2021, d. Adam Conarroe & Patrick Stannard - netflix
developed by Kevin Smith
There are three things I absolutely loved as a kid: Star Wars, DC Comics, and Masters of the Universe. In my teenage years, Star Wars made a big comeback first with novels, then comics, and a new line of toys. DC Comics were kind of "maturing" with me, with more complex storytelling and universe-building and grittier/sexier characters. But He-Man and his compatriots remained kids stuff from may past: beloved but left behind.
Over 20 years later, my daughter, at a very early age, started watching the classic '80's He-Man and She-Ra cartoons and got very enthusiastic, in the same way I was at her age. We started collecting classic second-hand Masters of the Universe figures, vehicles and playsets, which ignited my nostalgia, if not altogether my enthusiasm. I couldn't really stand to sit and watch more than an episode of the '80's cartoons, which were vibrant, colourful, and attractively designed, but samey and juvenile. A rewatch of the early 2000s cartoon revealed them to be action-heavy but quite dull and lacking the same alluring vivacity, and the designs were overdone (my daughter wanted no part of it... the original cartoon series was certainly something uniquely appealing to a child).
Throughout the 2010s there were constant rumours of a MOTU feature film, but they would never come to pass. I didn't closely track these rumours but I was excited by the prospect of a whole new MOTU that would maybe appeal to the Gen-Xers who grew up on it but also inspire a whole new generation of fandom. Somewhere in 2019 word came of a whole new wave of nostalgia based MOTU, in the form of a retro-styled toy line and two new animated series on Netflix, one that was said to pick up from where the '80's cartoon left off spearheaded by king of nerds Kevin Smith, the other a revamping of the property for kids of today.
Smith went to conventions, on podcasts and conducted fan-channel interviews stoking the flames of nostalgia, repeatedly talking up how his series would pick up immediately after the '80's cartoon and how it was made by fans for the fans. Excitement in the MOTU fan community was quite high, but, well, I followed Smith for quite a prolonged period of his career, only to eventually see through his geek-done-good exterior and find his skills as a writer and director somewhat limited, and his sense of humour stunted, experiencing no growth since his Clerks debut. I was dubious how a Smith-run superhero cartoon, particularly one based off a beloved childhood property (meant for children), would fare in his hands.
When part 1 of Revelation debuted (the first 5 of 10 overall episodes) the proverbial shit hit the fan. The series, for starters, looked nothing like the classic Filmation series (turns out the producers have the rights to the property Masters of the Universe, but not the style or music or original characters from Filmation). Smith's story, as well, put Teela, not Adam or He-Man as the front-and-center character, and then took some very dramatic swings with the storytelling which set the worst of the fanbase (in the same vein that railed against the 2016 Ghostbusters remake or Star Wars:The Last Jedi). Bad faith arguments were made, complaints about SJWs and wokeness ruining the property, but there was truth to the fact that Smith sold a bill of goods that he couldn't (and didn't) deliver upon.
Putting aside all the lead in hype, the backlash, and any expectations you might have about the cartoon transporting you to a place that you literally can never go back to, Revelations is, actually, pretty fun interpretation of the property, hung upon a damn good story with some exceptional twists, surprises and subversions.
Where Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was an episodic series with no real continuity, no ongoing story threads, and a reset-to-zero conceit each episode. The series played on the ongoing battle between good and evil as He-Man and friends fought the evil forces of Skeletor over and over and over again, with nothing ever resolved, nothing ever advancing, only stopping Skeletor from succeeding. In Revelation each episode moves things quite dramatically forward, starting with a ceremony promoting Teela to man-at-arms, taking over from her father. The celebrations are interrupted, however, by an all-out assault on Castle Grayskull by Skeletor and his forces. The kingdom's forces, He-Man, Teela, and others, coming to rescue, and in the battle the power-sword is destroyed and both Skeletor and He-Man are killed, revealing Adam's true identity, and the players in his deceit in the process.
The series then follows Teela, having quit her new post and effectively becoming a mercenary, as she tries to regain some semblance of trust in her world and embarks on a variety of quests with her old allies (and in some cases, old enemies) to try and restore the broken magic of the land.
With He-Man out of the picture, a real spotlight is shone on his typical supporting cast. Obviously Teela is the lead, but Orko, Cringer, Evil-Lyn, Beast Man and others get pulled into focus, having real character development and depth that was only ever hinted at in prior animated or comic book interpretations.
Breaking the series up into two parts with a 5 month break in between did a real disservice to the flow of storytelling as well as the perception of the series. Even fans that were willing to give the series the benefit of the doubt saw the twists of the end of part 1 as, well, fucking with them just too much.
The second half, however, stepped away from being overly dependent on surprises and really dug deep into the character study aspect, particularly of Lyn, which Lena Hedy absolutely demolishes the role. The ending, after so many turbulent trials and tribulations is suitably triumphant, heroic and epic, but also full of emotional rewards.
Smith and others have referred to Revelation as an anime, and in how the action is executed it certainly borrows the visual language, but in a design sense it's like a modern extension of the 2002 series, with more shading and depth but similar long angular figures, overly ornate costumes, excessively detailed environments. It's a very dynamic series, but the action seems almost perfunctory with the drama and world building much more the draw.
My wife has no historical love or really any connection to the property or characters, and yet she was thoroughly engaged by the entire series. If the series can actually grow the fandom for the property by delivering something that appeals to more than just the existing fanbase, then that's a win. The existing fanbase of nerdy properties will be harder on any new interpretation of that property than anyone else, but they will still always support it. In order for these classic franchises to succeed, to continue being viable, there needs to be growth.
If the emotionally stunted, middle-aged, male fanbase want to complain loudly about how it's not what they wanted, that should be taken with a grain of salt. With every new iteration of some childhood property they are out in force bemoaning how this new take has destroyed their childhood. Well, you can't actually ruin someone's childhood retroactively, that's not how time works. What they're basically saying, without having the intelligence or self-reflective insight to adequately do so, is that the new thing doesn't capture the same feelings in them as the old thing. Well, that's because they are no longer viewing things with a child's eyes. It's an impossibility for anyone can draft a story, direct a movie, draw a picture, or make a toy that will adequately replicate what every single person loved about something as a child. The best they can do is take the property and try to make something intriguing and enticing that captures some of what worked about the property in the past, but feels like it also belongs today. Masters of the Universe: Revelation actually succeeds at that.
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