He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (2021)

As far as pilots for reboots go, I had few actual objections. That being said, I do have very real concerns. They didn't hurt the episode I just watched, but they are a big red flag for the long-term health of the show.

Frankly, I wish Mattel had picked either this series or Revelations to air. They should not be airing simultaneously. I don't agree that a He-Man series for adults and one for kids can share the spotlight. At least not at this stage of the franchise. That's an acceptable move for Transformers, because there have been SO many different versions already. And that show is ALWAYS on the air with a new reboot. But not counting the way-cool recent She-Ra cartoon, we haven't had an actual He-Man cartoon since 2002. And that was the first real reboot ever. This is only the third try (or fourth if you consider Revelation a reboot instead of a sequel; there's an argument that is what it is) and I feel like both shows are stealing each other's spotlights. It's too much too soon. Get the audience used to He-Man cartoons, THEN saturate the market.

One of the things that concerns me is all of the story and character changes they made. On some level, I like the reason they were clearly made: To piss off purists. And while that tickles me in the short-term, in the long-term it can spell certain disaster. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 is the cautionary tale of how things can spin out of control by trying to completely rewrite the formula. That show actually more or less worked for its first season. But it kept purposefully pushing against the canon so hard that it eventually started engaging in outright bad writing to justify that and just never stopped. And it was all downhill from there. I feel like this was as a solid a premiere as TMNT 2012 got. And that gives me a sinking feeling.

I will say this in defense of this show: As different as the character designs are I take comfort in the fact that none of them are outright repulsive like Splinter, April, and Casey were. TMNT differentiated itself from earlier Turtles toons by making the characters look unlike previous versions. And they wound up making them look butt-ugly to do it. These characters LOOK wrong, but unlike Casey Jones, Teela has not actually been hit in the face with an ugly stick. But again, I feel like the reasons these changes are taking place are probably being done for the wrong reason. Giving a middle finger to long-time fans can sometimes work out okay (See season four of The Batman). Sometimes it can totally backfire (See every other season of The Batman). I don't like fandom in general, and think they tend to want what is worst for their franchises, but driving them crazy and putting a wedge between them and the younger generation the new reboot is geared towards doesn't actually help the show in question. If it did, I'd have no problem with the idea. I actually kind of dug ThunderCats Roar. But that wasn't in it for the long haul, and if this show IS, I expect it to get worse and worse every season.

Because say what you will about the old He-Man cartoon and toyline (and I have) most of the foundation was strong. Some of the characters' names were patently ridiculous (the idea of Buzz-Off being the name of a warrior king was outright idiotic), but the biggest problem the Filmation cartoon itself suffered from was a crappy execution. The premise was sound. The underwhelming 2002 version used the exact same premise and its quality rose simply due to it being slightly better written and animated. I would love a He-Man cartoon for kids that was using the premise properly and was also well written and animated. And I don't think either this cartoon or Revelation qualifies (although I personally like Revelation much more so far).

It's early. I could be wrong. But I think a troubling sign is that the producers didn't have faith in the premise as is and felt the need to soup it up. That's approaching the series creatively from a point of weakness rather than one of strength. It can be argued Revelation is TOO similar to the Filmation show to be effective and tell the darker story it wants to. But any failures there seem to be more done in good faith to me. Kevin Smith is no He-Man expert (which is why a lot of fans hate that show) but he's trying to do right by it. Whether he's succeeding is debatable (and probably isn't something we can be sure of until the rest of the series drops) but I believe his intentions are good. So far, for this series? I think the creators had their own story they wanted to tell, and decided to slap the He-Man brand on it so Netflix would buy it. Same thing happened to ThunderCats 2011 and I wound up detesting that show by the time it was all over. I don't get the sense the creators believe in the premise. They seem to be using it because it was the best way to get the story they wanted to tell greenlit. This is a pretty big negative judgment and assumption on my end after having seen a total of one episode. But I'm in a cynical mood these days. 3 1/2 stars.

Still not bad. Also still not using the actual premise properly.

If Cringer is already courageous and wise, what IS the point of Battle Cat anyways? And why is he called Cringer to begin with?

