Things You Didn't Know About He- Man And The Masters Of The Universe. If there were three defining 1.

G. I. Joe, Transformers, and He- Man and the Masters of the Universe. There was just something about He- Man— maybe it was the full- tilt mix of fantasy and science fiction. Maybe it was the unabashed, unapologetic cheesiness of it all — you can’t get much more on the nose than a multi- faced guy named Man- E- Faces. Regardless of what was behind Masters of the Universe‘s unique magic, it entranced many a child and adolescent over the many years since it first premiered back in 1. Mattel’s upstart toy line burned white hot for several years in the mid ’8.

Still, the history of He- Man is loaded with odd twists and turns (and the occasional unforgettable meme). Here are 1. 5 Things You Didn’t Know About He- Man And The Masters Of The Universe. He- Man Almost Didn’t Exist Because of Star Wars.

George Lucas changed the pop culture landscape forever with his Star Wars franchise, but he also made Scrooge Mc. Duck money- vault levels of cash thanks to the merchandising. Kenner’s iconic Star Wars action figures are an indelible part of childhood for most of us who grew up in the 1.

Test your knowledge with amazing and interesting facts, trivia, quizzes, and brain teaser games on MentalFloss.com. Created by Michael Halperin. With Cam Clarke, Garry Chalk, Scott McNeil, Brian Dobson. On the planet Eternia, a young prince gains the ability to become a powerful.

Star Wars merchandising juggernaut hasn’t slowed down since. Some of that cash could have flowed into toy manufacturer Mattel’s coffers… but, in 1. CEO Ray Wagner passed on the rights, put off by Lucas’ hefty asking price of $7. And with that, Wagner joined “the guy who cancelled Star Trek” in the pantheon of people who will eternally stand as a testament to the truth that hindsight is 2. As time passed, and Star Wars became an international excuse to print money, Mattel was determined to find their own cash- cow toy line. It turns out that all they needed was a guy in a loincloth.

He- Man gave Mattel their own piece of the action, complete with an afternoon cartoon conceived from the get- go to, first and foremost, sell toys. So if Mattel had landed the Star Wars contract, an unforgettable slice of 1. He- Man could have looked very different.

When it came time to come up with the next big thing for Mattel, toy designer Roger Sweet decided that what he needed was a hero who could fit in… well, anywhere. In his 2. 00. 5 memoir Mastering the Universe: He- Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion- Dollar Idea, Sweet recalled pitching He- Man as a concept that worked because of, not in spite of, its nondescript nature.

When it comes to a name for your hero, you can’t get much more generic than “He- Man”, but that was exactly Sweet’s point. Early He- Man concept sketches by toy designer Mark Taylor were based on vikings or Cro- Magnon men. In 1. 98. 0, Sweet modded one of Mattel’s “Big Jim” figures and created three prototypes (seen above), showing how this new hero could fit in anywhere, precisely because his name didn’t automatically call to mind any one setting or genre. In Mastering the Universe, Sweet recalled pitching the new hero as “a powerful figure that could be taken anywhere and dropped into any context because he had a generic name: He- Man!” That left the possibilities wide open for a Masters of the Universe lore that eventually gave us an entertaining mix of science fiction and sorcery.

He didn’t initially have an alter ego. Prince Adam’s transformation into He- Man, his more heroic self, is one of the most unforgettable parts of the Masters of the Universe cartoons. The upthrust sword, the crackling energy, and the somewhat redundant chant: “By the power of Grayskull… I have the power!” It’s up there with Superman changing clothes in a phone booth as far as defining pop culture transformations go, and it also gave the show a perfect hook for the kids. What kid wouldn’t love the notion of a magic sword that turned them into a superhero? But initially, there was no transformation, because there was no Prince Adam. Before the cartoon launched, He- Man’s backstory and mythology was established via those awesome little mini- comics that accompanied the action figures. In these, neither Prince Adam nor the notion of He- Man having a secret identity were anywhere to be found.

While Mark Taylor’s early sketches did toy with the idea of He- Man having a royal alter ego, Prince Adam didn’t actually become canon until the Masters of the Universe cartoon launched in 1. He- Man’s origins into the form millions of ’8. The cartoon originated as a bluff. With the He- Man concept locked down, it was time to sell He- Man to the most important audience: the retailer that stock toys so kids can eventually bug their parents to buy them. After all, this was long before the internet, so the only way those toys would catch kids’ eyes is if they were actually on toy shelves. Before his meetings with the toy buyers, Mattel marketing director Mark Ellis had the folks at DC Comics mock up a He- Man comic book.

He-Man is "the most powerful man in the universe" and in most media he is the alter-ego of Prince Adam. He is armed with a power harness that enhances his strength.

