Masters of the Universe: Every Easter Egg & Reference In Season 1

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Masters of the Universe: Revelation season 1.

What Easter eggs and references to the original Masters of the Universe action figures and animated series are hidden within Netflix’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation? There are nearly as many nods to the classic He-Man toys and cartoons as there are secrets hidden within Castle Grayskull itself. The new series, described by showrunner Kevin Smith as a continuation of the original Masters of the Universe rather than a reboot, does an excellent job of drawing off of its source material.

Inspired by the success of Star Wars, toy manufacturer Mattel sought to tap into the newborn fandom with their own original setting blending science fiction with sword and sorcery. Enter Eternia; a world where sinister cyborgs lived alongside wicked wizards. These dark forces were led by the so-called Lord of Destruction, Skeletor. The fantastic realm was likewise defended by the barbaric but noble He-Man. While an animated series tying into the toy line and later reboots and spin-offs would change the history of Eternia somewhat, this core idea of He-Man fighting Skeletor remained constant across the many continuities born of the Masters of the Universe mythology.

Miraculously, Masters of the Universe: Revelation does much to reconcile this history, introducing unique elements of the 2002 Masters of the Universe reboot and the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line into a world that seems largely inspired by the most familiar incarnation of Masters of the Universe; the reality of the 1983 Filmation animated series. Despite delving into this rich history, the new series is remarkably accessible to new viewers, though avid He-Man experts may find themselves astonished by some of the deep cuts. Here is a rundown of all the Easter eggs hidden in the first season of Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

The Introduction References A Classic Toy Poster

The introduction of the first episode, “The Power of Grayskull,” is rendered in a style that might look familiar to those who grew up with the original He-Man toys. The sequence makes use of images taken from some of the merchandise posters used by Mattel to promote the original Masters of the Universe action figure line.

Heroes, Villains, and Vehicles From The Toyline

Several characters from the classic toy line make non-speaking appearances throughout Masters of the Universe: Revelation. In the first episode, Skeletor (Mark Hamill) and Evil-Lyn disguise themselves as the evil warriors Spikor and Clawful to infiltrate Castle Grayskull, with the robot Faker impersonating He-Man. The heroes Fisto and Clamp Champ are later seen fighting Skeletor’s forces (which include Evil Horde Hover Robots) during the siege of Castle Grayskull. In the second episode, the villains Whiplash and Blast-Attak are visible among the followers of the new technology-worshipping cult started by Tri-Klops.

The siege of Castle Grayskull in the first episode also includes a number of vehicles from the original series, including the Land Shark, the Sky Sled, the Roton, and the Bashasaurus. A saber-toothed version of Skeletor’s feline steed Panthor can be seen in “The Forge at the Forest of Forever,” acting as the prey for the heroes’ hunting trip. King Grayskull himself rides into the hunt aside a dinosaur mount resembling the heroic Bionatops.

The Warrior Goddess

When Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) makes her entrance at her knighting ceremony in “The Power of Grayskull,” Queen Marlena (Alicia Silverstone) comments that she looks “like a warrior goddess.”  In the original pre-Filmation backstory for Masters of the Universe, Teela was a literal warrior goddess and the packaging of her action figure referred to her as such. Later continuities replaced this goddess version of Teela, who originally gave He-Man his armor and weapons, with a version that showed her as the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, and Teela was developed into a woman warrior allied with He-Man.

The Shaping Staff and Majestra

In the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, Evil-Lyn (now played by Wizards: Tales of Arcadia‘s Lena Headey) once infiltrated the palace of Eternos by posing as a wizard named Majestra and changing her form with an artifact known as the Shaping Staff. The same magical staff is utilized in Masters of the Universe: Revelation to let Evi-Lyn and Skeletor disguise themselves in “The Power of Grayskull.” Evil-Lyn later uses the name Majestra as an alias while disguising herself as an old woman to secure Teela’s help in the second episode, “The Poisoned Chalice.”

