Once again, a new iteration of a popular ’80s cartoon has resulted in “adults” taking to the Internet to voice their displeasure about how their childhoods have been ruined. The shock. The horror. Really, is anyone surprised at the latest reaction towards Masters of the Universe: Revelation?
If there’s one lesson we’ve learnt from the re-imaginings of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and ThunderCats, it’s that the supposed original fans are extremely vanilla and live in a nostalgic bubble. They want to see the same things they saw over 30 years ago, refusing to accept that any good story should move forward—not stagnate.
In the case of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, they wanted the same-old He-Man with the same trash haircut battling a quipping, buffoonish Skeletor. The problem is, this show was never announced as a reboot, but rather as a natural continuation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Suddenly, there’s Teela, a woman (how dare Kevin Smith do this?!), being the central point of a show called Masters of the Universe. Shouldn’t she be in a corner and pining over the death of Prince Adam instead of being all heroic? Because, you know, it’s totally unbelievable…
The irony is, He-Man is still a part of the show here. While Part 1 focuses more on exploring the rest of the Masters of the Universe lore and establishing Teela’s arc, he continues to show up in flashbacks throughout the episodes. Plus, there’s no way that he’s actually dead the second time around, because magic.
Smith has received a huge amount of backlash for his comments that this is still a He-Man show. But again, this is only Part 1. Has anyone even considered that Part 2 still hasn’t aired? Or is it more fun to overreact about a story’s conclusion that you don’t fully understand yet? Castlevania went through long stretches where Count Dracula wasn’t a core focus and no one said a peep about it…
Masters of the Universe was always bigger than just He-Man and Skeletor. Go through the original toyline to see how vast it truly is. Undoubtedly, they are the two most popular figures, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be central figures in story arcs to come. To build a world, you need to flesh out all its characters, especially if you plan on exploring it in the long term.
Look, let’s be frank here. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe wasn’t a good animated series. Don’t let nostalgia cloud the facts here. It had little to no continuity, and the show doesn’t hold up like others from the era. In fact, it’s been admitted that the sole purpose of this cartoon was to sell toys. So, essentially, kids were watching 20-minute commercials every week.
If you don’t like Masters of the Universe: Revelation because you don’t connect with the story, that’s fine. But if your hatred is based purely on the fact that it isn’t He-Man battling Skeletor like you remember, maybe it’s time to go outside and touch grass.
So Ur having ago at fans for having an opinion??
Was so stoked for this show. Read the reviews and backlash, watched 1st episode. Absolutley not what I expected. Pandering to the SJW’s. They destroyed what this show is about…He-Man!! That’s why this show was created in the 1st place!
instead of a review this is more an attack on critics. because displeasure with a product intended for mass market should be met with criticism as opposed to analysis. my younger brother who is a hardcore fan who has spent insane money on this franchise was lividly angry with this attempt to capitalize on an almost 4 decade old property. I had to watch all 5 episodes before I chimed in. my two cents is, I understand his anger and that of long time fans. this is kind of like getting a superman movie that all about Lois or Lana. those characters have a role and a place but stealing top billing while behaving out of character is not going to please the people who came because of the main hero they spent a portion of their childhoods fantasizing about being just like. the one that was killed off two times over five episodes. for the people who loved it, good on you. nothing wrong with enjoying some fluff. we all do from time to time. but for those that didn’t, its better to address their concerns directly than simply malign them. thats not helpful
Lamo most retarded thing I’ve read in awhile. I hate Journos
1. No one is complaining about He-mans new hair-do
2. No one thinks He-man is actually dead
3. Most people want to see the show move forward in a natural way. The problem is, Kevin Smith said time and again that this show ‘is focused on He-man as the central character’ which is obviously not the case.
4. No producer and writer ever said Castlevania would have Dracula in every episode, Kevin Smith said He-man would be the central character and it was a lie as you said yourself in this article that He-man is a ‘part’ of the show.
5. Even the author does not sound convinced that He-man will be a major character in the final episodes LOL. They will bring him back for the last episode to give all the thanks to Teela for saving the Universe….which by the way would be perfectly fine had they said it was not He-man focused in the first place. Smith knew he had to trick the fan base to get them to watch his bad show.