Masters of the Universe

History of the franchise: Origin and the 1980s

Creation of the MOTU franchise

Mattel began development of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in the late 1970s with concepts from Roger Sweet, Mark Taylor, Donald F. Glut, and several other contributors. The catalyst for the creation of He-Man began in 1976, when Mattel's CEO Ray Wagner declined a request to produce a toy line of action figures based on George Lucas's upcoming Star Wars film, with the rights acquired by Kenner instead to massive commercial success. Undeterred, Wagner began a push to develop the next great toy line.

Roger Sweet, a lead designer working for Mattel's Preliminary Design Department through much of the 1970s and 1980s, according to his book Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea, was the first to conceptualize the idea of He-Man. However, authorship of the He-Man character has often been subject to debate. According to various former Mattel designers, Roger Sweet drew inspiration for the designs of his first He-Man prototypes from the fantasy drawings of Mattel packaging designer Mark Taylor, which included a drawing of a He-Man-like character called "Torak – Hero of Pre-History".

As the He-Man concept progressed, Roger Sweet presented three plaster prototype models to Ray Wagner at the Mattel Product Conference in 1980. Dubbed the "He-Man Trio", they consisted of an axe-wielding barbarian, a tank-headed soldier, and a spaceman with a Boba Fett–like helmet. They were molded from modified Big Jim action figures (Battle Cat was also later repurposed from the same toy line's "Big Jim on the Tiger Trail" set). Out of the three concepts, the barbarian version of He-Man was chosen to be the basis of the toy line.

"The only way I was going to have a chance to sell this [to Wagner] was to make three 3D models—big ones. I glued a Big Jim figure [from another Mattel toy line] into a battle action pose and I added a lot of clay to his body. I then had plaster casts made. These three prototypes, which I presented in late 1980, brought He-Man into existence. I simply explained that this was a powerful figure that could be taken anywhere and dropped into any context because he had a generic name: He-Man!" —Roger Sweet

Based on Sweet's prototype, the first production sculpt of the original He-Man was completed by Tony Guerrero, though not yet at the figure's final stage, as this early version of He-Man sported a horned Viking helmet. With these overtly barbarian-like features, the properties' influence from Conan the Barbarian is often cited. He-Man co-creator Roger Sweet has stated that he drew at least some inspiration from the paintings of fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, whose catalogue includes many works depicting Conan the Barbarian. In 1980, the rights-holders of Conan the Barbarian had been negotiating with Mattel regarding a toy line for the 1982 Conan movie. However, with Mattel introducing the Masters of the Universe toy line also in 1982, the rights-holders unsuccessfully sued Mattel claiming that the He-Man character was an infringement on that of Conan. So although some influence exists, the Masters of the Universe toy line was never intended for the Conan film.

Under the working title "Lords of Power", further development saw the roster of characters expand past the barbarian version of He-Man to include concepts for Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Beast Man and Castle Grayskull. These and several other characters were created using the preliminary designs and ideas of artist Mark Taylor. Taylor drew inspiration for the series main villain, Skeletor, from his 1971 sketch titled The King of Styx, and not from his 1980 Demo-Man sketch as often cited. Inspiration for Man-At-Arms came from Taylor's Paladin sketch, originally done for the unproduced "Rob-N & The Space Hoods" toy line. Additional direction towards these early concepts was provided by Mark Ellis, Paul Cleveland, and Derek Gable, among others, with the first vehicle designs provided by Ted Mayer. The toy line's original name "Lords of Power", was changed to "Masters of the Universe" when it was suggested that the former name was too religious in nature (the working name "Fighting Foe Men" was also in consideration for a time). However, even with the finalized Masters of the Universe name and the character designs in hand, the premise behind the toy line had not yet been fully established.

The backstory of He-Man was first conceptualized for special mini-comic books that Mattel marketing director Mark Ellis promised to distributors would accompany the toys. Mattel quickly mocked up the pack-in comic books, with the earliest mini-comic storybooks written in 1981 by Donald F. Glut. In them, He-Man is depicted as a warrior departing his jungle tribe on Eternia, who is recognized by the Sorceress as the hero destined to wield ancient armour and weapons; which he then uses to stop Skeletor from taking control of Castle Grayskull by uniting both halves of the Power Sword.

This basic premise and cast of characters was expanded upon in the follow-up series of mini-comics written by Gary Cohn. However, it was in DC Comics, with He-Man's (standard-sized) debut comic set for release in the spring of 1982, that many of the franchise's most enduring elements would take shape. Written by Paul Kupperberg, stemming from his meeting with Mattel representative Mark Ellis and project editor Dave Manak, DC Comics would introduce Prince Adam and his transformation into He-Man, as well as Cringer transforming into Battle Cat.

However, not all were on board with the push towards comic books, as major distributor, Toys "R" Us, was concerned that young children would either not be able (or not be interested) to read the comics. To counter this Mark Ellis proposed the idea of an animated TV special, which eventually led to a meeting with the head of Filmation Lou Scheimer and the creation of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series. The idea of a cartoon series promoting a children's toy line had only recently become an option. In 1981, the Reagan administration deregulated and eased the FCC's restrictions on children’s television advertising, allowing animation studios and toy manufacturers to collaborate on cartoons specifically designed to promote toys. This opened the door to one of the biggest shifts in the toy and animation industries in the 1980s, and set the stage for what would be Filmation's most successful series and Mattel's biggest hit of the decade.

Now that work was underway in the lead up to the Filmation cartoon, a series bible was created by author Michael Halperin, which explored the geography of Eternia, the origin of Prince Adam becoming He-Man, the creation of Castle Grayskull and backstories to several other characters. Though providing a solid foundation, some elements of Halperin's bible were not used, and the series bible was later reworked by Robby London and Tom Ruegger, prior to London's writing of the animated series' pilot episode "The Diamond Ray of Disappearance".

By the end of 1981 and into 1982 with the initial wave of action figures, vehicles and the Castle Grayskull playset in production, the mini-comics ready to be packaged with the toys, the DC comic soon to be released, and the animated Filmation series in the works; Masters of the Universe was ready to make its debut on February 17, 1982 at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, and on retail toy shelves shortly thereafter.

Beginning of the Masters of the Universe toy line

The first action figures, mini-comics and commercials (1981–1982)

The Masters of the Universe franchise debuted with the Masters of the Universe toy line that was produced by Mattel in 1981, and was first released to stores in the spring of 1982 as 5½-inch action figures (as opposed to the 3¾-inch size used by other action figure lines at the time). As a major part of the 1980s action-figure boom, Masters of the Universe proved to be very popular, with millions of toys produced and marketed all over the world, and generating over $2 billion in retail sales during its' original run.

Waves of action figures, creatures, vehicles, and playsets were released every year from 1982 until 1987, with the final overseas releases from the original toy line coming from Europe in 1988. Each figure would be given a tagline for marketing and packaging on their distinctive blister cards with artwork featuring exploding red rocks with a blue 'Masters of the Universe' logo.

The main hero of the line, the "most powerful man in the universe" He-Man, and his evil arch-enemy the "lord of destruction" Skeletor, were the first released in action figure form along with He-Man's main ally, the "master of weapons" Man-At-Arms, and Skeletor's "savage henchman" Beast Man. The first creature in the line, He-Man's green "fighting tiger" Battle Cat was also among the initial releases.

The second half of the first wave of action figures in 1982 would include the heroic "warrior goddess" Teela, the heroic "winged warrior" Stratos, the evil "ocean warlord" Mer-Man and the ambiguously aligned "cosmic enforcer" Zodac. The original action figures all had six points of articulation, with reuse of existing figure molds (primarily arms, legs and torsos) quite common throughout the duration of the line. Each of the initial eight figures were given an action-feature, in which the waist of the figure could be twisted to release a spring-loaded 'power punch'. Figures were also packaged with unique plastic weapons and armour accessories; with the original He-Man and Skeletor each given one half of the Sword of Power, which could be fit together to form a "key" to open the jawbridge of Castle Grayskull.

Alongside the first wave of figures were the Battle Ram and Wind Raider vehicles and the aforementioned "fortress of power and mystery" Castle Grayskull playset, the biggest and most expensive item in the early years of the toy line. These first larger boxed items featured packaging art by Rudy Obrero.

The lore of Masters of the Universe was first explored through the mini-comics that accompanied the action figures. The original four mini-comics, "He-Man and the Power Sword", "The King of Castle Grayskull", "Battle in the Clouds", and "The Vengeance of Skeletor" were created by Mattel in 1981 (written by Donald F. Glut, with artwork by Alfredo Alcala), and featured a story-book style and continuity distinct from the rest of the series. New mini-comics would continue to accompany subsequent figures throughout the duration of the line, with 49 distinct comics issued from 1981 until 1987.

In the first mini-comic, "He-man and the Power Sword", He-Man is introduced as a wandering barbarian, who leaves behind his jungle tribe on Eternia and is given special armour and weapons by the Sorceress. The world of Eternia is initially depicted as dealing with the aftermath of a great war, the events of which have opened a rift between dimensions, allowing the evil warlord Skeletor to travel to Eternia. This inaugural incarnation of Skeletor sets his sights on obtaining both halves of the Power Sword (originally split in two in these early mini-comics), in order to gain entry into Castle Grayskull (which is inhabited by the ghostly Spirit of Castle Grayskull).

He-Man (not yet with the dual identity of Prince Adam) is supported in these initial mini-comic stories by his heroic allies: Battle Cat (without the dual form of Cringer), Man-At-Arms (depicted as clean-shaven, like his original action figure), Teela (with either blonde or red hair, and often accompanied by a unicorn charger), and Stratos (who is erroneously shown on the side of evil in the first mini-comic). To battle He-Man and his heroic warriors, Skeletor, in turn enlists the help of the Beast Man (with all red fur, rather than the later orange colouring) and Mer-Man (looking decidedly different than his action figure in head sculpt and in some of his attire).

Television commercials for the Masters of the Universe collection also began airing in 1982, often featuring children playing with the action figures and Castle Grayskull playset in-front of an adult father. One early commercial featured a distinct animated segment by Filmation, prior to the release of the cartoon series in 1983, with many of the later series' voice cast present.

DC Comics – 1980s series (1982–1983)

To support the new toy line, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe would make an early appearance in the July, 1982 issue of DC Comics Presents #47, in the story "From Eternia With Death", followed by a special insert comic, titled "Fate is the Killer", in many of DC's titles with a cover date of November 1982. In these first two DC MOTU stories, Superman ends up on Eternia, teaming up with He-Man to combat Skeletor and his minions. He-Man's original DC comic run finished up with a three-issue miniseries, dated from December 1982 to February 1983 (the miniseries and the two preceding stories were all written by Paul Kupperberg).

