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The animated hit led to even more toys being made. The toy line lasted seven years, including the Horde characters that appeared in She-Ra. The toys included mini comics that came with each toy. DC Comics and Mattel created the comics themselves. They each depicted short stories about the heroes from Eternia. Those mini comics eventually led to the DC creation of a comic series, which was continued by Marvel. Those comics were critically attacked for being too weak and not true to the series. Critics also attacked the live action major motion picture release of He-Man in 1987. The movie was nothing like the series and totally turned fans off. The $17 million budget was just met and the film only made profits from video sales and rentals.
Then all of a sudden He-Man disappeared before their eyes. Not only were court cases introduced against shows like He-Man that were made to sell toys. But more shows like it were being introduced. He-Man became lost in the shuffle and soon a place in the kids' lineup was gone. The show did last awhile, totaling 130 episodes and even spawning a spin-off, She-Ra (He-Man's twin sister that was stolen from Eternia by the evil Hordak) that reached 90 episodes. Still, as He-Man left, cartoons diminished in terms of characters and plot.
With the boom of the Cartoon Network and other animated channels, many fans were left wondering if He-Man would return much in the way the Thundercats and Voltron have. That was not to be. L'Oreal, the French cosmetic company, brought out Filmation's library to show He-Man in Europe. The cosmetic company shut down Filmation's studio and any hopes of a new He-Man cartoon were dashed. The only time the hero reappeared was in the short-lived 1989 show, New Adventures of He-Man, where He-Man and Skeletor battled each other into another universe. The show sucked in comparison to the old series and was cancelled after just one season. None of the shows were seen as part of the He-Man timeline, as people really longed for the battles He-Man fought on Eternia. They missed seeing Cringer. the cowardly cat, get turned into the heroic Battlecat, and they missed the budding romance that was beginning with He-Man and Teela.
Hallmark acquired the rights to He-Man and She-Ra and it doesn't look like they are planning to do anything with them. The price is too high to air the shows in syndication or on a station like Cartoon Network, videos are scarce and the only real chance anyone may have of seeing it is in a foreign country.
Good always triumphs over good and evil, but in this case, money is more powerful and He-Man's epic battle against evil can only be revisited in our minds. I can't live with that.
But the good old days are not gone Children of the 80s, to relive some of your favorite He-Man memories check out He-Man.org. If you loved He-Man and want to read more about episodes, the movie, comic or magazine that were created for this franchise, you will want to go to this site. Every toy and toy commercial as well as prototypes, and limited edition toys can also be seen here. Fan fiction and art as well as interviews are also a part of this wonderful He-Man site. No one that claims to love He-Man should miss out on this site. It's a must. Comments and or questions about this article can be sent to Bandwidth@ybfree.com.