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Welcome to the eighth installment of Nostalgia Snake, a look at 2000s revivals of 1980s properties, revivals now so old they’re also quite nostalgic. (Hence the snake of nostalgia eating itself.) This week, the first return of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cast after years out of the spotlight. And if you have any suggestions for the future, let me hear them. Just contact me on Twitter.
Masters of the Universe has its origins in toy company Mattel’s attempts at creating a sword and sorcery-themed line in the early 1980s. While it’s not entirely true that Masters began as a canceled Conan the Barbarian line, there is a Conan influence in the franchise, but it’s mingled with a heavy dose of Star Wars as well. The core of the story involves He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Adam) fighting the villainous Skeletor on the planet Eternia, a land that blends medieval sword and sorcery with sci-fi technology. The heroic and nefarious supporting cast members might make up the titular “Masters of the Universe,” but that depends on who you ask.
Mattel recognized Masters’ value as a multi-media franchise early on, creating an animated television series to promote the series, in addition to comic books, a glossy magazine, a daily newspaper comic strip, video games, and even a live-action film in 1987. Masters of the Universe’s connection to comics goes back to the very beginning. The original action figures were packaged with minicomics, initially written by Don Glut and illustrated by the legendary Alfredo P. Alcala. The format more closely resembled a storybook than a comic, with images positioned above blocks of text.
These earliest stories established He-Man as a wandering barbarian in what remained of Eternia, following a series of devastating wars. A dimensional rift opened during the conflicts, allowing the evil warlord Skeletor to enter Eternia. The villain targets the mystic Castle Grayskull, and a beautiful woman known only as the Sorceress grants He-Man special abilities and weapons to defeat Skeletor.
The next wave of toys featuring a new series of mini-comics, this time produced by DC Comics. The format shifted to resemble a traditional comic, with word balloons and narrative captions. The lore established by Glut was largely ignored, with He-Man no longer a wandering barbarian, but instead a prince residing at the Royal Palace. In spite of this, Glut would, years later, sue Mattel over copyright ownership of the minicomics cast.
Now, He-Man is joined by weapons master Man-At-Arms, established now as the adoptive father to the lone female hero of the line, Teela. (In some of the earlier continuity, Teela and the Sorceress are essentially the same character.) These stories establish that the swords carried by He-Man and Skeletor combined form a key to Castle Grayskull. Skeletor’s motivation now shifts to acquiring He-Man’s sword at all costs. Many of these elements were carried over into the syndicated Masters of the Universe cartoon, the most visible incarnation of the property.
DC’s relationship with Mattel continued into 1982, as He-Man made his first appearance in a traditional comics format in DC Comics Presents #47. The story had He-Man teaming up with no less than Superman himself, written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by iconic Superman artist Curt Swan. Any issues about Metropolis and Eternia co-existing are dismissed by having Superman travel to another dimension in the opening pages to help He-Man face Skeletor and his stooge Beast Man, who have (of course) targeted Castle Grayskull.
Other DC entries in the Masters canon include a Masters of the Universe insert called “Fate is the Killer”, which appeared throughout the DC Comics line in the November 1982 issues. The following month, a three-issue Masters of the Universe limited series debuted, written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by George Tuska.
Even though DC was pivotal in establishing the franchise’s lore, the publisher wasn’t considered the preeminent source of licensed comics in the 1980s. This distinction belonged to Marvel Comics, which created sales juggernauts of the G. I. Joe and Transformers properties owned by Mattel’s rival, Hasbro. Under their Star Comics imprint, Marvel published 13 issues of Masters of the Universe in 1986 and 1987, chiefly created by writer Mike Carlin and penciler Ron Wilson. The Marvel adaptation of the live-action film is viewed by some as a superior take on the story, featuring an alternate ending. Due to some odd legalities, toy versions of the film characters like Karg have technically been based on their appearance in this comics adaptation, and not their exact likenesses in the movie.
