Television MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION (Dragonlord's Review, post #1)

If you have seen MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION, how would you rate it?


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Update: July 30, 2021

Dragonlord’s Review of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION – PART 1 (Spoilers)

Bottom Line: Similar to what The Last Jedi did to Star Wars, Masters of the Universe: Revelation - Part 1 subverts expectations but does so in a negative way that gives the middle finger to longtime fans.

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Fans were excited when Kevin Smith announced in 2019 that he was going to make a more adult-oriented He-Man series for Netflix and that this was going to be sequel to the original Filmation series. When the action-packed first trailer dropped featuring the 80s song “Holding Out for a Hero”, fans were even more pumped. Unfortunately it was all a bait-and-switch scheme by Smith and Netflix.

He-Man is killed off in the first half of episode one and it clearly became apparent that this revival was going to be centered on the character Teela. There are two major failures that Smith did. The first major failure is he should have just been upfront that this was going to be the Teela show months prior to the trailer’s release. There would still have been blowback but it would not have been as catastrophic as it is currently right now in the nerd community. The second biggest failure was making the new star of the show – Teela – an unlikable bitch.

Episode One – “The Power of Grayskull"

Episode one started off well with a prologue utilizing some cool promotional artwork from the 80s. The royal palace is celebrating Teela’s promotion as the new Man-at-Arms. We are re-introduced to the cast of characters and everybody is faithfully depicted like how they were back in the 80s. So far so good. But it doesn’t take long for something idiotic to happen. Skeletor and his crew manage to infiltrate Castle Grayskull by disguising themselves and fooling the all-wise Sorceress. The Sorceress sees through Skeletor’s deception but couldn’t discern Evil-Lyn and fake He-Man’s disguises?? Worst of all, she needlessly opened the castle’s gates just to greet them. This scene is just stupidly written and not well thought-out.

He-Man and the gang arrive at Castle Grayskull to stop Skeletor. We see some vintage action of the good guys versus the bad guys. Then the show gets dark (which is a good thing) as Skeletor kills Moss Man by incinerating him to ashes. He-Man uncharacteristically impales Skeletor with a sword. This is so out of character for He-Man. It would be at least understandable for He-Man driven to kill if his parents or Teela died. But for fucking Moss Man??

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Skeletor goes into a monologue about how Castle Grayskull is just an illusion for the Hall of Wisdom and how all the magic in Eternia are contained in a mystical orb. Skeletor smashes the orb while He-Man, who is just a few feet away from Skeletor, is too dumbstruck to act for the longest time. This is another poorly thought-out scene. Sorceress stops time to tell the heroes that energy released from the orb will destroy the entire universe. Skeletor seems to know everything there is to know about the secrets of Castle Grayskull but doesn’t know cracking the orb will also destroy everything as well??

To save the world, He-Man sacrifices himself by containing the energy blast with his Sword of Power. He-Man reverts back to Prince Adam as Teela finally learns the truth of He-Man’s secret identity. He-Man and Skeletor are seemingly killed in the small energy explosion. King Randor angrily banishes Man-at-Arms from the palace when he learns that Duncan didn’t tell him about Prince Adam’s double life. I’m kinda 50/50 with Randor’s emotional outburst. On one side, it seemed too extreme to banish your most loyal servant. On the flip side, I can understand at the King feeling betrayed from his most trusted servant. The subject’s loyalty to their king should be top priority over others.

While everyone is grieving, out of nowhere, Teela makes a dramatic scene by saying screw you to everybody and angrily declaring she quits the palace because she is so butthurt that nobody told her that Adam was He-Man. As I mentioned earlier, this was one of the biggest mistakes Kevin Smith made as it made viewers instantly dislike Teela. This is just pure CW trash when characters annoyingly go emo and just cry over their entitled feelings. I feel that The CW had a negative influence on Smith who directed several episodes of The Flash and Supergirl from 2016 to 2018 and caught some bad habits along the way. There are several ways to still move the plot point of Teela quitting the royal guard and becoming a mercenary in the future without making her into a detestable character but Smith just went with the CW crap route.