These issues expanded and laid the foundation for much of the lore of Masters of the Universe, most notably the Eternian Royal Family, which introduced Prince Adam and his transformation into He-Man into the series. This version of Adam was depicted wearing a blue vest and portrayed as a carefree philanderer, rather than his later more wholesome and clumsy pink-vest-wearing character. Unique to these issues, Adam transforms inside the "Cavern of Power" (instead of raising his sword in-front of the more familiar Castle Grayskull), and the Sorceress (still depicted wearing the snake armor from the Teela action figure) is often referred to as "The Goddess" throughout the series. Man-E-Faces and the falcon Zoar are also introduced in the miniseries, though Zoar is not yet an alternate form of the Sorceress. Other entries into the Masters of the Universe mythos introduced in these early DC comics are Cringer as the alter ego of Battle Cat (and with the ability to speak), Teela as the daughter of Man-At-Arms (though not yet as the adopted-daughter), Stratos as the leader of the Bird-people of Avion, Zodac as a neutral overseer riding through the cosmos on his flying chair, and Adam's mother, Queen Marlena, as an astronaut hailing from Earth.

Second wave of action figures and mini-comics (1983)

By 1983 the popularity of the franchise was growing, with new characters introduced in the second wave of Mattel's Masters of the Universe toy line. Many of these new figures had more emphasis on unique and more elaborate action features than the first wave. These would include He-Man's allies, the "heroic human battering ram" Ram Man, with spring-loaded legs, and Man-E-Faces with three "human...robot...monster" faces, changed by rotating a dial on the figure's head.

Skeletor's Evil Warriors would also gain reinforcements with Tri-Klops, a swordsman with a three-eyed rotating visor, who was described on his packaging as "evil & sees everything", and Trap Jaw, "evil & armed for combat" with alternate weapons to place in his arm socket and a movable serrated jaw. Later in the second wave they would be joined by the "evil warrior goddess" Evil-Lyn, and Faker, the "evil robot of Skeletor", who was a blue-skinned clone of He-Man (re-using the same mold). The packaging of the action figures would now feature card-backs with captions and illustrated scenes by artist Errol McCarthy unique to each character, as well as details on each figure's action feature and up to twelve additional cross-sell action figures displayed. This format would become the standard until the end of the toy line.

In addition, three 'creatures' also joined the toy line in 1983, with the "fighting falcon" Zoar and Skeletor's "barbarian bird" Screeech, a purple recast of Zoar. Notably Skeletor would also gain his feline mount with Panthor the "savage cat", an adaptation of Battle Cat's toy mold with flocked purple fur. Also released in this second wave were the Attak-Trak motorized "battle machine" vehicle, and the Point Dread & Talon Fighter playset, which included both the Talon Fighter vehicle and the small Point Dread "frontier outpost" playset, part of which could be attached to Castle Grayskull.

Seven new mini-comics were produced by DC Comics for the second wave of MOTU figures, which were written by Gary Cohn, with artwork by Mark Texeira, and presented in true comic book style, rather than the story-book format of the previous mini-comics. This new batch would continue some of the same continuity that was set in the first four mini-comics, and provide introductions to the new action figure characters such as Ram-Man, Tri-Klops, Man-E-Faces, Trap Jaw and Zoar (though their depictions were in line with earlier design concepts and differed from their final production figures and the later Filmation look of the characters). King Randor and Queen Marlena would appear in these pre-Filmation stories, but the comics still did not feature the prominent characters of Prince Adam, Cringer, Orko, and Evil-Lyn. However, the concept of Teela as the secret daughter of the Sorceress, and now the adopted daughter of Man-At-Arms was first introduced at this time in the mini-comic "The Tale of Teela".

It has also been discovered that a "Special Edition" He-Man action figure was offered through a "buy-3-get-one-free" mail offer in limited quantities in 1983. The figure was a repaint of the original He-Man figure with brown hair, darker tights, black boots and belt, with or without a seemingly random assortment of maroon-coloured weapons. Also known as "Savage He-Man" and erroneously as "Wonder Bread He-Man", the origins of the figure have long been subject to debate.

Peak MOTU: the Filmation animated series era

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – Filmation animated series (1983–1984)

Masters of the Universe was off to great start, and by the fall of 1983, the franchise was about to enter its' most successful era with the launch of the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Created by Filmation, under the direction of executive producer Lou Scheimer (along with Hal Sutherland and Arthur Nadel), the series made its' television debut on September 5, 1983, with the episode "The Diamond Ray of Disappearance". He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was one of the first animated series produced directly for weekday syndication, as opposed to reruns primarily based on Saturday mornings. The series was a resounding success, one of the most popular children's cartoons of the 1980s, drawing as much as 10 million viewers per episode in the United States, with an addition 7 million in the United Kingdom. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe would run two seasons, totalling 130 episodes, from September 1983 to December 1984, airing in 37 countries worldwide.

The series is set on Eternia, which is ruled by King Randor, (voiced by Lou Schiemer) from the Royal Palace in the capital city of Eternos, with his wife Queen Marlena (astronaut Marlena Glenn from Earth) and their son, Prince Adam (voiced, along with He-Man, by John Erwin). Prince Adam (now depicted in his familiar pink vest), attempts to disguise his secret identity as He-Man, by pretending to be somewhat lazy and irresponsible. As he narrates the introductory title sequence, Adam is shown transforming into He-Man by holding aloft his magic sword and saying the words, "By the power of Grayskull... I have the power!!!" for the first time; as well as transforming his cowardly pet tiger Cringer into the mighty Battle Cat (as voiced by Allen Oppenheimer).

In the same introductory sequence, it is revealed that He-Man's secret is known only by three others: the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull (voiced by Linda Gary), now adorned in the more familiar birdlike costume, and taking the form of Zoar the falcon when outside the castle; Man-At-Arms (voiced by Allen Oppenheimer and now sporting a moustache), is portrayed as a scientific inventor, veteran warrior and mentor to Adam; and Orko (voiced by Lou Scheimer), making his debut as a mainstay in the franchise, is presented as a floating childlike Trollan magician, who is often used for comic relief and as a point-of-view character for children.

Rounding out the main cast of heroes is Teela, the Captain of the Royal Guard, the adopted daughter of Man-At-Arms, and unbeknownst to her, the secret child of the Sorceress. Teela (voiced by Linda Gary) is not privy to He-Man's true identity and serves as a competitive and semi-antagonistic potential love interest of Adam/He-Man. Other heroic allies featured with some frequency are Stratos (the flying leader of the Bird-people of Avion, voiced by Lou Scheimer) and Ram-Man (portrayed by John Erwin as a dim-witted, but likable stout bouncing warrior).

He-Man's arch-nemesis, the evil wizard Skeletor (in his most iconic portrayal as a shrill, cackling and more comedic villain by voice actor Alan Oppenheimer), continues in his quest to conquer Castle Grayskull, learn of its secrets, and his desire to take over and rule all of Eternia. Skeletor often hosts his rogues gallery inside his headquarters, Snake Mountain, gathered around his throne of bones and peering through a magic crystal orb to spy on He-Man and his allies. Skeletor's malevolent plots to conquer Eternia or enter Grayskull often include summoning the help of monstrous beasts and obtaining powerful magic artifacts. Skeletor's main henchmen often consist of the dangerous magic-user Evil-Lyn (voiced by Linda Gary), making her entrance into the MOTU mythos as Skeletor's most capable counterpart; the bumbling Beast Man (voiced by John Erwin), who possesses the ability to control various creatures through telepathy; and the equally inept Trap Jaw (voiced by Lou Scheimer), who retains his arsenal of weapons that fit into his arm-socket. Skeletor's other original minions in the cartoon also include Mer-Man (with a distinctive gurgling voice portrayal by Alan Oppenheimer), Tri-Klops (with a robotic voice provided by Lou Scheimer), and Skeletor's purple pet feline Panthor.

Joining Skeletor's Evil Warriors and making several appearances later in the series are the cunning and crab-like Clawful, the reptilian Whiplash, the spider-like Webstor, and the Snakeman Kobra Khan. Closer to the end of the second season, Skeletor would add additional villains to his ranks, such as Two-Bad, with his two often arguing heads, the dimwitted Spikor, and the scientist Modulok. Other villains not allied with Skeletor would appear throughout the series as well, such as the powerful wizard Count Marzo, the plant-demon Evilseed, the clever Batros, the turban-wearing Kothos, the haunting Shokoti, and the rabbit-like space pirate Plundor.

Many of He-Man's recurring allies would be featured as well, such as Zodac, Man-E-Faces, Delora, Lizard-Man, the Trollans Dree-Elle and Uncle Montork, Squinch and the Widgets, Melaktha, and the wise and ancient dragon Granamyr. Season two would see more of Mattel's action figures making their animated debuts on the side of He-Man, such as Buzz-Off, Roboto, Fisto, Mekaneck, Moss Man, and Sy-Klone. Throughout the series a multitude of minor characters, beasts and magical items would also appear, often only for a single episode. Several prominent locations around Eternia like the Mystic Mountains and the Sands of Time would appear frequently, as would vehicles such as the Wind Raider, Sky Sled, Attak-Trak and Skeletor's Collector. The Attak-Trak vehicle in particular was portrayed as a sentient, talking robotic vehicle (voiced by Lou Scheimer) and had a van-like appearance, differing from its' Mattel toy line counterpart.

With the FCC's loosening of regulations in 1981, the Filmation series pushed the boundaries for the narrative scope of children's TV programming in the time period. Groups like Action for Children's Television lobbied against cartoons featuring muscular superheroes who engaged in on-screen combat. Though in most instances with He-Man, simply outwitting one's opponent, or wrestling-style moves and throws were utilized instead of direct violence. There was also longstanding criticism of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and similar cartoons advertising and directly marketing a line of toys to children. In opposition to the negative controversy, Filmation executives made sure that a "life lesson" or "moral of the story" was played at the end of each episode, which was tied to the central theme of the story in question. Tasked by Lou Scheimer with making the series much more than just advertising for the toy line, prominent writers on the show included Robby London, Larry DiTillio, David Wise, Michael Reaves, Robert Lamb, Douglas Booth, Rowby Goren, Janis Diamond, J. Brynne Stephens, Mark Scott Zicree, Mel Gilden, and many others; including an episode by D.C. Fontana, and early script work from J. Michael Straczynski and Paul Dini. Unlike many studios at the time, Filmation did not outsource its' animation department, hiring local artists for the duration of the series. The theme song and the musical score was composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban; while only four voices actors would portray the vast array of characters throughout the series: John Erwin, Alan Oppenheimer, Linda Gary and executive producer Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden).

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, though still very popular, would air the series' final episode, "The Cold Zone", on December 8, 1984, and was not renewed for a third season in 1985. Instead Filmation's focus was placed on the spinoff series She-Ra: Princess of Power, which was set in the same universe and followed the same continuity. She-Ra began with the animated movie He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, released theatrically in the spring of 1985 and featuring many of the main characters from both Filmation series. Multiple He-Man and the Masters of the Universe characters continued to appear in guest roles throughout the She-Ra: Princess of Power series, as well as the He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special. The very last appearance of Filmation's He-Man and Skeletor is in one of the final She-Ra episodes, titled "Assault on the Hive", airing December 13, 1986. With no true conclusion to the Filmation He-Man series produced, the 110th episode "The Problem With Power", though it aired a month prior to the final episode in 1984, is often cited as the best episode of series and a more fitting finale, with He-Man carrying Teela off into the sunset.

Filmation-era MOTU action figures and mini comics (1984–1985)

Sales of the toy line continued to increase with the exposure of the animated series, and new waves of figures and vehicles, as seen in the Filmation cartoon, were produced during this peak of Masters of the Universe's popularity. The third wave of the original Masters of the Universe toy line in 1984 would introduce the first new versions of the two main characters, as "Battle Armor" He-Man and "Battle Armor" Skeletor, who could be "damaged" when the mechanism on the figure's chest was tapped.

