion action dolls", essentially the line attempted to fuse the appeal of Masters of the Universe with Mattel's successful line of fashion dolls, Barbie, and added many "Fantastic Fashions" clothing accessories packs to compliment the female action figures.^[179]

The 1985 line of Princess of Power figures included She-Ra (without a separate action figure for Princess Adora), Bow (the only male figure in the POP line, without his moustache, as seen in the cartoon series), Glimmer ("the guide who lights the way"), Kowl ("the know-it owl"), Angella ("angelic winged guide"), Frosta ("ice empress of Etheria"), Castaspella ("enchantress who hypnotizes"), Catra ("jealous beauty" and the main female antagonist) and Double Trouble ("glamorous double agent"; created only for the toyline and minicomics, never appearing in the cartoon series). She-Ra's main playset was Crystal Castle, a "shimmmering castle of fantasy and fun for She-Ra and her friends!". Enchanta, a large swan creature/vehicle was also produced in the first wave of toys, as were several horses to accompany the figures: Swift Wind for She-Ra, Arrow for Bow and Storm for Catra.^[180]

The Princess of Power toyline ran from 1985 to 1987, for which Mattel would release a total of 22 action figure/dolls (with 12 creatures, 2 playsets and 16 clothing accessories). Apart from the main Princess of Power line, the preeminent villains of the She-Ra series, Hordak and the Evil Horde (originally created by Filmation in collaboration with Mattel), were released by Mattel under the Masters of the Universe branding. The character Catra was the only villain to be released in the first wave of the Princess of Power figures, with Mattel downplaying her connection to the Evil Horde in the toyline. In 1986 a new "Scratchin' Sound" version of Catra is joined by her feline pet Clawdeen and fellow Horde-Villainess Entrapta. She-Ra (with a new "Starburst" verision) is accompanied in the second wave by her allies Flutterina, Mermista, Peekablue, Perfuma and Sweet Bee. "Crystal" translucent plastic versions of Swift Wind and the horses Sun Dancer and Moonbeam were also released in wave two, along with the Butterflyer and Sea Harp creature/vehicles and the Crystal Falls playset.^[180]

The third and final wave saw diminished sales and production in 1987, with the releases of Netossa, Spinnerella and Loo-Kee; along with "Bubble Power" She-Ra, "Royal" Swift Wind, "Silver" Storm and "Shower Power" Catra.^[180] Several recurring characters from the She-Ra cartoon did not receive action figures in neither the original POP or MOTU toylines; such as Madame Razz (or her Broom), Light Hope, the Twiggits, Sea-Hawk, Shadow Weaver, Scorpia, Imp, Octavia, or Hunga the Harpy. She-Ra would also feature in 13 of her own minicomics (packaged with the figures), along with several children's books, comic magazines, and read-along record/cassette-tape books.

Final action figures and minicomics (1986-1988)

The final series of action figures and minicomics, in 1986 and 1987, would continue on the adventures past the animated series and its sequel in the She-Ra line, introducing new characters not seen in the cartoon series such as the heroic warriors: Rio Blast ("transforming gunslinger"), Clamp Champ ("master of capture"), and Extendar ("master of extension"); the evil warriors: Blast-Attak ("blast-apart robotic warrior"), Ninjor ("evil ninja warrior") and Scare-Glow ("evil ghost of Skeletor"); the Snake Men: King Hiss ("dreadful disguised leader of the Snake Men"), Sssqueeze ("evil long-armed viper") and Snake-Face ("most gruesome of the Snake Men"); the Hordesmen: Dragstor ("transforming warrior/vehicle") and Mosquitor ("energy-draining insectoid"); and the spinning top-like Energy Zoids, Rotar and Twistoid.^[141] Aside from these new characters, long time MOTU staple characters King Randor ("heroic ruler of Eternia") and the Sorceress ("heroic guardian of Castle Grayskull") were finally represented in action figure form.^[10][12] Other later MOTU characters that had only appeared in the She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series, also saw release in the form of the elephant-headed Snout Spout ("heroic water-blasting firefighter"),^[181] the rock warriors, Rokkon ("young heroic comet warrior") and Stonedar ("heroic rock people leader"),^[182] the Snake Men, Tung Lashor ("evil tongue-shooting Snake Men creature") and Rattlor ("evil Snake Men creature with the quick-strike head"),^[177][176] and the Horde members, Multi-Bot ("evil robot of a thousand bodies", similar to the prior interchangeable body-segment Modulok figure) and the Horde Trooper ("evil collapsing robot", and the only generic troop/soldier figures of the toyline). New versions of the lead characters were also produced with "Flying Fists" He-Man, "Terror Claws" Skeletor, and Hordak in two new forms with "Hurricane" Hordak and "Buzz-Saw" Hordak.^[141]

