Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Masters Of The Universe: Revelation’ On Netflix, About The Aftermath Of He-Man And Skeletor’s Battle For Eternia

We really miss the era when cartoons were created as extended commercials for toy lines. Three come to mind immediately: G.I. Joe, The Transformers, and He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe. The last of those three, which ran 130 episodes from 1983-85, then on syndication and cable ever since, was one of the more memorable shows from that era. So when we heard Kevin Smith was signed to make a sequel series, this time with a bit more sophisticated 2021 sensibility, we didn’t know what to think. What we found is that he’s a traditionalist in some respects, but not all. Read on for more.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE REVELATION: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: After a scene-setting intro that reminds viewers that Prince Adam of Eternia defends the secrets of Castle Grayskull as He-Man (Chris Wood) from interlopers like Skeletor (Mark Hamill), we see someone in a robe carrying a prisoner towards Grayskull.

The Gist: At the same time, at the royal castle, Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is promoted to Man-at-Arms, a moment that her adoptive father, Man-at-Arms (Liam Cunningham) calls the proudest of his life. Cringer (Stephen Root) is afraid of the noise, so Orko (Griffin Newman) creates a soundproof bubble for the big green tiger, but he can’t breathe in it. Teela wonders where Adam is.

We see He-Man bringing a prisoner to the Sorceress (Susan Eisenberg), but the ruse is soon up when the prisoner reveals himself to be Skeletor and He-Man is just a robot. Skeletor summons Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey) to help him battle the Sorceress and get at what he says are the secrets that are being protected in the bowels of the castle.

Prince Adam, ever the goofball, shows up to Teela’s swearing-in ceremony, but gets a telekinetic message from the Sorceress that she needs help. He transforms into He-Man (and turns Cringer into Battle Cat). He goes with Man-at-Arms and Teela to Grayskull.

After a pitched battle, Teela finds Skeletor in a part of Grayskull that looks like an eternal garden. There he says he’s looking for the Hall of Wisdom, which holds an orb where the Council of Elders concentrated all of their power. Taking possession of the orb would give Skeletor all the knowledge of the universe and all of its magic. The only way He-Man can stop it is if he takes the Power Sword, calls “By the power of Grayskull!” and lets it absorb all of the orb’s magic. He does it knowing he will likely die.

In the aftermath of the battle, the king (Dennis Haysbert) banishes Man-at-Arms from the kingdom. Teela, who is angry that she was lied to about Adam’s alter ego all of these years, decides to quit and goes off into the woods on her own.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Masters Of The Universe: Revelation reminds us of the ’80s version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, of course. This version has a bit more of a sophisticated sense of humor, thanks to Kevin Smith, who is the executive producer and head writer.

Our Take: (SPOILERS AHEAD) Listen, by the end of the first episode, we knew that the first five episodes of Revelation were going to be different than what He-Man fans were expecting. Heck, they’re different from what I was expecting, given the fact that I was a fan of the original He-Man cartoon in the ’80s. The first episode scratched all the itches, including Adam’s transformation into He-Man, where he goes “I have the power!”. It gave us the same thrill that it did when we were teenagers. But the direction that Smith decided to take the show, one that is more Teela-focused at first, is one that we fully endorse.

In episode 2, we catch up with Teela some time later; she’s now a mercenary, partnered with a tech genius named Andra (Tiffany Smith) to fetch treasures for money. When an old lady tasks them with getting a goblet from Tri-Klops (Henry Rollins) and his minions, the old lady wants to bring it back to Grayskull; that’s when Teela finds out what the real mission is, and it involves bringing the knowledge of the orb back to Castle Grayskull.

Doesn’t that sound like a more interesting story than just seeing He-Man and Skeletor battle endlessly? We give Smith credit for making Skeletor way less hapless than he was in the ’80s cartoon — Hamill’s growly voice acting helps give Skeltor some gravitas beyond just being the “bad guy” — and someone who will be a worthy adversary to Teela and He-Man, when he shows up again down the line (we know he’s going to).

Today’s audiences want a continuing storyline, even the teens that may watch this show. We definitely think the thirtysomethings and up that will be this show’s real fans are looking for something more than a battle-of-the-week format. Gellar’s characterization of Teela shows the depth that Smith has given her, and the character is more than capable of “getting the band back together” in the first part of the season.

Smith eschews his normally wordy dialogue style, but keeps the characters smart and real, which helps us want to follow all of them as they go on their journey. He also hews closely to the convoluted world that is Eternia, where there’s layer upon layer of intrigue and mysticism that needs to be restored or captured. The animation is an upgraded version of the ’80s Filmation style the original show had, but with just enough retro touches to keep the show connected to its predecessor.

So even if we get some delayed satisfaction with seeing the main players in this tale, the hope is that the story that gets them back to Eternia will be a hell of a lot more satisfying than what was basically a glorified toy commercial almost 40 years ago.

What Age Group Is This For?: The show is rated TV-PG for some mild cartoon violence and some salty language — Teela says “Crap” in the second episode. But we think kids 11 and up will enjoy this. But, seriously, this is for “kids” that start at about 45 years old.

Parting Shot: Teela, having quit the Royal Guard, leaves the castle, and looks back at it and the dual moons above it.

Sleeper Star: We’ve always been an Orko guy. and Newman’s take on the floating wizard is going to make for some good comic relief.

Most Pilot-y Line: Masters of the Universe: Revelation is a pretty over-the-top show to begin with, so saying some line is sillier than the others feels unnecessary.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Fanboys may be ticked that Masters of the Universe: Revelation starts out with more Teela and less He-Man and Skeletor, but the story that Kevin Smith has set up in the first two episodes is definitely an intriguing one.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream Masters Of The Universe: Revelation On Netflix