Shortly after the demise of Masters of the Universe, He-Man and his buff bod returned to TV in The New Adventures of He-Man, as part of a marketing campaign to promote Mattel's new toy line. The hero and his nemesis, Skeletor, remained locked in the same battle of good versus evil but most other elements were updated.

He-Man left his home world Eternia and travelled to the future world of Primus, where the natives where under attack by the alien Mutants. Skeletor couldn't bear to be parted from this rival, so he followed suit and joined the side of the Mutants against He-Man. The Sorceress was the only other established character that made the move to Primus.

The whole tone of the new series changed, emphasizing science fiction over fantasy and scaling back the cartoon violence. He-Man and Skeletor looked remarkably different from what fans were used to and their personalities were more campy and humorous. The show also shifted focus to issues relevant in the early 90s, such as nature conservation and resource protection (well, those issues are still relevant today, unless you're reading this after we've colonized the Moon because the Earth became uninhabitable).

Though the animation of the new series was superior to the old, the fans never really warmed up to this new He-Man and his new setting. The toy line wasn't a big success either, coming out so soon after the cancellation of the Masters of the Universe figures. The New Adventures of He-Man aired 65 episodes in a single season and faded away in 1991.