He-Man
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| He-Man as he appears on the English DVD release of A Christmas Special | ||||||
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He-Man ("The Most Powerful Man in the Universe") is a heroic fictional character in a toy series called Masters of the Universe ("MOTU") and the various spin-off products and media related to it. The most prominent is the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, produced by Filmation Studios. The syndicated series premiered in 1983 and ran until 1985, for a run of 130 episodes. In the series, He-Man and his friends defend Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil forces of Skeletor.
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[edit] Overview
[edit] Character biography
As with many parts of the Masters of the Universe story, He-Man's background and origins were somewhat revised in successive versions of the story and it is sometimes difficult to reconcile the various versions.
In the earliest series of minicomics released with the original toys, He-Man is a wandering barbarian on the world of Eternia, which is dealing with the aftermath of a Great War that has devastated the civilizations that once ruled supreme over all lesser beings. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, called "The Goddess" in early appearances, gives He-Man special powers and weapons, and he sets out to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil villain Skeletor.
Starting with the third series of mini-comics, the scenario was somewhat revised: He-Man's true identity is Prince Adam, the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, the rulers of the planet Eternia. Marlena is from the planet Earth, making He-Man only half-Eternian.
In the new version of events, The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull endowed Prince Adam with the power to transform into He-Man by holding aloft his magic sword and proclaiming, "By the power of Grayskull...I have the power!". This was carried over into the 2002 series.
Prince Adam's pet is a cowardly green tiger named Cringer. When Adam changes to He-Man, Cringer becomes a giant (and brave) armored green tiger named Battle Cat when filled with the magical power cast from He-Man's sword. Battle Cat also serves as He-Man's steed and fierce fighting companion.
Adam is friendly with the beautiful and strong-willed Teela, the female Captain of the Royal Guard and adoptive daughter of his mentor Duncan. Teela was revealed to be the only daughter of The Sorceress, and future inheritor of Grayskull - however, The Sorceress gave her up for adoption when she was just a baby after her father died.
Duncan - also known as Man-At-Arms - is the Eternia royal family's innovator of technology and weapons. In many episodes, Man-At-Arms unveiled new and fantastic weapons that helped He-Man and his friends.
Castle Grayskull, which resembles a gigantic skull, is the source of He-Man's powers. Inside the Castle lives the Sorceress, who communicates telepathically with He-Man, and granted Prince Adam his transformative abilities.
To protect his family, He-Man keeps his double identity secret, sharing the knowledge only with Man-At-Arms, Orko, Cringer/Battle Cat, and the Sorceress. The original cartoon series also indicated the dragon Granamyr and the cosmic enforcer Zodak also knew his secret. He-Man was usually accompanied by an assortment of allies in his battles, such as Ram-Man, Stratos and Man-E-Faces.
Adam has a twin sister named Adora, theoretically the Princess of Eternia, but in fact a leader in The Great Rebellion against Hordak on the planet Etheria. Adora, like Adam, has been given the gift of the power of Grayskull and has her own sword which she uses to transform into She-Ra, Princess of Power. He-Man made a number of appearances in the She-Ra: Princess of Power television series.
He-Man's chief adversary is Skeletor, a blue-skinned sorcerer with a skull for a head, wearing a cowl. He is skilled in black magic as well as all forms of combat. Skeletor's weapon of choice is his Havok Staff, a ram's skull atop a large rod which serves to channel his magic and amplify his powers. The Havok Staff also allows Skeletor to engage in the remote viewing of events on and around Eternia. Though his origin is mysterious, and the cartoon described him only as a "demon from another dimension," a tie-in comic implied that Skeletor's true identity was Prince Keldor, younger brother of King Randor, thus making him He-Man's uncle.
Skeletor's base of operations is Snake Mountain, a fortress made of polished black basalt, which has a giant stone snake coiled around it. Snake Mountain is located on the Dark Hemisphere of Eternia. Skeletor leads a motley crew of henchmen against He-Man and his associates; the most popular are the sorceress Evil-Lyn, the bumbling lord of the animal world Beast Man, the bionic Trap-Jaw, multi-sighted Tri-Klops, and fish lord Mer-Man.