How did an '80s Van Damme action flick emerge from a lost Spider-Man movie and Masters Of The Universe 2? From these early concepts, Mattel would finally produce the original 'Masters of the Universe' action figure toyline in 1981. Released as 5 1/2 inch action figures.

This way the prospective retailers got not only a toy line, but some built- in crossover marketing. In a 2. 01. 3 interview, Ellis recalled completing his presentation to the Toys ‘R’ Us bigwigs, only to have one of them counter that “five- year- olds don’t read.” In a bit of Don Draper- style thinking on his feet. Ellis retorted with, “Did I tell you about the two one- hour TV specials we are running?”Just one problem: those TV specials didn’t actually exist.

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So Ellis got on the phone and started setting up meetings. Hanna Barbara was a no- go, but Ellis’ meeting with Filmation proved considerably more fruitful. Filmation head Lou Scheimer proposed the idea of doing an animated series, rather than just a couple of specials. As Ellis recalled, “His brilliant thought was that since we were buying spot TV anyway, we could develop the shows for syndication, and approach a station not just with a TV show to run, but also with ad dollars.”1. The show was a massive hit (which nobody expected)Many eighties kids have fond nostalgic memories of He- Man and the Masters of the Universe, but it might be a surprise to learn just how big a deal the show became. A December 1. 98. New York Times, from a little over a year after the show’s premiere, reported that He- Man viewership was bringing in nine million viewers in its weekday afternoon syndicated slot, in the United States alone.

The show was broadcast on 1. U. S. television stations, and in 3.

At its height, He- Man was the highest- rated kids’ show in America. Not bad for a beefy barbarian with fuzzy pants. That’s even more impressive considering the major networks initially turned their nose up at this would- be master of the universe. ABC, CBS, and NBC all passed on the show, which inspired Filmation president Lou Scheimer to target weekday afternoon syndication. That plan put He- Man in front of millions of young eyeballs five days a week rather than one– a change that no doubt helped the show and toy line achieve such titanic success. He- Man’s mother is from Earth.

He- Man’s adventures unfold on a distant planet called Eternia. While He- Man, Man- at- Arms, and their fellow cohorts may (sometimes) look human, they’re not; they’re Eternian. Well, that’s not quite true, because He- Man himself is actually only half- Eternian. His mother, Queen Marlena, was born on Earth. So, how did an Earther wind up as royalty in a land of magic swords and skull- faced despots? She was actually a NASA astronaut. In a bit of Buck Rogers- esque misfortune, her ship was thrown off course and she crash- landed on Eternia.

There, she was rescued by – and eventually fell in love with – King Randor.

List of Masters of the Universe characters. The Masters of the Universe franchise debuted in 1. American company Mattel. The MOTU characters have appeared in a wide variety of different forms, including toys, animation, film, comics, books, videogames and spin- offs. Heroic Warriors[edit]Vintage toyline characters (1. All of these characters were released in the vintage Mattel toyline.

He- Man / Prince Adam[edit]He- Man is "the most powerful man in the universe" and in most media he is the alter- ego of Prince Adam. He is armed with a power harness that enhances his strength, the Sword of Power, a battle axe, and a shield. Early media, such as the minicomics packaged with the original run of action figures, also depicts him carrying a knife. Watch Favor Hindi Full Movie. He- Man possesses superhuman strength and is capable of performing incredible feats, such as lifting heavy objects such as boulders and buildings, breaking solid rock with his fists, as well as having the advantage over just about any opponent. He is a formidable warrior, although he usually prefers to avoid conflict. He is a strong upholder of moral justice and is regarded by the people of Eternia as their greatest hero. In the original minicomics He- Man was a wandering barbarian hailing from a jungle tribe, but both the DC comics and the cartoon series He- Man and the Masters of the Universe portrayed him as the alter ego of the young Prince Adam, heir- apparent to the throne of Eternia, and most media since have followed suit.

Prince Adam is the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena of Eternia, and is viewed by many as fun- loving, lazy and cowardly. Watch Sivi Kamion Crvene Boje Online there. This is merely an act to keep people from suspecting that he is also He- Man. The 2. 00. 2 cartoon revealed that Adam was carefree and reckless in his younger days, before he accepted his destiny. Prince Adam was given the Sword of Power by The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, and when he lifts the sword and says "By the Power of Grayskull..

