Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe is the name of an action figure series by the US toy manufacturer Mattel that was sold from 1982 to 1988 . A limited and revised new edition of some figures was released from 2000 to 2001.
In 2002 Mattel re-launched the action figures with a modernized design. Due to the lack of success, production was stopped again in 2004. Neca took the license from 2005 to 2007 and published immobile statues and busts of the figures.
Since 2008 Mattel has been publishing modernized, but true-to-style versions of the classic action figures every month under the name Masters of the Universe Classics .
Masters of the Universe 1982 to 1988
At the beginning of the 1980s, which was the market for action figures from Hasbro G.I. Joe and Kenner's Star Wars action figures dominated. Mattel's Big Jim action figure series hadn't established itself since it was first launched in 1971. With Barbie and Hot Wheels , Mattel had sustained successful toy series, but the action figure business was not covered.
Roger Sweet developed a figure called He-Man , about 24 centimeters tall, superhumanly muscular and modeled in a ready-to-fight pose , which could basically be combined with all three subjects for which action figures were made: 20th century military (GI Joe), Science Fiction (Star Wars) and Sword and Sorcery . Mattels finally decided on a combination of science fiction and fantasy.
The size of the figures was reduced to 14 centimeters for the market launch in order to keep the retail price of a figure of $ 4.99 below the psychologically important mark of $ 5.
Contrary to previous beliefs, the Masters of the Universe was not planned as merchandising for the fantasy action film Conan the Barbarian . Mattel actually had the rights to publish a Conan action figure, but the plan was simply to put a head with the appearance of Conan actor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the body of a Big Jim figure and to equip it with appropriate clothing. The film was too brutal for the management and the development of the Conan action figure was stopped. This was beneficial for Masters of the Universe as Mattel would hardly have brought out both series at the same time.
In its first year (1982), the Masters of the Universe in the United States had sales of $ 38.2 million, which was well above expectations of seven to 19 million. In 1983 sales rose to 80 million US dollars, in 1984 to 111 million, then in 1985 to 250 million. 1986 peaked with US $ 400 million in sales. In 1987 sales fell to seven million, which led to the series being discontinued. The last products were only released in Italy in 1988 , after which the Masters of the Universe disappeared from the shelves of toy retailers worldwide for over ten years.
This unprecedented decline was due to a misjudgment of the action figure market by Mattel. After the Masters of the Universe series was initially underestimated, after the successful first three years, management went over to drastically increasing production numbers and flooding the market with merchandise products. In addition, other action figures such as the Transformers were becoming fashionable and retailers had to be given huge discounts to keep the Masters of the Universe on their shelves.
Nevertheless, the Masters of the Universe are considered one of Mattel's greatest successes. The action figures alone achieved worldwide sales of 1.2 billion US dollars, in the USA sales of figures and offshoot products such as bed linen and cake pans exceeded the two billion mark. At weddings, the Masters of the Universe, along with Barbie, were responsible for 75 percent of Mattel's total profits .
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe have become part of the popular culture of the 1980s through their ubiquitous presence in the children's rooms of western industrial nations .
Backstory
The Masters of the Universe thematize the classic battle of good versus evil . He-Man and the Heroic Warriors , also known as The Masters of the Universe , fight for the good , while the evil is represented by Skeletor and the Evil Warriors . Later, Hordak and the Wild Horde and the contortionists were introduced as additional antagonists . The setting for the action is the fantastic planet Eternia, on which, in addition to magic and the supernatural , futuristic technologies such as laser weapons and aircraft that can advance into space are known.
Early comics
The first publications in which the background story for the Masters of the Universe was established were the so-called mini-comics , small comic books that came with each character. In the 1982 mini-comics, which were still produced by DC Comics , He-Man is described as a member of a barbarian people who feels that he must leave his people to protect the mysterious Castle Grayskull from an impending danger after the Great Wars had destroyed the civilizations once ruling. On his way he saves The Sorceress from being attacked by a monster. She recognizes in him the legendary hero and hands him over the treasures she has guarded for many years, which give him superhuman strength to protect Castle Grayskull. Because a demon named Skeletor, who comes from a race of demons from another dimension, wants to conquer Castle Grayskull in order to win the second half of the magic sword stored in it. In possession of the first half of the magic sword, he could open a new dimensional gate through the reunification of the sword and bring his people to Eternia.
