Kevin Smith responds to the criticism he is receiving for Masters of the Universe: Revelation. The series is a follow-up to the original Filmation cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe that ran from 1983 to 1985. The new series premiered on Netflix on July 23, 2021, and earned positive reviews from critics who found it a faithful love letter to the original series while being accessible to new viewers as well and entered the top 10 most watched on Netflix the week it was released.

However, not everyone was happy. A subset of the fandom was disappointed with the series for what they see as a slight against He-Man by not making him the main focus of the series in favor of focusing on supporting characters like Teela, Evil-Lyn, and Orko. This negative response to the series caused a group to review bomb the series on Rotten Tomatoes. With only five episodes of the ten-episode series up, the whole story is yet to be told, and there is still time for He-Man to make a major appearance.

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Kevin Smith, who is no stranger to responding to criticism of his work, recently told Variety what he thinks of the whole situation. He notes that Mattel, the creators of He-Man, hired Smith for the series, and they wouldn’t want to create a series without the marque character of the franchise. He comments on how people accused him of lying and using the show as bait and switch to focus on Teela. Smith said:

“I see people online go, ‘Hey man, they’re getting rid of He-Man!’ Like, you really f*cking think Mattel Television, who hired me and paid me money, wants to do a f*cking ‘Masters of the Universe’ show without He-Man? Grow the f*ck up, man. Like, that blew my mind, bunch of people being like, ‘Oh, I smell it. This is a bait and switch.’”

Part of the criticism may come from a sense of not seeing the whole storyline play out at once. Smith, the writers, and Netflix ask the audience to be patient and see how the story will play out, while some wanted everything all at once. The decision not to release the whole series at once may have helped shaped the narrative to some viewers, who think they know the entire story by the end of episode five. The Boys was review bombed when it turned out Amazon would release the series weekly instead of all at once.

This sort of online criticism is not unusual. Fans leaving comments on work even before it was released is such a tradition that Kevin Smith parodied it at the end of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in 2001. This form of militarized outrage that leads to review bombing hit an all-time high with the release of Ghostbusters, where many people took issue with the all-female cast and how it didn’t pay enough reverence to the 1984 comedy.

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As more nostalgic franchises are brought back and reimagined, there is a crossroads creators are left at on how to approach this. They can either continue to repeat what works and give a sense of comfort or try bold new exciting things. It allows the property to grow beyond its initial restraints, and creatives taking risks can lead to exciting new developments. It may not always work out and may lead to some controversy, but it can also usher in new audience members. Some hated the choices Rian Johnson made with The Last Jedi, while others loved it. No one has to like Masters of the Universe: Revelation, but if the reason is that He-Man has a minor role in the story, remember there are still five episodes of the story Kevin Smtih has left to tell.

Source: Variety

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Richard Fink
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Richard Fink is a news writer for Screen Rant. He graduated from Arizona State University in 2016 with a degree in Film and Media Production. He loves the finer things in life, like cold Diet Coke on a hot summer day. Richard is a fan of all things Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and Film History.

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