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Episode Two – “The Poisoned Chalice”

After a time jump, Teela is re-introduced working as a mercenary, sporting a side-shaved hair, looking very buffed and accompanied with a black woman named Andra whom she exhibits multiple displays of public affection. Despite Smith denying this, it’s clear Teela is now a lesbian and Andra is her lover. Teela also has an absurd staff that can literally transform into anything from a sword, a grappling hook, a shovel and to anything what the scene requires it to be.

Evil-Lyn, disguising herself as an old woman, hires Teela to retrieve a magical goblet from Snake Mountain which is now the home base for Tri-Klops who leads a techno cult. After retrieving the goblet, Teela agrees to accompany disguised Evil-Lyn to Castle Grayskull. In another stupid moment, Teela knew all along that it was Evil-Lyn underneath the disguise but allows Evil-Lyn to stand so close to the Sorceress while Teela is like 10-20 yards away. Like daughter, like mother.

The Sorceress reveals that she is working with Evil-Lyn (who looks like she failed multiple USADA testing) to bring back magic to Eternia because the entire universe is going to be destroyed without that magic and they need to retrieve the two halves of the Sword of Power, one is in Subternia and one is in Preternia. Knowing that the entire world is going to be destroyed, Teela refuses to help due to her feelings being hurt. Teela is just the shittiest character. After some persuading from the not-so-scared Cringer, Teela agrees to help. They go to the former Man-at-Arms Duncan asking his help to forge the two swords back into one.

Episode Three – “The Most Dangerous Man in Eternia”

The heroes find Duncan and stupidity seems to be contagious as Duncan refuses to help save the universe citing that he needs to be take care of his newfound family consisting of Orko and Roboto, not once thinking if the world dies so does his family. The dying Orko volunteers to join the party, hoping for one last adventure. Roboto, who shares the same memories as Duncan, steps up to forge the Sword of Power. Later on, Duncan redeems himself by being a bad-ass and saves the party singlehandedly from the forces of Mer-Man.

I’m tired and so will be skipping the rest of the breakdown for the other episodes. But I will take note that there are some irritating moments whenever the Sorceress or Duncan tries to tell Teela a big secret (that she is the Sorceress’ daughter) but the writers find some lame excuses not to reveal it. There’s another dumb moment in Subternia when Scareglow shows Teela’s her innermost fear and what she fears the most is that… she might be more extraordinary than what she is. Oh wow. Lastly, Orko and Roboto's noble deaths were done very well.

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In Summary

The voice talent is impressive with a lot of recognizable stars assembled. Mark Hamill as Skeletor was just sublime. The voice acting from the cast was terrific but Sarah Michelle Gellar was a terrible choice as the voice of Teela. Her voice does not fit with the character. In the first episode when she yells the war charge, “For Eternia!,” it was so cringey. On the flip side, Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn was my favorite. She’s just born to play the character. It also helped that Evil-Lyn was written very well and had a lot of great scenes.

The animation, from Powerhouse Studios, looks gorgeous to look at with its utilization of vibrant colors. But being an animation connoisseur for many decades, Revelation’s animation is far from top tier even for television standards. Revelation has the usual American clunkiness in the action, lack of fluidity, bad frame rates and poor character poses. Studio Mir (Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Dota: Dragon's Blood) still holds the title of greatest current animation studio for U.S. animated shows.

The story is pretty good in all honestly. If they just didn’t make Teela into a whiny spoiled brat, this would have been more enjoyable for me. The script just needed a few tweaking. Removing the CW emo drama crap, remove the dumb character actions and it would have been all good. There are a lot of Easter eggs that I liked and how the series utilized a lot of He-Man lore from the toys, comic books and even the previous reboot series. The score from Bear McCreary is excellent.