Prince Adam’s Classic Catch Phrases

Masters of the Universe: Revelation makes a number of nods to Prince Adam’s best-remembered catchphrases from the original He-Man cartoons. In “The Power of Grayskull,” after Orko (Griffin Newman from Amazon’s The Tick) accidentally traps Cringer in a bubble and wonders if anyone has the power to help him save the fearful feline, Adam retrieves a pin and declares “I have the power,” in imitation of his alter-ego before bursting Orko’s bubble. Later, as he is joking around with Teela and she says his name in annoyance, Adam (Chris Wood) proudly proclaims “I am Adam! Prince of Eternia!” in a nod to the ponderous introduction of the original Masters of the Universe animated series.

The Hall of Wisdom

Near the end of “The Power of Grayskull,” Skeletor revealed that Castle Grayskull was a façade, magically constructed to hide the true source of all magical power in Eternia, the Hall of Wisdom. This marked the first use of the Hall of Wisdom, which was created for the 2002 Masters of the Universe reboot,  in the main He-Man continuity. Skeletor also explained that He-Man’s Power Sword was the key to unlocking the Hall of Wisdom. This was a nod to the original pre-Filmation Masters of the Universe storyline, where the Power Sword acted as the key to the Jaw-Bridge of Castle Grayskull.

The Sword(s) of Power

Another bit of classic lore from the mini-comics that came with the first wave of Masters of the Universe action figures was restored with the revelation that two blades were combined to form He-Man’s Sword of Power. In the original mini-comics, the Sword of Power had two halves that had to be combined to open the gate of Castle Grayskull. Masters of the Universe: Revelation expands upon this idea somewhat, tying the two sword halves to the realms of Preternia and Subternia.

Preternia

The realm of Preternia was originally created to be the setting of the unproduced Masters of the Universe spin-off The Powers of Grayskull, which would have centered around an ancestor of He-Man named He-Ro and the prehistoric Eternia that he protected. The Preternia name later came to be utilized and expanded upon by the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line, introducing other legendary heroes from the time of Preternia who wielded the Power Sword before Prince Adam. Masters of the Universe: Revelation changes the lore again, making Preternia into the Eternian version of Valhalla, with the former champions of Castle Grayskull and other heroes who died noble deaths enjoying an eternity of feasting, hunting, and sparring. In another nod to the classic Masters of the Universe toy line, the Three Towers from the massive Eternia playset can be seen in the background throughout “Land of the Dead” and “The Forge at the Forest of Forever.”

Subternia

Subternia first appeared in the 2002 Masters of the Universe reboot. A vast, cavernous realm located deep within the planet of Eternia, Subternia was home to the bat-like Speleans and reptilian Caligars. In the reality of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Subternia is the Eternian version of Hell and the realm of the sinister Scare Glow. Curiously, Subternia is also known to Orko and the people of his dimension, as the Royal Buffoon recalls a Trollan nursery rhyme in “Land of the Dead,” warning children to “trust not what Subternia shows” and “flee before your mind goes mad.“

Glove of Globolah

The second episode of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, “The Poisoned Chalice,” opens with Teela and Andra undertaking a quest to recover a magical artifact called the Glove of Globolah, which had been stolen from a friendly priestess. This powerful gauntlet, which was said to offer powers that rivaled those of Castle Grayskull, was the centerpiece of a comic of the same name, which was exclusively published in Issue #5 of the United Kingdom edition of Masters of the Universe magazine.

The Inevitable Jason Mewes Cameo

Kevin Smith is fond of casting the same actors repeatedly in his films and television projects, particularly the actors he befriended during his early days as an independent filmmaker. This tradition continues in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, where Jason Mewes, best known for playing the character of Jay (as in Jay and Silent Bob) in Smith’s View Askewniverse films, has a brief but hilarious cameo as the skunk-man Stinkor. While Stinkor avoids the profanity that was Mewes’ trademark as Jay, he has other ways of fouling the air, as Teela and Andra discover in the episode “The Poisoned Chalice.”