The Evil Horde obtained their first vehicle/creatures in the toyline with Mantisaur ("the evil insectoid steed") and Monstroid ("the ultimate battling monster", that had an entirely different depiction the animated series); while the Horde's Slime Pit playset (a dinosaur skull-headed torture device), proved to be quite popular in 1986, coming complete with canisters of green ooze to pour over the action figures, while held in place with a giant claw.^[183] Also that same year, "the land and sky disc launcher", Blaster Hawk, and "the road rocket", Laser Bolt, were produced for He-Man's heroic warriors; while Skeletor gained the "dragonfly attack vehicle", known as the Fright Fighter. At a less-expensive price-point, several accessory packs of smaller vehicle/weapons included the Megalaser, Jet Sled and Stilt Stalkers in 1986; and the Scubattack, Tower Tools, Cliff Climber, Beam Blaster & Artilleray set and several small transforming egg-shaped creatures known as Meteorbs, late into the line in 1987.^[141]

Also late into the line in 1987, were three original characters from the live action movie: Blade ("evil masters of swords"), Saurod ("evil spark-shooting reptile") and Gwildor ("heroic creator of the Cosmic Key"), with their entry into the MOTU mythos explained in one of the last original minicomics, The Cosmic Key.^{[184][185][186]} No other movie-related figures were produced, however in 1988, the final action figures of the original toyline, the "Laser Power" versions of He-Man and Skeletor, did bear some resemblance to their live-action movie counterparts and were released only to European markets.^[187]

One of the main storylines of the later minicomics, released with these later waves of action figures, was the introduction of a new major villain faction known as the Snake Men, first appearing in the minicomic King of the Snake Men. Kobra Khan, Tung-Lashor and Rattlor (who previously appeared in the He-Man and She-Ra cartoon series with Skeletor, and/or as members of the Horde),^{[129][177][176]} were now under the leadership of the ancient Eternian King Hiss, whose snake men army rose from Eternia's past, joining forces with Skeletor to once again rule Eternia (additional Snake Men were later added to the roster in the form of the long-armed Sssqueeze and the medusa-like Snake Face in the minicomic Revenge of the Snake Men).^[51][188] Another major minicomic storyline of this period included the introduction of the three-towered fortress of Eternia in The Ultimate Battleground; which was a massive final playset for MOTU, one of the biggest of all 1980's toylines, complete with a motorized monorail circling the towers. Other notable minicomics included the debut of Hordak's gruesome mind-altering Slime Pit in Escape from the Slime Pit, one of several origin stories for Rokkon and Stonedar in Rock People to the Rescue, cybernetic Horde experiments resulting in the creation of the warriors Dragstor and Extendar in The Warrior Machine, and the suggested origin of Skeletor as Keldor in The Search for Keldor (which also included the only minicomic appearances for He-Man's ally Clamp Champ, and Skeletor's minions Ninjor, Scare Glow and Faker). All of this was leading towards what would have been a continuation of the series in the 'Powers of Grayskull' line, before being discontinued. These series 5 and 6 minicomics were often edited by Lee Nordling with Art direction from Ron Cook, and included writing by Tim Kiplin, Phil White and Steven Grant, with the artwork of Bruce Timm, Jim Mitchell, Chris Carlson, Charles Simpson, and Larry Houston, among others.^[107]

'The Powers of Grayskull' (1987)

