''The New Adventures of He-Man'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

series which ran in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

in the fall of 1990 while

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

released the toy line He-Man, an update of their

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

line. The cartoon series was intended to be a continuation of

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...

's ''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anima ...

'' series, but Filmation's parent

Westinghouse Broadcasting The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndicat ...

had shut down the studio a year earlier before being

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

by '' Masters of the Universe: Revelation'' in 2021. Instead, while existing in the same continuity, a new central story was created for this series. It's also the first ''He-Man'' series to feature a Canadian voice cast. This would mark the final entry in the original ''Masters of the Universe'' continuity until ''

'', as the franchise as a whole would be rebooted twelve years later.

Synopsis

He-Man, legendary defender of the planet

Eternia ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ad ...

, has been summoned to the futuristic planet of Primus to defend the planet from the evil Mutants of the neighboring planet of Denebria. However, his old adversary

Skeletor Skeletor () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of the protagonist He-Man. He is typically depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid who wears a purpl ...

has followed him and allied himself with the Mutants in his fight to conquer the whole universe. Together with a team of Galactic Guardians from Primus, He-Man fights to defend the planet and all its power resources from the continuous attacks by Skeletor and the Mutants.

Characters

* He-Man/Prince Adam (voiced by

Doug Parker William Douglas Parker (b. October 31, 1961) is an American businessman who was the Chairman of American Airlines Group, Inc., the parent company of American Airlines. Early life and education Parker grew up in Michigan and received a BA in ...

as Adam,

Garry Chalk Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and '' Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', '' Transform ...

as He-Man) - The protector of Eternia who is summoned to Primus to help fight the Evil Mutants. When on Primus, Adam turns into He-Man by quoting "By the power of Eternia, I have the Power." *

(voiced by

Campbell Lane Campbell Lane (July 15, 1935 – January 30, 2014) was a Canadian actor who primarily did his work in Vancouver. He appeared in many television shows produced there, and was also a voice over artist. Death Campbell Lane died on January 30, 2014 ...

) - The archenemy of He-Man. Upon being accidentally brought to Primus, Skeletor forms an alliance with the Evil Mutants of Denebria by telling Flogg that he will help him take over Primus in exchange for Flogg helping him destroy He-Man. By the end of the series, Skeletor and Crita are last seen in a shuttle pod disappearing into the depths of space.

Galactic Guardians

* Flipshot (voiced by

Scott McNeil Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...

) - A space pilot from the cloud city of Levitan. He is also known as Icarius in the toyline. * Hydron (voiced by Don Brown) - An undersea commander and the captain of the Starship Eternia who comes from Primus' underwater city of Serus. * Kayo (voiced by Don Brown) - A space warrior and space pilot from Onnor in the Terra region of Primus. He is also known as Tatarus in the toyline. * Nocturna (voiced by

Alvin Sanders Alvin Sanders is an American-Canadian voice actor and voice director. He currently sits on the Union of BC Performers executive board. Filmography Animated Anime roles *''Dragon Ball Z'' – Mr Popo, Additional Voices (1996–1997) * '' Dragon B ...

) - A martial artist and master of stealth from the Eastern continent of Mida. He was mostly seen as a background character. * Vizar (voiced by Don Brown) - A warrior with strong powers of sight who comes from the ancient city of Olympic in the Opal region of Primus. * Tuskador (voiced by

) - An intergalactic

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

warrior from the Polarides star system with tusks on his

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

-like armor that he uses to catch enemies with. He is also called Insyzor in the toyline. * Artilla (voiced by

) - A

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

weapons expert. He is also called Weaponstronic in the toyline. * Spinwit (voiced by

Ted Cole Theodore Cole (born April 5, 1971) is a Canadian voice actor who works with Ocean Productions in numerous anime dubs. He's best known for his roles as Tatewaki Kuno in ''Ranma ½'', Chang Wufei in '' Gundam Wing'', Yamcha in the Ocean dub of '' ...

) - A warrior from the planet Zil who can create tornadoes by spinning. He is also called Tornado in the toyline. * Sagitar (voiced by

) - A Horse Lord and former slave in the Denebrian Mines and arch-enemy of Staghorn who comes from the planet Equinos. His kind can turn from

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

-like beings to four-armed humanoids. He is also called Tharkus in the toyline.