So what’s In store for Revelation – Part 2? I think they’re setting up Teela to be the new Sorceress, Andra will be the new Man-at-Arms, Evil-Lyn will turn against Skeletor and Prince Adam will still be He-Man at the end. I also believe that Orko is not dead dead. Despite hate-watching most of the first half of Revelation, I’m intrigued with how it will all play out. But the better reboot still remains 2002's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

RATING: 4/10


[For those that felt burned and betrayed by Masters of the Universe: Revelation – Part 1, I’d like to take time to introduce to you another sword and sorcery animated series that will rinse off the bad taste in your mouth. I recommend watching RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO. It’s a great anime series with great animation, a terrific story and an underdog main character that you can’t help but root for. The whole season one is available and just in time because season 2 is coming in October 2021.]

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Update: May 13, 2021

First Look at Kevin Smith's He-Man Animated Series Sequel MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION; Part 1 Premiering on Netflix on July 23

image


By the power of Grayskull, He-Man is having a pop culture moment.

After Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ended its five-season run, Prince Adam and the world of Eternia are coming back full force to the limelight with a planned live-action movie, in addition to a CG-animated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show aimed for kids. But Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a separate animated series from the mind of Kevin Smith, is designed for fans of the '80s cartoon.

EW's exclusive first look at Revelation brings back Prince Adam/He-Man (now voiced by Supergirl's Chris Wood) and the gang with a new design by Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania) and an updated story set directly after the events of that original piece of childhood entertainment.

"Everything I've ever worked on in like 27 years, this is easily in the top five of my favorite, most satisfying projects," says Smith, a He-Man superfan who showruns Revelation and executive produces with Mattel Television's Frederic Soulie, Adam Bonnett, Christopher Keenan, and Rob David. "When I die, they'll be like, 'He made Clerks, remember?' 'Cause that's the most memorable thing I think I've ever done. I think this has a running shot at being like, 'He made Clerks and that one cartoon that one time.'"

image


image


Split into two parts with the five episodes of Part 1 premiering on Netflix this July 23, the show features an all-star voice cast ensemble. That includes Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Game of Thrones' Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, Clueless star Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, iconic Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy as Mer-Man, and the original voice of Skeletor, Alan Oppenheimer, now in the role of Moss Man.

Since this is a sequel series, the main mythos remains intact. Prince Adam, the son of the ruling family of the realm of Eternia, uses the Sword of Power to transform into the chiseled He-Man (you know, "I have the powah!") to defend his kingdom from threats — mostly from Skeletor and his forces. But now, as Smith says, "the shackles are off" to build a richer lore and explore different aspects to these beloved characters.

"We get to see them engage not just in clashing swords, but in far deeper conversations than we've ever seen them before," he explains. "It's not just simply like these two dudes [He-Man and Skeletor] have been trying to beat each other up for decades. We get to tell stories of abuse. We get to kind of tell stories of isolation, grief. We use these characters as long as they've been around — and most people consider them toys or action figures — to tell insanely human stories set in a very inhuman world."

image


image


David, who previously developed He-Man comics at DC, was brought in by Mattel to redevelop Masters of the Universe across entertainment landscapes. (For one, he's showrunning that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.) The creative had read Smith's Daredevil comics, Guardian Devil, at Marvel and was struck by how he had "found new ways to tell the story" while honoring the source material.

Together, they crafted what he refers to as "a love letter" for the fans who watched the original show as a kid and are now adults. That doesn't mean Revelation is on the level of something like Amazon's blood-splattered superhero show Invincible, which Smith mentions and admires. But it does mean that the writers room — consisting of Marc Bernardin, Eric Carrasco, Diya Mishra, and Tim Sheridan — got to "raise the stakes in ways you wouldn't normally do," David adds. "Characters could die. Not saying they will, but they could."

Smith remembers speaking with Netflix's director of original series Ted Biaselli, who also came with a childhood love of this sword-and-sorcery saga and sat in on the writers room tossing out ideas.

