Masters of the Universe References Dolph Lundgren’s He-Man Movie

Warning: SPOILERS for Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation references the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe movie starring Dolph Lundgren and, upon analysis, the two projects share a few traits in common. Created by Kevin Smith, the first five episodes of Masters of the Universe: Revelation premiered on Netflix to critical acclaim and a controversial response from some fans who took issue with the series’ creative choices – not unlike the issues that plagued Dolph Lundgren’s He-Man movie.

Revelation is a spiritual sequel to the 1980s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon, and Smith was given license by Mattel to give Revelation “stakes” and deliver a more mature series that still held true to the themes and characters of the beloved He-Man cartoon. Masters of the Universe: Revelation kicks off with the long-awaited final battle between He-Man (Chris Wood) and Skeletor (Mark Hamill) that results in the temporary demise of both and the banishment of magic from Eternia. It’s up to Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) to team up with Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey) to try to restore Eternia’s magic, which leads to the discovery that Prince Adam is alive in Preternia. But when Adam returns to Eternia and tries to become He-Man once again, Skeletor reveals that he’s alive and he skewers Prince Adam. The villain then steals the Sword of Power and finally achieves his lifelong dream of becoming a god-like Master of the Universe.

When Skeletor and He-Man face-off beneath Castle Grayskull in Masters of the Universe: Revelation’s first episode, the Lord of Destruction declares, “Let this be our final battle!” This exact dialogue is lifted from the 1987 Masters of the Universe when Skeletor (Frank Langella) says the same to He-Man in the film’s third act. Kevin Smith flips the setting by opening Revelation with He-Man and Skeletor’s “final battle” but it’s a knowing wink to the Dolph Lundgren movie and”Let this be our final battle!” is arguably the most well-known dialogue Langella uttered as Skeletor. Further, Skeletor gains the power of Grayskull and becomes Skelegod in Revelation, just as Skeletor also took He-Man’s Sword of Power and briefly became a golden-armored god himself in Masters of the Universe 1987.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation was “review-bombed” on Rotten Tomatoes by angry fans who claimed that the show elevated Teela as the main character at the expense of He-Man and Skeletor. Ironically, Dolph Lundgren’s film was also received poorly in 1987 due to its creative decisions, which were due to budgetary limitations and the inability of the film to adapt most of the aspects of the beloved cartoon. Masters of the Universe 1987 disappointed fans by switching the setting so that most of the film took place in a small town on Earth and more attention was given to human characters Julie (Courteney Cox) and Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeil) than the Eternian heroes and villains.

In a different way from how Revelation took He-Man off the board to focus on Teela, Masters of the Universe 1987 doesn’t really focus on He-Man either. The blond muscle man isn’t portrayed as “the most powerful man in the universe” and He-Man isn’t the center of the narrative who drives the action in the film. Similarly, Skeletor also remains on the sidelines in Castle Grayskull for most of the movie and sends his henchmen to do his dirty work. Revelation even lifts the plot device that the Sorceress (Susan Eisenberg) rapidly ages when stripped of the power of Grayskull, just as the Sorceress (Christina Pickles) ages in Masters of the Universe 1987 when she’s Skeletor’s prisoner.

Masters of the Universe 1987 left He-Man fans disappointed and retains a 13 percent Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. Dolph Lundgren’s movie is, at best, a curiosity that is still scorned by fans for not delivering on its promise of a proper He-Man movie. In contrast, Masters of the Universe: Revelationis beautifully animated and feels like a true continuation of the 1980s cartoon. However, it’s telling that both projects removed “He-Man” from the title because the mighty hero was deemphasized for different reasons. Revelation does have a knowing wink to Masters of the Universe 1987 but it also made some of the same missteps.

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