As most He-Man fans are aware of by now, Masters of the Universe: Revelation by Kevin Smith has dropped on Netflix for us to watch at our leisure. Just as a warning before you read any further, there will be spoilers. I will try and keep out the main plot points of the story. Also, if you are not at all familiar with any He-Man lore, most of this might be a tad confusing.
I had heard the rumors as many others had about He-Man allegedly taking a backseat in this continuation of the 80s cartoon. I took it with a grain of salt, as I figured there was no way they would sideline the star of the show I had watched fondly as a kid. However the rumors persisted as the debut drew ever closer.
The day had finally come and I was all settled in to get my first new fix of He-Man in over 35 years. The first episode started out pretty grand, and indeed He-Man was front and center. I figured the rumors were just that, rumors. Then to my horror, He-Man was seemingly killed in this very first episode and took Skeletor along with him.
Many times internet rumors turn out to be without merit. You read things that appear to be so outlandish that there is no way that they could be true. However in this case, it would appear that the internet was proven true. I watched the rest of the episodes of this new MOTU show and there was no He-Man. It appears the star of the show is now Teela, with the narrative following her on a few adventures before coming to a cliff-hanger in episode five.
I would have had absolutely no problem with this being “The Teela Show” if that’s what it had been sold as up front. However the marketing made no references to this and really played up the He-Man aspect. The trailer on YouTube featured He-Man front and center. A Twitter post by Kevin Smith showed him surrounded by He-Man swag. Don’t really recall seeing Teela on any of that merchandise.
At this point I am becoming quite tired of Hollywood taking our childhood and twisting it into something unrecognizable. How many times have they tried and failed to capture that same lighting in a bottle we all remember fondly? They really must be running out of new ideas for movies and shows. Reboot, remake, wash rinse, and repeat.
Take my review however you will. I’m just an old fan with my own opinion.
As you mention in the first paragraph, I myself, am not familiar at all with the He-Man lore BUT I will do my best to see it from your eyes.
I see and understand your frustration with the misleading advertisements of the true characters of the show pre-release. (Was Teela ever a main character to begin with?) Unfortunately, we have seen remakes take such wrong turns in attempts to recreate what was once and still is a “great” film/television series. The first similar situation that comes to mind is LeBron James remake of Space Jam with Michael Jordan, grotesque. Although I share little knowledge regarding the contents of the He-Man saga, I feel the frustration of Hollywood having no empathy for the preservation of decent movies.
Hello. And Bye.