Masters of the Universe: Revolution Review – The Horde Arrives

To say that Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 1 and Part 2 were somewhat controversial is an understatement. From leaking of the plot well beforehand to Kevin Smith outright denying the leaks and being caught out lying through his teeth, to the release of the show just being “meh.” Masters of the Universe: Revolution tries its best to bring back the audience lost from the previous two parts with themes that long-term fans of the original Masters of the Universe: Revelation are used to, but does the show manage to accomplish this? Find out in our Masters of the Universe: Revolution review.

Title: Masters of the Universe: Revolution
Production Company: Powerhouse Animation Studios & Mattel Television
Distributed by: Netflix
Directed by: Adam Conarroe, Patrick Stannard, and Kevin Smith
Produced by: Diane Crea
Written by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Chris Wood, Mark Hamill, Liam Cunningham, Lena Headey, Melissa Benoist, William Shatner, Meg Foster, Keith David
Based on: Masters of the Universe by Mattel
Release dates: January 25, 2024
Running time: 23-27 minutes per episode
Episodes: 5
IMDB: Link

Less Revelation, More Revolution, All Invading

Masters of the Universe: Revolution comes across a lot of the themes that older Masters of the Universe stories tackled. The first theme is that of loss, and how a father’s legacy can weigh heavily on the son. Adam having to choose between being either a King or the Champion is something that begins and pushes the story forward before giving one of the most interesting of outcomes in the finale.

The other theme that plays a bigger role in the events of Masters of the Universe: Revolution is that of technology versus Magic, with neither being good nor evil, but more of a battle of which future Eternia would belong. Hordak and his reliance on technology works well against He-Man and his abilities being given through magic. There is more to this, but the ending for both sides works out well.

There is a lot less of Kevin Smith’s OC (Do not steal) Andra in Masters of the Universe: Revolution, so those who were turned away by the very heavy Teela and Andra focus in Masters of the Universe: Revelations will be happy to see less of Andra in the spotlight, though Masters of the Universe: Revolution does give more spotlight to other characters, which keeps He-Man out of the spotlight for a majority of the show.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution Action Figure Rolecall

Masters of the Universe: Revolution brings back a lot of the cast from Masters of the Universe: Revelation, such as Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Chris Wood as Prince Adam / He-Man, Liam Cunningham as Duncan, Tony Todd as Scare-Glow, Tiffany Smith as Andra, Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn, Diedrich Bader as King Randor / Buzz Off, Stephen Root as Cringer / Battle Cat / Snout Spout, and Susan Eisenberg as Sorceress of Castle Grayskull.

As I’ve pointed out in the previous reviews, the voice cast is AMAZING. So, for the returning cast, I’m happy to skip past them as they give the same great performance as they did in Masters of the Universe: Revelation and just talk about the people who replaced others or are new to Masters of the Universe: Revolution.

• Melissa Benoist as Teela (Replacing Sarah Michelle Gellar)
  To be honest, it wasn’t going to be hard to do better than Sarah Michelle Gellar when it came to Teela. Gone is the gruff “Girl who got hurt” tone from Teela’s voice, replaced by someone who sounds calm and intelligent, working on her feelings for Adam while coming to grips with her new role as Sorceress… It also helps that Benoist and Wood (Who plays Adam/He-Man) are dating in real life, using that to create a good romantic relationship between the two.
• Meg Foster as Motherboard
  For someone who is playing a soulless machine, Foster does a great job here. Though somewhat covered by audio manipulation so she would sound robotic, Foster’s voice comes through as the cold and calculated Evil-Lyn that she played in the live-action film. A great use of a cameo voice.
• Keith David as Hordak
  Goliath, Dr. Facilier, Mongul, Spawn, The President from Rick & Morty… I could listen to this guy’s voice all day and night. Having him as Hordak is one of those master strokes in terms of casting. His deep voice works with the tactical nature that this Hordak brings to the table, and keeps enough of a threat going that I want to see/hear more of him in the future even if it’s in other series.
• Gates McFadden as Queen Marlena (Replacing Alicia Silverstone)
  The only other person to get replaced, not to mention get a very reduced role, McFadden did a good job with Queen Marlena
• Ted Biaselli as Gwildor / Stonedar
  When I first found out Gwildor was going to return to Masters of the Universe in Masters of the Universe: Revolution, I was reserved in wanting to see or hear the character ever again. However, Biaselli’s performance took the annoyance out of Gwildor’s voice and added some sass to replace it, a welcome change. As Stonedar, I was so shocked to see the character reference that I missed the performance, but I’m happy either way.
• John DeLance as Granamyr
  A surprise appearance: DeLance does a solid job as Granamyr, giving the dragon the gravitas he deserves. Working with the content DeLance had would involve using some great acting skills to pull that type of emotion out of the character while creating a bond with the viewers in such a short time.
• Ralph Garman as Fisto / Rio Blast
  Fisto was nothing but grunts. Rio Blast, on the other hand, was done in such a generic cowboy voice that I was glad to see the character only had a few lines and only a couple of small fight scenes. Horrible character choices here.
• Jason Mews as Baddrah / Griffin Newman as Tuvar (aka Two-Bad)
  It wouldn’t be a Kevin Smith production if he didn’t give his friend a role. Mews gets the most lines out of the two, but he was good enough that I didn’t pick his voice right away, so that’s something new and interesting. Newman had to play off Mews, which wouldn’t have been easy, but he does a good enough job in the few lines he has in the show.