I Have the Power!" he is magically transformed into He- Man, defender of Eternia. Man- At- Arms, Orko, and the Sorceress are the only characters who share in the knowledge of Adam's secret. Depending on his transformation to He- Man, at times he is also armed with plate armor, a battle axe, a shield, or deadly snake pinchers. In the 1. 98. 0s series, Prince Adam and He- Man are almost identically drawn, the difference being that Adam has lighter blonde hair and paler skin, while He- Man has bronzed skin and more golden hair. In the 2. 00. 2 series, which features a teenaged Prince Adam, he is much shorter and slender than his alter- ego, with blonde eyebrows and pants (versus 1. Adam's tights). He speaks with a higher tone of voice and often comes across as a clueless adolescent.

He- Man, however, has black eyebrows, is much taller, and is far more muscular, as his transformation to He- Man later in the series (starting with "Council of Evil") shows. His voice is deeper, he is wise, and his age in indeterminate (mid 2. Prince Adam and He- Man are voiced in the 1.

John Erwin and by Cam Clarke in the 2. In the 1. 99. 0s series, Prince Adam was voiced by Doug Parker while He- Man is voiced by Garry Chalk. In the 1. 98. 0s live- action movie, He- Man was portrayed by Dolph Lundgren. Battle Cat / Cringer[edit]Battle Cat is He- Man's faithful feline companion, a fighting armored tiger who carries him into battle. When He- Man is in the form of Prince Adam, Battle Cat is Cringer, the royal pet.

Both Cringer and Battle Cat are green with orange stripes, but Battle Cat is much larger and more muscular. In the 1. 98. 0s series, Cringer speaks and is afraid of just about everything, hence the name. In the 2. 00. 2 series, Cringer occasionally meows like a kitten, but also shows bravery from time to time, including rescuing Prince Adam from falling to his death in Snake Mountain ("Council of Evil"). Battle Cat's rescue of Queen Marlena ("Of Machines and Men"), based on knowledge only Cringer would have, causes Marlena to wonder about Battle Cat's identity. Cringer and Battle Cat are voiced by Alan Oppenheimer in the 1.

Man- At- Arms[edit]Man- At- Arms is He- Man's closest ally, originally packaged in the Mattel toy line as the 'Heroic Master of Weapons'. He is Teela's adoptive father and is the inventor of most of the weaponry and vehicles used by the Heroic Warriors. Since Man- At- Arms is actually a title, not a name, the character is also known as Duncan. The original minicomics depicted him as the latest in a long family line of great warriors and inventors, who uses the material resources at his disposal to aid He- Man.

The cartoon series He- Man and the Masters of the Universe by Filmation portrayed him as the Man- At- Arms to King Randor and Queen Marlena of Eternia, who holds residency at the Royal Palace, where his workshop is based. This portrayal has been adopted by most subsequent versions of the franchise. The cartoon portrayed Man- At- Arms as a mentor to Prince Adam, and as such he was one of the few people aware that Prince Adam and He- Man were one and the same.

The live action movie's portrayal of Man- At- Arms was similar to that of the cartoon, although he seemed to be a seasoned war veteran and possibly the biological father of Teela rather than adopted. The 2. 00. 2 cartoon series' portrayal of the character was mostly consistent with that of Filmation. The show also reveals that Man- At- Arms served as one of King Randor's chief supporters back during the Great Unrest, before the Council of Elders informed then- Captain Randor that his destiny was to be King of Eternia.

Man- At- Arms designs and builds weapons and other technology for the royal family; he also help trains the Royal Guard, Teela, Prince Adam, and the other Masters of the Universe. In the 2. 00. 2 series, Man- At- Arms sports a short topknot, and the armor on his left arm transforms into a different built- in weapons and tools. This newer Man- At- Arms is also older, more grizzled, and has more of a military bearing than the original 1.

The original Man- At- Arms action figure comes with a club, but the character was rarely ever seen with it in the cartoon. The figure did not have the moustache seen on the character in the cartoon.

Man- At- Arms was voiced by Alan Oppenheimer in the 1. Garry Chalk in the 2. In the 1. 98. 0s live action movie, he is portrayed by Jon Cypher. Teela is the Captain of the Royal Guard and Man- At- Arms' adopted daughter.

The original minicomics depicted Teela as a magical clone of the Sorceress created by Skeletor to do his bidding, but she was rescued from Skeletor by Man- At- Arms, who raised her as his daughter and trained her to serve the side of good. This portrayal of the character was abandoned for the Filmation cartoon series, which portrayed her as the biological daughter of the Sorceress and an unnamed and apparently deceased father, although she was unaware of her true heritage.

The episode "Teela's Quest" revealed that Man- At- Arms had raised her from infancy at the Sorceress' behest. Teela is very outspoken and opinionated, at times disregarding direct orders from her father and being left to deal with the consequences for her disobedience (for instance, one punishment was to peel a seemingly endless amount of potatoes). One of her duties is to teach combat skills to Prince Adam. She frequently berates him for his careless and worry- free attitude, but is fond of him nonetheless.