"He said, 'Do me a favor. When I used to watch the shows as a kid, I legitimately thought that He-Man was always on the verge of getting killed by Skeletor. I believed in the stakes. Just make me believe that again,'" he says. "People would see some of this as goofy IP, but this is a rich tapestry, a world full of characters. [Biaselli] said, 'Please just don't talk down to it. Don't make fun of it. Don't wink. Just treat it like Shakespeare.' Those were our marching orders."

image


image


The first episode of Revelation begins "in lockstep with the old show," Smith mentions. Then, about halfway through, "things take a shift which allows all the characters to go through these periods of growth." David mentions a "cataclysmic event that would shake it up."

The pair keep any further specifics about what that cataclysm is under lock and key, but Smith does go on to explain that "only certain people know the secret that Prince Adam is really He-Man. We build our entire story on who was left out of the secret and the damaging trickle-down effects of that."

It's a story about "a hero who has to live under deception in order to protect those he loves, but it's about how that deception rots at the core."

David sees the story told in Revelation in two acts, which is why Netflix is releasing the episodes in two parts. "Part 1 felt like a really great act break," he says. "You get to it and you're like, 'Oh man! This is just dramatic. The game has changed.'"

"The characters at the beginning of Revelation are going to be very different than they will be at the end," he adds.

image


image


The devotion to the world of Masters of the Universe feels palpable. That extends to everyone involved. David shares fond memories of learning "how to tell stories from playing with the toys growing up," while Smith, the kind of person who can speak about this material for hours without catching a breath, notes that composer Bear McCreary "gave us a score this show doesn't even deserve." (Smith was brought to tears in a video he shared online of listening to the music for the first time.)

The showrunner also points to the cast. "[Hamill] had talked about wanting to step out of animation, but he was like, 'When you came at me with Skeletor, how could I say no?'" He had a similar experience chatting with Headey. "There was such fervency and love for the property," he says.

Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms, Griffin Newman as Orco, Stephen Root as Cringer, Diedrich Bader as King Randor and Trap Jaw, Tiffany Smith as Andra, Henry Rollins as Tri-Klops, Susan Eisenberg as Sorceress, Jason Mewes as Stinkor, Phil LaMarr as He-Ro, Tony Todd as Scare Glow, Cree Summer as Priestess, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Beast Man round out the main parts.

For David, "becoming the best version of yourself" has always been at the heart of He-Man, and it's true now of Revelation. "We wanted to reiterate that, but make it even more broad," he says. "It's not just He-Man that has something special inside him, but every character and every viewer. We all have the power."

image


https://ew.com/tv/masters-of-the-un...twitter.com&utm_term=609d31470637600001de767b
 
The one from the 2000s wasn't to bad hopefully
this good as well.
 
I want to watch in animation already, not still photos. They look good though
 
Last edited:
The art looks really good. Does Netflix ever put their shows on BluRay?
 
Update: May 13, 2021

First Look at Kevin Smith's He-Man Animated Series Sequel MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION; Part 1 Premiering on Netflix on July 23

image


By the power of Grayskull, He-Man is having a pop culture moment.

After Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ended its five-season run, Prince Adam and the world of Eternia are coming back full force to the limelight with a planned live-action movie, in addition to a CG-animated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show aimed for kids. But Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a separate animated series from the mind of Kevin Smith, is designed for fans of the '80s cartoon.

EW's exclusive first look at Revelation brings back Prince Adam/He-Man (now voiced by Supergirl's Chris Wood) and the gang with a new design by Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania) and an updated story set directly after the events of that original piece of childhood entertainment.

"Everything I've ever worked on in like 27 years, this is easily in the top five of my favorite, most satisfying projects," says Smith, a He-Man superfan who showruns Revelation and executive produces with Mattel Television's Frederic Soulie, Adam Bonnett, Christopher Keenan, and Rob David. "When I die, they'll be like, 'He made Clerks, remember?' 'Cause that's the most memorable thing I think I've ever done. I think this has a running shot at being like, 'He made Clerks and that one cartoon that one time.'"

image


image


Split into two parts with the five episodes of Part 1 premiering on Netflix this July 23, the show features an all-star voice cast ensemble. That includes Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Game of Thrones' Lena Headey as Evil-Lyn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar as Teela, Clueless star Alicia Silverstone as Queen Marlena, iconic Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy as Mer-Man, and the original voice of Skeletor, Alan Oppenheimer, now in the role of Moss Man.