Making their toy-line debuts in 1984 were He-Man's allies the "heroic spy in the sky" Buzz-Off, a bee-like insectoid warrior with wings, the "heroic hand-to-hand fighter" Fisto, with an oversized spring-loaded fist, and the "heroic human periscope" Mekaneck, with an extendable bionic neck. The first action figures for the "heroic secret identity of He-Man" Prince Adam, and the "heroic court magician" Orko (utilizing a pull-cord feature that would make the figure spin around), were also produced in this third wave.

Skeletor's evil warriors received new recruits as well in 1984, in the crab-like form of Clawful, the "warrior with the grip of evil" with his oversized pincer for a hand, the "evil master of martial arts" Jitsu, with a gold chopping hand action feature, the "evil master of snakes" Kobra Khan, who could be filled with water to spray "poison" mist on his enemies, the "evil master of escape" Webstor, with a working grappling hook and pulley system, and lastly, the "evil tail-thrashing warrior" Whiplash, a reptilian with a rubber tail.

Vehicles produced in the third wave include the Dragon Walker, Road Ripper, Roton and the hybrid vehicle/creature Stridor. A "Weapons Pak" was also released, containing extra "arms & armor" in alternate colour schemes, as were two collectors cases to store and carry the action figures. The major playset for 1984 was Skeletor's evil stronghold, Snake Mountain (looking quite unlike the Filmation version, with a giant ghoulish face molded into the plastic and a voice-distorting wolf-headed microphone).

During this Filmation-era, the characters in series three of Mattel's MOTU mini-comics would begin to resemble their cartoon counterparts more closely (like the Sorceress in her falcon-attire), and contained many stories loosely adapted from episodes of the animated series' first-season such as "The Dragon's Gift", "Masks of Power" and others. The mini-comics were mostly written by series bible author Michael Halperin and edited under the supervision of Lee Nordling. Alfred Alcala would return to provide art for several of the comics, and artist Larry Houston would also begin his run on the series. While most of the new figures from the toy line would appear in the 1984 mini-comics, they were not given introductions or as much focus as in the previous wave. Original mini-comic characters (without action figures) were often featured instead, such as Prince Dakon and the evil Geldor in "The Secret Liquid of Life", as well as Princess Rana and the Kobold-master Lodar in "Slave City".

By the end of 1984 Masters of the Universe was said to have conquered the toy market, and 1985 would prove to be one of the peak years of the franchise, with the toy line bringing in hundreds million dollars worldwide. The fourth wave would debut 13 new action figures, and again include new versions of He-Man and Skeletor with deluxe action features: "Thunder Punch" He-Man (whose backpack could be loaded with plastic cap discs to create a loud "bang" when turning He-Man's waist) and "Dragon Blaster" Skeletor (which included a "dreadful" water-squirting dragon chained to the armor of the "evil leader").

Heroic warriors included in this wave were the "heroic spy and master of camouflage", Moss Man, a green-flocked and pine-scented reuse of the Beast Man mold, Roboto, the "heroic mechanical warrior", with visible moving gears and multiple weapons that could be inserted into his arm socket, and Sy-Klone, the "heroic fist-flinging tornado", whose torso would spin around 360 degrees when turning the dial on his waist. Evil warriors in 1985 consisted of Spikor, the "untouchable master of evil combat", who was covered in purple rubber spikes with a trident for an arm, the "double-headed evil strategist" Two-Bad, whose spring-action arms allowed the figure to punch himself in either of his two heads, and Stinkor, the "evil master of odors"; a foul-smelling redeco of the Mer-Man mold.

Vehicles and creatures produced in this fourth wave were the "heroic combat vehicle" Bashasaurus, with a large club-like battering arm, Land Shark, an "evil monster/vehicle" with a chomping shark mouth, Night Stalker the "evil armored battle steed", Skeletor's giant mechanical spider, the "evil stalker" Spydor, and Battle Bones, a "collector's carry case" and dinosaur skeleton-creature hybrid.

The largest addition to the 1985 Masters of the Universe toy line came in the form of the Evil Horde, a new faction in opposition to both He-Man and Skeletor, who were set to debut in the animated He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword motion picture. Though they would be positioned as the primary adversaries of She-Ra, all but one of initial Evil Horde figures were produced for the Masters of Universe line, instead of the new Princess of Power toy line. The new major villain and "ruthless leader of the Evil Horde" Hordak would make his action figure debut in this wave, followed by his underlings, Mantenna the "evil spy with the pop-out eyes", the "evil master of power suction" Leech, with suction-cup hands and mouth, and Grizzlor, the "hairy henchman of the Evil Horde", with actual faux fur. Also released as part of the Evil Horde was Modulok, the "evil beast with a thousand bodies", a unique two-headed figure with 22 segmented body parts that could be taken apart and reassembled into more than 1,000 different combinations. Hordak's lair, the Fright Zone, was released as a playset as part of this wave in 1985, though this "trap-filled stronghold of terror" would bare no resemblance to the mechanical/industrial-looking Fright Zone as seen in the animated She-Ra series.

Series four of the mini-comics in 1985 were no longer based on the animated episodes and began to depart from some aspects of Filmation's continuity. Unlike the previous wave, many new figures and vehicles would prominently feature in their accompanying mini-comics, with each member of the Evil Horde appearing in their own titular comic. These stories would shift focus to the Horde's attempts to attack He-Man and invade Eternia, rather than anything related to the soon to debut She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series.

She-Ra – Animated movie, Filmation series and toy line

The introduction of She-Ra and The Secret of the Sword animated feature (1985)

In 1984, working in tandem, Mattel and Filmation decided to diversify the Masters of the Universe line beyond its traditional realm of "male action figures", in the hopes of bringing in a young female audience as well. Thus, a spin-off animated series and all new line of dolls/action figures for girls was put forth into development. A warrior-woman heroine in the same vein as He-Man was first conceptualized by producer Lou Scheimer, and sketched-out visually by Mattel designers Justine Dantzer and Noreen Porter, as well as Filmation's Diane Keener. After a few earlier iterations, writer Larry DiTillio would name the character She-Ra and create much of her backstory; with elements that were similar to He-Man, yet unique in her own right and with respect to her femininity. In conjunction with Mattel's new 'Princess of Power' toy line, Filmation's new animated series titled She-Ra: Princess of Power would begin to take shape, attempting to showcase characters that would appeal to young girls as role models, without losing the interest of boys; providing something for everyone.

In the series bible (developed by Larry DiTillo, along with J. Michael Straczynski), She-Ra would be revealed as Princess Adora, the long-lost twin sister of Prince Adam/He-Man, living on Eternia's sister planet of Etheria. Etheria had been subjugated by the Evil Horde, under the leadership of Hordak, the main antagonist of the new series, whose frightening demonic/vampiric visage was wreathed with a cowl of bones. In joining the rebellion against the evil ruling Horde Empire, the premise of She-Ra's conflict on Etheria is the inverse to that of He-Man on Eternia; in which He-Man and his allies were part of the ruling class, defending against Skeletor's attempts to conquer Eternia.

She-Ra and the world of Etheria would be introduced in the animated feature He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, which was released in theaters on March 22, 1985. Though not rating high with critics, the film was a box-office success, grossing three times its budget, making over $7.5 million in its' theatrical run. The Secret of the Sword would feature most major characters from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and introduce many of the new characters and concepts behind the forthcoming animated series.

A He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword promotional comic book was distributed to theatres across North America, and a soundtrack featuring the single "I Have The Power" by Erika Scheimer, Haim Saban and Shuki Levy (with additional vocals by Noam Kaniel), was also released in conjunction with the film.

She-Ra: Princess of Power – Filmation animated series (1985–1987)

Filmation's She-Ra: Princess of Power first aired "The Sword of She-Ra Part 1: Into Etheria" on September 9, 1985. This, along with the following four episodes had previously been cut and compiled to form The Secret of the Sword animated movie from earlier that spring. She-Ra: Princess of Power was produced by Filmation in lieu of continuing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for a third year; however, He-Man, Skeletor, and other characters from the prior series would often appear throughout the She-Ra animated series. She-Ra: Princess of Power would run for two seasons, with 93 episodes and a Christmas Special, from September, 1985 to December, 1987.

She-Ra was born as Princess Adora on Eternia, Prince Adam/He-Man's twin sister and daughter of King Randor and Queen Marlena. As an infant, Adora is kidnapped by Hordak (the primary villain of the series), who was leading an attack on Eternia alongside Skeletor, then serving as Hordak's apprentice. She is taken to the world of Etheria, a planet ruled by The Horde, and the main setting of the She-Ra series. Adora is raised within the Fright Zone (the Horde's techno-industrial base of operations on Etheria) and brainwashed into being the Horde's Force Captain by Hordak and his dark-magic wielding confidant Shadow Weaver. After encountering her brother He-Man, who was sent on a mission by the Sorceress to find his long-lost sister on Etheria, Adora acquires the Sword of Protection and seeks to learn the true evil nature of the Horde. Transforming into She-Ra for this first time and seeing the error of her ways, she becomes a member of the Great Rebellion; a small band of rebels living in the Whispering Woods (representing magic and the natural world), fighting to free Etheria from the tyrannical rule of Hordak and his Evil Horde (representing technology and the destruction of nature).

Like Prince Adam's transformation into He-Man, Princess Adora transforms into She-Ra via her Sword of Protection, which is nearly identical to He-Man's Sword of Power, but with a jewel embedded in its hilt. Adora's transformation is similarly triggered by holding her sword over her head, but with her own unique invocation: "For the honor of Grayskull... I am She-Ra!". She-Ra then transforms her horse Spirit into the flying unicorn Swift Wind (akin to Cringer/Battle Cat). Though possessing great strength similar to He-Man, She-Ra is shown to have additional powers, such as the ability to heal with her touch, communicate with animals via telepathy, and transform her sword into different items (such as a lasso, shield, or flaming blade).

Portrayed by voice actor Melendy Britt, Adora keeps her identity as She-Ra a secret from even her primary allies in the Great Rebellion: Glimmer (voiced by Linda Gary), a spirited magic user with the ability to manipulate light and invisibility, and the skilled archer Bow (voiced by George DiCenzo), the main male heroic character of the series. The few that are aware of She-Ra's true identity include her brother He-Man, her steed Spirit/Swift Wind, Bow's timid companion Kowl (an owl/koala-like creature with large rainbow-colored ears for wings), the absent-minded magician Madame Razz and her wise-cracking sidekick, Broom. Also aware of the secret is the mystical Light Hope (voiced by Lou Scheimer), who resides high atop Mount Skydancer in the Crystal Castle, and serves as a "Sorceress of Grayskull–type" guide to She-Ra.

Other frequently appearing allies of She-Ra are Glimmer's mother—the winged Queen of Bright Moon, Angella, the powerful sorcerer queen of Mystacor, Castaspella, the ruler of the Kingdom of Snows, Frosta (with the ability to control ice and snow), and the small munchkin-like forest-dwelling Twiggits (mainly consisting of Sprocker, Spritina, and Sprag). A special hidden character, Loo-Kee (voiced by Erika Scheimer), was also a regular feature of the cartoon series, and can be found camouflaged somewhere in the background of nearly every episode; emerging at the end of the episode, revealing to viewers where he had been hiding and relaying the moral of the story.

