When I learned that Netflix was bringing back the animated show masters of the universe and that Kevin Smith, professional ‘fanboy’ and pop culture icon, was the series showrunner, I was hyped. Being one of many who grew up in the early eighties, I was a huge fan of the show. I had all the action figures and toy play sets. If there was anything that sparked my initial love of sword and sorcery, and all things fantasy, then it can be traced back to the original master of the universe series. That and the hours I spent on my bedroom floor fighting the forces of evil with my toy battle cat or laying siege to Castle Greyskull with Skeletor and his army of mutants. The show was really a long, elaborate advert for the toy line. A toy line that featured muscle-bound mutants with large swords and hammers and laser pistols. It was a  perfect mix of fantasy and science fiction, featuring a testosterone-fueled hero battling his skull-faced nemesis for control of the fantasy realm Eternia. The show’s catchphrase was “I have the power ” Which had the protagonist prince Adam transforming into the muscle-bound warrior He-man. I am not sure what was in the water in the 80s. But big, strong men were all the range in this decade. Hollywood’s two biggest stars were Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were both known for their imposing physique and high-octane action movies than their Thespian abilities.

I also have fond memories of the cheesy live-action movie starring Dolph Lungren and Courtney Cox. It was a fun movie about He-man using a space portal to come to our world and foil an invasion by Skelator and his armies. I was disappointed that the movie was not set entirely in the fantasy realm Eternia. The scenes and production design were awesome. I know that the studio financing the film suffered severe money problems and consequently went bust after the release of this film. It was a fun fish-out-of-water fantasy adventure that was typical in the 1980s. Safe to say then That I consider myself a fan of the series. There was also talk of a big-budget adaptation in the early 2000s to be directed by action director John Woo, but it sadly never came to pass.

While we have seen a revival of fantasy in the wake of the Game of Thrones series and popular game series like Elder Scrolls and dark souls. There has even been a revival in the dungeon and dragons board game, largely thanks to Netflix’s other show, Stranger things. There is still a distinct lack of sword and sorcery content being produced today for a new generation of viewers.

So as a father of young children, I was glad they brought this show back. I wanted to know if this show would cater to a new generation or the fanboys stuck in arrested development. Could Netflix deliver a series that was appealing to viewers? To address the first question, Netflix announced that it was producing two shows, one for young adults and one for younger children.  The main show is traditional 2D animation and the children’s show is a 3D animation.

The show was produced by the same studio that created Netflix’s successful Castlevania series. It had a number of big names doing the voice talent. Sarah Michelle Geller was playing Teela , Mark Hamill was playing Skelator and Lena Headey was playing Evil Lynn. Vampire Diaries actor Chris wood was cast as the voice of He-man. I waited until I watched parts of the first series before giving my humble opinion, as Netflix split it into two parts on the streaming service months apart.

The big elephant in the room was the showrunner’s decision to focus the main story on Prince Adams’s friend and bodyguard Teela. He-man and Skelator don’t feature much in the first part of the series, which led to criticism by online fans that Netflix delivered a He-man show with no He-man in it. While he does appear more with his arch nemesis in part two of the series, the show does focus mainly on the female characters of Teela , her friend Andra and the villainous evil Lynn.

The story begins with an all-out invasion against castle Greyskull where Skelator destroys a magic orb and causes a huge explosion that threatens to destroy all reality. He-man intervenes and sacrifices himself using his sword of power as a conduit, causing it to split in two and killing him and his sage old foe in the process.

Teela and Andra are then tasked with filling the void in He-man’s place by restoring the missing shards of the broken sword from the realms they were forged in. Now, bearing in mind that I was a toddler when I watched the original show, which does not hold up to scrutiny through adult eyes. The story is actually pretty solid. I enjoyed it a lot, and the animation was bright and colorful. It’s action-packed and introduces many of the mutant enemies from the toy line.

Masters of the universe was never meant to be high-brow entertainment. It was a fun kids cartoon that was marketing their toy-line to their target audiance. The new show is a nostalgia feast for fans who grew up on the original show. The animation is way more sophisticated than the 80s cartoon which reused the same animation loops over and over for each episode. As a small child I didnt notice the cheap production shortcuts mattel used back then. i just saw a huge man with a sword ,riding on top a giant green tiger.It was cool and the new series a love letter to that childish nostalgia. Its storylines are more grown up borrowing inspiration from Jack Vances Dying earth and R.E Howard conan stories.

Yes, there is a distinct lack of He-man in the first half which is irksome considering he was traditionally the main character in the original show. But for a story based on a largely forgotton toy line  , the story is engaging and calls back to the classic Saturday morning cartoons i grew up on.

I was surprised they decided to focus the story on the female characters since Netlfix’s sister show She-Ra came and went without much fanfare. Are little girls the demographic Netlfix wants to target with masters of the universe? If so then it seems a bizarre strategy for a show about muscle-bound heroes fighting with swords and magic.

I am not sure what generation Z makes of this. I am not sure if it’s relevant to them, since none of them were born when the original toy line or show existed. I think it might have been better just to go all-out adult animation like Castlevania and do a show for the middle-aged fanboys. I guess Mattel still had their hopes of reviving the toy line. Anyway,  I still thought the series was fun. I enjoyed watching it on the weekends early morning. Now all the need to do is bring back Scooby doo and I can relieve my Saturday morning matinées with my own kids.