The proposed exploration of the distant past of Eternia, dubbed "Preternia",^[189] forms the basis of what was originally to be the next incarnation of the toyline, entitled The Powers of Grayskull. However the toyline was canelled very early on, with only a few toys released (like the dinosaur-themed creatures Turbodactyl, Bionatops, Tyrantisaurus Rex and the rare Italian-only released giant figures, Tytus and Megator). The main story information originates from the final minicomic The Powers of Grayskull—The Legend Begins!, which was intended as the first of a three-part series, however only this issue appeared.^[190]

The proposed storyline was to focus on Ancient Eternia, which was populated by many creatures, including the aforementioned cybernetic dinosaurs and giants. When the Sorceress and He-Man arrive, followed by Skeletor, they find King Hiss leading an attack on a village in the hope of drawing out "The Elders", using some of the cybernetic dinosaurs to their advantage. Hiss serves an "unnamed one" and agrees to unite with Skeletor on the basis that he might be an emissary. Seeing Skeletor's interference, the Sorceress allows He-Man to enter the battle but, "for reasons that will be made clear to you in the future," he had to be disguised. He finds himself overwhelmed, but then a shadowy figure appears who turns the odds with a powerful wand. The stranger then sends the Snake Men back to their base and all the time travellers home. The Sorceress describes the intervener as "the Greatest Sorcerer of all" and He-Man is left asking, "But who is he?". No further story information is given, and it remains unclear how the giants mentioned and released as toys would fit into the story. However, some marketing press releases and prototypes have shed further information.

The wizard was to be He-Ro, an ancestor of He-Man. Raised by his mentor Eldor and discovering special powers in a cave, He-Ro would have led the fight against the Snake Men. According to the mini-comics' writers it was intended that the central antagonist would be Keldor, a character revealed similarly late in the line to have been He-Man's uncle and also strongly hinted to have been the former identity of Skeletor. Whether or not Keldor was also supposed to be the "Unnamed One" Hiss served is not clear, although in an interview writer Steven Grant vaguely recalls that the intention was that the Unnamed One would be a greater evil who, as the Emperor was to Darth Vader, was intended to be the one who caused Keldor to become Skeletor.^[191]

However, when Mattel finally went about creating a definitive identity for "The Unnamed One", as part of their Masters of the Universe Classic line, the character was revealed to be an evil Trollan named "Gorpo" (a nod to the original pre-production name for Orko), who was exiled to Eternia by his race for evil and who used his dark magic to transform normal snakes into humanoid snake people such as King Hiss. Furthermore, additional figures for He-Ro and Eldor (who were made into prototypes but never officially released) were made for the Classic line.

Marvel comics, daily newspaper strips and fan-club magazines (1985-1988)

In the years after the animated series ended, generally going along with the established Filmation continuity, Marvel Comics would release a younger-skewing Star Comics Masters of the Universe series that ran from 1986 to 1988 bi-monthly and produced 13 issues; featuring many of the later characters introduced in the toyline.^[192] Apart from the standard comic-book format, there was a 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Magazine', a U.S. based fan club magazine featuring puzzles, fan letters, feature stories and comic strips (running 16 issues, 1985-1988; She-Ra also with a similar magazine, running 6 issues).^[193] This magazine series featured well rendered covers and posters by artist Earl Norem and a create a character contest, with the winner, Nathan Bitner, revealed in the spring 1986 issue with his Fearless Photog character (however, an action figure was never realized or produced until the Classics line in 2012).^[194][195] Daily comic strips could also be found at this time in newspaper syndication from 1985 until 1989. The strips were primarily written by Chris Weber and edited by Karen Willson with distribution in the U.S. and worldwide in countries such as Brazil, India, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. The newspaper strips were somewhat obscure and were generally lesser known to the wider fan-base, but 1,639 of the 1,674 daily strips were finally collected in hardcover format with 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips', released by Dark Horse Books in 2017. ^[196]

International publications (1983-1990)

