He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Entry updated 27 April 2026. Tagged: TV.
US tv series (1983-1985). Filmation Associates, Mattel. Developed by Lou Scheimer, based on Mattel's toy line Masters of the Universe. Directors include Steve Clark, Ed Friedman, Lou Kachivas, Marsh Lamore, Ernie Schmidt and Gwen Wetzler. Writers include Douglas Booth, Paul Dini, Larry DiTillio, Brynne Stephens, J Michael Straczynski and David Wise. Voice cast includes John Erwin, Linda Gary, Erik Gunden and Alan Oppenheimer. Two seasons with a total of 130 23-minute episodes (plus a feature film and Christmas special, shared with the She-Ra: Princess of Power series).
Having developed the Masters of the Universe action figures for release in 1982, Mattel initially promoted it with a series of mini-comics, beginning with He-Man and the Power Sword (1981) and, in 1983, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which – though very successful – drew criticism for existing only to promote Mattel's Toys. The franchise continued with further comics (some produced by DC Comics and Marvel Comics), live action movies, Videogames, books and so forth. There were two further He-Man animated series: The New Adventures of He-Man (1989-1990), in one season of 65 episodes, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002-2003), with 39 episodes spread over two seasons, the second sometimes called Masters of the Universe vs. The Snake Men.
Adam, Prince of Eternia (Erwin) is the "defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull"; secret powers were revealed to him the day he raised aloft his Magic sword and declared "by the power of Grayskull!", turning him into the muscle-bound, scantily clad He-Man ("the most powerful man in the universe"), whilst his cowardly pet Cringer (Oppenheimer) became Battle Cat (fierce, sabre-toothed, wearing a helmet and a saddle for our hero to ride on). His parents, the rulers of Eternia who live in Eternos City, and Teela (Gary), Captain of the Royal Guard, are apparently unaware Adam is He-Man and are disappointed in his lack of warrior spirit. Only three know his secret: the Sorceress (Gary), a birdwoman and guardian of Castle Grayskull (her actual name is Teela Na); Man At Arms (Oppenheimer), a soldier and engineer, and Orko (Gunden) from Trolla, a parallel world where he is a powerful magician, though in our Dimension his powers are more erratic. The five, with Teela and other friends, defend Eternia and the castle from Skeletor (Oppenheimer) – a hooded, skull-headed blue-skinned man – and his minions, including red-furred Beast-man (Erwin) (who can control animals); Mer-man (Oppenheimer) ("warlord of water, master of fish, lakes and streams"); Evil Lynn (Gary) ("Sorceress of night"); Tri-clops (Gunden) (three-eyed; his gamma-vision can see round objects); Trap-jaw (Gunden) ("Wizard of weapons", also having a "vicious steel jaw" and a detachable arm, allowing Weapons to be attached to his shoulder).
Though there is considerable Magic on Eternia, it exists alongside an infrastructure of advanced Technology. For instance, both sides use flying vehicles and there are Computers; Man At Arms is an inventor (see Inventions) and Skeletor has Robot knights. The episode Teela's Quest provides some backstory: we see a Spaceship from Earth caught in an asteroid shower, forcing its pilot to crash land on Eternia. This was Adam's mother, now Queen Marlena (Gary) who is using a memory projector invented by Man At Arms to show the scene to her son. The episode then focuses on Man At Arms's adopted daughter Teela, who learns her mother is the Sorceress (that is, Teela Na), only to have that knowledge erased by her (see Memory Edit).
