He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseΩ
[related: Skeletor, Castle Grayskull, Donald F. Glut][Disambiguation: Masters of Deception]
A mythologically-based fantasy toy line and television show that reached its apex of popularity in the late 1980's. Commonly referred to as either MOTU, or, simply, He-Man, the television series emerged shortly after the composition of the legendarily shrouded "MOTU Bible" by amateur paleontologist Donald F. Glut. Premiering in 1982, MOTU was the first syndicated show based entirely around a line of toys, preceding both G.I. Joe and Transformers, two wildly popular subsequent series with similarly extensive mythological build-outs. MOTU was controversial at the time due to the overt sexualization of its partially nude characters (both male and female) and the introduction of punching and stabbing - actions that had previously been censored in mainstream cartoons [1]. He-Man stood as figurehead for the MOTU universe, an extensive mythological world based on the planet Eternia. Much of MOTU's episodic drama centered around Castle Grayskull, a fortress containing all the wisdom in the universe that functions as both power source and safe abode for He-Man and his compatriots. Although Glut's Bible only alludes to Grayskull's mysterious origin, "Into the Abyss", MOTU's 83rd episode, reveals the castle to be built over a bottomless chasm, an infinitude responsible for the structure's almost limitless power. Harnessing the power of the chasm whilst withstanding waves of apeirophobia is the job of The Sorceress, a scantily clad woman in her early fifties that turns into a falcon when exiting the castle gates. The primary challenger to the throne of Grayskull is the villainous Skeletor [2], a former minion of Hordak, leader of the Evil Horde. Skeletor's relationship with Hordak and his Horde is complex and, at times, contradictory. Although Skeletor is often portrayed as having been exiled to Eternia after betraying Hordak, he notably teamed up with Hordak's nefarious mentor, Hordak Prime, in effort to rid the world of Christmas spirit in the 1985 one off He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special.
- ↑ Censorship circumvented by the introduction of "stinger lessons" (A technique also employed in the far more violent G.I. Joe series, premiering in 1984), brief PSAs featuring He-Man and/or other prominent MOTU characters. Examples include the discouragement of narcotics use or the dangers of pre-marital sex. Ironically, MOTU's "stinger lessons" often included the introduction of new characters in the series, coinciding with their distribution onto toy store shelves across America (and beyond).
- ↑ In later MOTU lore, Skeletor was widely speculated to be Keldor, long lost brother of King Randor, He-Man's father.