Evil strikes and a young prince by the name of Adam, lifts his sword in the air and proclaims, "By the Power of Greyskull, I am He-Man." Suddenly, this ordinary prince develops bigger muscles than Bill Goldberg on steroids, and defeats the evil menace, Skeletor, who is trying to take over his home world of Eternia.
Yeah, you remember He-Man, the kick ass cartoon that makes you long for the days when cartoons were cool and included classics like GI-Joe and the Transformers. This was a carton that made you want to rush home from school. Those days are gone now. There are no more good after school cartoons on regular television anymore, but I will never forget those days when going out and hanging out with friends took second place to a good two hours in front of the tube.
He-Man was created in the 80's as a toy line in the way of Conan the Barbarian. Suddenly, this unexpected hit from Mattel became an animated sensation for Filmation in 1983. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was born, and although it was really just a 30-minute commercial for the action figures, it was one of the best cartoons of its' time and still invokes memories of the good old days.
Everything about this show could never be duplicated again. The animation was ahead of its time, using live action footage to create a library of stock character movements. The backgrounds were stunning and realistic adding to the action that was taking place in front of it. It definitely set the pace for the shows we watch today.
Still, many shows today still use the premises seen in He-Man. Dragon Ball Z reminds me of the Japanese version of He-Man with their vast array of bad guys and good guys doing battle with one another for control of the world. I will admit that Dragon Ball Z is better than He-Man was, but it was the American cartoon that I believe really made this genre of cartoons worth watching.
The basic idea behind the show was good versus evil. He-Man represented the good guys who along with Man-At-Arms, the scientific genius, Man-At-Arms' adopted daughter, Teela and Orko, a magical creature that provided comic relief, battle the evil Skeletor and his henchman gathered from across the universe.
The show was typical at first. Good always triumphed over evil and Skeletor would go back to the drawing board. Later on, the show took a different turn and began to introduce serious topics. Adam began to feel that his father liked He-Man more, and becomes upset that he can't get his father's acceptance unless he turns into the hulking hero. Another episode features Teela's search for her biological mother, who turned out to b the Sorceress that gave Adam the sword he uses to become He-Man. The show was no longer just for kids. Adults could enjoy it as well.
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.