Evil Mutants of Denebria

* Flogg (voiced by

) - The leader of the Evil Mutants of Denebria. Flogg is a military commander of the Mutant Armada which he commands from the Mutant Mothership. Skeletor forges an alliance with Flogg where Skeletor will help him take over Primus in exchange for Flogg helping to destroy He-Man. By the end of the series, Flogg surrenders and ends up signing a peace treaty between Primus and Denebria. He is also called Brakk in the toyline. * Slush Head (voiced by

) - An incompetent amphibious mutant with cybernetic tentacles. Slush Head serves as Flogg's second-in-command and the co-pilot of the Mutant Mothership. Slush Head comes from the Quagmi Swamp, a place on Denebria that most other Mutants find disgusting because of its deadly creatures and foul stench. In the toyline, he is also called Kalamarr. * Optikk (voiced by Don Brown) - A cyborg with an eye for a head. * Karatti (voiced by

) - A mutant with deadly martial arts skills who is often paired with Hoove. * Hoove (voiced by

) - A mutant with powerful kicks who is often paired with Karatti. * Lizorr - A reptilian mutant from the desert of Gorn. He was mostly seen as a background character. In "Glastnost Schmaznost," Lizorr was shown to extend his tongue as seen when he wraps it around He-Man's arm. * Quakke (voiced by Don Brown) - A super-strong mutant warrior who can shake the ground by hitting it with his Grabatron Meteormace. He is also called Earthquake in the toyline. * Staghorn (voiced by

) - A scheming Evil Mutant tracker that wears a helmet with large metal pikes protruding from it which he uses in battle to pick up his enemies and throw them around. He comes from the Regula Mountains in the deepest, darkest part of the frozen Fog Zone on Denebria. Staghorn is the archenemy of Sagitar. * Butthead (voiced by

) - A mutant who attacks his enemies by ramming them with his head. Known as "B.H." on the cartoon. * Crita (voiced by

Venus Terzo Venus Terzo is a Canadian actress who played Detective Angela Kosmo in ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' and its spinoff, '' Da Vinci's City Hall''. She was nominated in 2002 for the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dr ...

) - A crafty female Mutant and later Queen of the Gleanons. She is an attractive and ruthless Evil Mutant who works on the Mutant Mothership and is attracted to Skeletor. By the end of the series, He-Man traps Skeletor and Crita in a shuttle pod and banishes them into space. * Tech Mutants - Two unnamed Mutants that work as scientists for Flogg. * Mutant Troopers - The generic foot soldiers of the Evil Mutants. Some of them are shock troopers while others pilot their shuttle pods for air attacks.

Other characters

* Master Sebrian (voiced by Anthony Holland) - The wisest and most knowledgeable man on the planet Primus and the only one who Adam reveals his secret identity to. To help keep Adam's secret, Master Sebrian allows Adam to pass off as his merchant nephew from Levitan. He also has a knowledge of magical spells. * Mara (voiced by

) - An assistant of Master Sebrian, ambassador of Primus, and eventually the leader of the Galactimytes. She is shown to have good fighting skills when she goes up against Crita. * The

Scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

s of Primus - The Scientists of Primus are the four greatest scientists of the planet whom, while intelligent, often provide the comedy relief in the show. ** Alcon (voiced by

) - Member of the Scientists of Primus. He is very flamboyant and full of himself. Behind the massive ego of Alcon is a brilliant mind that he used to save Primus on more than one occasion. ** Gepple (voiced by Don Brown) - Member of the Scientists of Primus. Even though most of the time he's just as bickering and cowardly as his partners, there are times that Gepple is more level-headed than the others. Gepple is also the inventor of a glue called "Gepple Goo" which has come in handy in most episodes. ** Krex (voiced by

) - Member of the Scientists of Primus and the smartest of the group. He has a terrible memory of things. ** Meldoc (voiced by

) - Member of the Scientists of Primus. He has a tendency of falling asleep where he dreams of his next invention causing the other three scientists to give him a rude awakening. * Drissi (voiced by Tracy Eisner) - Tends to the animals on planet Primus in its Oasis and occasionally lends a hand to the Galactic Guardians with her piloting skills and telepathic control over creatures. * Caz (voiced by Mark Hildreth) - A young boy with a thirst for adventure. It is hinted that he may be the heir to the rightful rulers of Primus. * Gleep (voiced by

) - A robot that is often seen working for Master Sebrian. * U-R - A robot who assists the Scientists of Primus and doesn't like being bossed around. * Werban (voiced by Don Brown) - The secretary of the Inner Council who cares for their needs. He has been shown to be jealous of Master Sebrian and misguided at times. * Meliac - A

cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

-like trader from Gorn City, Denebria that befriends He-Man. He later becomes the sheriff of Gorn City. * Grot - A hippopotamus-like creature who handles Primus' gardens where he grows the food for the planet. He cares deeply for his garden. * Priman Troopers - The foot soldiers of Primus. * Korac - The former mayor of Gorn City who often does business with Skeletor. * Mytes - The Mytes are a short race of peaceful aliens from the planet Nekron. ** President Pell (voiced by

) - The wise and compassionate leader of the Mytes. ** Vice-president Etor (voiced by

) - The second-in-command to President Pell who is also the best star pilot in the Myte Fleet. ** Ambassador Bimo - The Mytes ambassador to Primus. * Gleanons - The Gleanons are a race of hostile aliens from the planet Nekron who are often in league with Crita. ** General Nifel (voiced by

Michael Donovan Michael Donovan is a Canadian voice actor and director known for his roles as Suikotsu in ''Inuyasha'' and Zoken Mato in ''Fate/stay night''. He has also directed many animated series and feature films. Roles Animation * ''3-2-1 Penguins!''K ...

