Mattel - He-man and the masters of the universe : tales of Eternia, I Skeletor

By Mulder, 21 october 2022

“I’m not evil. I’m misunderstood. Does it make you some kind of villain if you want everyone to do as you say all the time? No, I don’t think so. And it’s not like I’m selfish. At my last birthday party, I actually invited my subjects into the palace throne room. They desperately wanted to sing to me and shower me with gifts, and I graciously allowed them, even if the presents were underwhelming. Was Randor ever so welcoming? Doubt it. Randor is my older brother. Short, stocky, bearded, loves robes” - Skeletor

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line Masters of the Universe.The show, often referred to as simply He-Man, was one of the most popular animated shows of the 1980s. It made its television debut in September 1983 and ran until 1985, consisting of two seasons of 65 episodes each. Towards the end of the show's original run, it spawned one feature length theatrical movie He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, which served as the introduction for the show's spinoff literal sister series She-Ra: Princess of Power. Reruns continued to air in syndication until 1988, at which point USA Network bought the rights to the series. USA aired He-Man until September 1990.

 The success of the toy-based show in syndication greatly influenced other animation houses to produce half-hour "cartoon commercials", and considerably changed the syndicated cartoon market. The franchise has been adapted many times in comic book and comic strip form, and a live-action film was produced in 1987. A rebooted series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, renamed Masters of the Universe vs. The Snake Men during season 2, released on Toonami on August 16, 2002. Two continuation series were released in 2021 for Netflix: one is Masters of the Universe: Revelation for an adult audience and another is a family-oriented animated CGI revival, also titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a computer-animated superhero television series developed by Rob David and is a reimagining of the 1983 series of the same name. The series premiered on Netflix on September 16, 2021. A second season was released on March 3, 2022. The third season was released on August 18, 2022.

Fan-favorite villain Skeletor tells his side of the story in this original middle-grade adventure from bestselling author Gregory Mone, based on Mattel’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the hit Netflix show! The Dark Master of Havoc finally gets to tell his side of the story in this tell-all autobiography. Long before he started haunting He-Man’s nightmares, Skeletor was just an impossibly handsome, brilliant, scheming prince. But when a mysterious new tutor arrives in the palace, he shows the young prince a new path to power—and the throne that should belong to him alone.

Jumping between his royal youth and his adventures as the chief menace to the Masters of the Universe, I, Skeletor recounts the untold story of his clash with a terrifying foe, unveils the source of his rivalry with the Sorceress of Grayskull, reveals what really happened during the search for the legendary Sigil of Hssss, and finally explains how Skeletor manages to beat He-Man every single time.

You can preorder this book on Amazon

Synopsis : 
The series takes place on Eternia, a planet of magic, myth and fantasy. Its lead character is Prince Adam, the young son of Eternia's rulers, King Randor and Queen Marlena. Whenever Prince Adam holds the Sword of Power aloft and proclaims "By the Power of Grayskull!" he is endowed with "fabulous secret powers" and transformed into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. Together with his close allies, Battle Cat (who undergoes a similar transformation from being Adam's cowardly pet tiger Cringer), The Sorceress, Teela, Man-At-Arms and Orko, He-Man uses his powers to defend Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor. Skeletor's main goal is to conquer the mysterious fortress of Castle Grayskull, from which He-Man draws his powers. If successful, Skeletor would have enough power to rule all of Eternia and possibly the entire universe.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Based on Masters of the Universe by Mattel
Developed by Rob David
Voices of Yuri Lowenthal, David Kaye, Antony Del Rio, Kimberly Brooks, Judy Alice Lee, Tom Kenny, Benjamin Diskin, Grey Griffin, Trevor Devall, Roger Craig Smith, Fred Tatasciore
Opening theme "The Power Is Ours" by Ali Dee
Composer : Michael Kramer
Executive producers : Adam Bonnett, Rob David, Christopher Keenan, Frederic Soulie
Producer : Susan Corbin
Production companies Mattel Television
Animation services : House of Cool, CGCG Inc.
Original network : Netflix
Original release September 16, 2021 – present
Running time : 26 minutes