The primary villainous faction of the series, the Evil Horde is led by Hordak (voiced by George DiCenzo, portrayed with a snorting laugh and temperament slightly more fearsome than that of Skeletor), an adept sorcerer who often choses technology over magic, transforming his body parts into mechanized weapons and objects such as cannons and rockets. Hordak rules over Etheria from within the industrial monstrosity known as the Fright Zone, high up on his throne in the Doom Tower, issuing commands to his underlings in the Horde (whose members are often depicted wearing a bat-like insignia). Frequently at Hordak's side are his powerful magic-using second-in-command, Shadow Weaver (a floating red-robed witch with a hidden face), and his bat-like spy, Imp, a diminutive shape-shifter, who enjoys snitching on fellow Horde members.

The Horde on Etheria is revealed to be part of a larger interstellar Horde Empire that continues expand its' grip, enslaving the people of Etheria through Hordak's legions of armored robot-like Horde Troopers, mechanized vehicles, and his special task force of henchman known as the Force Squad. The Force Squad, is headed by a 'Force Captain', a position originally held by Adora, and now taken up by Catra (voiced by Melendy Britt), a raven-haired villainess with a special mask that gives her the ability to turn into a panther. Catra's Force Squad roster consists of the bug-eyed Mantenna (whom Hordak loves to torment and drop through a trap-door), Grizzlor (the prison operator on Beast Island), the amphibian-like Leech (with the ability to drain his opponent's life-force), and the pincer-clawed scorpion-woman, Scorpia.

As the series progressed, the Horde would feature additional members, including Skeletor's former scientist henchman Modulok, his robotic creation Multi-Bot, the Horde technician Entrapta (an evil inventor with deadly braided hair), the octopus-woman Octavia, the Horde zookeeper Vultak, the robotic Horde Trooper commander Dylamug, as well as the future Snake Men, Rattlor and Tung-Lashor. The overarching interplanetary supreme leader of the Horde Empire, Horde Prime, who held leadership over both Hordak and Skeletor, was also introduced during the She-Ra Filmation series.

The Great Rebellion would also gain additional members and allies, such as the swashbuckling pirate Sea-Hawk (Adora's love-interest in the series), the mermaid princess of the underwater kingdom of Salineas, Mermista, the carefree flower-loving Perfuma, net-tossing trapper Netossa, the peacock-feathered far-seeing Peekablue, butterfly-like Flutterina, and the space-faring scout Sweet Bee. A few animals and creatures would appear in the series on the side of the Rebellion as well, such as Bow's horse Arrow, the giant swan Enchanta, Crystal Sun Dancer and Sorrowful the Dragon. As the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon was no longer in production, a few MOTU toy line characters would appear in the She-Ra series instead; such as the water spraying elephant-man Snout Spout (referred to as "Hose Nose" in his debut appearance), the Meteorbs Comet Cat and Dinosorb, Hordak's Mantisaur, and the Rock People Rokkon and Stonedar. Some of the other notable one-off heroes and villains include Spinnerella, Huntara, General Sunder, False-Face, the Red Knight, Glimmer's father King Micah, Catra's pet Clawdeen, Kowl's cousin Red-Eye, the Star Sisters and Colonel Blast (based on an early concept version of the character Rio Blast).

A dual-branded television special, "He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special", would air in December of 1985 and feature numerous characters from both Filmation series. The special would feature Orko and Skeletor visiting Earth, with Skeletor learning of the concept of Christmas and saving two Earth children from the Horde in a rare change of character.

Though successful, She-Ra: Princess of Power struggled to achieve the same ratings as its' predecessor, yet retained much of the same production team at Filmation. Prominent writers on the animated series included Larry DiTillio, J. Michael Straczynski, Francis Moss, Robert Lamb, Don Heckman, and Bob Forward. Storyboard artists Tom Sito and Tom Tataranowicz would also direct several episodes of the series, amongst many other directors and artistic contributors. The musical score was again composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban, with Erika Lane (another Lou Scheimer pseudonym) assisting with She-Ra's theme. Both primary She-Ra writer/creators Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski would not be a part of She-Ra's second season in 1986, which would consist of additional 28 episodes (as opposed to the 65 of the first season). Season two of She-Ra: Princess of Power premiered on September 13, 1986, shifting from daily syndication to a Saturday morning format, airing through late 1986 and 1987. With a decline in the series popularity She-Ra: Princess of Power would air its final episode, "Swifty's Baby", on December 12, 1987, with no real finale for either the She-Ra or He-Man Filmation series.

Princess of Power toy line (1985–1987)

Released in 1985, Mattel's toy line Princess of Power (sometimes abbreviated as POP) featured almost exclusively female characters, with an emphasis on doll-like comb-able hair and partial soft-goods outfits. Described as "fashion action dolls", Mattel attempted to fuse the appeal of Masters of the Universe with their successful Barbie line, adding many "Fantastic Fashions" clothing and accessory packs to complement the figures. The Princess of Power toy line ran from 1985 to 1987, for which Mattel would release a total of 22 action figure/dolls (with 12 creatures/vehicles, 2 playsets, and 16 clothing accessories).

The 1985 Princess of Power figures included "the most powerful woman in the universe" She-Ra, her "special friend" Bow (the only male figure in the POP line), the "guide who lights the way" Glimmer, "the know-it owl" Kowl, Angella the "angelic winged guide", Frosta the "ice empress of Etheria", Castaspella the "enchantress who hypnotizes", the "glamorous double agent" Double Trouble, and the "jealous beauty" Catra, the main female antagonist of the toy line. The other preeminent villains of the She-Ra series, Hordak and the Evil Horde were released by Mattel under the Masters of the Universe branding instead. She-Ra's main play-set for 1985 was Crystal Castle, a "shimmering castle of fantasy and fun for She-Ra and her friends!". Enchanta, a large swan creature/vehicle, was also produced in the first wave of toys, as were several winged-horses to accompany the figures: Swift Wind for She-Ra, Arrow for Bow, and Storm for Catra.

In 1986, a new "Starburst" version of She-Ra was accompanied in the second wave by her allies the "beautiful flying lookout" Flutterina (with fluttering butterfly-like wings), Mermista the "Mist-i-fying mermaid", the "watchful feathered friend" Peekablue (with fanning peacock-like "feathers"), Perfuma the "scent-sational flower maiden", and the "honey of a guide" Sweet Bee (with glow-in-the-dark antennae and wings). Opposing them was a new "Scratchin' Sound" version of Catra, who was joined by her "glamorous" feline pet Clawdeen, and the fellow Horde-villainess Entrapta, "the tricky golden beauty" (with long-braided hair to trap her rivals). "Crystal" translucent plastic versions of Swift Wind and the flying horses Sun Dancer and Moonbeam were released in wave two, along with the Butterflyer and Sea Harp vehicles, and the Crystal Falls play-set.

Never reaching the heights achieved by the Masters of the Universe toy line in the mid-1980s, the third and final wave of Princess of Power in 1987 saw diminished sales and production with the releases of "Bubble Power" She-Ra, and a "Royal" version of her steed Swift Wind; along with "Shower Power" Catra, and a "Silver" version of her horse Storm. Also in this final wave were She-Ra's friends: the "captivating beauty" Netossa (whose cape becomes a capturing net), the "dizzying defender" Spinnerella (with swirling scooter), and the petite raccoon-like Filmation character Loo-Kee, who "hides & sees all in Etheria".

Similar to the Masters of the Universe toy line, the Princess of Power line featured 12 mini-comics, which were packaged with the figures. The first mini-comic, entitled "The Story of She-Ra", briefly mentions She-Ra's origin and kidnapping by Hordak on Eternia; however the rest of the comics primarily focus on Catra as the villain and downplay her connection to the Evil Horde. Several children's books, comics, magazines, and read-along record/cassette-tape books were also released worldwide in conjunction with the Princess of Power toy line from 1985 to 1988.

Live-action movie and the final years of the original toyline

Later years of the original Masters of the Universe toy line (1986–1987)

In 1986, the action figures released for Mattel's fifth wave of Masters of the Universe no longer had the promotional juggernaut that was the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series behind them; yet sales in 1986 would reach a franchise high of 400 million dollars, and more items would be released than any year prior.

Though the franchise was beginning to move past the original animated series, promotion for Masters of the Universe was still present in Filmation's spin-off series She-Ra: Princess of Power, which continued airing new episodes in 1986 featuring several new characters from the MOTU toy line. Appearing in the episode "The Rock People", some of the first figures released that year were the comet warriors: the "young heroic battling boulder" Rokkon, and Stonedar, the "heroic rock people leader"; both with the ability to transform into meteor/boulder-like forms. They were followed by the elephant-headed Snout Spout, the "heroic water-blasting firefighter", as well as the "heroic transforming gunslinger" Rio Blast, and Extendar, the "heroic master of extension", whose head, arms, torso and legs were all extendable.

The Evil Horde would gain additional figures with Multi-Bot, the "evil robot of a thousand bodies" (similar to the prior Modulok figure with interchangeable body-parts), the "transforming evil warrior vehicle" Dragstor (with a wheel on his chest and a rip-cord to send the figure racing across the floor), and a Horde Trooper, the only generic troop/soldier figures of the toy line, with a collapsable torso and the tagline "Evil Horde collapsing robot". The Evil Horde also obtained their first vehicle/creature hybrids in the toy line, with "the evil insectoid steed" Mantisaur, and Monstroid "the ultimate battling monster". Another Horde play-set was added early in 1986, the Slime Pit, an "evil pit of gruesome ooze"; which came with a canister of green slime to pour into a dinosaur-like skull, which then oozed out onto an action figure that was trapped in the 'Pit' by a giant claw.

The Horde's "ruthless leader" Hordak would be released in a new golden-armoured deluxe form as 'Hurricane' Hordak with "wicked whirling weapons"; while the two mainstays of the toy line, He-Man and Skeletor would also receive deluxe figures with new "arm-swinging action" and weapons in the form of 'Flying Fists' He-Man, and 'Terror Claws' Skeletor.

The mini-comics released with these later waves of action figures would continue to introduce new characters, creatures and vehicles, progressing the Masters of the Universe story beyond what had been seen in either Filmation series (as would Marvel's Star Comics, the UK London Editions Comics, and Germany's Ehapa Comics). One of the main storylines for the post-Filmation era, was the introduction of a new major villain faction known as the Snake Men; first appearing in the mini-comic "King of the Snake Men". The "dreadful disguised leader of the Snake Men" King Hiss would make his debut, with two characters that had previously appeared as members of the Horde in the She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series: Tung Lashor, the "evil tongue-shooting Snake Men creature", and Rattlor the "evil Snake Men creature with the quick-strike head". As depicted in the mini-comics, Skeletor's former Evil Warrior, Kobra Khan, would join Rattlor and Tung Lashor under the leadership of the ancient Eternian King Hiss; whose Snake Men army rose from Eternia's past, joining forces with Skeletor to once again rule Eternia.