In the 1980s series, He-Man/Adam was voiced by John Erwin, for many the definitive He-man, a congenial hero with an endless supply of one liners. In the 1987 live-action feature film, he was played by Dolph Lundgren. Gary Chalk provided the voice of He-Man for the 1989 series The New Adventures of He-Man (and later the voice of Man-At-Arms for the 2002 series). In the 2002 series, He-Man was voiced by Cam Clarke (who voiced Leonardo on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series).
[edit] He-Man and Conan connection
According to various sources, Masters of the Universe was originally intended to be a Conan toyline, until Mattel saw the adult content of the Conan property, including the huge amounts of sex, nudity, blood, and violence. They decided therefore to devise a different toy line based around a similar concept, but more suitable for a younger audience, and the Masters of the Universe line was gradually born. It has often been speculated, although never confirmed, that the character of Skeletor was based on the villain Thulsa Doom from the Conan comics.
However, Roger Sweet, who claims to be the designer of the original He-Man action figure, denies this direct connection, claiming that in fact, He-Man was created as an attempt by Mattel to get on to the action figure market. Three prototypes were built on an over-muscled version of Mattel's previous and failed male action hero Big Jim: a spaceman, a military hero, and a barbarian.
Mattel's president hand-picked the barbarian in a business meeting, saying "these have the power", thus unknowingly coming up with He-Man's catchphrase. The line was green-lighted and writers were hired to create a story based on the character. So, creators claim that while Conan was certainly an inspiration, He-Man is not a direct rip-off.
[edit] History of the He-Man action figure
[edit] Original toy line
The first He-Man action figure was released by Mattel in 1981, and had a twist waist and power punch action. The figure came with the power sword, a battle axe and a shield, together with a removable harness. In 1982 the figure was re-released in a set with either Battle Cat or the Wind Raider vehicle. The He-Man figure was released again in 1983 together with Teela and Ram-Man. The He-Man figure was released in 1986 together with the Jet Sled vehicle.
An alternate version entitled Battle Armor He-Man was released in 1984. The chest contained a springloaded rotating drum bearing three "damage indicators". As before, the power sword and battle axe were included. The figure was also re-released the same year, packaged with the Road Ripper vehicle. In 1986, the figure was released again, together with Battle Armor Skeletor and Orko.
Another alternate version was released in 1985, with the name Thunder Punch He-Man. The toy was powered with caps to make a bang when he threw a punch. The power sword (colored gold with this version of the character) and shield were released with the figure, together with some red caps. The same year, Battle Armor He-Man was re-released with Battle Cat, and again in a collector's pack with Man-at-Arms and Man-E-Faces.
1986 saw the release of another version, named Flying Fists He-Man. The figure's arms moved as his waist rotated. The figure included a spinning trident mace and a rotating shield. A double-pack was later released containing both Flying Fists He-Man and Terror Claws Skeletor.
In 1988, a final version was released for the original toy line, entitled Laser Power He-Man. The figure was limited to releases in Italy and Spain, although it also appeared in some major department stores in London, England.
[edit] New Adventures toy line
The new toy line started in 1989, and He-Man was released as his new space personality, complete with power sword, shield and helmet. The figure also included two-piece snap-on space armor. He was also released in double-packs with any of Skeletor, Flogg and Slush Head.
In 1990 an alternate version was released, named Battle Punching He-Man. The figure had some different joints to allow more points of articulation, and included the power sword and shield.
In 1992 a final figure, again titled Thunder Punch He-Man (not to be confused with the original 'Masters Of The Universe' toy of the same name), was released with a twisting punch action.
[edit] He-Man in Live Action
In 1987, Cannon Films produced a Live-action film Masters of the Universe which featured Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man. Although the film was not received well upon its release, it has developed a strong cult following over recent years. Despite accusations that Lundgren was "embarrassed" about the movie, he has repeatedly stated his pride in his work in the movie.[citation needed]
Although generally portrayed in much the same manner as other mediums, there were several notable differences in the character of He-Man within the movie. His use of a gun in several scenes, rather than his characteristic sword, caused controversy among fans. Also, there was no mention of his secret identity of Prince Adam within the film, implying the makers envisioned him as having only one permanent identity (as was the case in the early mini-comics). There was not even any direct indication that his powers came from Castle Grayskull; nor that he possessed any superhuman abilities, save for a few depictions of enormous strength (such as overpowering Beast Man in a fight and pushing over a giant statue) - he was portrayed generally as a standard hero, although widely recognized and regarded as a great leader and Eternia's best hope of survival. However, at the climax of the story he does retrieve his sword from Skeletor and cries "I have the power!", seemingly replenishing his strength. It has also been suggested by fans that, as the movie starts a way into the story, with Skeletor already having captured the Sorceress and taken control of Castle Grayskull, that Prince Adam could have transformed into He-Man prior to the events we see on-screen, and simply did not transform back into Adam during the story due to the criticalness of the situation.
