How He-Man Mastered the Universe: Toy to Television to the Big Screen

by Brian C Baer

Elaborate cinematic universes and sophisticated marketing tie-ins are commonplace in entertainment today. It's easy to forget that the transmedia trend began in 1982 with a barbarian action figure. He-Man and the other characters in Mattel's popular Masters of the Universe toy line quickly found their way into comic books, video games, multiple television series and a Hollywood film. The original animated series (1983-1985) was the first based on an action figure, and the cult classic Masters of the Universe (1987) was the first toy-inspired live-action feature film. But it wasn't easy. He-Man faced adversaries more dangerous than entertainment lawyers, Hollywood executives, even the Reagan administration. The heroes and villains of Eternia did more than shape the childhoods of the toy-buying public--they formed the modern entertainment landscape.

Genres: Nonfiction

228 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2017

Reviews

[Eldon Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could've been rated higher. The bones of a good book were assembled but in the end there were just too many errors to overlook and possibly rate higher. A shame, really.

[J.B. Rockwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every child of the 80s remembers He-Man--a toy and cartoon phenomenon that paved the way for dozens to follow. I'll say up front that I'm not a He-Man superfan, but I remember the characters fondly. To that end, the sections of the book I found especially interesting were those where the author discussed the market in general--the opportunities in the toy industry Star Wars inadvertently created, the new one in cartoon features He-Man INTENTIONALLY created and, sadly, the opportunity in film He-Man just missed. Some reviewers apparently expected the focus of the book to be on the good times--the He-Man heyday of cartoons and toys--because that seems to be the route other books on the subject have gone. I applaud the author for focusing on the bad times and speaking to the downfall of the franchise that was He-Man. And She Ra. And Man-at--OH MY GOD I STILL KNOW ALL THE CHARACTERS!

Look, bottom line: if you like 80s cartoons, get this. It offers some great insight into what was going on in the toy and cartoon industry at that time. If you like He-Man, also get it--this is like the Encyclopedia He-Mannica for the movie. Heck, just buy for the unabashed author fanboying over He-Man--that comes through clearly and is pretty darn entertaining.

[Tim Guinan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much about the movie

While the author had some very good insight about the cartoon series / action figures, and both its failed and successful reboots (my reason for the 3 star rating), this book was very much about the movie. Should have included the full screenplay as an extra, as opposed to the lengthy shot-by-shot retelling of the film in the middle of this book.

[Shad Engkilterra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew He-Man had so much influence over American culture? Baer's research and the way he writes brings strength to this expose on the Masters of the Universe.

[Clare Deming · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit of an unusual read that I picked up through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The book had actually been sitting on my Kindle for quite a while, but I’m trying to do better to catch up on my backlog of reading, so I picked it to read in the week leading up to New York Comic-Con.

I grew up watching the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons, so I thought that I might like How He-Man Mastered the Universe by Brian C. Baer, and I was certainly familiar enough with the cartoons and toys, even if I could no longer remember the names of every single character. This book was fun to read, but is probably only of interest to fans of the television show or toys, or to people who like to learn about film history, as a good portion of the book discusses the making of the 1987 movie, Masters of the Universe.

The first section of this non-fiction book was a little slow and repetitive, but I did learn that He-Man was a toy (with mini-comics) before he was a cartoon. Toy company Mattel developed the He-Man line of action figures in response to the success of the Star Wars toys by rival company Kenner. When the He-Man toys were a success, the television show was created and brought directly to local television networks at a time when Saturday morning cartoons were just starting up.

The book details several key episodes of the cartoon before delving into the history of the Masters of the Universe movie, produced by the notorious Cannon Films. I found this to be the most interesting part of the book, and I wish I had had time to go back to watch the movie recently, now that I know much more about how the casting, story development, and special effects were all created under the shadow of a failing production company.

After the movie failed in the box office, a few additional cartoon spin-offs were released, but none of these ever achieved the same level of pop culture success as the original cartoon and toys. Overall, this was a reasonably fun non-fiction book to read, but the subject matter may limit its appeal to fans of He-Man.

[Mark Smith-briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Brian C Baer explores the history of the Masters of the Universe franchise and its influence as a transmedia pioneer in this well-researched book.
A fan boy at heart, Baer’s passion shines through as he recounts the franchise’s conception from a toy line, to smash hit cartoon and failed blockbuster. Much of the book focusses on the troubled production of the 1987 film, which he links to the demise of Cannon films.
Baer is a big fan of the film and his unabashedly throws plaudits at the production. A thirty-plus page scene-by-scene breakdown of the feature is overkill – as are some not-so-subtle swipes at the later success of the Transformers - but for the most part the information presented here is balanced and informative.
He Man diehards may not find any new revelations – we still don’t know for sure who created the toy line - but for casual fans of the 80s phenomenon, it’s an enjoyable stroll behind the curtain of a beloved childhood memory.

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a child of the 80s with those nostalgic feelings surrounding He-Man and She-Ra. I have a few of the more recent He-Man tomes that cover the original animated series and toys, but I was looking forward to a fresh take on the history--and a fresh, original voice to tackle it with this book. Instead, after nearly a week of trying to make my way through the dry material I finally finished today with a resounding "meh". First a quick mention of the ARC I received--I'm not sure at what stage this book is in in the editing process, but the Kindle ARC was a mess of poor formatting, misspellings, and improper grammar. I'm assuming this will all be cleared up for the final release, but it made for an extremely distracting read. That aside, the history of He-Man and how he came about seems glossed over, as is the animated series. Instead, a majority of the book is about the movie but moreso the shady company that produced the movie. There are chapters that just feel like filler (i.e. explaining the events of the movie major scene by major scene) and some that are jarring (towards the end is what I can only describe as an anti-Transformers rant). Throughout the read, I couldn't find a single original interview with any of the creators being spoken of; instead, quotes are simply taken from another source. There is no "voice" behind this book and I don't know what its purpose was that hasn't already been covered in other, far better, books. Such a great license and such a missed opportunity with this book. Big pass for me.


ARC provided by NetGalley