History WesternAnimation / HeManAndTheMastersofTheUniverse

** One of Trap Jaw's arm-weapons is a cannon.
** Hordak's shapeshifting abilities could turn his whole arm into a cannon.

An amusing bit of apocrypha states that the franchise was originally intended to be based on the film ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but a new plotline and characters were written when marketers realized the folly of basing children's merchandise on a very violent film that most children had not seen. Of note is that PaulDini was a member of the writing staff (as was Creator/JMichaelStraczynski), and BruceTimm did layouts; both would later go on to be main figures in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''[[{{WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries}} Batman: The Animated Series]]'' (also of note: Haim Saban and Shuki Levy were involved in the original production of the show as well, also going on to make [[PowerRangers a surprisingly long-lived children's franchise]]). The franchise became so well known that the stockbroker protagonist of Tom Wolfe's novel ''TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' identified himself as "a master of the universe" (the character's daughter owned some of the figures) because of the power he held.

* MagicalGirlWarrior: Oddly enough, this show is fairly close to that particular sub-genre of MagicalGirl in spite of its macho overtones. This is partially because Filmation's take on the toyline's mythos incorporated many elements from their earlier hot adaptation of the Captain Marvel Family Comics, ''Shazam'', which is acknowledged as being an UrExample of the genre.

* MagicalGirlWarrior: Oddly enough, this show is fairly close to that particular sub-genre of MagicalGirl in spite of its macho overtones. This is partially because Filmation's take on the toyline's mythos incorporated many elements from their earlier hot adaptation of the Captain Marvel Family Comics, ''Shazam'', which is acknowledged as being an ur example of the genre.

* MagicalGirlWarrior: Oddly enough, this show is fairly close to that particular sub-genre of MagicalGirl in spite of its macho overtones.

An amusing bit of apocrypha states that the franchise was originally intended to be based on the film ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but a new plotline and characters were written when marketers realized the folly of basing children's merchandise on a very violent film that most children had not seen. Of note is that PaulDini was a member of the writing staff (as was Creator/JMichaelStraczynski), and BruceTimm did layouts; both would later go on to be main figures in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''[[{{WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries}} Batman: The Animated Series]]'' (also of note: Haim Saban and Shuki Levi were involved in the original production of the show as well, also going on to make [[PowerRangers a surprisingly long-lived children's franchise]]). The franchise became so well known that the stockbroker protagonist of Tom Wolfe's novel ''TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' identified himself as "a master of the universe" (the character's daughter owned some of the figures) because of the power he held.

* MemeticMutation: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Nc8RCLy1s HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA]]

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Nc8RCLy1s&feature=search This video]] includes an... [[CampGay ''interesting'']] take on 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", as well as the opening narration:

An amusing bit of apocrypha states that the franchise was originally intended to be based on the film ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but a new plotline and characters were written when marketers realized the folly of basing children's merchandise on a very violent film that most children had not seen. Of note is that PaulDini was a member of the writing staff (as was Creator/JMichaelStraczynski), and BruceTimm did layouts; both would later go on to be main figures in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (also of note: Haim Saban and Shuki Levi were involved in the original production of the show as well, also going on to make [[PowerRangers a surprisingly long-lived children's franchise]]). The franchise became so well known that the stockbroker protagonist of Tom Wolfe's novel ''TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' identified himself as "a master of the universe" (the character's daughter owned some of the figures) because of the power he held.

* ActionGirl: Teela -- all incarnations. Both the '80s series and the 2002 revival shows Teela as being better in combat than Adam as well as being a reliable ally for the entire team. This is complicated by the fact that Adam makes a point of [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending to be a goof-off to protect his secret]] but it doesn't change the fact she's one of the best warriors in the King's service.

This AnimatedSeries changed the face of children's television when it debuted in 1983. {{Filmation}} produced the show for daily syndication in conjunction with a pre-existing line of Mattel toys and action figures. Its huge success led to dozens of others MerchandiseDriven cartoons in the [[TheEighties 1980s]]. It is now being rerun late at night on the [[{{qubo}} Qubo Channel]] and on RTV on Saturday mornings.

* ArchEnemy: Skeletor
* ArmCannon: Many guys, like Man-At-Arms, Teela and Stratos use at some point wrist-mounted lasers in the Filmation series. Man-At-Arms wields a cannon on his forearm sometimes in the reboot.

This AnimatedSeries changed the face of children's television when it debuted in 1983. {{Filmation}} produced the show for daily syndication in conjunction with a pre-existing line of Mattel toys and action figures. Its huge success led to dozens of others MerchandiseDriven cartoons in the [[{{TheEighties}} 1980s]]. It is now being rerun late at night on the [[{{qubo}} Qubo Channel]] and on RTV on Saturday mornings.