Various He-Man adventure magazine issues containing Masters of the Universe related comics were also released outside the United States, in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Finland, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy and many other countries.^[197] Egmont's London Editions in the United Kingdom, published 72 issues biweekly of their 'By The Power of Grayskull... Masters of the Universe' comic magazine from 1986 to 1988 (also publishing 14 issues of 'For the Honor of Grayskull She-Ra' and several special issues, including 'Twins of Power').^[198] The series is often noted for expanding the origins of many characters, and introducing the character 'Scrollos', among others.^[199] Egmont also ran a monthly comic magazine entitled 'Masters of the Universe Adventure', which ran for 18 issues before turning into a 'New Adventures' themed magazine 'He-Man Adventure' for 10 more issues.^[200][201] Original comic-book content was also created in Germany by Interpart/Condor for 18 issues, Ehapa for 21 issues (also appearing in their Micky Maus comics) and original content by Mattel, including two exclusive European minicomics.^{[202][203][204]} Both the German and British comics were often translated to provide content for other countries (although Italy's Più and Magic Boy magazines and some comic books from South America, notably Estrela and Editora Abril of Brazil, provided some original material in their pages as well).^{[205][206][207][208]}

Children's books (1983-1990)

Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power featured in many children's books in the 1980s as well. One of the main producers of these titles was Golden Books, which published several series of hard and softcover children's books from 1983 to 1986 (the earliest books are more in line with early minicomics, with the later books following the cartoon series; however, Golden Books did introduce their own character of Goat-Man in the book Secret of the Dragon's Egg in 1985).^[209] World I.P. also produced annual Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power storybooks in the U.K. from 1984 until the New Adventures line in 1990 (with the 1984 edition written pre-Filmation, notably naming Orko as 'Gorpo' and King Randor as 'King Miro').^[210] Euredif France produced several Maîtres de l'Univers volumes as well.^[211] Also notable in the 1980s were the various combination book/record/cassette-tape read-along/tell-a-tale adventures produced by Ladybird Books out of the U.K., by Kid Stuff Records out of the U.S., and by Mattel themselves.^{[212][213][214]}

Games, audio plays, Power Tour and other media (1983-1987)

Various video game adaptations of the franchise have been released. Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man was released by Intellivision for Atari 2600 and Intellivision in 1983. Two games, Masters of the Universe: The Arcade Game and Masters of the Universe: The Super Adventure, were developed by Adventure Soft and released by U.S. Gold for Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1987. A video game based on the movie, Masters of the Universe: The Movie, was released by Gremlin Graphics for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX and ZX Spectrum in 1987.^[215] Various board games were also released in the 1980s and FASA produced The Masters of the Universe Role Playing Game in 1985.^[216]

Throughout the 1980s a wide array of He-Man merchandise was released, including colouring books, activity books, a Panini Sticker book and many other items.^[217] Several read-along audio plays were created by Kid Stuff and by Pickwick/Ladybird in the United Kingdom.^[218] Notably, a complete Masters of the Universe audio-play adventure LP record was released by Kid Stuff Records in 1983; written and produced by John Braden, with a new He-Man theme song and original voice acting.^[219] Also notable were a series of audio cassettes, released in Germany by Europa, consisting of 37 episodes of over 40 minutes in length, with an additional 10 Princess of Power tapes, and 5 specials (these introduced Anti-Eternia, with an evil alternate universe version of He-Man in episode 11).^[220][221]

Home video releases of Filmation's animated series were produced by RCA/Columbia on VHS and Betamax for 11 volumes with red framed box art, before switching to their Magic Window brand with 'The Secret of the Sword' movie in 1985, for 12 additional He-Man and the Masters of the Universe volumes and 10 She-Ra Princess of Power VHS releases.^[222][223] Golden Books, Germany's Ocean and Select and various others also released Masters of the Universe video content in the 1980s.^[224][225]

There was also a Masters of the Universe 'Power Tour' live stage show, showing across the United States, with 19 consecutive performances at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Directed by Tony Christopher, husband and wife Jack and Leslie Wadsworth portrayed He-Man and She-ra, while Khalos Planchart and Eric Van Baars played lead villains Hordak and Skeletor, respectively. The production also featured lesser used characters such as Rio-Blast, Clamp-Champ, Snout-Spout, Rokkon, Ninjor, Blast-Attak and songs by an original character, Songster (performed by Doug Howard).^[226]

Reboot and new Masters of the Universe toyline

In 2002, Mattel launched a new Masters of the Universe toyline with sculpts designed by the Four Horsemen. The new toyline was made surprisingly faithful to the original line, with the characters gently "re-imagined" and updated in terms of sculpting detail rather than radically reinterpreted.^[241] 60 action figures were released in all, with 10 creature figures, 7 vehicles and 3 playsets (8 smaller scale figures were also produced in a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion).

