Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2022)

Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2022)

They’ve come back to piss off the purists!
And, of course, they’re amused.

Netflix released the first series, “Masters of the Universe: Revelation”, in two parts, with five episodes for the first time on July 23, 2021, then five more episodes on November 23, 2021. In June 2022, Netflix, again, announced a second series, “Masters of the Universe: Revolution”(the third and final part in total), premiering on January 25, 2024.

The series received generally positive reviews…. and I don’t understand why!!!!

Part 1, “Masters of the Universe: Revelation”, was nothing like a revelation and Part 2, “Masters of the Universe: Revolution”, is clearly nothing like a revolution! They should have called it Apocalypse! That would have suited me!

Why did I go ahead with this sequel anyway? Probably because I thought Revolution couldn’t be any worse than Revelation.

All these episodes represent a sequel to the 1983-1985 series, Masters of the Filmation Universe, while ignoring the events of She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1987), which is scandalous, especially since Hordak has always been linked to She-Ra. The plot of Revelation attempted to explore the unresolved intrigues of the original 1980s series.

Also not included are the futuristic adventures of The New Adventures of He-Man (1990), which I never bothered to see. Nor the reboot She-Ra and the Ruling Princesses (2018 – 2020). maybe one day…

In any case, in these 2021 cartoons, we find among the voices a shock trio: Mark Hamill, Lena Headey & Meg Foster!

Mark Hamill needs no introduction! Who doesn’t know Luke Skywalker from the first Star Wars trilogy? Recognized by some fans as the best Joker and the best Skeletor. He also played a role in the Flash series. In 2015, he reprised the role of James Jesse aka Trickster in the series, twenty-three years after playing him in the 90s series of the same name! Amazing!!!

Lena Headey is, admittedly, known to the general public for her horrific role as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones (2011-2019). So it’s no surprise to her biggest fans that she’s lending her voice to Evil-Lyn, although she’s calmed down quite a bit in this latest season. She’s no longer the most detestable character after Skeletor. Lena also took part in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), where she gave her voice to Maudra Fara.

As for Meg Foster, theoretically, I shouldn’t introduce her anymore either! It’s crazy not to be known by everyone, when she has such a rich and brilliant career.

Meg Foster’s return to the world of He-Man as Motherboard in “Masters of the Universe: Revolution” is a major event for fans of the franchise. As the former Evil-Lyn, Foster brings a new dynamic to the series, as she takes on the role of a technologically advanced witch seeking to protect Eternia. Her character’s actions and interactions with Skeletor and the people of Eternia are central to the series’ story.

Meg Foster has also played roles in bad movies such as Jeepers Creepers 3 and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, as well as fabulous roles in series such as Quantum Leap, where she played Laura Fuller for three episodes. And the list goes on! She has also appeared in: Miami Vice, The Cosby Show, “Murder, She Wrote”, The Twilight Zone, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Mentalist, not forgetting Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.

The French-speaking kids of the time, in France and Switzerland at any rate, said Musclor (which is He-Man), not Masters of the Universe. You can smell the laziness from an early age!

Kids of the time bought Musclors (He-Men), Skeletors and other figurines. So to put Muscles aside for 3 episodes (or even just one episode, or even not to make him one or THE main character) is particularly disingenuous, whatever the reasons!

I read this little comment: “Otherwise, they completely messed up the character design of ”Skeletek”…
Why the hell does he have chicken legs? :-p”

I’m initially rather suspicious when I see Kevin Smith’s name on a comic book project. I can’t say I like him. Especially in relation to his arrogant belief that he can make all Super-Heroes better. And I’m not the only one, according to this comment: “He’s written several stories I didn’t like (Guardian Devil, The Evil that Men Do, The Widening Gyre and Green Hornet). In the opposite direction, I liked the run he did on Green Hornet.”

On the live-action side, his films are supposed to be pretty nice, in general… but I clearly don’t like them! As a result, I’m not sure what to make of MOTU.

Someone had written: “For now, I’m waiting for his series to finish and, if possible, acquire the whole thing on used DVDs (provided Netflix doesn’t block that possibility).”

I, for one, know I’ll never buy those seasons!
Where it amazes me as a showrunner is that the writing team seems to have consulted EVERYTHING MOTU-related before making the series. The idea of recycling Preternia and Subternia isn’t a bad one. And Scare Glow, as Subternia’s guardian, was a nice touch!
As for Andra, she had previously appeared in a comic book that few must have read, and it’s not bad to use her too. Et cetera.
All in all, this universe, which recovers ideas from all the previous versions, is a gigantic Easter Eggs fan service that’s both homogeneous and coherent, especially given that we’re talking about the transposition of a range of children’s toys from the 80s, so… nice effort!

