Netflix's 'Masters of the Universe: Revelation' should keep the hilarity of the original He-Man cartoon but some maturity wouldn't go amiss
Kevin Smith, the filmmaker best known for the cult classic ‘Jay and Silent Bob’, is resurrecting the beloved ‘He-Man’ series with a new anime for Netflix. The new project, titled ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’, will reportedly be exploring some of the unfinished storylines from the original ‘80s animated show ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’.
“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, according to Variety. “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!”
He-Man has been a pop culture icon for generations and many kids grew up seeing him as one of their childhood heroes, on par with the likes of Superman and Spider-Man. The show was meant to help the sales of the ‘Masters of the Universe’ toy line from Mattel.
The animated series told the story of Adam, the unassuming prince of the magical world of Eternia, who gains the power of He-Man when he holds aloft his magical sword and says the words, “By the Power of Grayskull.” He was opposed by the evil Skeletor, easily one of the most recognizable (and most memed) cartoon characters of all time.
As beloved as the franchise might be, it’s the sheer ridiculousness of the show that has made it such an enduring pop culture phenomenon. Adam West’s ‘Batman’ and the 1967 ‘Spider-Man’ cartoon have nothing on ‘He-Man’ in terms of absolute silliness.
The original animated series was a source of memes long before memes even became a thing. Skeletor, in particular, has been the butt of multiple jokes including the ‘Peekaboo Skeletor’ meme, which is quite similar to the ‘Drakeposting’ meme format.
The holy grail of all ‘He-Man’ memes is the 2005 animated video ‘Fabulous Secret Powers’, affectionately nicknamed ‘He-Man Sings’, which shows the mighty warrior breaking out into a spirited rendition of ‘What’s Up?’ by the 4 Non Blondes. The video has been shared and reshared multiple times across all social media and you can check it out down below.
Fans will be hoping the anime maintains some of the hilarity of the original cartoon. That said, there are some merits to taking on a darker tone. For one thing, most of the people who grew up with the original show are now much older and unlikely to take well to the same cheesy heroics. Secondly, the anime format of the new series lends itself well to telling a darker story.
"Dark" doesn’t necessarily have to mean “not funny” though. ‘Castlevania’, another Netflix original anime, is a great example of that perfect balance between humor and action. As much as original fans might not take to the more childish elements anymore, there are some things about the show that are far too funny to be discarded.
‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’ will be available for streaming exclusively on Netflix, though an official release date is yet to be announced.