History YMMV / HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2021

* SpiritualSuccessor: A rag-tag group consisting of main kid characters who are able to transform into full-frown superheroes in their quest against evil rulers made this series similar to Anime/DigimonFrontier

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Krass. She shows little interest in defending Eternos, instead of wanting to return to the Tiger Tribe, and dislikes Adam focusing on protecting the whole world rather than their small corner of it, even believing Adam doesn't need her when that's never the case. In the first episode, she wasn't concerned with Adam's feelings about wanting to find his family. While Krass never asked for such responsibility, it's difficult to see her as having a solid argument when it involves leaving innocent people in the capital to suffer Skeletor's wrath, and instead comes off as her resenting her best friend for choosing to see the big picture. [[spoiler:By the end of Season Two, she does however admit to her failings, knowing that [[FailureHero her selfishness is what makes herself her own worst enemy]], and which Skeletor's ghost [[ManipulativeBastard expertly uses to his advantage]], getting her to [[FaceHeelTurn embrace it]] and become part of the new BigBadDuumvirate with him]].

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Krass. She shows little interest in defending Eternos, instead of wanting to return to the Tiger Tribe, and dislikes Adam focusing on protecting the whole world rather than their small corner of it, even believing Adam doesn't need her when that's never the case. In the first episode, she wasn't considered with Adam's feelings about wanting to find his family. While Krass never asked for such responsibility, it's difficult to see her as having a solid argument when it involves leaving innocent people in the capital to suffer Skeletor's wrath, and instead comes off as her resenting her best friend for choosing to see the big picture. [[spoiler:By the end of Season Two, she does however admit to her failings, knowing that [[FailureHero her selfishness is what makes herself her own worst enemy]], and which Skeletor's ghost [[ManipulativeBastard expertly uses to his advantage]], getting her to [[FaceHeelTurn embrace it]] and become part of the new BigBadDuumvirate with him]].

* SpiritualSucessor: A rag-tag group consisting of main kid characters who are able to transform into full-frown superheroes in their quest against evil rulers made this series similar to Anime/DigimonFrontier

** Was King Randor upset seeing Adam flee because [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he had to pull rank on his own son]] [[OverprotectiveDad for his own good]] or because Adam [[spoiler:refused to give up the sword he believes ''no one'' should wield]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Adam's SecretIdentity is almost completely dropped from this incarnation (barring Randor [[DramaticIrony not knowing]] He-Man and Adam are one and the same [[spoiler:until episode 8]]), which seems intended to avoid the fan frustration over most of the cast being LockedOutOfTheLoop, with the very first episode having almost every major hero and villain witness Adam's transformation.
** A number of fans who were displeased with the DarkerAndEdgier tone that ''WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation'' adopted were [[WinBackTheCrowd more accepting of this series]] as it seemed to go back to the fun tone and innocent charm of the original.

* AwesomeEgo: It's almost unanimously agreed upon that Skeletor is [[EnsembleDarkHorse the highlight]] of any He-Man adaptation; the show's take on him this time around however ups his typical ItsAllAboutMe approach up to eleven and beyond, while proving himself to be a legitimate threat all the way through, [[spoiler:up to even anticipating his own betrayal from the Dark Masters a decade in advance and planning accordingly]], that keeps him [[AdaptationalBadass a true threat]] that can match blow-to-blow with He-Man that [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002 almost]] has never before seen in any other adaptation... all the while [[ChewingTheScenery chewing every piece of shrubbery]] [[MilkingTheGiantCow and fixture]] on the scene with how much of a LargeHam he is:

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Was King Randor upset seeing Adam flee because [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he had to pull rank on his own son]] [[OverprotectiveDad for his own good]] or because Adam [[spoiler:refused to give up the sword he believes ''no one'' should wield]].

* CompleteMonster: [[EvilCounterpart Skeletor]] began as the would-be usurper Prince Keldor. After trying to [[EvilUncle kill his young nephew]] and being trapped for his crimes, the reborn Keldor quickly resumes his plans of trying to claim Eternia's throne for himself. Killing multiple people and risking countless lives to achieve his ends, Skeletor takes the throne. When deposed and seemingly killed, Skeletor [[TheCorrupter persuades a hesitant Krass]] to join him and raise an undead army. Possessing the bones of King Grayskull, Skeletor then surpasses his previous crimes in scale by trying to unleash a flood of Havoc that would turn the strong into his brainwashed undead minions and kill the weak, with intent to purge all those living. Skeletor then continues by torturing Krass, only stopping when He-Man gives him the Sword of Power and the opportunity [[InTheirOwnImage remake the universe in his own visage]] as a narcissistic tribute to himself. Repeatedly proving he was evil from the very beginning and abandoning all that made him human in pursuit of power, Keldor even bemoans his own life being saved, [[CardCarryingVillain having relished both the power of Havoc and the inhumanity it gave him]].