Existing in a world that has both futuristic elements alongside sword, legend and lore, the series focuses on Adam, the crown prince of Eternia, who as described in the opening monologue, has the ability to transform into his super-strong barbarian ''alter ego'', He-Man. This TransformationSequence also turned Adam's cowardly [[{{TalkingAnimal}} talking pet]] Cringer into the brave and fearsome Battle Cat.

An amusing bit of apocrypha states that the franchise was originally intended to be based on the film ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but a new plotline and characters were written when marketers realized the folly of basing children's merchandise on a very violent film that most children had not seen. Of note is that PaulDini was a member of the writing staff (as was Creator/JMichaelStraczynski), and BruceTimm did layouts; both would later go on to be main figures in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''[[{{WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries}} Batman: The Animated Series]]'' (also of note: Haim Saban and Shuki Levi were involved in the original production of the show as well, also going on to make [[PowerRangers a surprisingly long-lived children's franchise]]). The franchise became so well known that the stockbroker protagonist of Tom Wolfe's novel ''TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' identified himself as "a master of the universe" (the character's daughter owned some of the figures) because of the power he held.

A 2002 ContinuityReboot, first aired on CartoonNetwork's {{Toonami}}, was much closer to the original series while being modernized and more consistently written. Unfortunately, the new series failed after one and a half seasons due to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork a lack of promotion]] and poor toy distribution.

''[[{{WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower}} She-Ra: Princess of Power]]'' was a spinoff, although it wasn't quite as successful.

Teniendo a su lado la magica espada\\
y amigos que no fallaran,\\
fuerzas malvadas querran liquidarlo\\
y nunca descansaran!''

* HollywoodCyborg: Trap-Jaw.

* BoringInvincibleHero: Seems to happen with He-Man at times; the only truly desperate fights seem like the ones where he's either not involved or up against an enemy who can really beat him.

** Even the Queen of Eternia, Marlena, gets a moment to flex her abilities. In the '80s show, she's revealed to have been one of Earth's best fighter pilots when she leads a squadron against Skeletor to rescue her kidnapped family. In the 2002 series, she gets to reveal her swordsmanship.

Existing in a world that has both futuristic elements alongside sword, legend and lore, the series focuses on Adam, the crown prince of Eternia, who as described in the opening monologue, has the ability to transform into his super-strong barbarian ''alter ego'', He-Man. This TransformationSequence also turned Adam's cowardly pet TalkingAnimal Cringer into the brave and fearsome Battle Cat.

An ill-fated {{Revival}}[=/=]{{Retool}}, ''[[{{TheNewAdventuresOfHeMan}} The New Adventures of He-Man]]'', premiered in 1990 but lasted only a year. Depending on whom you ask, it failed either because it was RecycledINSPACE or TheyChangedItNowItSucks.

* TransformationTrinket: The Sword of Power. Curiously, Skeletor wields a nearly identical sword in the toyline, which could merge with He-Man's sword and the two were known collectively as the Power Sword when merged, but it lacks this little ability. Skeletor's sword appears only in the children's books and occasionally the mini-comics, and is outright ignored in the cartoon. He did seem to have a duplicate version of the blade in MastersOfTheUniverse, however, but it's so dark it's almost impossible to see if it really is supposed to be the 'dark half' of the Power Sword (referred to as The Sword of Grayskull in the film) or not.

* UndyingLoyalty: Cringer may be a scaredy cat, but he always stands by Adam - even when faced with all of Skeletor's Evil Warriors ''and'' the Council of Evil.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: He-man is sometimes pretty clever in how he defeats his enemies in the 2002 series but most of his solutions usually involve crushing something since he's not quite as versatile as most of the bad guys. Supposedly, that version would always have enough strength necessary to complete any given task he just needed to apply it correctly.

This AnimatedSeries changed the face of children's television when it debuted in 1983. {{Filmation}} produced the show for daily syndication in conjunction with a pre-existing line of Mattel toys and action figures. Its huge success led to dozens of others MerchandiseDriven cartoons in the [[{{TheEighties}} 1980s]]. It is now being rerun on [[{{qubo}} Qubo Night Owl]] and on RTV on Saturday mornings.

This AnimatedSeries changed the face of children's television when it debuted in 1983. {{Filmation}} produced the show for daily syndication in conjunction with a pre-existing line of Mattel toys and action figures. Its huge success led to dozens of others MerchandiseDriven cartoons in TheEighties. It is now being rerun on {{qubo}} late at night and on RTV on Saturday mornings.