One point of contention for many fans of the original Masters toyline was the redesign of He-Man's Power Sword. According to the Four Horsemen, this was due to their original re-sculpts being intended for a continuation of the original storyline in which Skeletor had obtained both halves of the Power Sword (hence the new Skeletor figure's dual blades with clear "good" and "evil" hilt designs), necessitating a new sword to be built by Man-At-Arms and endowed with the properties of the original by the Sorceress. However, Mattel decided to reboot the continuity for a new generation of children, and thus the "new" Power Sword design became the "original" version for the new continuity.^[242] Another issue was the over-reliance on releasing alternate versions of He-Man (13 in total), Skeletor (10), Man-At-Arms (5) and a few other main characters, rather than further classic, re-imagined and original characters from the accompanying animated series (such as Randor, The Sorceress, Clawful, or Chief Carnivus, to name a few); making many of the non-He-Man or Skeletor figures hard to come by for both collectors and children. These factors likely contributed to the cancelation of the line in 2004 and ultimately not achieving the success of its 1980's counterpart.^[243]

The line's faithfulness to the original series made it very popular with collectors, however, suggesting it would have been better served as a collector-based line, akin to DC Direct. This theory was borne out in the wake of the discontinuation of the mass-market toyline, with NECA taking the rather unprecedented step of continuing the toyline through action figure sized mini-statues scaled and sculpted to be aesthetically compatible for display alongside the Mattel toys. NECA would produce 22 'staction figures' in total, allowing fans to fill out their collections with other Four Horsemen redesigned characters that had yet to be produced as figures when the toyline was canceled. According to a December 8, 2005 interview with a Mattel representative on he-man.org, NECA offered to produce fully articulated action figures for Mattel without taking any credit, but permission was denied. Instead, NECA was only permitted to produce nonarticulated statues, which they did from 2005 to 2007.^[244]

200X Animated series - Mike Young Productions

A new animated series was produced to accompany the toyline, made by Mike Young Productions and lasting for 39 episodes; with the series making its premiere on Cartoon Network's Toonami on August 16, 2002 and airing its final episode on January 10, 2004.^[245] This series involved much tighter continuity and a somewhat greater depth of characterization than its Filmation predecessor.^[246] A similar but slightly modified premise to the original Filmation series, this version of He-Man (voiced by Cam Clarke, with Prince Adam portrayed as physically younger and smaller than He-Man) was part of an ensemble of Eternian heroes/protectors known as officially now as 'The Masters'. Under the leadership of Man-At-Arms (voiced by Garry Chalk), this team originally consisted of He-man/Adam (with his pet Cringer/Battle Cat, no longer able to speak), Teela, Orko, Stratos, Ram-Man, Mekaneck and Man-E-Faces, and later joined by Buzz-Off, Roboto and Sy-Klone. King Randor, was now a general (rather than king, from an Eternian royal lineage), pronounced ruler of Eternia by the Elders of the Hall of Wisdom, which have gone into hiding inside the depths of Castle Grayskull. Skeletor (voiced by Brian Dobson), now confirmed as Keldor, finally breaks through the great barrier wall (after decades of trying), and attacks the Masters with his evil forces; mainly consisting of Evil-Lynn, Beast-Man, Mer-Man, Trap-Jaw (now a cybernetically repaired henchman, formerly known as Kronis), Tri-Klops (now an inventor/scientist, somewhat akin to an evil Man-At-Arms), Claw-ful (now a very large and extremely dim-witted thug) and Whiplash (now also of larger size, and of the subterranean Caligar race). Backstories of occasional characters such as Fisto, Moss-Man, Webstor, Zodak (regarded a different character as opposed to the earlier Zodac), Two-Bad (portrayed as two bounty hunters known as Tuvar and Baddhra, magically combined into one being by Skeletor's magic), Stinkor (finally making an appearance in cartoon continuity as the mutated form of Odiphus) are all expanded upon. On-and-off villains Count Marzo and Evilseed return, while new characters such as Dekker, Carnivus, Ceratus, Lord Dactys, Prahvus, the Faceless One and the giants Chadzar, Belzar and Azdar are also introduced in this series.