I like the stuff with Keldor just because I can't picture that specific voice coming out of Skeletor. It sounds wrong. Which is why I like it.

It was decent. It was also not actually He-Man. 3 stars.

I was right to really like Keldor's voice. Ben Diskin is able to do a lot of interesting things with it and I think he'll sound dynamite when he's Skeletor. What I like about this is the transition of the voice is clearly a work in progress, requiring a gifted voice artist, and they found a guy who can play both subtle and gross equally well. I'm very pleased with that aspect of the show. 4 stars.

Ben Diskin's Skeletor is great and the highlight of the episode. So Diskin has Venom, Skeletor, and Baby Gonzo on his IMDB page. Very interesting range there.

Teela and Sorceress appear to have been merged into one character. I'm sure that will drive the fans into conniptions.

I like the idea that He-Man can share the Power of Grayskull with the other heroes.

Solid. 4 stars.

Krass sometimes does her business in her helmet? And wears it anyways? Then her given name is apt. What a gross Universe.

I liked the moving starfields in Sorceress' hair, costume, and wings. They remind me of Starboy's costume from Justice League Vs. The Fatal Five.

A little too "toddler moral" for my taste. But not terrible. 2 1/2 stars.

This version of Orko SUCKS. Still "Orkining" is a great word.

That was a weird song to play at the end.

I'm starting to dig the black and white still drawings at the end of the episode teasing the next one. Bring on Beast Man! 3 1/2 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "He-Man, The Hunted"

The idea that the heroes can Power-Up on their own, perhaps even without the Sword being present, is a cool twist.

However I don't buy the origin story for Cringer's name. You ask, me they should have just renamed the character.

Decent. 3 1/2 stars.

Ben Diskin is just as hammy as Skeletor should be at the beginning and the end.

Randor isn't a bad guy after all. But he is still deeply flawed. And that's where the conflict comes from.

Glad the show is ignoring the idea of Secret ID's. That was the most annoying part of the old show.

I liked that. 4 stars.

Didn't like the ending. I believe that the Sword of Power, (and the Sword of Omens from ThunderCats, for that matter) should never be broken for any reason. It became a crisis crutch on the old ThunderCats cartoon, and it's something that should never, ever happen. There had to be a better way to disconnect the heroes from the Power without breaking the actual Sword. If I had written this, I would have had them lose the Sword instead, and the idea that they could connect to the power without the Sword being present would be learned in the next episode (and they'd find a way to retrieve it to using their connection as a homing beacon to boot). The Sword Of Grayskull is one Maguffin that needs to stay whole the entire time. I firmly believe that.

You'll probably snipe at me, "Matt, that would be totally predictable, as every similar cartoon has done a variation on that. This was actually unexpected." My response to that is, "When have I ever penalized a show for being predictable if it's told right?" That would have been the RIGHT way to tell that part of the story, and I would have accepted it even if I saw it coming ahead of time. That's how good storytelling should work. If the story is being told right, it honestly shouldn't matter if it's predictable. I think people who believe differently are giving harmful feedback to TV producers that is making television markedly worse. And that's where I stand on that particular subject.

All that said, the bad guy transformations were way cool. Beast Man and Trap Jaw look particularly badass.

But that was the wrong ending. 2 1/2 stars.

Not a very satisfying or fulfilling finale, which is partly why serialized television can be so hit or miss.

It did some things right. The "haircut" thing was great because it was Randor throwing unexpected shade at Skeletor right when he wants it least. He refuses to give Keldor his due, even under those circumstances. I like that about him.

The CGI animation in the action sequences at the end was quite beautiful and striking.

I also am on-board moving Castle Grayskull. It never sat right with me that Skeletor knew where it was on this show. I don't think Secret ID's are necessary, but I also don't think Skeletor should be allowed easy access to the heroes' lair either. Making it hidden in season 2 will help things.

I am going to reserve further judgment on the series for now. But those fears I had in the first episode have so far not been allayed at all. We'll see how things go in the seasons ahead. 3 1/2 stars.