An amusing bit of apocrypha states that the franchise was originally intended to be based on the film ''ConanTheBarbarian'', but a new plotline and characters were written when marketers realized the folly of basing children's merchandise on a very violent film that most children had not seen. Of note is that PaulDini was a member of the writing staff (as was Creator/JMichaelStraczynski), and BruceTimm did layouts; both would later go on to be main figures in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (also of note: Haim Saban and Shuki Levi were involved in the original production of the show as well, also going on to make [[PowerRangers a surprisingly long-lived children's franchise]]). The franchise became so well known that the stockbroker protagonist of Tom Wolfe's novel ''TheBonfireOfTheVanities'' identified himself as "a master of the universe" (the character's daughter owned some of the figures) because of the power he held.

An ill-fated {{Revival}}[=/=]{{Retool}}, ''TheNewAdventuresOfHeMan'', premiered in 1990 but lasted only a year. Depending on whom you ask, it failed either because it was RecycledINSPACE or TheyChangedItNowItSucks.

A 2002 ContinuityReboot, first aired on CartoonNetwork's ''{{Toonami}}'', was much closer to the original series while being modernized and more consistently written. Unfortunately the new series failed after one and a half seasons due to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork a lack of promotion]] and poor toy distribution.

''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' was a spinoff, although it wasn't quite as successful.

* ActionGirl: Teela -- all incarnations. Both TheEighties series and the 2002 revival shows Teela as being better in combat than Adam as well as being a reliable ally for the entire team. This is complicated by the fact that Adam makes a point of [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending to be a goof-off to protect his secret]] but it doesn't change the fact she's one of the best warriors in the King's service.

** Even the Queen of Eternia, Marlena, gets a moment to flex her abilities. In the Eighties show, she's revealed to have been one of Earth's best fighter pilots when she leads a squadron against Skeletor to rescue her kidnapped family. In the 2002 series, she gets to reveal her swordsmanship.

* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: ''The New Adventures of He-Man'' was launched with four pack-in minicomics explaining the setup changes, including the change in appearance of He-Man and Skeletor, and the change of He-Man's "ByThePowerOfGrayskull" to "By The Power Of Eternia". In the TV series, they appear from the beginning in their hi-tech costumes, and He-Man with his new transformation phrase, with no explanation for the changes. Some things in the comics were ignored by the cartoon however, such as Skeletor finding out Prince Adam was He-Man moments before the He-Man identity became '''''permanent''''', as well as the redesign of the sword to match the recently released toy, as the new Sword of Power in the cartoon looked nothing like the new merchandise. He-Man's secret identity also remained secret in the cartoon, and no explanation is given in the show for Skeletor becoming an apparently cybernetic being, though this was addressed in the comics. Perhaps the writers were expecting people to assume a tie to [[TheMovie the 1987 feature film]] to explain Skeletor's cybernetic augmentation if they hadn't gotten ahold of the minicomics. If so, it didn't work.

* AlwaysNeedWhatYouGaveUp: "The Problem with Power"

* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Every episode of both versions has a PublicServiceAnnouncement at the end to emphasize its Aesop. Interestingly, in the case of the '02 show, the "morals" were shown only in some international releases and didn't air in America.
* AnAesop: Every episode of every version had one at the end - the '02 show softened the blow by always making it the exact lesson the episode as a whole was meant to teach you, rather than clumsily segueing into "yo, kids -- don't smoke." The earlier show had a bad habit of being hard on its aesops - see BrokenAesop below.

* BadassNormal: Duncan

* BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil: While the original toy package labeled him a villain (because every toy had to be classified as one or the other, no exceptions), in the Filmation series Zodak was portrayed as more of a cosmic agent of balance, favoring the good guys, as they seem more likely to cooperate with his goals. The 2002 reboot has him as an angrier, more selfish character.

* BiggerBad: Horde Prime for the entire He-man/She-Ra universe.

** this trend was continued in the 2002 reboot
** also in the 2002 reboot the TheFaceless One is implied to be a powerful practitioner of magic, but can't leave the Temple of the Ram Stone

* BrokenAesop: All OVER the place.
** Pretty much the whole 2002 episode "The Courage of Adam" implies that Adam is useless as Adam and really needs his ''alter ego'' form to be of any use. It also contradicts many subsequent lessons, about [[BeYourself being yourself]] and trying hard being the way... Adam is never allowed to develop his own, more realistic character. What we see instead is an instant of little-effort, power-gain Transformation.

