He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021 TV series)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Promotional poster
Genre	Action-adventure Science fantasy Superhero
Based on	Masters of the Universe by Mattel
Developed by	Rob David
Voices of	Yuri Lowenthal David Kaye Antony Del Rio Kimberly Brooks Judy Alice Lee Tom Kenny Benjamin Diskin Grey Griffin Trevor Devall Roger Craig Smith
Opening theme	The Power Is Ours by Ali Dee
Composer	Michael Kramer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18
Production
Executive producers	Adam Bonnett Rob David Christopher Keenan Frederic Soulie
Producer	Susan Corbin
Running time	26 minutes
Production companies	Mattel Television
Animation services	House of Cool CGCG Inc.
Release
Original network	Netflix
Picture format	1080p HDTV
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16) – present

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a computer-animated superhero streaming television series developed by Rob David and is a reimagining of the 1983 series of the same name. The series premiered on Netflix (under its Futures banner) on September 16, 2021.^[1]

A second season was released on March 3, 2022, with a third season planned for release on June 8, 2022.^[2]

Plot[]

An amnesiac Prince Adam has been separated from his father King Randor during the treachery of his uncle Keldor. Upon being part of a Tiger Tribe with his best friend Krass'tine, Prince Adam later finds a Power Sword that transforms him into He-Man. With Cringer, Krass'tine, and their new allies Teela and Duncan, they work to fight the forces of Keldor upon his transformation into Skeletor and his minions Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, and Trap-Jaw.

Voice cast[]

• Yuri Lowenthal as Prince Adam / He-Man and Tuvar^[3]
  • Max Stubington as young Prince Adam
• Kimberly Brooks as Teela / Sorceress and Teela Na / Eldress^[3]
• Judy Alice Lee as Krass'tine / Ram-Ma'am / Rampage^[3]
• David Kaye as Cringer / Battle Cat^[3]
• Antony Del Rio as Duncan / Man-at-Arms^[3]
• Benjamin Diskin as Keldor / Skeletor^[3]
• Roger Craig Smith as Kronis / Trap Jaw and General Dolos^[3]
• Grey Griffin as Evelyn / Evil-lyn and Mo'squita-ra^[3]
• Trevor Devall as R'Qazz / Beast Man^[3]
• Fred Tatasciore as King Randor and Baddrah^[3]
• Tom Kenny as Ork-0 and various RK drones
• Zeno Robinson as King Stratos^[4]
• Stephen Fry as Man-E-Faces^[4]
• Bobcat Goldthwait as Gary the Dragonfly^[4]
• Dee Bradley Baker as Webstor^[4]

Episodes[]