Stories initially focused on Skeletor coming up with a plan to defeat He-Man, conquer Eternia or obtain Grayskull's secrets using magic, science or both; later other antagonists appeared, or conflict began in other ways (such as misunderstandings or facing Monsters), though Skeletor would often become involved. The first broadcast episode, "Diamond Ray of Disappearance", has that diamond wielded by Skeletor, which transports anything caught in its Ray to the "timeless Dimension". "Quest for He-Man" has He-Man afflicted with Amnesia and sent to a random world elsewhere in the universe: fortunately the Sorceress knows Zodac, who "observes all that happens in the cosmos" and though not allowed to change events he helps to locate He-Man, who is found on Trannis, a once Pastoral planet ruined (see Disaster) by Pollution caused by the industries set up by Plundor (Erwin), a humanoid rabbit wishing to become the richest person in the universe. In "The Search" we learn Eternia is at the exact centre of the universe: it was here that the Big Bang (see Cosmology) occurred – and a small piece of the energy left from that explosion is located at the planet's core; called the Star Seed, it can make any spoken request come true ... and Skeletor seeks it, drilling to the centre of the world using a mole machine. We discover Zodac allowed Skeletor to discover its location, knowing He-Man would have to face the temptation of using the Star Seed himself, a test he passes. "Trouble in Arcadia" has He-Man and Teela on the planet of Arcadia, where women rule (see Feminism) in a beautiful City protected by a Force Field, with the men working Underground in the "slave pits": "this way we avoid all conflict and strife" the Queen tells Teela, who reflects "a perfect Utopia, no conflict, no problems – and no love either" (see Women in SF); the merits of equality are shown. "Game Plan" has He-Man inserted into a Videogame. Though Man At Arms built a Weather Control satellite in an earlier episode, in "The Ice Age Cometh" we learn Eternia's climate is controlled by its Weather Station, which Skeletor uses to start an Ice Age. "The Arena" has Man At Arms's space probe, intended to explore the solar system, encountering Om, a glowing orange sphere, "of a race much older than yours, a race that has long since shed the fragile shell of a physical body" (it is suggested these Energy Beings will outlive the universe). Om is studying intelligent life and, witnessing an attack by Skeletor and his army on Eternos City, decides to reduce the suffering by picking the best warrior from each side to decide the victor: namely, He-Man and Skeletor. When Skeletor is attacked by one of his own monsters (presumably because he spends most of the time insulting it) He-Man saves him, and is declared the winner.
"The Rainbow Warrior" has Skeletor capturing everyone but Queen Marlena, who uses the spaceship she arrived in (named The Rainbow Warrior) to free Adam: "I had a feeling you would know what to do" (clearly hinting she knows he is He-Man). "Happy Birthday Roboto" finds the red, three-legged alien Modulok (Gunden) using a Brain Transfer Machine to transfer Man At Arms's Intelligence into their spare head (a partial Identity Transfer). "Visitors from Earth" has an Earth spaceship swallowed by a vortex of light and transported to Eternia: the two astronauts explain they have to return urgently as a "magnetic meteor" is heading towards Earth, picking up space debris as it approaches – probes, satellites and rockets – and growing all the while. Their mission was to destroy the meteor before it hits; with He-Man's help they do so. "Mistaken Identity" has Mad Scientist Galen Nycroft, imprisoned for trying to take over Eternia with a mind control machine, managing to Teleport a device into his cell that transforms him into Modulok (see Shapeshifters); it is not clear whether Nycroft is Modulok or simply impersonates him. Other stories include a machine that can both turn living things to stone and bring statues to life; Skeletor Time Travelling by magical means to before the building of Castle Grayskull; robots from an ancient civilization awoken by an archaeologist (this episode having a Man At Arms invention which turns "sand and chemicals" into food); robots made of "pure energy"; space pirates; Evil Lynn building a device that emits a shrinking Ray (see Great and Small) – despite her being a sorceress, this seems to be a product of science rather than magic.
The film He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985), introducing She-Ra, was compiled from the first five episodes of the television series She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1987), though the film predated the series (see She-Ra and the Princesses of Power). There was also a joint Christmas special, He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985), and the live-action spinoff film Masters of the Universe (1987).
Each episode would end with the cast pointing out a moral from the story. He-Man avoids killing people (his sword is mainly used for the transformation scene) and – if a Villain is in danger – will risk his own life to save them; environmental concerns and the equality of the sexes are also supported. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a combination of Sword and Sorcery and sf (see Planetary Romance), with rarely any attempt to rationalize the magical elements. The show is strongly focused on its target audience, so the stories are unlikely to engage older viewers (though there occasional moments of interest); the limited animation also makes it visually uninteresting save for a few backgrounds. The Humour is, unsurprisingly, childish; adults might derive some amusement from Skeletor's contempt for his minions, and their petulance. [SP]
links
previous versions of this entry