Andra

While Masters of the Universe: Revelation introduces the engineer Andra as a new character, who befriended Teela after she started her new life as a mercenary, the character does have a connection to the classic Masters of the Universe line. There was a Lieutenant Andra in the short-lived Masters of the Universe comic book published by Marvel Comics’ Star imprint in 1986. She made only three appearances and was not developed much beyond a suggestion of a rivalry with Teela in one story. Andra was also referenced in the biography of the Evil Warrior Karg from the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. The villain was said to have developed an unhealthy fixation on the warrior woman, but she defeated him and sent him to the Prison Starr following the Siege of Zot.

The Aging Sorceress

In “The Poisoned Chalice,” it was revealed that the magic was slowly fading from Eternia, leading to an unlikely alliance between the Sorceress and Evil-Lyn to gather what power they could to restore the Sword of Power. From that point and throughout the season, the Sorceress appeared to be aging rapidly as her powers grew weaker. The same thing happened in the live-action Masters of the Universe movie, as Skeletor slowly drained the Power of Grayskull over the course of the movie.

The Crystal Sea and Paul Dini

Masters of the Universe: Revelation episode 3, “The Most Dangerous Man In Eternia,” found Teela, Evil-Lyn, and their companions traveling across the Crystal Sea, which Teela and Evil-Lyn recalled having traveled across once before on a different adventure that required them to work together. This doesn’t seem to be a reference to a story from the original animated series, though the two did join forces in the Masters of the Universe episode “The Witch and the Warrior.” The Crystal Sea first appeared in the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode “Teela’s Quest,” though it was depicted there as a plain made of crystal rather than a literal sea dotted with crystal islands. The Crystal Sea was also said to be where Evil-Lyn discovered the Shaping Staff in the episode “The Shaping Staff.” All three of these episodes were written by Paul Dini, who is best known today as the co-creator of Harley Quinn.

The Evil Ghost of Skeletor

Scare Glow was one of the last figures released for the Masters of the Universe toy line and never appeared in the original animated series. There was some confusion about the character, who was described on his figure’s packaging as the “Evil Ghost of Skeletor,” leading to speculation that Scare Glow was a future version of Skeletor from after the time of his death. While this was later contradicted by the character’s official biography for the Masters of the Universe Classics line of toys (which identified him as the ghost of a man named Karak Nul) the fan theory is referenced in Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

When Teela first encountered Scare Glow (Candyman‘s Tony Todd) in Subternia in the episode “Land of the Dead,” she saw his glowing skull and, in a moment of confusion, said “Skeletor?” Scare Glow’s reply was an ominous “Not quite, but I remember that name.” This could also be a reference to how, earlier in the episode, it was also hinted that Skeletor was the name of the being who ruled the Eternian version of Hell. It seems likely, however, that the villain known as Skeletor adopted that name in order to strike fear into his enemies, rather than being a literal demon.

The Well of Darkness

To reclaim the dark half of the Sword of Power, Teela was forced to go into the Well of Darkness; an evil place in Subternia which forces those who enter it to face their inner demons and deepest fears. A location called the Well of Darkness first appeared in the 2002 Masters of the Universe animated series, where it was a site of great evil that could bolster the power of any dark magics worked there. The Warlord Hordak attempted to use the Well of Darkness to work a spell that would shroud half of Eternia in eternal night.

The Flying Discs From The Live-Action Movie

In Masters of the Universe: Revelation episode 5, “The Forge at the Forest of Forever,” Adam invites Teela to join in a Preternian event called the Wild Hunt. This leads Adam to retrieve two expandable discs from his belt, which allowed him and Teela to fly after the rest of the hunters after they barely avoided being run over. These unwieldy vehicles were taken from the live-action Masters of the Universe movie.

The Legendary Heroes of Preternia

The final episode of Masters of the Universe: Revelation season 1, “The Forge at the Forest of Forever,” marked the first animated appearance of a number of characters created for Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics line of action figures. These characters were introduced as former defenders of Eternia, who had been granted an eternity of leisure in the realm of Preternia. These heroes included Grayskull (Dennis Haysbert), the first king of Eternos, and the warriors He-Ro, Wun-Dar, and Vikor. Their ranks also included a sorceress named Kuduk, which was the first name of the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull who preceded the current Sorceress in the original Masters of the Universe animated series.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1844 Articles Published)

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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