Recently, Netflix released the first teaser images of the upcoming Netflix-produced cartoon series Masters of the Universe: Revelation: Part 1.
The new series, produced by Mattel Television with Kevin Smith as showrunner, and animated by Powerhouse Animation (the studio behind Castlevania, Blood of Zeus, and more), is a fresh take on the classic franchise featuring an all-star cast of Mark Hamill, Chris Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar and more.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation will be launching on July 23rd on Netflix. The series is officially described as such:
“The war for Eternia culminates in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, an innovative and action-packed animated series that picks up where the iconic characters left off decades ago. After a cataclysmic battle between He-Man and Skeletor, Eternia is fractured and the Guardians of Grayskull are scattered. And after decades of secrets tore them apart, it’s up to Teela to reunite the broken band of heroes, and solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power in a race against time to restore Eternia and prevent the end of the universe.”
“A radical return to Eternia, Revelation is a direct sequel series to the classic era of Masters of the Universe. Featuring fan favorites He-Man, Orko, Cringer, and Man-At-Arms, the story pits our heroic warriors and guardians of Castle Grayskull against Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, and the vile legions of Snake Mountain!
But after a ferocious final battle forever fractures Eternia, it’s up to Teela to solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power in a race against time to prevent the end of the Universe! Her journey will uncover the secrets of Grayskull at last. This is the epic He-Man and the Master of the Universe saga fans have waited 35 years to see!”
The series will be produced by Mattel TV VP Rob David, with a writing staff that includes Eric Carrasco (Supergirl), Tim Sheridan (Reign of the Supermen), Diya Mishra (Magic the Gathering), and Marc Bernardin (Alphas).
“Masters of the Universe has been a cultural phenomenon for generations, inspiring fans to discover their own power within,” David said in a statement. “Fans of this franchise have been waiting for the continuation of these characters, and Kevin Smith, as a Masters superfan himself, is the perfect champion and partner to expand the canon through a dynamic animated series on Netflix.”
This is the second chance Netflix has had with the Masters of the Universe franchise, the first being the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which ran for 4 seasons on the streaming platform.
However, much like the She-Ra show, this new addition to the Masters of the Universe franchise is not without its controversy.
On one side, fans of the original Masters of the Universe series are upset about rumors about the story of the show, which could see the titular hero He-Man sidelined from his own show in favor of the adventure being focused on Teela and her female companion Captain Andra (a race-swapped version of a character who has been shown in past Masters of the Universe media), alongside a rag-tag group of other characters as seen in the last slide in the gallery above.
Showrunner Kevin Smith has gone out of his way to debunk these rumors, first brought on by YouTube channel Clownfish TV. However, with the reveal of these images, the rumors have surfaced again as more information has come to light showing that Clownfish TV is possibly on the money with their “insider” knowledge.
Another side of controversy has come from Twitter, namely the LGBTQI+ community, who have adopted He-Man (more so his alter-ego Prince Adam) as a gay icon over the decades, thanks to the popularity of the “HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYA” meme, which shows a laughing Prince Adam frame from the original Masters of the Universe show synced with the song “What’s Up” by 4 Non-Blondes.
The Twitter community wants Netflix to keep their adoption of Prince Adam and He-Man as a gay character, thus making it canon in some way. This stems from the underlying subtext from the She-Ra & The Princesses of Power show, where showrunners and writers were very vocal about the possibility of a majority of the characters on that show being LGBTQI+ in many ways, including fanning the flames of a possible She-Ra/Cat-Ra romance that started as a fan-fiction but slowly was hinted at in later seasons of the show. The community wants to push the show into a more LGBTQI+ focus in order to create more representation and diversity in a popular medium.
As it was in the 1980s, alongside the release of the first look images for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, some preview images of the toys that will accompany the Netflix series have also been released.
The release of the figures show some of the main characters, and also one character that can be considered a spoiler for the upcoming Masters of the Universe: Revelation storyline, so proceed at your own risk.
Characters that will be a part of the first wave include He-Man, Skeletor, Skelegod, Evil-Lyn, Moss Man, and Battle Cat. The figures will run $19.99 apiece, with the Oversized Skelegod clocking in at $29.99 and the Deluxe Battle Cat set at $39.99. Each of the figures has 30 points of articulation and comes with at least one accessory, like a weapon or swappable head!
Masters of the Universe: Revelation will premiere its first five episodes on Friday, July 23 on Netflix.