DC Comics takes elements of the developing cartoon series in a 1982 crossover with Superman and a comic miniseries and introduces the character of Prince Adam, who is transformed into He-Man by the magic sword and the power of Grayskull Castle . Accordingly, Eternia is transformed into the kingdom that King Randor and Queen Marlena, the parents of Prince Adam, rule. Skeletor remains in the story as an opponent who wants to conquer Eternia.
cartoon
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
| German title | He-Man - In the valley of power |
| Original title | He-Man and the Masters of the Universe |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| Year (s) | 1983-1984 |
| Production company |
Filmation Associates Mattel |
| length | 22 minutes |
| Episodes | 130 in 2 seasons |
| idea | Filmation , Mattel |
| production | Norm Prescott , Patricia Ryan , Lou Scheimer |
| music | Erika Lane , Shuki Levy , Haim Saban |
| First broadcast | September 30, 1983 |
| German-language first broadcast |
January 25, 1988 on Tele 5 |
The animated series from 1983 to 1984 further varied the concept of Prince Adam transforming into He-Man by changing the transformation. Prince Adam no longer rushes to the Sorceress to transform himself into He-Man, but rather raises his magic sword and speaks the words “ By the power of Grayskull - I have the (magic) power! “( By the power of Grayskull - I have the power! ) To transform into He-Man. With this, the concept of the two-part magic sword, the joining of which means power over Eternia, disappears for good - also from the later mini-comics, which Mattel itself produced from 1983 onwards.
Late mini-comics
In the last mini-comics of 1987, a new backstory of the main villain Skeletor is hinted at. He was supposed to be the new figure of Keldor, the missing half-brother of King Randor. However, this story was no longer continued due to the cessation of production, nor was the story of He-Ro, a hero from Eternia's past, begun in the last regular mini-comic.
The cartoon
In 1983 Mattel commissioned Filmation to create an animated series for Masters of the Universe . A total of 130 episodes were produced in two seasons by 1984. The series took over the most important characters from the action figure series and redeveloped the plot in places.
In Germany only part of the series was initially released on VHS. It was first shown in full from January 25, 1988 to November 29, 1992 on the private broadcaster Tele 5 in a new dubbed version. When the series was repeated on Premiere and the “new” Tele 5 from April 2002, it was not run under the title He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as before , but as He-Man - Valley of Power .
In November 2003, the Nixbu company published the first ten episodes in a DVD box and closed the series in March 2005 with the last 20 episodes in the twelfth box. From spring 2007 the series was released on DVD in a new version by KSM Film, this time also with the original English sound. Each season was split into two boxes. Both DVD releases have the original title again.
A DVD box published exclusively by Amazon , which includes the entire series and was limited to 1,400 pieces, was released on April 15, 2013. Except for a change in the color of the cover, the box is identical to the limited edition. There is no limitation this time.
Radio play series
| episode | title | Appearance nungs- year |
|---|---|---|
| The giants of the universe | 1984 | |
| 1 | Stardust | 1984 |
| 2 | The gate of death | 1984 |
| 3 | Storm on Castle Grayskull | 1984 |
| 4th | The indomitable dragon | 1984 |
| 5 | Den of Terror | 1984 |
| 6th | In Skeletor's dungeon | 1984 |
| 7th | The lookalike | 1984 |
| 8th | The tree of dying time | 1984 |
| 9 | The plane of eternity | 1984 |
| 10 | The secret of the Mystic Mountains | 1984 |
| 11 | Anti-Eternia | 1985 |
| 12 | The Lord of the Wasps | 1986 |
| 13 | Skeletor's victory | 1986 |
| 14th | The fiery kingfisher | 1986 |
| 15th | The laughing bridge | 1986 |
| 16 | Night over Castle Grayskull | 1986 |
| 17th | Attack of the magicians | 1986 |
| 18th | Mekaneck and the legacy of horror | 1986 |
| 19th | The demon horse | 1986 |
| 20th | The vengeance of the serpent prince | 1986 |
| 21st | Modulok demon | 1986 |
| 22nd | Spydor, the monster spider | 1986 |
| 23 | The magic armor | 1986 |
| 24 | Skeletor's master plan | 1987 |
| 25th | Teela's betrayal | 1987 |
| 26th | Orko's hardest hour | 1987 |
| 27 | Zoar in the vortex of time | 1987 |
| 28 | Skeletors Roulette | 1987 |
| 29 | The eternal fire | 1987 |
| 30th | The scepter of infinite power | 1987 |
| 31 | The pyramid of immortality | 1987 |
| 32 | The master magician | 1987 |
| 33 | The magic sword of evil | 1987 |
| 34 | The realm of the terrible | 1987 |
| 35 | Skeletor, King of Eternia | 1988 |
| 36 | In the claws of evil | 1988 |
| 37 | The secret of the black will-o'-the-wisps | 1988 |
The radio play label Europa published a series of radio plays on Masters of the Universe, produced especially for the German-speaking region, from 1984 to 1988 . Both the speakers and the stories differed from those of the German dubbing of the US cartoon series.
