If you grew up in the 1980s, chances are you would have heard of He-Man and the Masters Of the Universe. After all, it was one of the most iconic and popular toy and cartoon franchises of that decade.
Well, by the power of Grayskull (and a big cult fandom), the Masters of The Universe is making a comeback this week, thanks to an all new live-action movie starring Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man and Jared Leto as his arch-enemy Skeletor.
Directed by Travis Knight, the film starts out with Prince Adam on Earth, where he has lived for the past 15 years. The Power Sword then leads him back to his home planet, Eternia, where he has to become the hero called He-Man in order to save the realm from the evil forces of Skeletor
The film also stars a stellar ensemble cast, including Camila Mendes as Teela, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, and Idris Elba as Men-At-Arms.
The Masters of the Universe (MOTU) franchise began in 1982, when toy producers Mattel first released a line of 5.5-inch (13.97cm) figures ,the first of which were He-Man, his arch-enemy Skeletor, and their respective right hand men, Men-At-Arms and Beast Man.
While He-Man and Skeletor were obviously the most popular of the action figures, the biggest appeal of the MOTU toys was the sheer range and variety of characters it produced.
‘Master of Weapons’ Men-At-Arms, Skeletor’s ‘Savage Henchman’ Beast Man, ‘Warrior Goddess’ Teela, ‘EVIL warrior goddess’ Evil-Lyn, the three-faced Man-E-Faces (yeah, some of the names weren’t very inspiring, but they got the job done),‘Human Battering Ram’ Ram Man, Mekaneck the ‘Human Periscope’, ‘Winged Warrior’ Stratos… every kid had his or her own favourite character (ok, except Orko. No one really liked Orko).
The best part was the toys that each of those characters had and the different play elements each one had.
These included Men-At-Arms and Trap Jaw’s removable armour and weapons,the spring-loaded action of Ram Man, the ‘human battering ram’, the extending neck of Mekaneck, the changeable faces of Man-E-Faces, and so on. Even the ones that did not have unique features had a ‘twisting punch action’ that made them so cool for playtime.
While the franchise began life as a toy line, the MOTU universe eventually grew bigger than that, and we’re not just talking about more toy releases.
You see, in those initial lines of toys, there were little minicomics (more like stories with illustrations) that were packaged together with the toys, telling the stories of the characters.
In these, He-Man was initially a wandering barbarian (not a prince, yet) who was recruited by the Sorceress to defend Castle Grayskull against Skeletor, a villain who landed in Eternia from another dimension.
It was only in Wave 2 of the toys that we started to see the beginnings of the MOTU we know now through the mini-comics, which were now proper panel comics. Here, He-Man is no longer a barbarian, but is a prince in the Royal Castle.
Later on, DC Comics published proper Masters Of The Universe comics that revealed that he is actually Prince Adam of the Eternian royal family. Cringer, aka Battle Cat, was also introduced in this comic line.
In 1983, the MOTU mania exploded with the release of the hugely popular He-Man And the Masters Of The Universe cartoon series.
This is the version that most people would recognise, as it introduced the franchise’s most iconic elements, including Prince Adam’s famous pink shirt, and his “By the power of Grayskull…I have the power!” transformation into He-Man.
The TV series ran for 130 episodes across two seasons (1983-1984), and although it wasn’t renewed for a third, we did get the spinoff series She-Ra: Princess Of Power, which had 93 episodes across two seasons (1985-1987).
For the upcoming movie, Mattel has released a new range of MOTU toys, which includes action figures, playsets, role-playing items, and collectibles.
We got four action figures from different lines for this review, as well as a Power Sword, and here are our thoughts.
This is the basic core line of figures, no play features, but tons of articulation so you can pose him any way you want.
What we love most about this is the face sculpt though - it is the spitting image of actor Nicholas Galitzine, with a pretty heroic expression to boot.
The Power Sword fits nicely in his hands, and also in a scabbard on his back. Yes, he can also do the iconic "By the power of Grayskull!" and "I have the power!" poses.
Of course, if you’ve got He-Man, you really can’t go without…
This version of Battle Cat is based on the movie version, but it’s pretty close to the original version of the character, from the colour of the fur to the armour he is wearing.
While It goes without saying that the He-Man figure fits perfectly on the saddle, though we would have preferred a way for him to be more securely seated on the cat.
The coolest thing about this piece is the action feature - press a button on the saddle, and Battle Cat gives a pretty satisfying roar and growl, and the mouth opens and closes as well.
Speaking of play features, there’s also the ‘Kids Feature Assortment’ line, which are action figures with an action play feature. There are two - Power Slash He-Man, and this one, the Havoc Staff Attack Skeletor.
The play feature is kind of like the one in some of the vintage toys - you twist the torso of the figure and its right arm goes up and down in a ‘slashing’ motion.
Yes, it’s more for kids, but the sculpt on Skeletor is still great. The skull and armour are wonderfully detailed, and the staff accessory is nice and solid, unlike many other lines where these things tend to be made of softer plastic that bend out of shape.
In 2020, Mattel launched the MOTU Origins line, which reimagined classic MOTU characters in the beloved 5.5-inch scale from the 1980s.
As the tagline ‘Modern posing! Retro play’ suggests, the figures are based on the retro 1980s toys, but updated to feature better detailing and also modern articulation. It’s basically an update of the original toys, which had limited articulation back then, and meant to appeal more to serious collectors more than kids.
We got the Trap Jaw figure for review, and it is a marked difference in size, weight, and detailing between this and the core movie range.
The sculpt and the mould of the figure is definitely a lot more detailed as well, and thanks to the outstanding articulation, you can pose this in any way you can think of. It also has the original toy’s swappable weapon feature, which adds a cool bit of nostalgia to those who used to have this toy back in the 1980s.
I’ll admit it, the Power Sword was one of those role-playing toys I really wish I had as a kid. It’s all the way up there with the most iconic of pop culture weapons such as lightsabers, the Thundercats’ Sword Of Omens, and the Ghostbusters’ proton packs.
This play replica of the Power Sword is a cool one. Weight-wise, it’s a hefty little thing, but not too heavy, and it also glows blue when the play modes are activated.
The sword has two modes. One is the demo mode that only activates when you press the button – the blade glows blue, and emits several sounds, from powering-up and sword clashing sounds, to He-Man shouting “By the power of Grayskull!” and “I have the power!”.
The second play mode does the same thing when you press the button, but also adds a cool sensor activated play feature - there is a motion sensor that plays cool sword sounds when you swing it, and also clashing sounds when it hits any surface. It’s a cool feature that definitely adds to the role-playing fun of the sword.
All in all, this is a pretty decent range of toys, with something for both kids who are discovering MOTU for the first time, and adults who want to relive their childhood. Here's hoping the movie will live up to our expectations as well!