I read another review that ended like this: “After that, I don’t know, the story arcs seem pretty banal to me. Secondly, MOTU is really something for kids from the 80s. Does it really make sense to turn it into a series for nostalgic adulescents in the 2020s?”

You could ask the question, of course! I’m one of those kids, so I couldn’t possibly be objective.

Here’s another review from a guy who must have a problem with wokism in his everyday life, simply because he’s the one feeding his fear disguised as anger! There are always and everywhere freaks like that! People who don’t even know what they’re afraid of, but feel obliged to go along with the racist, macho, sexist masses and so on.

“Well, basically, it’s a series not adapted enough to modern sensibilities, as they say.
Good old masculinity (not the toxic kind, the good kind, the counterpart of femininity) doesn’t appeal, it’s not progressive enough! If you don’t hit the male stereotype, it’s not nice to like it!
I wasn’t going to see it, this series, but this kind of criticism makes me change my mind out of distrust for the camp of the good.”

What makes me laugh even more is that I always have to correct these kinds of reviews written by these ignoramuses when I pick them up… because they’re obviously stuffed with all kinds of mistakes (spelling, grammar, punctuation…)! You can’t be angry all the time and super intelligent or cultured at the same time!

Well, just know that in this latest version, Musclor is quite clearly in a relationship with Tee-La, whereas this was only hinted at in the first 80s version. But worst of all… Skeletor is officially Musclor’s uncle! And that… is a degree that even a wokist like me can’t stand!

Here’s another review to add to mine: “I personally didn’t enjoy MOTU Revelations very much, even though I don’t consider myself a purist, given that I’m aware of the mediocrity of the original material, and that I really enjoyed She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which is a complete reboot, and in girl power and gender fluid mode (which the creators obviously couldn’t resist bragging about at their leisure. It’s always funny how hard these industrial entertainment producers try to sniff each other’s armpits and convince us that they’re helping to bring about the new man, but let’s just laugh about it). As an adult, however, I didn’t follow the series all the way through, because it’s still pretty childish, but I’d recommend watching it.

On the other hand, I had given up on Revelations halfway through, and I think the lack of interest in Teela’s character, catapulted into the role of main character and “girlboss” with the subtlety of a backhoe, had a lot to do with it. Putting He-Man aside was a risky choice, and I respect its audacity. But the result wasn’t up to scratch, in my opinion.

That won’t stop me from having a look at the sequel, but with circumspection.

And the change in Musclor’s appearance is interesting, but a little too… “bright” for my taste, now he’s just ‘BEAUTIFUL’!!!”

I still have very mixed feelings about it.
The drawing style is very good, the story is interesting, but… more and more of the things that are the basis of the story, that are iconic to Musclor’s mythology, are being thrown out little by little. What about Musclor’s secret identity? Well… it’s no longer a secret! And hasn’t been since the end of Revelation, except that now it’s not just those closest to him who know, it’s literally public, just like Iron Man. Is he still a Prince? Not any more, because we’re doing away with royalty!

Yes, these are minor spoilers, but basically I’ve watched all these episodes so you don’t have to.

In Revolution, they’re really trying to show us that Technology can be quite powerful compared to Magic. So, okay, it’s in the spirit of the times… but I’m not sure it’s applicable in a heroic mythology like Masters of the Universe! Wouldn’t it be more of an insult to the franchise to know that the two have always coexisted? For their technology has always been ultra-advanced… but they would already have been decimated if they hadn’t resorted to magic in a hostile world like theirs.

That said, to say that technology is the true master of the universe… it’s not meaningless, alas! But why separate them? It’s their combination that makes them so powerful, and we’ll see this more than ever as the season progresses.

To sum up and conclude:

For those who knew these characters from the very beginning, we’ll admit that we’re playing with our nostalgia quite a bit! There are nods to everything that existed in terms of toys, and even to the 1987 film. But we also have to admit that this “Masters of the Universe: Revolution” isn’t really very good! pretty lame, once again!

The only perfect cartoon they ever made was the first season of the version in the early 2000s… but that unfortunately went unnoticed! If ever, it was He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 – 2003). Its second season was already considerably less good, and it ended shortly afterwards.

I’ll end by posting this review, which is very accurate: “And here we are, sealing the fate of a commissioned but highly creative and original work in the hands of a kid who’s been given access to the toy store and the bank.
The result is the height of his abilities, a sugary ugliness, an animator’s staging (it looks like ready-made libraries of movements) without the slightest notion of directing. Let’s not talk about writing, which doesn’t exist here.
Pitiful fan fiction, crammed with clichés ad nauseam.
What never ceases to amaze me is the number of people who have signed off, probably having seen excerpts, demo tapes, a synopsis and validated it.
It’s furiously reminiscent of the mess of 2012’s crass “Mysterious Cities of Gold” sequel…”

If ever, the last scene announces a sequel… but chances are it’ll never see the light of day!

2,5