Kevin Lied, He-Man & Orko Died: Masters of the Universe Bombs with Fans

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Fans of classic toons have been consuming a lot of recent so-so reboots like Duck Tales and abominations like Thundercats Roar! or the dramatically altered She-Ra. So much so that it appears that crappy reboots are unavoidable, with the desire to make so many modifications to earlier properties that producers seem to lose sight of what made them popular in the first place. As Kevin Smith is discovering, reimagining a beloved franchise like He-Man is one thing, but if it’s drastically different then it will never satisfy those who want to return to a property they loved.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation has arrived on Netflix, and the Rotten Tomatoes judgement is as diametrically opposed as He-Man and Skeletor themselves. While reviewers lauded Masters of the Universe: Revelation, audience evaluations on Rotten Tomatoes and social media panned the show. the critics have been giving gushing reviews to the tune of a 97% approval rating, but an overwhelming barrage of negative viewer evaluations has left the show with an almost knock-out blow of 28%, presumably coming primarily from fans of the original ’80s animation. What could have triggered such a reaction? Was it too woke as many presumed? Well, He-Man is killed not just once, but twice in the five episode series, Orko is also killed off, and then there’s Teela.

Kevin Smith, who has received as much personal criticism as fans have given Master of the Universe: Revelation, claimed in interview after interview that this was definitely a He-Man show, and a continuation of the storyline from the original series, and in no way was he about to make it into “The Teela Show,” but it appears that he may have been more than a little loose with the truth in the eyes of many fans. While some have suggested that the “manbabies” and “dudebros” are getting upset by their favorite male hero being forced to spend a lot of screen time with Teela, those with open minds who have seen the  episodes appear to be on the same page.

The original series was titled He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, however the new series does not include the name He-Man. What cannot be refuted is that Smith has spent the better part of the last month stating that this was a continuation of He-plot. Man’s Maybe it’s just a matter of perception. Anyone who has seen the original knows that, while He-Man and Skeletor dominated the series, Teela, like Orko, had episodes that were mostly about her character. Perhaps the outcry would have been muffled if Smith had managed to keep at least the first few of episodes focused on Eternia’s muscle.

Announced in 2019, Masters of the Universe: Revelation was executive produced by Kevin Smith and was touted as a follow-up to the beloved 1980s cartoon. “Narratively our show is set up as the next episode in the legacy ’80s animated series that aired from 1983-1985,” Smith said in May. “This is a continuation of that story. We’re playing with the original mythology and characters, and revisiting and digging deeper into some of the unresolved storylines.”

“I’m Eternia-ly grateful to Mattel TV and Netflix for entrusting me with not only the secrets of Grayskull, but also their entire Universe.” Smith said in an official statement. “In Revelation, we pick up right where the classic era left off to tell an epic tale of what may be the final battle between He-Man and Skeletor! Brought to life with the most metal character designs Powerhouse Animation can contain in the frame, this is the Masters of the Universe story you always wanted to see as a kid!”

Bottom line is that Kevin Smith did a bait and switch. Long time fans aren’t happy. Queue the “review bomb” narrative. Will Kevin Smith apologize for smearing Clownfish TV?

Grace Randolph of Behind the trailer notes that there seems to be a lot of “queer baiting” in the series, which disappointed her. So Teela was potentially set up to have a girlfriend, but didn’t.

Have you seen it yet? What did you think of the show?

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