When It Is Done Right Masters of the Universe: Revelation
The hallmark of any story, no matter its genre and intended audience, is its ability to stand the test of time and, if needed, be reshaped, while retaining those timeless elements, which serve to create fond memories and special places in our hearts. Those who have followed my writings related to content creation gone terribly wrong, will know my introductory sentence is not made whimsically.
Our current world is chalk full of negativity bias, so I can certainly understand why it may be difficult for some to stop focusing on one bad thing to look at the mountain of good things in our lives. If I am not actively practicing my self-awareness and Zen, I can fall victim to it and have a hard time clawing my way out. Realizing it had taken hold of my general perspective towards what it means to create meaningful content is what lead me to be more intentional about highlighting content done properly.
Having graduated from High School in 1985 and, subsequently joined the military after I exited said learning institution, much of the more popular animated content created during the 1980’s and 1990’s, I remained ignorant of until I grew older. This content served to define the childhoods of many who I came in contact with and often provided needed respite during difficult periods of their lives. A very similar sentiment I share when recalling watching reruns of the original Star Trek series, Star Wars, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Man, The Bionic Woman, Looney Toons, and one of my favorite animated series’, The Flintstones. I think I just turned a bit older recalling this stuff.
Many of the thematic and opening sequences for these animated series, I am aware of mostly due to my husband who loves to recite them if I dare say one word contained in the main theme of, say, Thunder Cats, Captain Planet or Dark Wing Duck! If he didn’t have such a good voice, I would be typing this from inside a prison cell. Keep in mind this comes from a guy who can recall the Executive Producers, screen writers and music composers of the various movies who inspired him. I am no better.
Recently, my husband and I finished binge watching, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which is a sequel to the 1983 to 1985 series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, designed to explore unresolved storylines from the original 1980s series. Produced by Kevin Smith, who I will reference a little later, and Powerhouse Animation Studios, it is a story designed so expertly, you do not have to be a He-Man aficionado to understand nor enjoy it. By the end of the first episode, I knew it was going to blow our socks off and it did not fail to disappoint.
I have provided a number of resource links at the bottom of this writing for those who may want to brush up on timelines or familiarize themselves with the universe of He-Man. If you wish to experience the series first-hand with little to no spoilers, I suggest you finish reading at the end of this paragraph. Although it was released in two, five episodes installments in 2021, I do try to be mindful of those who may want to experience it spoiler free. I will allow the resources links to do most of the heavy lifting, when it comes to providing the necessary premise for the story, so I will not regurgitate it here.
Now to be fully honest, Revelation had a number of tropes you would expect from many, if not most, of the content being created today, which is not inherently a bad thing. I think when we use the word trope there appears to be an automatic assumption it is negative. Very similar to how we use the word ignorant as a means to insult someone when, in reality, it is not. It simply means, you do not know, and it is more about the how. Do I take it personally or do I nod and say, You’re right. I do not know anything about it. My old mentor just came out for a peak on this one.
Tangent aside, there are what I would call standardized character development arcs. Teela, who takes up the mantle of Man-At-Arms, casts aside the appellation when learning of Prince Adam’s true identity, a.k.a., He-Man. She leaves Grayskull behind based on what she perceives to be a betrayal by the Prince, seeing it as a failure in his character and a greater symptom of dishonesty at even the highest ranks of the kingdom. This results in King Randor banishing the existing Man-At-Arms, adding even more salt to Teela’s wounded soul. This takes Teela down a typical path of reconciliation, acceptance, and renewed sense of purpose as the series progresses.
Orko, first introduced in the 1983 animated series, is a Trollan, a race of beings from Trolla, a world in another dimension and the last of his kind. Although hailing from a race of highly astute and powerful sorcerers, Orko is presented as comic relief due to always having trouble with his magical powers, resulting in some very amusing backfires. Through the course of the series, Orko regains confidence in his abilities and, in an act of self-sacrifice, stays behind in Subternia to hold off Scare Glow, a skeleton ghost warrior, and allow his friends to escape to the realm of Preternia.
The twist to many of these character arcs is some of them are, essentially, killed off leaving the audience scratching their heads in disbelief. Iconic characters such as Orko, Skeletor, and He-Man all fall victim to the sacrifice myself for the greater good scenario. Call me a tad naïve but I am still one of those who trusts, albeit in a minuscule way, content creators to treat iconic stories with respect. I knew with Kevin Smith at the helm, the deaths my husband and I were seeing would be temporary. Yet, given some of the deplorable re-imaginings in the last 20-years, I wanted to keep myself appropriately grounded, which leads me to the it was done right portion of this writing.
When you consider the collective talents of everyone involved in a project and what it takes to effectively deliver on said project, it should be of no surprise when Masters of the Universe: Revelation hit the digital airwaves, the correct cast of characters had been chosen behind the scenes to create a continuation of the 1980’s series and be worthy of the title, Masters of the Universe. The collective experience of series producer Kevin Smith in conjunction with exceptional voice casting, which include the likes of Mark Hamill, Liam Cunningham, Chris Wood, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alicia Silverston, Lena Headey, and Griffan Newman to name just a few, made it abundantly clear everyone involved in bringing this series to life knew what they were doing.
There is a synergistic effect I have noted over the course of my own writing and in my efforts to respect the craft, which is comprised of two components. It is understanding the essence of what it means to tell a story and the essence of the story you are trying to tell. This may seem like a brain twister, but I can assure you it is quite the opposite.
You see, the reason why Masters of the Universe: Revelation and other content handled in a similar fashion are successful is they built upon existing content, especially those who provided hours of enjoyment in our childhood and inspired us to create our own worlds. There was no need to re-create complex storylines or perform creative gymnastics because the hard work had already been done. Well crafted stories, not just iconic ones, have all the foundational elements already in place; proper setting, use of foreshadow, cause and effect, effective plot development, and characters with whom we can relate. Re-imagining or re-visioning content simply because you can is not and should not be considered genius. It is ego and ego prevents us from getting out of our own way.
As always, I wish for you to be safe, be well, and continuously strive to build your mind on a foundation of compassion and unconditional love. By doing so, you will influence others to do the same and help make the universe a much better place to live by helping change one mind at a time for the better.
Thank you for reading or conversely, thank you for listening.
References
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_and_the_Masters_of_the_Universe
Kevin Smith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Smith
Masters of the Universe: Revelation Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_the_Universe:_Revelation
Masters of the Universe: Revolution
Negativity Bias Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias
The New Adventures of He-Man Wiki