[edit] Trivia
- The idea of He-Man having a teenaged alter-ego was derived by Filmation from the Fawcett/DC Comics character Captain Marvel <ref> Latchem, John (2006). "Filmation Nation". Agent DVD Online. Retrieved from http://www.agentdvdonline.com/agentdvd/v42/index.cvn?ID=10015 on July 30, 2006. Interview with Lou Scheimer. Excerpt from Scheimer: "[The dual identity for He-Man] was really inspired by Billy Batson and Captain Marvel, from the 1970s “Shazam” show. It was this kid who became a superhero. His background is really more interesting than Superman’s. One of the reasons I like Captain Marvel is it really empowered kids. So on He-Man, we’re going from an 18-year-old kid to He-Man."</ref>, about whom Filmation had already produced two TV series: Shazam! and The Kid Superpower Hour with Shazam!. He-Man's twin sister She-Ra was created as a female spin-off, as Captain Marvel's twin sister Mary Marvel had been.
- Most episodes of the 80's television cartoon series were overseen by a child psychologist in order to ensure that events transpiring were not too frightening for children, and also that each episode would have a child-friendly and easily understood moral. During Season One, the psychologist was Donald F. Roberts, PhD - who would go on later in life to be instrumental in creating the rating system for modern video games.
- Many of the sound effects employed in the He-Man cartoons were recycled from previous Filmation projects. The most noticed are various sounds from Star Trek, having been given to Filmation during their production of Star Trek: The Animated Series.
- A He-Man parody, He-Bro, appeared in 2006 on the TV show Wonder Showzen which portrays He-Man as a Jewish black man who can stretch his muscles like Plastic Man. The feature stays true to the actual Filmation style.
- In the web comic Penny Arcade, the December 16, 2005 issue is a cartoon showing Skeletor vandalizing this article on Wikipedia. [1]
- He-Man was briefly spoofed in the fifth season The Simpsons episode 'The Front'. An animation awards ceremony included a clip of 'Strong-Dar: Master of Akom: The Wedding Episode'. Strong-Dar was clearly based on Filmation's model of He-Man.
- He-Man was parodied in an episode of Round The Bend (a childrens TV show shown on ITV in the UK), as Wee-Man and The Masters of The Loo-nyverse.
- He-Man was briefly seen in the 4th season of Family Guy episode Brian the Bachelor jumping on a small horse as Prince Adam, then changing into He-Man, complete with the appropriate music and sound effects.
- Ludacris recently did a track on the Pre-Release Therapy: The Truth Shall Set U Free Mixtape called 'He-Man' making references to the original cartoon series. The He-Man theme song is sampled within the track.
- He-Man was parodied in an Adult Swim show, Robot Chicken. In a "where are they now" style sketch, he is portrayed as an overzealous mall security guard.
[edit] See also
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983 series)
- The New Adventures of He-Man
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
- Masters of the Universe
- Masters of the Universe (film)
- She-Ra
- List of Masters of the Universe characters
- List of Masters of the Universe vehicles
- Mattel
[edit] Notes
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[edit] External links
- He-Man.org - The most comprehensive He-Man site
- Masters Cast First He-Man and She-Ra Podcast
- CastleGrayskull.org
- He-man's Biography
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at the Internet Movie Database (1983–1985 series)
- Masters of the Universe at the Internet Movie Database (1987 live action film)
- The New Adventures of He-Man at the Internet Movie Database (1990–1991 series)
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at the Internet Movie Database (2002 series)
- He-ManTales.com - a savage celebration of the Original He-Man
- He-Man Master Of The Universe Shockwave Gamede:He-Man
es:Amos del Universo fr:Les Maîtres de l'Univers he:הי-מן ושליטי היקום nl:He-Man pl:He-Man pt:He-Man fi:He-man sv:He-Man tr:He-Man
