"I have the power!"
By uttering those four words while holding his power sword over his head, Prince Adam of Eternia was able to transform himself from teenage weakling into He-Man, the strongest man in the universe! Week after week, with a team of special warriors by his side, the Masters of the Universe would do battle with Skeletor and his evil mutants, learning valuable lessons along the way.
For five years in the 1980s, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" captured the imagination of many of us in our youths. Yes, the show may have promoted battles that probably led to several bruises and scrapes, but how can you not love a show in which good and evil are clearly defined and where, just by believing, one person who wasn't that physically strong and who no one paid attention to could become the most powerful person in the world?
This week, Season 1, Volume 1 of "Masters of the Universe" was released on DVD, completing the big four of animated adventures on DVD (the other three being "Transformers," "G.I. Joe" and "Thundercats," and yes, I'm sure that will spark debate among my fellow geeks). Though they probably don't hold up as well as we would have liked (there is something a little strange about aspiring to be a half-naked barbarian), these will surely help us get in touch with our inner children.
Please, ladies, I haven't forgotten about you! The guys had He-Man, but the girls had She-Ra, Princess of Power, who would usually battle Hordak and Catra, again, on a weekly basis. And yes, it seems a little frustrating that year after year, He-Man and She-Ra would always fight evil, and always win, and yet no one ever got killed? Except robots. It's okay to kill robots.
She-Ra hasn't been released on DVD ... yet, but if the He-Man DVD set does well, you can bank on She-Ra not being far behind.
It would be remiss of me not to talk about the toys, since the real purpose behind the "Masters of the Universe" TV show was to get us to buy the toys, which, of course, we did. A few of my personal favorites:
Stinkor: Every "Masters of the Universe" figure had an action feature of some kind. Stinkor was some kind of skunk warrior, and his "action feature" was that he really stunk. Mattel must have sprayed the figure with some kind of perfume and sold it to kids. The odor wasn't really that offensive. I would have expected more from a guy whose name is Stinkor.
Battle Bones: This was the best way to carry your various "Masters of the Universe" figures. It was a fossilized dinosaur that allowed you to attach the figures to its rib cage. And you could put all the little swords and shields in its mouth.
Modulok: A really innovative figure, this two-headed red monster came completely apart, and you could literally put it back together in hundreds of different combinations!
The best thing about being a geek is that you never really let go of your inner child, and "Masters of the Universe," for better or worse, allows us to hold onto it forever.