Masters of the Universe had little life in comics following 1987, as the line crashed in popularity and an attempted revival in 1989 didn’t go very far. In the meantime, a cult following for Masters continued to build, aided by the fansite He-man.org. The site’s creator, Val Staples, followed the path of G. I. Joe fan Josh Blaylock and pursued the publishing rights to a Masters comic. By 2001, fan interest in revived 1980s properties was intense, as evidenced by the success of Blaylock/Devil Due’s rebooted G. I. Joe comic.
Staples produced the comics with his studio MVCreations, which also consisted of future Spawn artist Jonboy Meyers and future The Walking Dead and Invincible writer Robert Kirkman. The revived Masters of the Universe would be published as a series of miniseries through Image, but not as a continuation of the Filmation cartoon, or any of the previous comics.
By 2002, Mattel was invested in a revamp of the Masters property, and this included a new animated series. The 2002 version is usually referred to by fans as the Mike Young Productions show, referencing the show’s animation studio. The series ran on Cartoon Network’s Toonami programming block between 2002 and 2004. While not a direct sequel to the original cartoon, the show did seek to return to the roots of the mythos. Many of the original series writers returned, such as Larry DiTillio, but with the intent of creating a more serious show that respected the lore. (Old school Filmation writers J. Michael Straczynski and Paul Dini were missing, unfortunately.) The character models were based on the revamped toy line, which featured updated designs by the Four Horsemen, a group of designers who’d earned a name for themselves at McFarlane Toys.
MVCreations didn’t have permission to use the 1980s versions of the characters, as Mattel wanted another promotional vehicle for the new line, but their series was crafted with a love for classic Masters of the Universe. In addition to featuring a variant cover from J. Scott Campbell (a fan of several 1980s toy properties), the first issue also had a variant from painter Earl Norem. Norem was one of several illustrators to work on the original line’s merchandising, and his paintings are viewed as classics.
Joined by artist Emiliano Santalucia, writer Val Staples created the first miniseries of the revamp, “The Shard of Darkness.” The creative team opens the first issue with a dramatic image of Snake Mountain, far more menacing than it ever appeared on the Filmation series.
Skeletor is delivering a villainous monologue, again declaring his desire for the secrets of Castle Grayskull. He laments that the Shakarran Crystal, the source of his magic powers (and a new invention in this continuity) has been sucked dry of its energy. His alleged aide, Evil-Lyn, watches the events with amusement, aware there’s more potential in the Crystal than Skeletor realizes.
The scene shifts to the palace, establishing the cast of Prince Adam, Man-At-Arms, and the incompetent house magician, Orko. The revamped series is following an idea from the Filmation show (which it later contradicted), that Orko’s homeworld Trolla operated with natural laws that were incompatible with Eternia’s, forcing his magic to malfunction. Orko comes across a crystal sliver that strongly resembles a piece of the Shakarran Crystal, and finds his magic greatly amplified.
Wary of Orko’s new powers, Man-At-Arms convinces Orko and He-Man to seek the Sorceress’ counsel at Castle Grayskull. Unbeknownst to the heroes, they’re being observed by Evil-Lyn. She’s sure to strike a curious pose to close out the issue on a dramatic splash page.
It’s clear J. Scott Campbell is influencing the style of the comic, even years after he exploded with the initial Gen 13 miniseries, there was no shortage of Campbell-style artists getting work in mainstream comics in 2002. And Campbell’s work was closely tied to these ’80s revivals, having rendered the early covers for Image’s G. I. Joe revival, as well. Emiliano Santalucia handles the joint influences of the new toy designs and the manga-inspired Campbell style well, but it’s questionable if the diehard fans who idolized Earl Norem’s work are looking for this.
Tying into the Mike Young Productions show might also be hindering the story. Staples isn’t given the freedom to create his own canon or pick up on the older continuity. Instead, the comic has to take place between episodes of the new cartoon, putting it in a position of never impacting the new show’s continuity, crafting stories that can easily come across as filler. Without newsstand distribution of the title, any new fans brought in by the 2002 cartoon weren’t likely to discover the comic, either. The miniseries was a solid seller in the direct market, however, and the opening issue was an effective tease for future issues. He-Man had returned to comics racks, joining heroes like Snake Eyes and Optimus Prime, and the early stages of Generation X nostalgia had begun.
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