"By the Power of Grayskull! I have the Power!"

Although often frowned upon, the melding of cartoon and toy line is a tried and true practice. Unfortunately, the cartoons are often just a poor excuse to promote the toy and usually not quite up to par. Not so with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. This was an animated series that kids of the 80s adored - and it managed to sell toys by the millions.   

The faraway planet of Eternia is the home to King Randor and Queen Marlena who reside in the mysterious and powerful Castle Greyskull. Protecting their kingdom is their young and handsome son, Prince Adam. And while defending against the forces of evil such as the evil Skeletor is no easy task, Adam just so happens to possess the Power Sword. By raising it in the air and proclaiming "By the Power of Grayskull! I have the Power!" he is transformed into the most powerful person in the universe, He-Man.

He-Man has an assortment of colorful cohorts to assist him in his dangerous line of work. His right-hand man and confidante is Duncan, better known as Man-At-Arms. Duncan’s adopted daughter, Teela, is a fierce warrior goddess who often lends a hand. And then there is Prince Adam’s cowardly green lion, Cringer, who magically transforms alongside his master into the formidable Battle Cat. Providing comic relief and moral support is Orko, a pointy-eared, blue-skinned little humanoid with magical powers.

As time went on, it was learned that Prince Adam has a sister named Princess Adora. Armed with her own magical Sword of Protection (and her own line of toys, of course,) she has the ability to transform into the heroic She-Ra. She didn’t stick around very long, however, as she had her own animated series to star in.  

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe benefited from the loosening of two long-held restrictions in children’s cartoons. First, He-Man was allowed to be a bit more aggressive than prior superheroes and could actually strike his adversaries when necessary (he still had to cool it with the sword though.) And with the FCC loosening the long-enforced restrictions on merchandising tie-ins with kid’s shows, Mattel was allowed to both produce the show and market its line of toys. When the cartoon went to syndication, the toys were even advertised during the show, something that the FCC had long frowned upon.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ran for two years initially, starting in 1983. Reruns were aired in syndication into the 90s. In 1987, the whole gang made it to the big screen in the live action film, Masters of the Universe, which starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the evil Skeletor.