Another major mini-comic storyline of this period included the introduction of the three-towered fortress of Eternia in the mini-comic, "The Ultimate Battleground". Eternia would debut as a massive final play-set for the MOTU toy line during the Christmas season late in 1986. The 'Eternia' play-set stood as one of the biggest play sets ever released (for any toy line), complete with a motorized monorail circling the three towers.

Also that same year, "the land and sky disc launcher" Blasterhawk, and "the road rocket" Laser Bolt were made for He-Man's heroic warriors; while Skeletor gained a "dragonfly attack vehicle" known as the Fright Fighter. At a less expensive price point, three accessory packs of smaller vehicles and weapons were produced, which consisted of the Megalaser, Jet Sled, and Stilt Stalkers. Following the increased popularity of transforming toys at the time (such as Hasbro's Transformers and Tonka's GoBots), several small transforming egg-shaped creatures, known as Meteorbs, were added late into the line in 1986 as well.

The sixth series of action figures in 1987 would finally include action figures for the longtime MOTU staple characters King Randor, the "heroic ruler of Eternia", and the "heroic guardian of Castle Grayskull", the Sorceress. However, as with the previous wave, the 1987 mini-comics would continue on the adventures past the two Filmation animated series, introducing new characters not seen in the cartoon, such as the "heroic master of capture" Clamp Champ, and two spinning-top-like Energy Zoids: the "heroic master of hyper-spin" Rotar and the "evil speed twisting robot" Twistoid. The Snake Men would be joined in wave six by the "evil long-armed viper" Sssqueeze, and the Medusa-like Snake-Face, the "most gruesome of the Snake Men"; while the Horde would gain Mosquitor, the "evil energy-draining insectoid", and a new version of the "ruthless leader" Hordak in the form of "Buzz-Saw" Hordak, with a "blaster blade" that would shoot out of the figure's chest.

After receiving no new additions in the previous wave, Skeletor's Evil Warriors would increase their ranks with Blast-Attak, a "blast-apart robotic warrior" that would literally blast-apart using a trigger cable, the "evil ninja warrior" Ninjor, a re-release of the 2nd wave figure Faker, and the "evil ghost of Skeletor" Scare Glow, that would glow in the dark. A few deluxe action figure accessories were released late in 1987 as well: consisting of the Beam Blaster and Artilleray set, Scubattack, Tower Tools, and the Cliff Climber.

Also late into the line in 1987 were three new characters from the Masters of the Universe live-action movie: Blade, the "evil masters of swords", Saurod an armoured "evil spark-shooting reptile", and the dwarf-like inventor Gwildor, the "heroic creator of the Cosmic Key". These characters' entry into the MOTU mythos was explained in one of the last original mini-comics entitled, "The Cosmic Key".

Masters of the Universe live-action film (1987)

In 1987, a live-action He-Man film was made by Cannon Films titled Masters of the Universe, released in the United States on August 7, 1987. The film was directed by Gary Goddard and starred Dolph Lundgren in the title role of He-Man, Frank Langella as Skeletor, with Courteney Cox, Robert Duncan McNeill, and James Tolkan in supporting roles (as Julie Winston, Kevin Corrigan, and Detective Lubic, respectively). The other characters from the original cartoon to appear in the film are Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster), Man-At-Arms (Jon Cypher), Teela (Chelsea Field), Beast Man (Tony Carroll), and the Sorceress (Christina Pickles). A new character, Gwildor (Billy Barty), is included in place of Orko, as the special effects of the time were deemed insufficient and too costly. Skeletor's henchmen Blade (Anthony De Longis), Saurod (Pons Maar), and Karg (Robert Towers) were also introduced, in place of other more familiar villains from the established continuity, such as Tri-Klops, Mer-Man, and Trap Jaw.

In the film, Skeletor has finally conquered Eternia after stealing the Cosmic Key from the locksmith Gwildor, allowing him to gain entry into Castle Grayskull and imprison the Sorceress. The heroes He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Teela are joined by Gwildor and escape to the planet Earth using Gwildor's prototype Cosmic Key. Stranded on Earth, they are faced with the task of retrieving their Cosmic Key (which has fallen into the hands of the unwitting humans Julie Winston and Kevin Corrigan) and returning to Eternia, before Skeletor can gain the full power of Castle Grayskull. Skeletor sends his minions to Earth with the mission of recovering the Cosmic Key prototype, as the war between good and evil is transferred to Earth, before returning to Eternia for a final battle between He-Man and a golden-clad godlike Skeletor in the film's climax.

Numerous parts of the previously accepted history of the series are omitted in the film, including all references to Prince Adam, Battle Cat, Orko, King Randor, and Queen Marlena. Many reviews of the motion picture criticized its departures from the cartoon, although the movie was produced as an adaptation of the toys only, with Filmation having no involvement in the film. It is also implied that Castle Grayskull itself is the ruling point of Eternia rather than any royal city. The story concentrates more on the science-fiction elements of the franchise rather than the fantasy and the majority of the story takes place on Earth rather than on the world of Eternia. Also departing from all other depictions, He-Man uses a gun in some scenes, instead of his Power Sword, and he is rarely shown displaying his superhuman strength in the film. Although He-Man twice utters his catchphrase "I have the power!" while holding the sword aloft in the iconic manner, he does omit the prefacing clause "By the power of Grayskull".

The film was a critical and commercial failure, and received generally negative reviews from critics.

Although Mattel had hoped that the movie would boost sales of the toy line, it instead had little effect on the line's falling sales, and the MOTU toy line was finally discontinued in early 1988 under mounting financial difficulties. A sequel to the film was written, but by 1989 Cannon Films was in such severe financial troubles that it could no longer afford to pay the license fees to Mattel. Due to film's poor reception, thus the script was transformed into the action film Cyborg, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The Powers of Grayskull and the end of the original toy line (1987–1988)

A proposed exploration of the distant past of Eternia, dubbed "Preternia", formed the basis of what was meant to be the next incarnation of the toy line, titled "The Powers of Grayskull". However only a few toys were ever released in new "Powers of Grayskull" packaging. The first to appear on shelves under the new branding in 1987 were three hybrid mechanical/dinosaur creatures: Turbodactyl, the "heroic reptile with 'jet' wings" (in the form of a Pterodactyl); Bionatops, the "heroic bionic dinosaur" (in the form of a Triceratops), and Tyrantisaurus Rex, "the most terrifying dinosaur in the land of Preternia" (in the form of a purple Tyrannosaurus). Two rare 'giant figures' also found limited release in a few European markets under the "Powers of Grayskull" banner in 1988. Standing about 17 inches tall (as opposed to the standard 5.5 inch MOTU action figure), with rooted doll-like hair, was Tytus the "heroic giant warlord", and Megator, the "evil giant destroyer".

The Powers of Grayskull storyline began in the final MOTU mini-comic of the original toy line, titled '"The Powers of Grayskull—The Legend Begins!", which was intended as the first of a three-part series; however, only this inaugural issue was released. The mini-comic brought He-Man into Eternia's ancient past, followed by Skeletor, to encounter the Preternia versions of King Hiss and his Snake Men (who was serving a mysterious "Unnamed One"). This first (and only) comic in the series culminated with a shadowy introduction to "the Greatest Sorcerer of all". This sorcerer was to be revealed as He-Ro, an ancestor of He-Man, raised by his mentor Eldor (prototype figures for both of these characters would appear in catalogues and promotional material for the 'Powers of Grayskull', but were never put into production). According to the mini-comic writers, it was intended that the central antagonist to oppose He-Man and He-Ro would be Keldor, a character revealed similarly late in the line to have been He-Man's uncle (and strongly hinted to have been the former identity of Skeletor).

Though effectively over in North America by the end of 1987, the original Masters of the Universe toy line had two more European-only releases in Italy and Spain in 1988, with the final action figures being light-emitting "Laser Power" and "Laser Light" battery-powered versions of He-Man and Skeletor (in which the figures would bear somewhat more of a resemblance to their live-action movie counterparts). Further action figures, creatures and vehicles were proposed, leading to working prototypes for concepts such as the Evil Robot, Gigantisaur, the Gyrattacker and others, but were never produced.

MOTU – Other comics, books, games and media (1983–1990)

Marvel comics, daily newspaper strips, and fan-club magazines (1985–1988)

In the years after the animated series ended, generally going along with the established Filmation continuity, Marvel Comics would release a younger-skewing Star Comics Masters of the Universe series that ran from 1986 to 1988 bimonthly and produced 13 issues; featuring many of the later characters introduced in the toy line, as well as new ones such as Lieutenant Andra.

Apart from the standard comic-book format, there was a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Magazine, a U.S.-based fan-club magazine featuring puzzles, fan letters, feature stories, and comic strips (running 16 issues, 1985–88; She-Ra also with a similar magazine, running six issues). This magazine series featured well-rendered covers and posters by artist Earl Norem and a character design contest, with the winner, Nathan Bitner, revealed in the spring 1986 issue. Bitner's creation, Fearless Photog, was never realized in the 1980s and an action figure was not produced until the Masters of the Universe Classics collector's toy line in 2012.

Daily Masters of the Universe comic strips were also in newspaper syndication from 1985 until 1989. The strips were primarily written by Chris Weber and edited by Karen Willson, with distribution in the U.S. and worldwide in countries such as Brazil, India, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. The newspaper strips were generally lesser known to the wider fan base until 1,639 of the 1,674 daily strips were finally collected in hardcover format with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips, released by Dark Horse Books in 2017.

International publications (1983–1990)

Various comics and magazines containing Masters of the Universe–related content were also released outside the United States, in the United Kingdom, Germany, France (as Musclor et les Maîtres de l'univers), Finland, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, and several other countries in the late 1980s. One of the most notable was produced by Egmont's London Editions in the United Kingdom, which published 72 issues biweekly of their By The Power Of Grayskull...Masters Of The Universe comic magazine headed by Brian Clarke from 1986 to 1988.

Original comic-book content was created in Germany as well, first by Interpart/Condor for 18 issues from 1984 to 1987, then in Egmont's Ehapa Masters of the Universe comics for 21 issues from 1987 to 1989, with promotional content also appearing in several German Micky Maus comics from the time period. Both the German and British comics were often translated to provide content for other countries (although Italy's Più and Magic Boy magazines provided some original material, as did various South American publishers, notably Estrela and Editora Abril in Brazil). In addition, a few promotional comics and mini comics were also produced by Mattel for various European department stores, often featuring reworked versions of existing comic stories, with few exceptions.

Children's books (1983–1990)

Masters of the Universe and the Princess of Power featured in many children's books from the 1980s, with one of the main producers of these titles, Golden Books, publishing several series of hard and softcover children's books from 1983 to 1986. The first few releases of the Golden books material is more in line with the early Mattel mini comics, with the later books following the Filmation cartoon series. New elements were also introduced by Golden Books, notably the character of Goat-Man in the book Secret of the Dragon's Egg in 1985. World I.P. also produced annual Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power storybooks in the UK from 1984 until the New Adventures line in 1990. Most World I.P. storybooks would loosely follow the established Filmation continuity, although the 1984 annual edition was written in a pre-Filmation style, naming prominent characters Orko and King Randor as "Gorpo" and "King Miro", respectively. Euredif France produced several Maîtres de l'Univers volumes as well, almost all of them directly based on various episodes of Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series. Also notable in the 1980s were the various combination book, record, and cassette tape read-along adventure stories. These included many small hardcover book and cassette tapes produced by Ladybird Books out of the UK, several record and tape read-along book sets from Kid Stuff Records in the U.S., and two book and audio adventures by Mattel, packed in with a rare action-figure two-pack and with the Point Dread and Talon Fighter playset.