Europa also produced a 30-minute special episode entitled “The Giants of the Universe,” which is an introduction to the world of the Masters of the Universe . This was sold as a supplement to action figures and comics. In addition to newly recorded dialogues, the radio play contains passages from other episodes that have been re-edited in a new context. The cassette is not an official part of the radio play series, but is commonly referred to as episode 0.
In addition, a double pack of the He-Man and Skeletor action figures was released in Germany along with the first series of radio plays, “Sternenstaub”, in which an introduction to the world and the characters was added.
The first two episodes of the radio play series were each awarded a gold record .
The main roles were played by Norbert Langer (Adam / He-Man) , Karl Walter Diess (Man-at-Arms) , Monika Gabriel (Teela) , Matthias Grimm (Orko) , Jochen Sehrndt (Cringer / Battle Cat) , Peter Pasetti (Skeletor) , Gisela Trowe (spirit of Castle Grayskull / Zoar / Die Zauberin) and Horst Naumann as narrators. The manuscripts were written by HG Francis and directed by Heikedine Körting .
Film adaptations
For the character series She-Ra - Princess of Power , the Filmation company in the USA produced an animated film series with 93 episodes between 1985 and 1986 . At the same time, the pilot film The Secret of the Sword (orig. "The secret of the sword") was created, which is a compilation of the first five series episodes, but was temporarily shown in German cinemas.
1987 came a film adaptation with Dolph Lundgren (He-Man) and Frank Langella (Skeletor) in the leading roles in the cinemas.
A remake was long announced under the working title Grayskull and then switched to the title Masters of the Universe . In May 2019, Sony Pictures announced the new date of March 5, 2021. Columbia Pictures as Sony subsidiary will take on production, Adam and Aaron Nee will direct, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway will write the script, and Noah Centineo will play the leading role as He-Man .
Video games
The franchise has been expanded to include six video games so far.
Offshoots and new characters
In order to build on the success, Mattel tried several times to expand the series universe. She-Ra was introduced as the twin sister of He-Man, who lives on the distant world Etheria. With this offshoot , they wanted to get young girls interested in action figures in connection with the Princess of Power series, but this did not succeed. Shortly before the end of the Masters of the Universe production , Mattel tried to establish He-Ro, a new hero from Eternia's past, called Preternia, under the title Powers of Grayskull . He-Ro was to be featured in a three-part mini-comic story, of which only the first part was printed. In addition, a character called Eldor was planned, who should get a leading role.
In 1996, Lou Scheimer, the animated series creator for Masters of the Universe and She-Ra , was planning a sequel called He-Ro: Son of He-Man . He-Ro should be the son of King Adam (He-Man) and Teela. Plastic figures and animated series did not get beyond the planning status.
He-Ro was officially introduced for the first time in 2009 as part of the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. His biography is related to that of King Grayskull and Eldor.
A first attempt to breathe new life into the franchise after production was discontinued was The New Adventures of He-Man in 1989 . The action was moved 1000 years into the future, in which He-Man (with the Galactic Warriors) and Skeletor (with the mutants) fought against each other alongside new allies from the planets Primus and Denebria.
