He-man and the Masters of the Universe is an animated TV show that ran between 1983 and 1985. It became one of the most popular TV shows and toy-lines of the 1980’s. At one time it had over nine million viewers tuning in every single afternoon.
Between He-Mans initial release and 1987, when the live-action Masters of the Universe movie hit theatres and the bubble finally burst, He-Man was believed to have made $2 billion from it’s huge selection of merchandise, which included everything from clothes to toothbrushes.
Here are 10 things you probably never knew about He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, even if you were a huge fan back in the 1980’s!
10 He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Facts You Probably Never Knew
1: Skeletor Was Banned In France
Episodes in which the character Skeletor appeared were never broadcast in France. His skull-face was considered too terrifying for children’s television at that time.
2: Orko Had A Name Change
Orko’s name was originally Gorpo. The character’s name was changed to save on animation costs.
Because of the symmetrical “O,” animators were able to flip animation cells and use them twice. Animators regularly used the same animations with different backgrounds to save time and money.
3: Prince Adam Was Supposed To Be A Teenager
Prince Adam was originally supposed to be a teenager, to save on animation costs he was animated with the same design as He-Man.
4: One Of Skeletor's Henchman Only Appeared In One Episode
Skeletor had a lesser-known henchman by the name of Jitsu, he only appeared one time in all 130 episodes speaking just one line of dialogue.
While a toy based on this character was released, producers were scared that he would be perceived as a racial stereotype and so dropped the character from the show.
5: Skeletor Didn't Always Live In Snake Mountain
Snake Mountain was not introduced until some way into the Masters of the Universe franchise.
Previously, Skeletor’s hideout had been described as “amongst the catacombs deep under Eternia”. It was also listed as his base being Point Dread, located in the middle of the ocean. Let’s hope Skeletor could swim!
6: He-Man Wasn't Allowed To Use His Sword
In all 130 episodes not once did He-Man ever truly harm any living creature. He won’t use his sword for anything other than cutting obstacles or blocking various lasers.
He never punches or kicks, not even to defend himself, unless he’s fighting a robot. If He-Man did need to engage in a physical confrontation with another sentient being, he would typically grab them and then throw them somewhere, like in a barrel, a puddle of mud or water.
7: Skeletor Is The Uncle Of He-Man
Skeletor was the brother of King Randor, which makes him the uncle of He-Man. However, the 1980’s cartoon never really went into any detail about this.
It wasn’t until later He-Man cartoons (2002), that it was confirmed Skeletor was originally called ‘Keldor’, brother of King Randor, who had his face melted by acid.
8: He-Mans Mother Was A NASA Astronaut Who Got Lost In Space
While He-Mans father King Randor is from Eternia, his mother Marlena is actually from Earth.
Marlena was a NASA astronaut who’s shuttle was knocked off course and landed on Eternia. She was found by King Randor, later married him and eventually gave birth to twins, Prince Adam (He-Man) and Princess Adora (She-Ra).
She also looked suspiciously like Michael Jackson, as you can see from this picture!
9: The Toys Came Before The Show
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the first animated series based on a toy line.
The show was created to help with He-Man toy sales, however several characters created specifically for the show were later made into toys, including Prince Adam, Orko, King Randor, and The Sorceress.
10: The Executive Producer Refused To Put Some Toy Characters In The Show
Lou Scheimer, the shows executrices producer, had final say as to which toys would be featured on “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”.
Action Figures he refused to feature include the evil warrior ‘Stinkor’, mainly due to his questionable super-power (releasing a toxic smell from his body) and several of the Snake Men, including ‘King Hiss’ and ‘Snake Face’.