Games, audio plays, Power Tour, and other media (1983–1988)

Several video game adaptations of the franchise were released from 1983 through to 1987. Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man was released by Intellivision for Atari 2600 and Intellivision in 1983. Two games, Masters of the Universe: The Arcade Game and Masters of the Universe: The Super Adventure, were developed by Adventure Soft and released by U.S. Gold for Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum in 1987, although the Commodore 64 version of Masters of the Universe: The Arcade Game was retitled Masters of the Universe: The Ilearth Stone. A video game based on the 1987 live-action movie, Masters of the Universe: The Movie, was released by Gremlin Graphics for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, and ZX Spectrum also in 1987. Additionally, various Masters of the Universe board games were released throughout the 1980s, and role-playing game publisher FASA produced The Masters of the Universe Role Playing Game in 1985 with sets of die-cast miniatures created by Grenadier Models.

Throughout the 1980s, a wide array of He-Man merchandise was released, including coloring books, activity books, Panini Sticker books, toothbrush holders, costumes, bed sheets, and many other items. Several read-along audio plays were created by Kid Stuff and by Pickwick/Ladybird in the United Kingdom. Notably, a complete Masters of the Universe audio-play adventure LP record was released by Kid Stuff Records in 1983, written and produced by John Braden, with a new He-Man theme song and original voice acting.

Also notable were a series of audio plays, released on cassette tapes in Germany by Europa from 1984 to 1988, selling over 4.6 million copies. The series consisted of 37 episodes of more than 40 minutes in length, each on their own tape, with an additional 10 Princess of Power cassettes, and 3 special promotional episodes. Though presenting a distinct continuity, the audio plays would continue to add to the expanding Masters of the Universe mythos, introducing the world of Anti-Eternia, with an evil alternate universe version of He-Man.

Home video releases of Filmation's animated series were produced by RCA/Columbia on VHS and Betamax for 11 volumes with red framed box art, before switching to their Magic Window brand with The Secret of the Sword movie in 1985, for 14 additional He-Man and the Masters of the Universe volumes, 12 She-Ra: Princess of Power VHS releases and 2 LaserDiscs. Two of these tapes were turned into feature-length compilations of episodes titled "The Greatest Adventure of All", and "Skeletor's Revenge", with new animated segments featuring the Sorceress and Skeletor respectively joining the episodes together. Golden Books, Germany's Ocean and Select, and various others also released Masters of the Universe video content in the 1980s.

A Masters of the Universe "Power Tour" live stage show toured across the United States and Canada in 1987, with 19 consecutive performances at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Directed by Tony Christopher, husband-and-wife team Jack and Leslie Wadsworth portrayed He-Man and She-Ra, while Khalos Planchart and Eric Van Baars played lead villains Hordak and Skeletor, respectively. The production also featured lesser used characters such as Rio-Blast, Clamp-Champ, Snout-Spout, Rokkon, Ninjor, Blast-Attak, and songs by an original character, Songster (performed by Doug Howard).

History of the franchise: 1990s, 2000s and 2010s revivals

New Adventures and He-Man revival

The New Adventures of He-Man animated series (1990–1991)

In 1990, a couple of years after the ending of the original Masters of the Universe product line, a second He-Man animated series titled The New Adventures of He-Man was created by Jetlag Productions to promote Mattel's short-lived attempt to revive the MOTU brand with a new toy line, simply titled He-Man. The new series is radically different from the original fantasy-oriented milieu, shifting to an almost purely science-fiction setting that sees He-Man transported to the futuristic planet of Primus. He-Man (with a new, more slender appearance and sporting a ponytail; voiced by Doug Parker) leads the heroic Galactic Guardians; while Skeletor (also with a completely new look; voiced by Campbell Lane), bases himself on the mutant world of Denebria, forming an alliance with Flogg and his band of Evil Mutants, who are hellbent on conquering Primus for themselves. The series contains continuity links to the original Masters of the Universe and was intended as a continuation of the existing mythology, although some fans see it as a separate canon from the original series due to the differences in style and character portrayal.

Other than He-Man and Skeletor, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull is the only character from the original series to make regular appearances in the new series, acting as a spiritual guide to He-Man from afar. Other established characters featured in the pilot episode, "A New Beginning", include King Randor and Queen Marlena, who finally learn of the dual identity of Prince Adam and He-Man. Teela also makes a later appearance in the series in the episode "Once Upon a Time", although she bears little resemblance to her former Filmation counterpart.

Main characters introduced in this series are He-Man's new allies: the wise sage Master Sebrian, his assistant Mara, and the lead Galactic Guardians Captain Hydron and Flipshot. Other frequently appearing heroic characters include the young shepherd girl Drissi, her little brother Caz, the scientists (Alcon, Gepple, Krex, and Meldoc), the robots Gleep and UR, Grot the gardener, councilman Werban, the cyclops Meliac, and the remaining Galactic Guardians: Sagitar, Tuskador, Spinwit, and Artilla; with the final members Kayo, Vizor, and Nocturna rarely featuring in the show (although they did appear in the comics and series intro). Skeletor's allies in Flogg's band of Evil Mutants consist mainly of Flogg's incompetent second-in-command Slush-Head, Skeletor's new love interest Crita, and other mutants such as Quakke, Staghorn, B.H., Hoove, Karatti, Optik, and Lizorr.

The New Adventures of He-Man cartoon series first aired September 17, 1990, lasting 65 episodes, until the episode "The Final Invasion", which aired on December 14, 1990, and, unlike Filmation, did provide some closure to the series. The majority of the cartoon episodes were written by Jack Olesker, resulting in a somewhat tighter continuity than the prior series.

He-Man toy line (1989–1992)

The He-Man toy line, debuting in 1989, a year earlier than the animated series, featured four waves of action figures (produced in slightly smaller scale to the previous line); totaling 28 distinct figures in all, with seven vehicles, two playsets, and two accessory items. Neither The New Adventures animated series or toy line proved nearly as popular as the originals, and the line ended with little fanfare in 1992.

He-Man series was also featured in its own series of four mini comics and in a monthly comic magazine titled He-Man Adventure, which ran for about six issues, before returning to adventures on Eternia and was published by Egmont's London Editions Magazines in the UK; World I.P. also produced a New Adventures–themed annual in 1990. These publications differed somewhat from the animated series with the addition of the character Darius (who did not appear in the cartoon series) in a major role as leader of the Galactic Council; the transition of the "Power of Castle Grayskull" into the Starship Eternia; and several of the figures sporting alternate names in some media and toy-line releases, such as Flipshot as Icarius, Flogg as Brakk, and Slush-Head as Kalamarr.

He-Man on hiatus: Proposed series, commemorative releases and other media (1993–2001)

The Masters of the Universe franchise would not produce any new media for almost a decade, although at least two new series were proposed. Both were to feature alternate versions of He-Ro (now as the son of He-Man), as a sequels to the original animated series. One of which was pitched by Lou Scheimer to DIC Entertainment in 1996, but remained unproduced.

During this hiatus, Masters of the Universe also began a following on the early days of the internet, with sites developed by Kevin Herbert (one of the first), Adam Tyner (with the Scrolls of Grayskull newsletter), Busta-Toons (with focus on the Filmation animated series), and many others; eventually ending up with the expansive He-Man.org site being created. Various popular internet memes were also created, with Masters of the Universe being reviewed by popular YouTube channels and parodies such as Unemployed Skeletor or Wil Wheaton's "Skeletor Reads Angry Tweets" segment. Masters of the Universe would also appear many times on the Adult Swim stop-motion comedy series Robot Chicken (which introduced a comedic character named Mo-Larr). Both He-Man and Skeletor remained in pop culture, and were mentioned on the long-running animated series The Simpsons on a few occasions.

In 2000, however, Mattel did act on the growing nostalgia for the 1980s action figures by rereleasing replicas of many of the figures, under the banner of the Masters of the Universe Commemorative line. BCI Eclipse LLC (and later Mill Creek Entertainment) would expand on this, later releasing all episodes of the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe on DVD in Region 1 in 2005/2006; followed by She-Ra: Princess of Power and JetLag's New Adventures of He-Man series. Each volume contained an extensive array of special features, including original documentaries produced for the DVD set that featured interviews from many series creators and writers such as Lou Scheimer, Larry DiTillio, Paul Dini, and others. On April 25, 2022, the complete series was released for the first time on DVD in the UK by Fabulous Films.

Early 2000s Masters of the Universe franchise relaunch

Masters of the Universe 200X toy lines (2002–2007)

In 2002, Mattel relaunched Masters of the Universe with a new toy line featuring sculpts designed by Four Horsemen Studios, to be followed by a new animated series (both later referred to as Masters of the Universe '200X'). The new toy line was made surprisingly faithful to the original line, with the characters gently "reimagined" and updated in terms of sculpting detail rather than radically reinterpreted. Sixty action figures were released in all, with 10 creature figures, seven vehicles, and three playsets (eight smaller-scale figures were also produced in a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion).

One point of contention for many fans of the original Masters toy line was the redesign of He-Man's Power Sword. According to Four Horsemen, this was due to their original re-sculpts being intended for a continuation of the original storyline in which Skeletor had obtained both halves of the Power Sword (hence the new Skeletor figure's dual blades with clear "good" and "evil" hilt designs), necessitating a new sword to be built by Man-At-Arms and endowed with the properties of the original by the Sorceress. However, Mattel decided to reboot the continuity for a new generation of children, and thus the "new" Power Sword design became the "original" version for the new continuity. Another issue was the overreliance on releasing alternate versions of He-Man (13 in total), Skeletor (10), Man-At-Arms (5), and a few other main characters, rather than further classic, reimagined, and original characters from the accompanying animated series (such as Randor, The Sorceress, Clawful, or Chief Carnivus, to name a few); making many of the non-He-Man or Skeletor figures hard to come by for both collectors and children. These factors likely contributed to the cancelation of the line in 2004 and ultimately not achieving the success of its 1980s counterpart.

