As He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuts on Netflix today, it will mark the third show to bear the name. The first was the classic â80s cartoon that made the franchise and accompanying toyline a mega-hit. The second, in 2002, tried to get kids interested in the character of He-Man again but failed by stepping almost solely in the shoes of the 20-year-old original. The new, CG-animated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series has not made that mistake.
While the show has reinvented He-Manâs core concept, it certainly hasnât reinvented modern cartoons. It feels, and looks, like a modern-day, CG-animated kidsâ series like Star Wars Rebels, the Lego cartoons, and others. Thereâs the same mix of kid-appropriate action, drama, and humor; nothing is so dire that a one-liner canât be dropped. The transformations are pure anime, while both the heroes and villains have âspecial movesâ that could have come right out of a video game. While most of the first seasonâs 10 episodes have their own individual adventures, thereâs enough serialized storytelling that should keep kids interested.
The operative word there being âshould.â For me, the showâs biggest flaw was that the 10 episodes of season one feel more like a prologue to the show rather than the show itself. A lot of major developments are parceled out very slowly, or saved for the two-part finale, which mightâmightâfrustrate its young audience. However, itâs entirely possible that this is solely a complaint from an old-school He-Man fan who has certain expectations of where the story is going to go or is âsupposedâ to go. The kids whose first experience of Masters of the Universe is this cartoon might not feel like the show is dragging its heels in the slightest.
If the character designs or the trailer hasnât clued you in, this new series is not for longtime He-Man fans (thatâs the other Netflix show). Itâs tailored to the preteens of 2021 and has updated the franchise accordingly. The show has kept its basic premiseâPrince Adam has a magic sword that allows him to turn into the buff, powerful He-Man, and he and his heroic friends fight Skeletor and his evil minionsâand thatâs almost entirely it. Itâs impossible (for me, anyway) to talk about this new series without talking about all the ways it deviates from the original, so allow us to get into some spoilers.
When the series begins, Prince Adam is no prince (at least as far as he knows). His first memories were being adopted into the Tiger Tribe, a forest-dwelling people who coexist alongside a pack of green, yellow-striped tigers. His best friends are Krass and Cringer, the latter of whom is a full-sized tiger and no scaredy-cat (having earned his name for a very cool reason). When we meet the witch-thief Teela and tech guy Duncanâno relationâtheyâre both working for the bad guys, Evelyn and Kronis, although that doesnât last long. In short order, the four teens and tiger are protecting Castle Grayskull and the people of Eternos from Evelyn, Kronis, the poacher RâQazz, and the newly resurrected sorcerer Keldor, who has a connection to Adam old-school fans wonât be surprised by.
If youâre wondering where the traditional heroes like Man-at-Arms and villains like Beast-Man are, I can assure you theyâre still part of the show. It just happens to be through He-Man and the Masters of the Universeâs biggest, best, and most modern update. When Prince Adam transforms into He-Man, he doesnât just change Cringer into Battle Cat. He can also power up Teela into Sorceress, Duncan into Man-at-Arms, and Krass into the wonderfully named Ram Maâam. All five, in effect, have the power as well as the ability to become Masters of the Universe. Itâs a much more egalitarian He-Man cartoon, and because Skeletor (eventually) can similarly augment his minions into classic foes, itâs a lot of fun. And if the show wants to have a chance at getting kids interested in He-Man again, fun is much, much more important than a singular devotion to the original series.
Regardless of whether this Masters of the Universe series succeeds or fails with its intended audience, Iâm nothing but impressed. Netflix and Mattel have managed to reinvent He-Man for 2021, a feat that I honestly thought was impossible. Itâs dared to drop all the parts of the â80s series that had become dead weight, and wise enough to emulate the cartoons that kids today are watching. Maybe He-Man and the Masters of the Universe wonât be enough to hook a new generation of viewers, but itâs finally got a real shotâand thatâs something He-Man fans of all ages should be happy about.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe stars Yuri Lowenthal as Adam/He-Man, David Kaye as Cringer/Battle Cat, Grey Griffin as Evelyn/Evil-Lyn, Antony Del Rio as Duncan/Man-at-Arms, Kimberly Brooks as Teela/Sorceress, Trevor Devall as RâQazz/Beast Man, Judy Alice Lee as Krass/Ram Maâam, Roger Craig Smith as Kronis/Trap-Jaw, Ben Diskin as Keldor/Skeletor, Fred Tatasciore as King Randor, and Tom Kenny as the robot Ork-0. Bryan Q. Miller (Shadowhunters, Smallville) is the story editor for the series, which was created and developed for TV by Rob David, with animation by CGCG (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and House of Cool (Trollhunters).
Season one is now streaming on Netflix.
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