There are a few more characters that I want to talk about, but due to their spoiler nature, I’ve had to leave them off this list. That said, you are going to be surprised when you hear these people and who they are voicing.

A More Balanced Written Series

Masters of the Universe: Revolution starts as a very well-balanced story with some well-written character development. By focusing on themes such as the burden of legacy and technology vs. magic, Masters of the Universe: Revolution comes off more like a traditional Masters of the Universe series instead of an attempt to rewrite the formula to push focus away from He-Man and onto new and other characters.

If there is something that Masters of the Universe: Revolution does well, it’s making you care about the characters the more you watch the story arc.

Teela is one of the characters who receive a better story arc in Masters of the Universe: Revolution. Teela’s arc is written in such a way that her need to become more powerful and do what she needs to do makes more sense than just giving her power because she’s a woman scorned.

Other characters also get more focus here, with smaller moments treated with more reverence than they were before. Seeing Gwildor again was less annoying than he was in the movie, but it was a welcome reference that makes sense in terms of the overall story. Orko is shown more but has less to do than he did in Masters of the Universe: Revelation. Evil-Lyn gets a good, though short, arc that works well and makes you rethink your views on the character… Think Harley Quinn levels of why, but without the psychotic results.

The animation, as it was in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, is top-notch. The animation studio used for Masters of the Universe: Revolution should be given awards for this show. Some moments in Masters of the Universe: Revolution is pushed to artwork levels because of the animation. An example is when Teela embraces the power of the Snake, turning her into a combination of her Eternian Goddess and Snake Teela toys (as seen below), which looks amazing.

A Few Small Issues in the Masters of the Universe: Revolution Production Line

The issues with Masters of the Universe: Revolution still come from one major issue: He-Man is not the central character in the show that bears his name. Remember, the original show was He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, not Masters of the Universe (Though the toy’s packaging says differently). He-Man is the main character, no matter how much Kevin Smith does not want to write the character, which sometimes I think he doesn’t want to at all.

The Horde invasion, along with anything to do with the villains, comes off as rushed. When you take a whole episode to cover the backstory of a character, the rest of the show speeds up even more, leaving nothing to linger and the effects being felt on the characters or the audience. The other side effect to this is that some other Horde characters like Leech, Grizzlor, and Mantenna have no time to be fleshed out or even have a moment in the spotlight. Outside of one moment where they chase Gwildor and Orko, these three do nothing, making them… Completely pointless.

Some of the worst offending moments in Masters of the Universe: Revolution come from spoiling the show, with the characters and events involved giving away major plot points… So go back to the spoiler part of the review, and you’ll notice my frustration there. The finale of the Part is another thing that annoyed me, too, complete with the reference to a fan-requested character being used as a “please give us another chance” sequel bait moment that might never come around unless Masters of the Universe: Revolution is a success.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution – Better than Revelations, but You’re Not Forgiven, Kevin.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution is way better than Masters of the Universe: Revelation, but not by much. The first 3.75 episodes did a lot with the time they were given, and everything flowed naturally, though rushed. Given more time, Masters of the Universe: Revolution could have been what this series should have been in the first place. However, I feel the damage to the brand is done when it comes to this revival of Masters of the Universe. Kevin Smith has a lot to answer for regarding the bad writing and some of the lack of interest from long-time or new fans. This season is a step in the right direction, but not enough to redeem the previous changes to the show’s canon.

The Masters of the Universe: Revolution release date is January 25, 2024, and the show will be streamed exclusively on Netflix.

Review Disclosure Statement: Access to The Masters of the Universe: Revolution was provided to us by Netflix. For review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: One or more of the links above contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission should you click through and purchase the item.