The line's faithfulness to the original series made it very popular with collectors, however, suggesting it would have been better served as a collector-based line, akin to DC Direct. This theory was borne out in the wake of the discontinuation of the mass-market toy line, with NECA taking the rather unprecedented step of continuing the toy line through action-figure-size mini-statues scaled and sculpted to be aesthetically compatible for display alongside the Mattel toys. NECA would produce 22 "staction figures" in total, allowing fans to fill in their collections with other Four Horsemen redesigned characters that had yet to be produced as figures when the toy line was canceled. According to a December 8, 2005, interview with a Mattel representative on he-man.org, NECA offered to produce fully articulated action figures for Mattel without taking any credit, but permission was denied. Instead, NECA was only permitted to produce non-articulated statues, which they did from 2005 to 2007.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – 2002 animated series (2002–2004)

A new animated series was produced to accompany the toy line, made by Mike Young Productions and lasting for 39 episodes, with the series making its premiere on Cartoon Network's Toonami on August 16, 2002, and airing its final episode on January 10, 2004. This series involved much tighter continuity and a somewhat greater depth of characterization than its Filmation predecessor. A similar but slightly modified premise to the original Filmation series, this version of He-Man (voiced by Cam Clarke, with Prince Adam portrayed as physically younger and smaller than He-Man) was part of an ensemble of Eternian heroes/protectors known officially as "The Masters of the Universe". Under the leadership of Man-At-Arms (voiced by Garry Chalk), this team originally consisted of He-Man/Adam (with his pet Cringer/Battle Cat, no longer able to speak), Teela, Orko, Stratos, Ram-Man, Mekaneck, and Man-E-Faces, and later joined by Buzz-Off, Roboto, and Sy-Klone. King Randor was now a general (rather than king, from an Eternian royal lineage), pronounced ruler of Eternia by the Elders of the Hall of Wisdom, which have gone into hiding inside the depths of Castle Grayskull. Skeletor (voiced by Brian Dobson), now confirmed as Randor's brother Keldor, finally breaks through the great barrier wall (after decades of trying) and attacks The Masters with his evil forces, mainly consisting of Evil-Lynn, Beast-Man, Mer-Man, Trap-Jaw (now a cybernetically repaired henchman, formerly known as Kronis), Tri-Klops (now an inventor/scientist, somewhat akin to an evil Man-At-Arms), Claw-ful (now a very large and extremely dim-witted thug), and Whiplash (now also of larger size and of the subterranean Caligar race). Backstories of occasional characters such as Fisto, Moss-Man, Webstor, Zodak (regarded a different character as opposed to the earlier Zodac), Two-Bad (portrayed as two bounty hunters known as Tuvar and Baddhra, magically combined into one being by Skeletor's magic), and Stinkor (finally making an appearance in cartoon continuity as the mutated form of Odiphus) are all expanded upon. On-and-off villains Count Marzo and Evilseed return, while new characters such as Dekker, Carnivus, Ceratus, Lord Dactys, Prahvus, the Faceless One, and the giants Chadzar, Belzar, and Azdar are also introduced in this series.

The series was originally title He-Man and the Masters of the Universe like the original 1983 series, being retitled Masters of the Universe vs. the Snake-Men towards the end of the first season, in addition sidelining Skeletor as chief villain in favor of King Hiss, leader of the reptilian Snake Men (Kobra-Kahn, General Rattlor, Tung-Lashor, Snake-Face, and Sssqueeze), with He-Man and many of the characters now bearing a new "Snake-Armor" look. He-Man's ancestor King Grayskull and his Sorceress wife Veena also debuted in this season against his nemesis Hordak (now an ancient sorcerer). Hordak and the Evil Horde were to be the main antagonists for the third season if the show had continued, but it was not renewed. The 40th and final episode was produced as a comic-book "special feature" on the last DVD set of the series, which was part of a three-volume release, originally by BCI Eclipse in 2008 (and later in a collected release by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2009 and 2012).

Masters of the Universe 200X comics (2002–2005)

From 2002 to 2005, Image Comics and MVCreations published several series of comics and one-shots that mirrored tales of Masters of the Universe; the comic series elaborated and added to the mythos by introducing characters that never appeared in the 39 episodes of the television series. The first issues were seen in the summer of 2002 in the form of special promotional/preview issues, with three miniseries continuing on after: "The Shards of Darkness" in fall 2002, followed by "Dark Reflections" and "Rise of the Snake Men" in 2003. After delving into the backstories of Skeletor's henchmen Beast-Man, Mer-Man, Trap-Jaw, and Tri-Klops in a four-issue "Icons of Evil" series, a short-lived ongoing series, solely produced by MVC, continued on for eight issues in 2004. Along with these, a handful of special or "pack-in" one-shots and trade paperback collected volumes were also produced.

MOTU 200X video games (2002–2005)

A video game based on the '200X' Masters of the Universe series, titled He-Man: Power of Grayskull, was developed by Taniko and published by TDK Mediactive in October 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, which also featured an introductory mini comic. A follow-up developed by Savage Entertainment and published by Midas Interactive Entertainment, He-Man: Defender of Grayskull, was released for PlayStation 2 in February 2005.

Collectors' toy lines and comics (2008–2020)

Masters of the Universe Classics toy line (2008–2016)

In 2007, a new incarnation of Masters of the Universe was announced, with the first action figure, King Grayskull, released at San Diego Comic-Con in 2008. Originally conceived as an extension of the 200X toy line, this new Classics line was aimed primarily at the adult toy collector market with a 7″ scale, and were often available only through subscriptions (from MattyCollector).

Updated versions of previous figures were sculpted by the Four Horsemen, as well as characters that had never before appeared in action figure form, such as Filmation's Queen Marlena, Fang-Man, Lizard-Man, Count Marzo, Granamyr, and She-Ra: Princess of Power's Adora, Madame Razz, Scorpia, Shadow Weaver and Sea Hawk. The New Adventures of He-Man' and the Mike Young Productions 200X series also received previously un-produced figures such as Mara, Crita, Chief Carnivus, Keldor and Dekker.

As the line progressed, characters from all versions of MOTU lore were included, from prototypes, concept and box art such as He-Ro, Eldor, Demo-Man, Gygor and Sky High to characters from books, comics, and magazines like Despara, Strobo, Goat-Man, Geldor and the long-awaited Fearless Photog. There were also newly created characters, exclusive to the Classics toy line, such as Draego-Man, Cy-Chop, Castle Grayskullman, Sir Laser-Lot and the Mighty Spector. Figures were also released in two-packs with corresponding Superheroes and villains from the DC Comics Universe.

Masters of the Universe Classics surpassed the original 1980s toy line in terms of length, running continuously for seven years with more than 150 different figures produced. In 2016, Mattel ended production on the MOTU Classics and MattyCollector's Club Grayskull series, with the production company Super7 taking over the Masters of the Universe license and the remainder of the Classics series.

MOTU Classics mini-comics (2012–2015)

Starting in 2012, Dark Horse Comics produced three mini-comics included in Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line of toys. The Dark Horse mini-comics begin a new story set in the "Classics" timeline, but based on the "The Powers of Grayskull The Legend Begins" mini-comic from the 1980s, re-telling and completing the previously unfinished three part saga. Writer Tim Seeley stated that these comics were intended to blend the different He-Man continuities and select the best stories and ideas from MOTU history.

DC Comics took over the Masters of the Universe Classics mini-comics from Dark Horse in 2013, publishing five more mini comics, with stories from Scott Neitlich (artwork by Wellinton Alves and Axel Giménez). These mini-comics provide a sequel to the 1986 mini-comic, "The Search for Keldor", proceed to join into the New Adventures of He-Man continuity, and bring in Dare (aka He-Ro II), from the proposed, but unmade "Son of He-Man" concept from the 1990s.

Super7 toy line continuation (2016–2020)

Super7 produced several 3¾" figures (in the style of the classic Kenner Star Wars action figures) and figures in the style of the M.U.S.C.L.E./Kinkeshi figures. Super7's releases included figures from their animation special The Curse of the Three Terrors, followed by the 7"-scale Masters of the Universe "Ultimates" line (while also providing a continuation of the prior Classics and Club Grayskull toy lines). Super7 also produced retro figures in the very similar form to the original 1980s toy line in 5½-inch scale; which included many 'Filmation' styled versions of the vintage figures (along with unreleased figures such as He-Ro and Eldor). Super7's final addition to the MOTU Classics toyline was a 'made to order' exclusive Snake Mountain playset in 2020.

Return to DC Comics (2012–2020)

A Masters of the Universe comic book series was relaunched by DC Comics in 2012, aimed at an older more mature audience than prior iterations of the franchise. First appearing as a series of digital comics, followed by a six-issue mini-series, as well as one-shot origin issues for He-Man, Skeletor and Hordak. After a crossover mini-series with superheroes from the DC Comics universe in 2013, an ongoing series ran for 19 issues through 2014, before being replaced by the "He-Man: The Eternity War" 15-issue series in 2015/2016. These issues brought forth a new backstory for She-Ra (as Despara), delved deeper into Skeletor's past and moved the storyline further along than previous entries, with Adam/He-Man succeeding his father on the Eternian throne, and Teela as the new guardian of Castle Grayskull.

DC and Mattel later produced He-Man/ThunderCats, a crossover with another heroic 1980s action figure line, ThunderCats, for six issues in 2016–2017, which also included crossover action-figures within the Masters of the Universe Origins line. A six-part crossover series with DC Comics' Injustice was released in 2018, with the final MOTU DC property, "He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse" from November 2019 until May 2020, both written by Tim Seeley. This final series used elements from multiple sources in MOTU lore, including more obscure references such as the Tappers of Grayskull game app and Anti-Eternia He-Man from the German Europa audio cassettes from the 1980s.

She-Ra returns – She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018–2020)

On December 12, 2017, DreamWorks Animation SKG and Netflix announced a new reboot series based on She-Ra Princess of Power series from the 1980s. The series was executive produced by award-winning author, ND Stevenson (creator of Nimona and Lumberjanes). The series' first season of thirteen episodes was released on Netflix November 13, 2018.<r She-Ra Retake Comics |website=hemanworld.com |author=Atkin, John|date=December 17, 2014 |access-date=July 9, 2026}}ef name="IGN">Alex Gilyadov (May 18, 2018). "First Look at Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power". IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2018.</ref> The DreamWorks series features a new animation style and alternate backstories for many of the characters, many of whom are presented as younger in age and with a more diverse makeup than in the previous 1980s Filmation series. Adora/She-Ra is again presented as a former member of the Horde, befriended by re-imagined versions of Glimmer and Bow (with new voice actors Aimee Carrero, Karen Fukuhara and Marcus Scribner, respectively). Under the direction of Glimmer's mother Queen Angella of Bright Moon, the three embark upon re-uniting the Princesses of Etheria, which include Perfuma, Mermista, Entrapta and Frosta, each with re-imagined characters as well. Also appearing in the series are Swift Wind (without the alter ego of Spirit and with a completely different take on the character's personality), Light Hope (as a female hologram generated by the "First Ones"), Sea Hawk (now presented as a more comical glory-seeking associate of Mermista), Castaspella (as the sister of Angella's husband King Micah), Madame Razz (as an older and confused forest dweller with knowledge of Mara, a prior "She-Ra"), Netossa and Spinnerella.

The evil Horde returns as the villainous overlords of Etheria, and although Hordak remains leader of the Horde, Catra is often presented as the primary antagonist (now voiced by AJ Michalka), with a much stronger relationship established between her and Adora. Shadow Weaver (Lorraine Toussaint) and Scorpia (Lauren Ash) also play prominent roles within the series, and cadets Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle are introduced (possibly inspired by previous Filmation characters). Overarching galactic villain Horde Prime and a re-imagined shape-shifting Double Trouble enter the series in later seasons, and other previously established villains appearing in lesser roles are Admiral Scurvy, Tung Lashor, Grizzlor, Imp and Octavia. Although no longer directly linked to He-Man or the Masters of the Universe, Eternia, Castle Grayskull and Adora's kidnapping as a child are referenced.