) - The leader of the Gleanons. ** Sgt. Krone (voiced by

) - General Nifel's second-in-command. ** Private Dobson - The Gleanon's computer programmer.

Episodes

Cast

* Don Brown - Hydron, Gepple, Optikk, Quakke, Kayo, Vizar, Werban *

- He-Man, Artilla, Alcon, Andros (in "A New Beginning"), President Pell (in "Balance of Power," and "The Taking of Levitan"), Sgt. Krone (in "Balance of Power," "The Taking of Levitan," and "A Time to Leave"), Gross *

- Spinwit, Slush Head, Karatti, Staghorn, Gleep, Vice-president Etor (in "Balance of Power") * Tracy Eisner - Drissi * Mark Hildreth - Caz *

Antony Holland Antony Holland (28 March 1920 – 29 July 2015) was an English actor, playwright and theatre director who until his death in 2015 lived on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada. History Holland completed his drama training at the Labou ...

- Master Sebrian *

, Sagitar *

- Flipshot, Butthead, Krex, Captain Zang *

- Adam of Grayskull, Hoove, Meldoc *

- Flogg, Tuskador *

- Crita, Mara,

Sorceress of Castle Grayskull The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, also known as Teela Na, is a fictional superhero from the '' Masters of the Universe'' franchise. Her first appearance was in "He-Man and the Power Sword" (1981). Appearances Original MOTU mini-comics The S ...

Additional voices

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...

- Treylus (in "The Test of Time") *

- General Nifel *

Cathy Weseluck Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in '' Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Littl ...

Teela Teela is a fictional superheroine from the '' Masters of the Universe'' franchise. She is the Captain of the Royal Guard at the palace of Eternos and thus responsible for training and protecting Prince Adam of Eternia. While Adam is He-Man, T ...

(in "Once Upon a Time")

Crew

Susan Blu Susan Maria Blue, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and Seasons 3 and 4 of ...

- Voice Director *

Jean Chalopin Jean Chalopin (born 31 May 1950) is a French bank executive. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he produced a range of successful animated series, first as the founder and president of the production company DIC, then at his newly created compa ...

- Story Editor/Executive Producer

Minicomics

In the ''New Adventures'' mini-comics packaged with the toys, the story is slightly different: when Prince Adam and Skeletor travel to Primus, Adam becomes He-Man in front of Skeletor, revealing his secret identity and giving up the identity of Prince Adam to remain permanently as He-Man. The "explosion" from the transformation damages Skeletor and he has to become a

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

in order to survive. Also in the comics, Skeletor does not fake allegiance to Flogg. Instead, he defeats Flogg and assumes full command of the Evil Mutants. The element of the transformation from Adam to He-Man is retained from the first cartoon series, as the makers felt it would be unwise to abandon it given that the transformation sequence had been one of the most popular elements of the original series. However, in this series, one word in the transformation line is different - instead of "By the power of ''Grayskull''...I have the power!", he says "By the power of ''Eternia''...I have the power!"

Reception

The show has been compared to the original series, with most reviews noting a dramatic shift in tone, creating a sense of discontinuity compared to the original. The quality of the animation is considered superior, but the character designs have been described as bland. Just like ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' it has PSAs at the end of each episode.

DVD releases

''BCI Eclipse LLC'' (under its Ink & Paint classic animation entertainment brand) (under license from

Entertainment Rights Entertainment Rights PLC (formally known as Sleepy Kids) was a British multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that specialized in TV-shows and cartoons, children’s media, films, and distribution. In May 2009, the company was ...

) released ''The New Adventures of He-Man'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in Region 1 in two volume sets in 2006/2007. Each episode on BCI Ink & Paint's DVD releases of ''The New Adventures of He-Man'' (AKA ''He-Man in Space'' by He-Man fans) was uncut and digitally re-mastered for optimum audio and video quality and presented in its original broadcast presentation and story continuity order, as well as extensive bonus features. As of 2009, this release has been discontinued and is out of print as BCI Eclipse has ceased operations. To commemorate the 30th anniversary ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' brand, Mill Creek Entertainment released the ''30th Anniversary Commemorative Collection of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' DVD in December 2012. The 22-disc features all 130 episodes of the 1983 series, 20 fan-favorite episodes of the 1990 series, as well as all 39 episodes of the 2002 series.

Notes

External links