Season 1 (2021)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"The Sword of Grayskull"	Ricardo Curtis Armen Melkonian	Bryan Q. Miller	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Young witch Teela works with her friend Duncan as apprentices for criminals Kronis and Evelyn, who are planning to steal the Sword of Power from King Randor's castle in the city of Eternos, in order to access the legendary power of Castle Grayskull. Upon retrieving the sword, Teela suddenly receives a telepathic message from a mysterious being who tells her to get the sword to the "champion". Fleeing from the city, and from Evelyn and Kronis, Teela finds herself in the forest near the Tiger Tribe colony, who lock her up due to her magical powers. She is visited by Adam, an amnesiac city teenager who grew up in the woods with his best friend Krass and father figure Cringer. Evelyn and Kronis track Teela to the village with a swarm of re-programmed hunter drones and order Duncan to have them burn down the village, but he refuses, leading Kronis to do the deed himself. Needing to keep the sword out of their hands, Teela convinces Adam to help her get the sword out of the village. But when both of them are cornered by the duo and the re-programmed drones, Adam attempts to fight back with the Sword, causing the cuff on his wrist to merge with the sword, and to restore it to its full power. He transforms him into a large, muscular man, infused with the power of Grayskull. Meanwhile in faraway lands, Keldor, the treacherous brother of King Randor, leaves his stasis shell, sensing the reawakening of the Power of Grayskull.
2	2	"The Power of Grayskull"	Matt Ahrens	Bryan Q. Miller	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
The transformed Adam manages to dispatch the hunter drones with a powerful attack, but he passes out and transforms back to normal. Duncan betrays Kronis and Evelyn, and helps Adam, Teela, Krass, and Cringer escape from the duo in a transport and stop to make repairs in the canyons. When the others try using the sword, Adam manages to wake up and tells them the sword needs to be recharged back at Castle Grayskull. Krass dubs Adam's transformed persona "He-Man". Meanwhile, Kronis and Evelyn encounter Keldor, who has stolen the souls of several of Randor's troops. Keldor tells them the location of Grayskull and tells them of his past with the castle, he once tried to take it over, but was cursed with the dark magic Havoc, which is slowly killing him, and has seared the flesh of his left hand, leaving it skeletal, thus the need for stealing soul energy. Kronis reprograms more drones to find Adam's group. Meanwhile, Adam wishes to know more about his past, and is comforted by Krass. The next morning, the reprogrammed drones find and attack them, but Keldor arrives, and introduces himself as Adam's long lost uncle.
3	3	"The Heirs of Grayskull"	Lubomir Arsov	Bryan Q. Miller	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
After Keldor steals the sword from him, and then buries them under a rock gathering, Adam and Teela lead the crew to Castle Grayskull after Keldor and his goons. Through mystical echoes, the group discovers how Keldor got his bony hand and how the Sword and castle chose Adam to be its champion when he was a little kid. Despite getting into a duel with his powerful uncle, Adam sees his friends are captured by Evelyn and Kronis and Keldor threatens Adam to give him the power of Grayskull or he will use Havoc to turn Adam's friends into monsters, just like him.
4	4	"The Champions of Grayskull"	Matt Ahrens	Bryan Q. Miller	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
After freeing Teela, Krass, Duncan and Cringer, Adam uses the power of Grayskull to turn them into Sorceress, Ram-Ma'am, Man-at-Arms and Battlecat, respectively. Adam fights Keldor, while the others take on Kronis, Evelyn, and a shadow copy of Battlecat. After the heroes are victorious, Keldor grows mad to the point where he believes his curse is a blessing in disguise, and tries to gain more Havoc power from the castle, warping his scepter into the Ram-Headed Havoc Staff. He jumps into the beam of Havoc, and drags Kronis and Evelyn along with him, apparently vaporizing them all. Instead, unbeknownst to the new Champions of Grayskull, the fortress banishes the villains into Snake Mountain, the capital of the Fright Zone. Keldor's additional exposure to Havoc expands the effects of his curse and drives him even more insane, mutating him into a muscular but grotesque skeletal warrior named Skeletor, who brands Evelyn and Kronis his minions, sets up an evil lair in Snake Mountain with his Havoc magic and plots to destroy all his enemies rather than conquer them.
5	5	"We Have the Power"	Armen Melkonian	Heath Corson	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
Teela struggles with her decision to join Adam and his team on their new adventures, especially when she struggles to solve the mystery of her possible connection to the Sorceress of Grayskull. Meanwhile, Skeletor uses his Havoc powers to reanimate the remains of old monsters underneath Snake Mountain, turning them into undead horned beasts called Battle Bones to distract the Champions and Randor's army so that he can kidnap General Dolos and have Kronis impersonate him to get Kirbinite - the metal the Sword of Power is forged from, and the key component needed to upgrade Skeletor's Havoc Staff and share its dark magic with his minions.
6	6	"Orko the Great"	Lubomir Arsov	Bryan Q. Miller	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
Duncan upgrades and restarts an RK drone that saved him (during We Have the Power); unfortunately, thanks to an old data cog Duncan installs, the drone thinks he is a great sorcerer called Okro the Great, who once served on Grayskull's court. The drone runs away from the Masters, later presenting himself as an obstacle on their next mission outside of Castle Grayskull. Meanwhile, using his hologram technology, Kronis impersonates General Dolos in order to sneak back into Eternos and steal the Kirbinite needed for Skeletor's plan.