* CanonImmigrant: Orko, The Sorceress, and Evil Seed were originally created just for the Filmation cartoon. They all have since been adopted into the He-Man canon -- though in Evilseed's case, a toy has yet to be made.
** The Sorceress '''was''' in the original comics and all. She was just known by a different name: "The Goddess". The particular ''look'' of the Sorceress, nevertheless, puts her closer to this trope. "The Goddess" in the mini-comics looked like Teela in her snake armor form. The bird-woman look was from the cartoon, and, like Orko, was incorporated into the toyline and comics later.

* CowardlySidekick: Cringer

** In the Filmation series, Orko was from an alternate dimension where the rules of magic worked differently. On his home world of Trolla, he was his people's greatest wizard, but on Eternia, he had to relearn even the most basic spells, or else have them blow up in his face. When Orko was able to make his way back to his own dimension, he utterly dominated Skeletor in a magical duel, leaving his friends in complete awe. It should also be mentioned that Orko saved He-man's life when they first met, and showed great magical skill in the rescue (until he lost the medallion that allowed him to perform magic competently in Eternia).

* DaddysGirl: Evil-Lyn

* DemotedToExtra: In the second season of the 2002 series, Skeletor and his minions appeared less frequently and had less impact on plots to make room for King Hiss and the Snake Men. (Season 2 being half as long as Season 1 likely didn't help, either.) Reportedly, this would've been rectified in a third season.

* DistaffCounterpart: She-Ra

** Teela and Evil-Lyn, in contrast, are able to successfully work together when stranded in the desert by a common enemy in "The Witch and the Warrior". To the point that both express genuine regret that they're on opposite sides. (It doesn't last, but it does lead to an almost friendly goodbye by Evil-Lyn... by Eternian villain standards, anyway.)

** Evil-Lyn to Teela
** Skeletor to King Randor
** Clawful to Ram-Man
** Trap-Jaw to Man-At-Arms
** Tri-Klops to Man-E-Faces
** Panthor to Battle Cat
** Evilseed to Moss Man
** Webstor to Buzz-Off
** Count Marzo to Orko
** Hordak to The Sorceress

* FanVid: He-Man is the subject of many a GagDub on Website/YouTube; [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61E2eI4QqH4 The Skeletor Show]] is probably the funniest and most popular. In Chilean television, the humor show "Canal Copano" featured a pretty funny parody as well.

** TheBigBad: Skeletor
** TheDragon: Trapjaw and/or Beast Man

** TheBrute: Clawful
** DarkChick: Evil-Lyn

* GrowingMusclesSequence: Averted in the first cartoon because in order to cut animation costs, Adam is already as buff as He-Man, [[ClarkKenting his lighter skin and clothes being the only differences between the two]]. Played straight in some episodes of the 2002 series, until He-Man gets his armour.

* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Even during the 80s run when Stinkor was deemed too ridiculous to use, a supplemental book version of his rejected episode showed this. Stinkor's stench was so powerful that it sapped He-Man's strength and Stinkor almost beat him.

*** [[spoiler:Yes, and in the original as well]]

* HumanAlien: Every 'human' character is this.

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: In the 2002 series, Teela was voiced by Lisa Ann Beley and Evil-Lyn was voiced by Kathleen Barr. By an amazing coincidence, Lisa was also the voice of the heroic CatGirl Felicia and Kathleen was also the voice of the evil HotWitch Morrigan from the ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' television series.

* LivingMacGuffin: "The Starchild"

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Teela, searching for the identity of her true parents, learns -- and is promptly made to forget -- that the Sorceress of Grayskull is actually her mother, and that at some point in time, she will have to take her place. In the 2002 series, it was planned to have Teela discover this and ''not'' be forced to forget, but it got canceled before that could happen. And for it to be Teela's choice whether she would become the new Sorceress.]]

* MaleGaze: A common occurrence when the female cast is involved in the 80's series. How many times has the viewer been treated to Teela's backside, whether she was landing or being crept up upon by a villain?

* MegaNeko: Battle-Cat
** Also Panthor, Skeletor's pet, er, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin panther]], and the lion steed of King Greyskull in the 2002 revival, who was ''twice as big as Battle-Cat '''and''' Panthor '''combined'''''.

* NoNameGiven: The Sorceress. [[spoiler: What about in the sorceresses backstory episode? She is referred to as Teela-na]]

* ShoutOut: In the episode, ''The Origin of the Sorceress'', it featured [[TheSilmarillion Morgoth the Terrible]] and [[TheLordOfTheRings Koduck Ungol]] as the previous Sorceress.

* SplitPersonality: Cringer/Battle-Cat

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Played completely straight with the cannibalistic, scheming, and downright evil snake-men. Also Whiplash, a crude bully considered an embarrassment and a traitor by the rest of his people.