Season two of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was released on Netflix on April 26, 2019, with a shorter seven-episode run; soon followed by season three, on August 2, and season 4, on November 4 of that same year. While firmly establishing a new continuity, these seasons make further connections to previously established lore and characters, and include Geena Davis voicing the role of Huntara in season three. The series aired its fifth and final season on May 15, 2020. Several dolls, chapter books and graphic novels were also released in relation to this series in 2019 and 2020.

Current and other recent Masters of the Universe properties

Netflix animated series (2021–2024)

Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Revolution (2021–2024)

In August 2019, Kevin Smith announced at the 2019 Power Con that he and Netflix were developing a new series titled Masters of the Universe: Revelation that was proposed to be a direct sequel to the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series.

On February 14, 2020, the full voice cast was confirmed, which included Mark Hamill providing the voice for Skeletor, Chris Wood voicing Prince Adam and He-Man, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, and Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn. The series features many characters never before seen in animated form, such as Scareglow, Blast-Attak, Andra and He-Ro; incorporating a wide range of Masters of the Universe lore over its long history and varied incarnations.

The first 5 episodes made its debut on Netflix on July 23, 2021, with the remaining 5 releasing on November 23, 2021. A third season titled Masters of the Universe: Revolution premiered on Netflix in January 2024, concluding the series after 5 additional episodes.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – 2021 CGI revival

In December 2019, it was announced that Netflix would be developing a new Masters of the Universe series using CGI animation. Rob David developed the series, producing it alongside Adam Bonnett, Christopher Keenan, Jeff Matsuda and Susan Corbin, while Bryan Q. Miller served as the story editor on the series. Animation services were provided by House of Cool and CGCG Inc.

Aimed at a younger audience, the series featured an updated storyline and a new stylized take on the characters and the world of Eternia. It ran for three seasons with 26 episodes from September 2021 to August 2022, and was accompanied by a toyline from Mattel.

2026 live-action reboot film and web series

Masters of the Universe 2026 film

A second live-action film based on the Masters of the Universe franchise was released on June 5, 2026 and directed by Travis Knight for Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films. The film depicts a ten-year-old Prince Adam sent to his mother's home planet of Earth and separated from his Power Sword. Once the sword is retrieved, Adam returns to Eternia two decades later to become He-Man, and team-up with his friends and allies against the evil forces of Skeletor.

Nicholas Galitzine stars as He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms, and Jared Leto as Skeletor. Though praised by many fans and critics, the box office for the theatrical release proved to be disappointing, however the film reached the top spot globally on the Amazon Prime streaming service shortly after its' release to the platform on July 22, 2026.

Proposed films and development hell (2007–2023)

Since 2007, a reboot of Masters of the Universe had been in the works but went through development hell with various studios, directors and writers connected to the project. Originally Variety reported in 2007 that Grayskull: Masters of the Universe would be produced by Joel Silver, and written by Justin Marks, and employing visual special effects to a large degree, as was done with the 2007 war film 300. Warner Bros. announced in 2009 that John Stevenson, was slated to direct the upcoming feature with scripting duties by Evan Daugherty. In September 2009, Sony took over the rights from Warner Bros. after Mattel and Silver couldn't agree on creative direction for the film.

Sony and Escape Artists' Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch were now developing the project for Columbia, with screenwriters Mike Finch and Alex Litvak to draft a new script and Jon M. Chu was in talks to direct the film, but would later drop out. Other writers such as Richard Wenk, Terry Rossio, Christopher Yost and Jeff Wadlow were all mentioned as being in talks to write or rewrite the film for Sony. In 2016, it was reported that McG would direct the film and also oversee a rewrite of the latest script by Alex Litvak and Mike Finch. On June 24, 2016, Kellan Lutz tweeted on his Twitter page that he had a meeting with both McG and Mary Viola about taking the role of He-Man. McG commented on the film saying, "I think we want to honor the fan base, first and foremost, We also need to be cognizant of the incredible resonance of what Kevin Feige is doing with Marvel, and the balance of full-bodied entertainment. That it's both credible and emotional, action-packed, and the story of a hero's journey. It's the genesis of He-Man, it's the becoming of He-Man. We want it to be clicking on all cylinders in that regard. We're not going to stop until we get it right." On April 26, 2017, Sony confirmed that the film would finally be released on December 18, 2019. However, after the anncouncement, McG was no longer directing the film and it was reported that David S. Goyer had been brought in to write and direct, however, in 2018 he too stepped away.

In April 2018, another Variety report stated that Aaron and Adam Nee were set to direct the film, and in 2019 it was reported that Art Marcum and Matt Holloway would rewrite a new draft. Also in 2019, Noah Centineo stated that he was in talks to play He-Man and Sony announced that the film's release date was changed to March 5, 2021. Though by 2021, the film was taken off the release schedule and Centineo had exited the project.

On January 28, 2022, it was announced that Netflix had officially acquired the film from Sony and that Kyle Allen would now play He-Man. It was also revealed that David Callaham had written a new draft of the screenplay along with the Nee Brothers, while production was set to begin in 2023. On July 18, 2023, it was announced that Netflix has canceled the film and Mattel was looking for a new studio to buy the project. By the end of 2023, Amazon MGM Studios had officially acquired the rights to the film.

Masters of the Universe: Tales From Eternia – 2026 web series

On June 19, 2026, the 2D animated web series Masters of the Universe: Tales From Eternia was released on YouTube. The series of 20 short four minute episodes was produced by Mattel Studios in partnership with Snipple Animation.

Future and proposed properties

Proposed live-action She-Ra television series

On September 13, 2021, Amazon announced that a live-action She-Ra series is in development with DreamWorks Animation serving as an executive producer. The series will be a new, standalone story with no connections with Netflix's original animated series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. It was announced that Nicole Kassell will direct the series and Heidi Schreck will serve as both a writer and executive producer.

Current Masters of the Universe toy lines

Masters of the Universe Chronicles and Core series (2026–present)

In conjunction with the 2026 live action movie, Mattel began producing action figures, vehicles and playsets in various scales for the film: Masters of the Universe Chronicles in a larger 1/12 6.5" scale, and the "Core" series in a 5" scale (slightly smaller in overall size than the traditional 5.5" Origins line, but with more detail).

Masters of the Universe Masterverse (2021–present)

Serving as a successor to the Masters of the Universe Classics line in the 7" scale, and in conjunction with the Masters of the Universe Revelation Netflix series, this line of premium Masters of the Universe Masterverse action figures debuted in 2021 and continues to be produced by Mattel, showcasing various incarnations of the series as well as a New Eternia line.

Masters of the Universe Origins (2019–present)

Mattel began producing Masters of the Universe action figures once again, debuting the Origins line at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 with a Prince Adam and He-Man two-pack. The figures in the vintage 5.5" scale, but with more articulation, were designed to aspire to both adult collectors and children, with a retail release across the globe in 2020. The look of the playsets, vehicles and figures, along with the packaging is presented in the style of the original line from the 1980s and include all new mini-comics. The main line of Origins include 1980s Filmation cartoon inspired action figures, figures from the 200X animated series, the 2026 live-action movie, as well as figures based on concept art and entirely new creations. Mattel has also released an action figure crossover line combining Origins with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, titled Turtles of Grayskull, as well as crossovers with ThunderCats, Transformers, WWE, Stranger Things and Rulers of the Sun.

Masters of the Universe Minis and other modern toylines (2013–present)

Along with the MOTU Classics series, MOTU Minis and Giants figures were produced from 2013 to 2015. Mattel would bring back the Minis line in 2020 with several waves of figures, multipacks and vehicles. Mega Construx would release Masters of the Universe themed building block figures and toys, beginning in 2017, including a Castle Grayskull set. Funko Pop has also produced Masters of the Universe themed characters since 2018, and highly detailed 1/6 and 1/12 scale figures have been released by Mondo since 2019. A Barbie Signature series of Masters of the Universe dolls was released by Mattel in conjunction with the 2026 live action movie.

Current MOTU comics, books, games and other recent media

Dark Horse comics (2021–present)

Dark Horse Comics released a prequel comic series to the Masters of the Universe Revelation animated series on Netflix, in 2021, as well as a follow-up miniseries for the animated sequel Masters of the Universe Revolution in 2024. Dark Horse continues to produce Masters of the Universe comics with an ongoing series, a tie-in mini-series related to the 2026 movie and a crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, titled 'Turtles of Grayskull'.

Books, Manga and magazines (2015–present)

Dark Horse Books continues to produce various hardcover anthology books with collaborative efforts from Val Staples, James Eatock, Josh de Lioncourt, Danielle Gelehrter, Eric Marshall, Jukka Issakainen, David Clark, Aidan Cross, Leanne Hannah and others. Volumes include the "Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection," "He-Man and She-Ra: A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures," "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips", "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: A Character Guide and World Compendium." and "The Toys of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". Hardcover books featuring more recent Masters of the Universe properties have also been produced for the Masterverse and Origins toy lines, Netflix's 2021 CGI animated series, the Revelation and Revolution series, as well as the 2026 movie.

Since 2019, Golden Books has produced He-Man, She-Ra and Skeletor themed children's books in their Little Golden Books series, and Scholastic has published graphic novels and chapter books for both She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and the 2021 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe CGI series. The 2021 CGI series also featured 'Tales of Eternia' books published by Amulet Books. In 2026 Mattel Press released the first Masters of the Universe young adult novel entitled "Teela: Daughter of Eternos", as well as children's books also related to the 2026 film.

TokyoPop is also producing a 'Legends of Eternia' Manga-style tie-in prequel series to the 2026 Masters of the Universe movie.

Video games (2012–present)

Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, several new video games based on the franchise were released. An Android and iOS game, He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe, was developed by GlitchSoft and published by Chillingo and Mattel in late 2012; later followed by 2016's He-Man Tappers of Grayskull by Animoca Brands for the same platforms (which also includes an updated She-Ra's Adventure version). That same year, Mattel published a Frima Studio developed game for its View-Master virtual reality headset for mobile devices. In 2025, two mobile games inspired by Revelation soft-launched: Gambit Games' card battler Battle for Eternia and Antler Interactive's horde survivor Guardians of Grayskull. On June 2, 2026, Mattel and Amber debuted the endless runner Skeletor: Until Next Time. Inspired by the new film, Amazon Game Studios and Bandit Island Games released the Legends Unite deck-building game for Amazon Luna on June 9, 2026.

On April 26, 2022, Mattel and Gamefam released a Roblox game titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: You have the Power (later renamed Combat Simulator) to promote the then ongoing Netflix series. Mattel and Loot Foundry similarly debuted the He-Man Heroes game through Fortnite Creative in August 2025. The franchise has had official collaborative appearances in Bloons Tower Defense 6, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Fortnite, Funko Fusion, Hot Wheels Unleashed, Jetpack Joyride, Raid: Shadow Legends, Stumble Guys and Toy Soldiers: War Chest.

On August 19, 2025 Limited Run Games and Bitmap Bureau announced the side-scrolling beat 'em up He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. The game is set for release during the summer of 2026.

Other MOTU media (2017–present)

Masters of the Universe was featured in the third episode of the first season of the Netflix series The Toys That Made Us in 2017 and in 2018 with the release of the Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe documentary, also on Netflix.