Later episodes of this series were re-titled Masters of the Universe vs. the Snake-Men, and sidelined Skeletor as chief villain in favor of King Hiss, leader of the reptilian Snake Men (Kobra-Kahn, General Rattlor, Tung-Lashor, Snake-Face and Sssqueeze), with He-man and many of the characters now bearing a new 'Snake-Armour' look. He-man's ancestor King Grayskull and his Sorceress wife Veena also debuted in this season against his nemesis Hordak (now an ancient sorcerer). Hordak and the Evil Horde were to be the main antagonists for the third season if the show had continued, but it was not renewed. The 40th and final episode was produced as a comic-book 'special feature' on the last DVD set of the series; which was part of a three volume release, originally by BCI Eclipse in 2008 (and later in a collected release by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2009 and 2012).^[247]

200X MOTU video games

A game based on the 2002 series, He-Man: Power of Grayskull, was developed by Taniko and published by TDK Mediactive in October 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, which also featured an introductory minicomic. A follow up developed by Savage Entertainment and published by Midas Interactive Entertainment, He-Man: Defender of Grayskull, was released for PlayStation 2 in February 2005.

Comic series by MVC and Image Comics

From 2002-2005 Image Comics and MVCreations published several series of comics and one-shots that mirrored tales of the 2002 Mike Young Productions show; the comic series elaborated and added to the mythos by introducing characters that never made it in after the 39 episodes of the television series. The first issues were seen in the summer of 2002 in the form of special promotional/preview issues, with three mini-series continuing on after; 'The Shards of Darkness' in fall 2002, followed by 'Dark Reflections' and 'Rise of the Snake Men' in 2003. After delving into the back-stories of Skeletor's henchmen Beast-Man, Mer-Man, Trap-Jaw and Tri-Klops in a four issue 'Icons of Evil' series, a short-lived ongoing series, solely produced by MVC, continued on for eight issues in 2004. Along with these, a handful of special or 'pack-in' one-shots and trade paperback collected volumes were also produced.

Masters of the Universe modern series (2002-2004)

Mattel attempted to revive the long-dormant franchise with a new toyline, which was sculpted by Four Horsemen Studios.

NECA Masters of the Universe modern series - Mini-Statues (2005-2007)

Four Horsemen Studios continued the 200X toyline in the form of non-articulated 6" scale resin statues, which were designed to fit in with the 2002-2004 action figures. They were released by NECA, under licence from Mattel.

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2008-2017)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (August 2008-December 2009)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2010)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2011)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2012)

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Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2013)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2014)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2015)

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics (2016-2017)

Super7 Masters of the Universe Classics (2017-Present)

Super7 Masters of the Universe Ultimates (2017)

Super7 Masters of the Universe Classics (2017) (Exclusive 3 pack)

Super7 Masters of the Universe Classics (2018)

These toys were available to preorder in 2017.

Super7 Masters of the Universe Classics (2019)

These toys were available to preorder in 2018.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe / Club Grayskull (2016-Present)

In 2016 Masters of the Universe Classics was accompanied by an additional toyline, featuring designs and characters from the Filmation cartoon series. These were also sold on Mattel's webstore MattyCollector.com. Production of the toyline by Mattel ended in 2016, and was continued by Super7 from 2017.

Mattel He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2016)

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Super7 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2017/2018)

Super7 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2018/2019)

Super7 Retro Masters of the Universe (2016-Present)

In 2016, the toy company Super 7 licences the MOTU characters from Mattel to release new 3' 3/4" MOTU action figures, in the style of the toys produced in the 1980s by companies like Kenner.^[301]