He-Man
He-Man is a superhero and the protagonist of the sword and planet franchise Masters of the Universe, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books, and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by his superhuman strength and in most variations, is the alter ego of Prince Adam. He-Man and his friends attempt to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull, the planet Eternia, and the rest of the universe from the evil forces of his archenemy Skeletor. He-Man is the twin brother of She-Ra.
The character was created by designer Mark Taylor, who based the character on his childhood drawings. One of Taylor's designs was used by Mattel designer Roger Sweet in his pitch to Mattel for a new action figure line. Sweet also chose the name "He-Man" and suggested that it have a twist-action waist. Sweet sculpted and presented three different versions of the figure to Mattel—including a soldier, spaceman, and barbarian—the barbarian version was chosen and developed into the character's current form. Afterwards, Sweet was taken off the project and Taylor was assigned principal design duties.
The television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe rapidly increased the selling of Mattel's toys and was a hit success in the 1980s, gaining nine million viewers in its first year in the US alone and being broadcast to at least 37 countries. The massive success of the series led to a feature-length movie in 1985, He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, from the same production team, and a shared continuity, spin-off/sister series She-Ra: Princess of Power. There was also a primetime, hour-long Christmas special, He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special.
Since his creation, He-Man has often attracted attention for his perceived homoeroticism, with critics and academics recognizing the gay subtext surrounding his character. Following the airing of the original cartoon, He-Man has become a gay icon and amassed an LGBT following; particularly among gay men.
Development
In 1976, Mattel's CEO Ray Wagner declined a deal to produce a toy line of action figures based on the characters from Star Wars, due to the $750,000 license required up front. Following the commercial success of the original Star Wars trilogy and its related merchandise, Mattel launched "...failed line after failed line, none of which captured the public's imagination or made a significant dent in the toy market."In the race to design the next popular action figure, Roger Sweet—lead designer for Mattel's Preliminary Design Department—realized that simplicity was the key to success. He also knew, as he said in his 2005 book Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea, that the marketing department primarily needed to be persuaded that the toy would sell.
He argued that the generically named He-Man, a powerful figure, could apply to any context. In late 1980, he presented Wagner with three prototypes, which he created by gluing a Big Jim figure—another Mattel toy line—into a battle action pose, adding clay to its body, and having plaster casts made. One of these prototypes was the precursor to He-Man.
Appearances
Comics
In the illustrated books released with the first series of toys, He-Man is a barbarian from an Eternian tribe. The planet's inhabitants were dealing with the aftermath of the Great Wars, which devastated the civilizations that once ruled supreme. The wars left behind advanced machinery and weaponry, known only to select people. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull gave He-Man some of these weapons, and he set out to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil Skeletor. He-Man possessed one-half of the Power Sword; Skeletor had the second half and used it as his main weapon. When joined, the two halves provide the key to Castle Grayskull. In one early illustrated story, He-Man and Skeletor united their two Power Sword halves to form the true Power Sword, defeating Trap Jaw.''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' (2012)
In June 2012, DC Comics began publishing a six-issue limited series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, alongside the weekly digital-first series Masters of the Universe. In He-Man: The Eternity War, He-Man is shown as married to Teela.Television
''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' (1983)
In more than a few comic books and animated series, He-Man's origins had been revised: his true identity was Prince Adam of Eternia, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, who gave birth to twins Prince Adam/He-Man and Princess Adora/She-Ra and ruled the Kingdom of Eternia on the planet of the same name. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull endowed Prince Adam with the power to transform into He-Man, which he did by raising his Power Sword and proclaiming, "By the power of Grayskull..." Once the transformation was complete, he would continue, "...I have the power!" The differences between Prince Adam and He-Man were minimal; He-Man had a slightly deeper voice, a different wardrobe, and slightly darker skin and hair.Prince Adam's pet was a cowardly green tiger named Cringer. When Adam became He-Man, he transformed Cringer into a brave armored green tiger named Battle Cat by pointing his sword at him – an ability Adam discovered accidentally during one of his transformations into He-Man. Cringer cowered in fear at seeing what Adam had become; while reassuring him that nothing had changed, Adam pointed the sword of power at Cringer, which sent a bolt of energy toward the tiger and transformed him. Battle Cat served as He-Man's steed and fierce fighting companion ever since. In a couple of versions of He-Man, he can use his sword to change into different versions of He-Man depending on the type of battles he is in, and can also use his sword to give friends, allies, and animals besides Cringer power and enhanced abilities.