7	7	"He-Man, the Hunted"	Matt Ahrens	Amanda Deibert	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Prologue: Cringer happens upon a young Adam (after the event of Keldor's betrayal and fight with him at Grayskull's castle), who is looking for help but can't remember anything about him except his name. Cringer agrees to take the boy in and help him reunite with his real family one day. Present Day: While checking in on the Tiger Tribe, Adam and Krass get captured by R'Qazz, a beastopoid poacher who took away Cringer's original claws, gave him his name, and brainwashed the other green tigers Katura, Bash and Prowler with his advanced whip. While the teens free themselves from a trap set by R'Qazz, they argue about their roles. Eventually, Cringer helps Adam get the sword back and discovers he and Krass can transform without Adam rallying them. R'Qazz is beaten and his tiger slaves are set free, but Krass chooses to remain in the Tiger Tribe village and protect it from poachers rather than go back to Grayskull with the others. In the B-Story, Ork-0 is messing with Teela's work, so she and Duncan take him to the last place the Trollan people where seen. After accidentally destroying part of the stature dedicated to the original Orko, Ork-0 realizes he is not the original wizard and breaks down in tears, until Teela and Duncan agree to adopt him and have him officially join the team. In the end credits scene, Evelyn approaches Q'Razz and delivers him an offer for revenge from Skeletor, as he and Evelyn know of his history with Adam and Krass, and was impressed with R'Qazz's near-success. R'Qazz agrees, due to him wanting the three heroes destroyed.
8	8	"The Calm Before the Storm"	Armen Melkonian	Keely MacDonald	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Evelyn and Kronis hire Cringer's arch-enemy R'Qazz to help them try and overthrow Skeletor so they can escape from the Fright Zone. Skeletor, meanwhile, is upgrading the villains' weapons, and in the process, conjures a storm made of Havoc energy that threatens Eternos, forcing King Randor and He-Man to work together to survive. Eventually, Adam learns why his father didn't look for him after Keldor took him to find Grayskull, and Randor learns about Adam when he outs himself as He-Man to dispel the storm just as it seemed the King of Eternos would die. Even though they reunite, the King still wants Adam to surrender Grayskull's power, forcing Adam to retreat and suggest the Masters take on Keldor alone. Meanwhile, Duncan and Teela try to find a way to track down Keldor's magical source and put an end to his threat, while Eldress has a heart-to-heart chat with the young Sorceress. In a flashback that ties into the B-story, Eldress relives the moment where Keldor viciously attacked Young Adam and the sword gave Adam a concussion as a result (possibly explaining his memory loss). To protect Adam, Eldress takes on a full blast of Havoc flame and uses her remaining strength to teleport Adam into the jungle region and teleport Keldor far away from both him and the Castle of Grayskull, before losing her body and sending her falcon spirit to find Teela and the Sword in the present. After bringing back some Havoc into the Castle, Teela and Eldress manage to pinpoint Keldor's location in the Fright Zone. In the end, Skeletor's upgrades are completed, and Evelyn senses that Teela has found them, but Skeletor laughs it off, planning to set a trap for their arrival.
9	9	"Cry Havoc, Part 1"	Lubomir Arsov	Peter Binswanger	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
The Masters, minus Ram Ma'am, charge into Skeletor's lair. Skeletor uses his Havoc powers to turn his minions into the Dark Masters: Evil-Lyn, Trap-Jaw and Beast Man. While the Masters fight the Dark Masters one-on-one, their new powers make them an equal match for the team. He-Man battles Skeletor, but Skeletor manages to break the Sword of Power in half, cutting the Masters off from the Power of Grayskull. Things only get worse when Skeletor brainwashes General Delos and takes control of the Red Legion. The episode ends with the Masters being dunked in a pit of pure Havoc to corrupt them.
10	10	"Cry Havoc, Part 2"	Matt Ahrens	Bryan Q. Miller	September 16, 2021 (2021-09-16)
Eldress reveals to the Masters that they can still channel their comradery to escape, and manage to fight their corruption as Krass and Orko free them from the Havoc pit. Duncan manages to reforge the Sword of Power with the leftover Kirbinite Skeletor left behind, which restores their powers. When the Dark Masters try to pull a coup on Skeletor, he reveals he tricked his minions, foreseeing their betrayal; the Kirbinite was to ensure he could use his new mind-control powers to force them to obey his every command, like he can with the Red Legion. The newly repowered Masters manage to use Sorceress' newfound ability of teleportation to head the city and save it. While Orko saves the king, the Masters take on the Dark Masters and try destroying Skeletor's staff, while discovering that their upgraded weapons allow them to combine their powers. However, it fails and King Randor, Teela, and Orko are forced to stay in Eternos in hiding. To keep Castle Grayskull safe, Eldress taps into Grayskull's powers and teleports it and the other Masters to an unknown destination. Skeletor takes the throne of Eternos, as the Dark Masters and every mind-controlled soldier in Eternos bow to him.

Season 2 (2022)[]

Production[]

On December 18, 2019, Netflix announced two new Masters of the Universe projects to be in development: an adult-oriented anime series described as a direct sequel to the 1983 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe television series titled Revelation, and a CGI series aimed at children.^[5][6][7] Pre-production was handled by House of Cool in Canada while animation services was done by CGCG Inc. in Taiwan.

Release[]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was released on September 16, 2021, on Netflix.^[1] A trailer released on August 19.^[8]

Reception[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 80% approval rating with an average rating of 6.8/10, based on 5 critic reviews.^[9]

References[]

External links[]

• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe on Netflix
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at IMDb