For a generation of younger moviegoers who have spent the last two decades fed a constant stream of projects based on 60+ year old licensed superheroes from the Big Two (DC and Marvel), it’s easy to be unaware of the sheer prevalence of “superhero adjacent” original cartoons given to kids in the 80s. There was Voltron: Defenders of the Universe (itself an English dub/adaptation of the Japanese show Beast King Go-Lion), there was Thundercats, and there was Transformers – each of them felt akin to the pulp sci-fi and fantasy thrills that could be found in superhero comics of the era, but with the bonus of being new properties. And any conversation about wildly popular 80s cartoons would be completely remiss without mentioning Prince Adam of Eternia and his alter-ego, He-Man.
The animated show, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, began in September of 1983 and ran for just two seasons, with 130 episodes spaced out over a little more than a year. However, the adventures of He-Man and Battle Cat, his thunderous battle cry and resulting transformation, and his everlasting conflict with the villainous sorcerer Skeletor became parts of pop culture iconography, leading to a misaligned live-action 1987 film, multiple television revivals and reboots, and now a new live-action reboot directed by Travis Knight. Although most people who remember the original animated series would swear up and down that it was the character’s origin, the truth is surprisingly more complex. Here’s a brief history of He-Man’s origin.