** [[WickedWitch Evil-Lyn]], after repeated failures in betraying both King Randor and Skeletor, [[TookALevelInBadass truly comes into her own]] upon escaping an Eternian prison. Leading her Dark Masters to regain the Power of Havoc via exploiting the stored power of Skeletor's undead army, Evil-Lyn proceeds in abandoning her goals to save Teela, betraying the girl but tossing down her staff for her to retrieve upon surviving, and abandoning her comrades. Going to Castle Grayskull, she then plants doubt about allying with Skeletor in the hesitant Krass' mind. Upon Skeletor nearly wiping out Eternia's life, Evil-Lyn unhesitantly [[EnemyMine joins the Masters in defending the planet]], only stopping when she's dragged away by her own minion. Evil-Lyn proves to learn from her mistakes well, even telling the [[spoiler:newly-arrived Hordak]] that she will never be his servant.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Much like ''WesternAnimation/{{She|RaAndThePrincessesOfPower}}-Ra'' before it, the show garnered so much online vitriol (helped by franchise fans already angry at ''[[WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation Revelations]]'') that despite the massive amount of dislikes (before youtube disabled Dislikes) it garnered, the trailer for the show actually ended up trending on youtube in the top 10 on the day it aired.

** Krass' heel turn in the third season [[spoiler: doesn't ever live up to it's real potential either, they keep everything contained to just her and Adam and Teela and Duncan are kind of left out of it, even Cringer who helped raise them in the Tiger tribe doesn't get to do much in the way of interaction with her]].

** It's hard to understate the awesomeness of seeing [[spoiler: Hordak]], who had not only been well-received or hyped up by [[WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower multiple]] other [[WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation series]] beforehand, but first appears as an AffablyEvil villain whose mere presence turns the sky into a red storm. The kicker? Their voice being provided by [[spoiler: ''Kevin Conroy'']].

** The original [[spoiler: Skeletor]], aka [[spoiler: King Grayskull]]. The fact he's voiced by Creator/AlanOppenheimer in a brilliant CastingGag was enough to score this, but the fact he gets to [[spoiler: use the original Skeletor voice]] and is a genuine threat despite being long gone cements him as a delightfully
complex and fairly minimalist antagonist.

* EvilIsCool: For many fans, the Dark Masters steal the show due to their cool designs, fun personalities, and interesting dynamic due to none of them [[DeckOfWildCards being particularly loyal to each other]].
** Skeletor himself, [[BreakoutCharacter per usual]]. [[spoiler:It helps he ''[[TheBadGuyWins wins]]'' in the first two seasons in [[XanatosSpeedChess increasingly spectacular fashion]]]].

** [[WickedWitch Evil-Lyn]], after repeated failures in betraying both King Randor and Skeletor, [[TookALevelInBadass truly comes into her own]] upon escaping an Eternian prison. Leading her Dark Masters to regain the Power of Havoc via exploiting the stored power of Skeletor's undead army, Evil-Lyn proceeds in abandoning her goals to save Teela, betraying the girl but tossing down her staff for her to retrieve upon surviving, and abandoning her comrades. Going to Castle Grayskull, she then plants doubt about allying with Skeletor in the hesitant Krass' mind. Upon Skeletor nearly wiping out Eternia's life, Evil-Lyn unhesitantly [[EnemyMine joins the Masters in defending the planet]], only stopping when she's dragged away by her own minion. Evil-Lyn proves to learn from her mistakes well, even telling the newly-arrived Hordak that she will never be his servant.

* AwesomeEgo: It's almost unanimously agreed upon that Skeletor is [[EnsembleDarkHorse the highlight]] of any He-Man adaptation; the show's take on him this time around however ups his typical ItsAllAboutMe approach UpToEleven and beyond, while proving himself to be a legitimate threat all the way through, [[spoiler:up to even anticipating his own betrayal from the Dark Masters a decade in advance and planning accordingly]], that keeps him [[AdaptationalBadass a true threat]] that can match blow-to-blow with He-Man that [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002 almost]] has never before seen in any other adaptation... all the while [[ChewingTheScenery chewing every piece of shrubbery]] [[MilkingTheGiantCow and fixture]] on the scene with how much of a LargeHam he is:

* TearJerker:
** In episode 5, Eldress is saddened when Teela initially refuses to become the Sorceress again.
** The ending of episode 8 "The Calm Before the Storm". [[spoiler:Adam reveals his true identity to King Randor. Sadly, Randor ruins the genuine happiness of their reunion a second later by demanding that Adam give up the power of Grayskull, even threatening to have Adam arrested if he doesn't]]. While Adam is [[spoiler:able to transform into He-Man and escape]], it's clear from the heartbroken look on his face that things did ''not'' go the way he would have liked. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Same with Randor.]]
--->'''Adam:''' So it's like that, huh?\\
''[{{beat}}]''\\
'''Randor:''' ''(solemnly)'' [[DontMakeMeDoThis Only if you chose for it to be.]]
** In the Season 2 finale "The Fifth Nemesis", [[spoiler:Skeletor successfully manipulates Krass into embracing Havoc by getting her to think that neither Grayskull nor Adam will accept her, while also bribing her that he would bring her parents back, and Krass becomes Rampage, decisively beating He-Man to a pulp before recombining the Sigil of Hiss. By the end of it all, all Adam could do is apologize for being unable to help her sooner as he tries to get back...]]
*** [[spoiler:The sheer tragedy of this comes from the fact that the breaking point for Skeletor to push Krass over the edge was a case of PoorCommunicationsKill and OutOfContextEavesdropping as she misunderstands Adam's denial of Randor giving her a royal role, leaving in a heartbroken outrage... Before it's shown that Adam wanted Randor to adopt her as a daughter, as family, rather than just giving her another role. Which only makes her FaceHeelTurn even more tragic as she pushes away any of Adam's attempts to talk her out of this before she and Skeletor take him down. Her heartbroken face before she transforms into Rampage and the single tear she sheds after said transformation is just even more painful to look at.]]
*** [[spoiler:Honestly, Krass's transformation into Rampage itself. The transformations of the other Dark Masters were terrifying, but this one is just heartbreaking to watch. Krass looks like she's undergoing pure emotional torture the whole time, shedding a single tear during the process, and when she's finished instead of an imposing figure, we're given someone whose stance is tired and limp, like they've been drained of energy.]]
** [[spoiler:In the Season 3 finale, when Skeletor said that [[ExactWords he will bring back Krass' parents]], but as mind-controlled zombies, an angry Krass rants that she has betrayed her friends (her FamilyOfChoice) for nothing. Skeletor's response? That maybe they weren't so important to her after all, which not only set her HairTriggerTemper but prompted her HeelFaceTurn.]]

** Skeletor himself, [[BreakoutCharacter per usual]]. [[spoiler:It helps he ''[[TheBadGuyWins wins]]'' in both seasons in [[XanatosSpeedChess increasingly spectacular fashion]]]].

* NightmareFuel:
** The Dark Masters' transformations come right out of a horror movie with how disturbing it all appears.
*** It starts with Skeletor infusing his minions with Havoc by having the chains latch to everyone's weapon or their necks, holding their lives in his demented hands.
*** Kronis tries to keep his mouth closed, but the invasive Havoc pries his mouth open and shoves itself down his throat. We then exit the hellish maw of spinning teeth as Trap Jaw shifts and roars in unnatural movements, like he's a puppet to his cybernetics, before he lunges forward to EatTheCamera.
*** Evelyn embraces the Havoc with sadistic glee, the camera flickering repeatedly to her shrieking face as she transforms. Then Evil-Lyn coats herself and the land in a chaotic mix of black magic and rushes forward with the most horrific face yet.
*** R'Qazz is eager at first but then starts clawing at his chest in pain before he petrifies. Beast Man suddenly bursts out of his far smaller body's chest, snarling and raving. Once he's out, he wastes no time in destroying his previous body, his remaining humanity, by charging forward.
** TheReveal that [[spoiler:King Grayskull [[FallenHero was the original Skeletor all along]], having created Havoc to defeat the Snake People once and for all when the Power alone wasn't enough, paints a really dark picture for the setting. The once GreaterScopePargon became Eternia's [[GreaterScopeVillain greatest villain]] that threatened to destroy the entire world to satiate his newfound god complex. [[VocalDissonance Even his voice]], in spite of the fact it is the comically nasally tone of ''[[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 the]]'' [[Creator/AlanOppenheimer original Skeletor]] himself, does nothing to downplay his sheer menace as he lets off his trademark EvilLaugh before Eldress wills herself to kill him.]]
** When [[spoiler:Rampage]] turns on [[spoiler:the revived Skeletor]] near the end of Season 3, he grabs her and [[spoiler:''shoves her head into the Havoc fountain in Castle Greyskull'', with her face starting to turn into a skull as he gleefully tortures her]]
** [[spoiler:Hordak's SlasherSmile is arguably more terrifying than anything listed above.]]