Adam was friendly with Teela who, unbeknownst to her, was the daughter of the Sorceress and was adopted by Prince Adam's mentor Duncan/Man-At-Arms. Adam and Teela grew up together and now, as Captain of the Guard, she was entrusted to protect him. Unaware of his identity as He-Man, she saw Adam as lazy and cowardly, an act he keeps up to prevent people from discovering his secret identity.
Man-At-Arms was He-Man's closest companion and the Eternian royal family's innovator of technology and weapons. He often unveiled new weapons or devices to help He-Man. Castle Grayskull was the source of He-Man's powers, where the Sorceress lived, who granted Adam his transformative abilities and communicated telepathically with him. To protect his family He-Man kept his double identity a secret, sharing it only with Orko, Man-At-Arms, Cringer, and the Sorceress. He-Man's archenemy was Skeletor, a blue-skinned sorcerer with a yellow skull for a head. Skeletor was skilled in black magic and all forms of combat, being extremely cunning and intelligent. Skeletor was accompanied by a group of henchmen who aided his evil schemes.
The spin-off series She-Ra: Princess of Power revealed that Adam had a twin sister: Princess Adora, a leader of the Great Rebellion against Hordak on the planet Etheria. Adora, like Adam, was given the gift of the power of Grayskull and had her own sword which she used to transform into She-Ra, Princess of Power. He-Man made several appearances in the series.
A decade on from the cancellation of the Filmation cartoon series, Lou Scheimer pitched a sequel series to Mattel in 1995 called "He-Ro: Son of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" in which He-Man was now King of Eternia, married to Teela, and had a son, Dare, who inherited the Sword of Power from him, using it to become the title character He-Ro, leading his comrades into battle against a returned Skeletor. The show was ultimately not picked up, although its premise has been embraced by fans as official canon and influenced the bios for the characters in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line.
''He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special'' (1985)
''The New Adventures of He-Man'' (1990)
After the original Masters of the Universe toy line came to an end, Mattel sought to revive interest in He-Man by launching a new line simply titled He-Man. The mini-comics packaged with the figures introduced a revised storyline in which He-Man leaves Eternia and pursues Skeletor into deep space. Skeletor has set his ambitions on conquering the distant planet Primus, a world rich in advanced technological resources.In this iteration, He-Man is portrayed as having fully abandoned his identity as Prince Adam. He establishes himself on Primus, where he leads a team of defenders known as the Galactic Guardians. His visual design was also reimagined for the new toy line: He-Man now wears a space helmet and golden armor, giving him a distinctly futuristic appearance, and his sword was redesigned to match this updated aesthetic.
A cartoon series was produced by Jetlag Productions to accompany the toy line, entitled The New Adventures of He-Man. Although generally following the storyline from the mini-comics, this series maintained the double identity of Prince Adam and He-Man. On the planet Primus, Prince Adam posed as a traveling merchant and the nephew of Master Serbian to disguise his secret identity. His transformation oath was altered slightly, to become "By the power of Eternia..."
''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' (2002)
To tie in with a new line of action figures based upon the original toyline, a new He-Man cartoon series was produced in 2002–03 by Mike Young Productions, titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and given the marketing subtitle "vs. the Snake Men" in its second season. This series retold the Masters of the Universe story from the beginning. He-Man's origin was told in a 90-minute series premiere, in which the 16-year-old Prince Adam was summoned to Castle Grayskull by the Sorceress to assume the identity of He-Man and his role as Eternia's defender.The portrayal of his character in this series was consistent with Filmation's portrayal, although the character of Prince Adam was brasher and more youthfully energetic than his 1980s counterpart. The Adam/He-Man character was redesigned, to make the character's secret identity more credible.