He-Man
He-Man is the central character in the action figure series Masters of the Universe , distributed worldwide by Mattel in the 1980s . He made repeated appearances in the direct follow-up series The New Adventures of He-Man as well as the newly designed new edition from 2002 to 2004 and in the series Masters of the Universe Classics , which was primarily aimed at collectors, from 2008. He-Man appeared in numerous Variants . In 2019, Netflix announced that it was working on new episodes. The Netflix reissue will be subtitled "Revelation". Kevin Smith is expected to direct.
In addition to appearances in numerous comic series, four cartoons and radio plays, He-Man was embodied in a real-life film adaptation from 1987 by Dolph Lundgren . The name He-Man is a synonym for "strong virtuous hero" in parlance (especially in the USA).
Background stories
Mattel has published numerous backstories for He-Man. Many of them contradict each other, and ultimately none of them are universal. The stories can be divided into chronological groups according to the series of figures:
- Vintage (first published in the 1980s)
- PoP (Princess of Power; She-Ra , the sister of He-Man)
- NA (New Adventures of He-Man)
- 200X (new edition 2002)
- Classic (new edition 2008 - primarily only available in the Mattel online shop)
198X
Barbarian version
He-Man was a member of a barbarian tribe in the Eternian jungle. He felt called to protect Grayskull Castle and thus Eternia from evil. On his way to Grayskull Castle, he met the sorceress (The Sorceress) of Eternia, whom he saved from an attack by a monster. In gratitude, she gave him magical armor that gave him superhuman powers, as well as a battle ax and a shield. The magic sword plays a different role here than in the later developed story of He-Man. In this version, the magic sword is divided into two halves; one of them is kept in Grayskull Castle and the ghost living in it, the other half owns Skeletor. He needs the other half of the magic sword to conquer Eternia. This version is owed to the origin of He-Man in the Conan story: Originally Mattel wanted to bring out an action figure series for the movie Conan the Barbarian (see also the similarity between Skeletor and Thulsa Doom). However, since the film Mattel seemed too bloodthirsty for children, it was decided to release an independent toy line. Therefore, the main hero's hair color was changed to blonde (which was now very reminiscent of the Conan-Clon Taar , who was created in 1976 ) and the hero's history and origins became more and more of the now well-known version of He-Man (with Prince Iron Heart hairstyle) developed.
This version is told in the first series of minicomics (Wave 1).
Prince version
The idea of Prince Adam turning into He-Man with the aid of the magic sword and a kingdom of Eternia with King Randor and Queen Marlena at its head was developed from the animated series. In most variations, Adam plays a cowardly and lazy prince to make himself more different from He-Man. Only the sorceress of Grayskull, Zodak the cosmic magician, Orko the court jester from the planet Trolla, Cringer the cuddly tiger and Duncan, the man-at-arms (armorer) know about the secret.
This version was adopted in practically all media.
Minor deviations: In the first five radio plays from Europe , Adam lives with the others in Grayskull Castle and the castle takes on the function of the palace. From the sixth radio play onwards there is a palace in which the royal family lives. In some US comics, Adam was a daredevil and less virtuous.
Princess of Power
In the cartoon Princess of Power , Adam / He-Man gets a sister (Adora / She-Ra ) whom he frees from the clutches of the Horde and helps her in the rebellion during the course of the cartoon. He-Man does not appear in the other media.
The new dimension
When 198X expired, Mattel tried to exploit the sci-fi wave with He-Man. The transition was slightly different in the comics, the cartoon and the radio play episode, but consistent with regard to the most important aspects of the change in He-Man's life. Adam reveals his identity as He-Man to his family and travels into the future. There he pretends to be the nephew of Master Sebrian. On the planet Primus he keeps his double identity a secret, so as not to offer the evil mutants any additional attack surface.
200X
The basic story is essentially laid out as in the filmation cartoon. He-Man is actually the sixteen year old Prince Adam, the son of King Randor (son of King Miro) and Queen Marlena, the ruler of the planet Eternia. On his sixteenth birthday, he and his mentor Duncan, also known as Man-at-Arms, were called by the Sorceress, the sorceress and guardian of the legendary Grayskull Castle, because Skeletor (formerly Keldor, firstborn son of King Miro, evil half-brother of Randor) had raised a new threat to Eternia. There she gave him the magic sword in which the power and strength of King Grayskull was preserved.
In the MYP cartoon, the relationship to Keldor / Skeletor, which was indicated in the minicomis of the 198X series, was confirmed.
Classic
He-Man's line of ancestors is being expanded in the Classic series. He and his sister also get an epic task to rid the universe of the main villain Skeletor. This gives He-Man a different dimension in contrast to the defense of Grayskull Castle and the planet Eternia.
Figure variants of He-Man
28 variants of He-Man appeared.
| English name | German name | series | Published ( USA / D ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| He-Man | He-Man | 198X | 1982 |
| Battle Armor He-Man | Magic armor He-Man | 198X | 1983 |
| Thunder Punch He-Man | Thunderbolt He-Man | 198X | 1984 |
| Flying Fists He-Man | Flying Fists He-Man | 198X | 1986 |
| Laser Power He-Man | only published in Italy and Spain | 198X | 1988 |
| He-Man | He-Man | N / A | 1989 |
| Battle Punching He-Man | Battle Punch He-Man | N / A | 1990 |
| Thunder Punch He-Man | Thunder Punch He-Man | N / A | 1992 |
| He-Man | He-Man | 200X | 2002/2003 |
| Battle Sound He-Man | Battle Sound He-Man | 200X | 2002/2003 |
| Jungle Attack He-Man | Liana jungle He-Man | 200X | 2002/2004 |
| Smash Blade He-Man | Smash Blade He-Man | 200X | 2003/2004 |
| Samurai He-Man | Samurai armor He-Man | 200X | 2003/2004 |
| Martial Arts He-Man | Master of martial arts He-Man | 200X | 2003/2003 |
| Ice Armor He-Man | Ice Armor He-Man | 200X | 2003/2004 |
| Mega punch He-Man | Super fist He-Man | 200X | 2003/2003 |
| Shield Strike He-Man | Stealth fighter He-Man | 200X | 2003/2004 |
| Battle Armor He-Man | only existed in the United States | 200X | 2003 |
| Wolf Armor He-Man | only existed in the United States | 200X | 2003 |
| Snake Hunter He-Man | Snake hunter He-Man | 200X | 2003/2004 |
| Snake Armor He-Man | Snake armor He-Man | 200X | 2004 |
| Rotocast He-Man | Mega He-Man | 200X | 2003/2004 |
| He-Man | He-Man | Classic | 2008 |
| He-Man | He-Man vs Superman | Classic | 2010 |
| Battle Armor He-Man | Battle Armor He-Man | Classic | 2009 |
| Thunder Punch He-Man | Thunder Punch He-Man | Classic | 2012 |
| King He-Man | King He-Man | Classic | 2013 |
| New Adventures He-Man | New Adventures He-Man | Classic | 2013 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Netflix is planning the return of He-Man. Retrieved August 29, 2019 .