Here, too, there was an introductory radio play entitled "He Man - The New Dimension" and an accompanying cartoon series with 65 episodes. However, the success of the earlier characters could not be repeated. The New Adventures of He-Man ended in 1992 and was therefore only produced for half as long as the first series of figures.
Commemorative Series
From 2000 to 2001 Mattel published a total of 16 figures in five sets in a limited, so-called "Commemorative Series" again. The target audience of the limited series of replicas of the original figures were the now grown-up children of the 1980s.
Masters of the Universe 2002 to 2007
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
| German title | He-Man and the Masters of the Universe |
| Original title | He-Man and the Masters of the Universe |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 2002-2003 |
| length | 30 minutes |
| Episodes | 39 |
| genre | Science fiction , fantasy |
| idea | Mike Young Productions |
| music | Joseph LoDuca |
| First broadcast | August 26, 2002 (USA) |
| German-language first broadcast |
July 25, 2003 on RTL II |
| occupation | |
| |
One year after the "Commemorative Series" Mattel decided to completely restart Masters of the Universe as an unlimited toy series for a new target audience. The American design studio Four Horsemen was responsible for the redesign.
In 2002 the first figures appeared in the United States, in 2003 they also came to Europe , including Germany . But this time there was no great success, production was stopped in 2004.
The cartoon
An accompanying cartoon series was created again, which was intended to advertise the action figures and their vehicles as well as provide a background story.
At first it is again about the fight against Skeletor and his followers, later, especially towards the end, King Hiss and the SnakeMen are introduced as new opponents and thus the intro of the series is changed. Hordak and the Evil Horde are also briefly introduced in the course of the series. The character King Grayskull is first introduced in an animated series.
In Germany, all 39 episodes were broadcast by the private broadcaster RTL II from 2003 to 2004. On October 25, 2004, the first 13 episodes appeared on the German market in a DVD box from polyband . A publication of the remaining 26 episodes is currently not planned.
The mini statues
After the action figures were discontinued, the Four Horsemen Studios acquired the rights from Mattel together with the US company National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), which specializes in collectors ' figures, to manufacture and distribute so-called "Stactions". (“Stactions” is understood as a hybrid form of statues and action figures which, unlike the latter, have no joints.) The contact between the design studio and NECA had already been established, as NECA was involved in the production of busts. In the course of the revitalization of the franchise by Mattel in 2008, the license was not renewed and production of this series was discontinued.
Masters of the Universe Classics
First announced by Mattel at New York Comic Con 2008, the series was presented at San Diego Comic Con in July 2008 . The "King Grayskull" figure was the first figure in the series to be sold in a limited edition. A total of three different versions have been published.
Figures from all previous Toylines (80s Masters of the Universe, 80s Princess of Power, 90s New Adventures and 200X Masters of the Universe) are published under the name “Masters of the Universe Classics”. Most of them are modernized versions of the original figures, but new figures are also included. The target audience is once again the old collectors. Since December 2008, new collectors' figures have been appearing regularly.
literature
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 94
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 77
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 113 f.
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 118
- ^ A b Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 141
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 145
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, blurb
- ^ Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, p. 157
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://forum.cinefacts.de/showpost.php?p=4049414&postcount=220 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [1] on www.hoerspielland.de, accessed on November 5, 2012
- ↑ Jeff Sneider: Wenk to pen 'Masters of the Universe'. Variety , October 12, 2012, accessed March 1, 2014 .
- ↑ 'Masters Of The Universe' Attacking In 2021 Via Sony Article by Erik Petersen from May 16, 2019 on deadline.com. Retrieved September 18, 2019. (English)
- ↑ He-Ro Son of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. he-man.org, archived from the original on February 3, 2009 ; accessed on February 26, 2014 (English).
- Roger Sweet and David Wecker: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea. Emmis Books, Cincinnati 2005, ISBN 1-57860-223-8
- www.grayskullmuseum.com , toy series information, Grayskullmuseum Inc .;
- Article about the Masters-of-the-Universe action figures at Spiegel-Online- one day
- List of science fiction series
Web links
- mastersoftheuniverse.de , Official German website