The History of Masters of the Universe: 1982 Edition

He-Man history & box art:

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[DrGonzoChronic]

When I was 4 on Christmas morning I rush out to living room to find both Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain already set up with action figures all around them. Best Christmas ever!

[Nutflash]

Feel so lucky to have been born in 1978, the 80s were probably the best decade in the whole of human history to have been a kid. Awesome music, movies, toys and still have the freedom to go out and play without all the paranoia that the Internet age has created.

[Real_Dystopian]

I m a 2000s kid who's in love with the 80s. I love these history videos, they're so informative and entertaining!

[touchingevil]

Best toyline ever made. He-man is my childhood.

[amead]

I was born in 1978 and grew up watching this show. So many good memories of the toys.

[Gigastorm]

I gave my Masters of the Universe toy collection away to some kids in the neighborhood who had nothing !! I still remember how happy those children where to get them !! It was worth it to me !! Great video !!!

[BennyLlama]

The thing I liked about Castle Grayskull was that as kids, me and my brother could use it with Star Wars and GI Joe figures, and whatever else was on hand. 🙂

[newmod]

In 1982, I did well on a report card at school so my Mom took me to Toys R Us to choose a toy. I saw the MOTU toys new on the shelves, and I instantly grabbed the Skeletor figure. I played with that action figure for so long before I ever got He-Man! That was a great Christmas because I received the rest of the figures that were out at that time! Great memories!

[Mojo]

I remember making my communion and my farther took me to Toys R us. Bought almost the whole collection, even a He-man duffle bag . Thanks Michael for another awesome trip down memory lane!

[TheSakaradast]

Castle Grey Skull is still here, save in my living room, never captured by Skeletor.
since 1986.

[kentucky_bandit]

My first toy I remember getting was Skeletor, I got him for "being a big boy" and not making a fuss about my booster shot at about 3 yrs old.
My parents bought him for me from Burgess Drug store, I still have him today.

[yellowgut]

I asked for these as soon as I saw them, long before the cartoon. My moms words”are you sure? They’re so ugly.” Lol!!

[psychotodd]

I am an artist. I can draw anything. That led to tattooing. I've owned and worked in 2 tattoo shops. Not recently cause i got burned out on it. But still draw and paint. .. But what led to me being an artist is he-man. We couldn't afford a he-man action figure. So i drew him. Never drawn b4. But i wanted him so bad that i would draw him. When i finally got him it was the best toy ever. I love all the he-man stuff. Cartoons toys everything. Big part of my childhood. But I'm grateful that we couldn't afford him because it led to a talent i might not have discovered. Plus i appriciated him more when i did get him.

[JMan]

Zodac is Metron. Something I didn't know until I got into the New Gods. There's a big Kirby influence found in Masters of the Universe.

[vintageproductions]

Somehow I was born in 2006 and still grew up with this show

[felipeterrazas]

I was born in 1982 so I don’t get to enjoy the first run. But my dad was a geek collector. So he bought double of every figure in the line knowing that one day when the time was right I’ll enjoy MOTU also. So Christmas of 87 he brought out this huge box of everything MOTU and I was blown away. I instantly loved the line. Until Tmnt came into my life but I’ll always have a soft spot for MOTU.

[XMattingly]

My personal favorite He-Man mini comics were the ones drawn by Mark Texiera. They’re *fantastic*, gorgeously drawn with a classic heavy ink, deep shadows style.

[Urezme]

I remember this one night my older brother had a sleep over & being young I wasn’t able to stay up late but the next morning I went into his room & there was a whole He man set with the castles & just about all of the action figures. I’ll never forget that feeling when I saw the play set sitting on the floor! So cool & the 80’s were awesome!

[sci]

I used to have the He-man figurine, and had always wondered if the power sword was meant to combine with another half of itself but never found out what it was. Until I saw this video. After introducing Skeletor I thought you weren't gonna combine the swords until the part on castle grayskull! Finally! Thanks for removing one more thing off my bucket list!

[jamesshunt]

Loved them the moment I set my eyes on them as a kid. I mean the Star Wars figures were tiny and appeared flimsy by comparison. Suddenly you had toys which looked like they could be played with and which wouldn't break with slightly rough use. And you could actually grab them with your hand instead of just using your index finger and thumb like with the Star Wars figures. I must say though that I preferred the original "mystic world of Ethernia" portrayed in the early booklets which came with the action figures to the Filmation cartoon which was a minor shock to me as a kid because suddenly He-Man the Conan like warrior was reduced to a prince(!) living at some court with his friends with a Clark Kent like "secret identity". And unbeknownst to me Orko was my first encounter with a Jar Jar Binks like character who never should have been there - i.e. annoying, comical sidekick who couldn't do anything right.
They should have kept the darker theme of a hostile alien world with magic, ruins from ancient civilizations and rivaling forces. It left more open to the imagination and kids have a wonderful imagination.
Even as a kid I found that original setting much more interesting than the do-gooder Superman clone living in some Medieval court. And history proved me right - the cartoon has aged terribly.