Since this is a sequel series, the main mythos remains intact. Prince Adam, the son of the ruling family of the realm of Eternia, uses the Sword of Power to transform into the chiseled He-Man (you know, "I have the powah!") to defend his kingdom from threats — mostly from Skeletor and his forces. But now, as Smith says, "the shackles are off" to build a richer lore and explore different aspects to these beloved characters.

"We get to see them engage not just in clashing swords, but in far deeper conversations than we've ever seen them before," he explains. "It's not just simply like these two dudes [He-Man and Skeletor] have been trying to beat each other up for decades. We get to tell stories of abuse. We get to kind of tell stories of isolation, grief. We use these characters as long as they've been around — and most people consider them toys or action figures — to tell insanely human stories set in a very inhuman world."

image


image


David, who previously developed He-Man comics at DC, was brought in by Mattel to redevelop Masters of the Universe across entertainment landscapes. (For one, he's showrunning that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.) The creative had read Smith's Daredevil comics, Guardian Devil, at Marvel and was struck by how he had "found new ways to tell the story" while honoring the source material.

Together, they crafted what he refers to as "a love letter" for the fans who watched the original show as a kid and are now adults. That doesn't mean Revelation is on the level of something like Amazon's blood-splattered superhero show Invincible, which Smith mentions and admires. But it does mean that the writers room — consisting of Marc Bernardin, Eric Carrasco, Diya Mishra, and Tim Sheridan — got to "raise the stakes in ways you wouldn't normally do," David adds. "Characters could die. Not saying they will, but they could."

Smith remembers speaking with Netflix's director of original series Ted Biaselli, who also came with a childhood love of this sword-and-sorcery saga and sat in on the writers room tossing out ideas.

"He said, 'Do me a favor. When I used to watch the shows as a kid, I legitimately thought that He-Man was always on the verge of getting killed by Skeletor. I believed in the stakes. Just make me believe that again,'" he says. "People would see some of this as goofy IP, but this is a rich tapestry, a world full of characters. [Biaselli] said, 'Please just don't talk down to it. Don't make fun of it. Don't wink. Just treat it like Shakespeare.' Those were our marching orders."

image


image


The first episode of Revelation begins "in lockstep with the old show," Smith mentions. Then, about halfway through, "things take a shift which allows all the characters to go through these periods of growth." David mentions a "cataclysmic event that would shake it up."

The pair keep any further specifics about what that cataclysm is under lock and key, but Smith does go on to explain that "only certain people know the secret that Prince Adam is really He-Man. We build our entire story on who was left out of the secret and the damaging trickle-down effects of that."

It's a story about "a hero who has to live under deception in order to protect those he loves, but it's about how that deception rots at the core."

David sees the story told in Revelation in two acts, which is why Netflix is releasing the episodes in two parts. "Part 1 felt like a really great act break," he says. "You get to it and you're like, 'Oh man! This is just dramatic. The game has changed.'"

"The characters at the beginning of Revelation are going to be very different than they will be at the end," he adds.

image


image


The devotion to the world of Masters of the Universe feels palpable. That extends to everyone involved. David shares fond memories of learning "how to tell stories from playing with the toys growing up," while Smith, the kind of person who can speak about this material for hours without catching a breath, notes that composer Bear McCreary "gave us a score this show doesn't even deserve." (Smith was brought to tears in a video he shared online of listening to the music for the first time.)

The showrunner also points to the cast. "[Hamill] had talked about wanting to step out of animation, but he was like, 'When you came at me with Skeletor, how could I say no?'" He had a similar experience chatting with Headey. "There was such fervency and love for the property," he says.

Liam Cunningham as Man-At-Arms, Griffin Newman as Orco, Stephen Root as Cringer, Diedrich Bader as King Randor and Trap Jaw, Tiffany Smith as Andra, Henry Rollins as Tri-Klops, Susan Eisenberg as Sorceress, Jason Mewes as Stinkor, Phil LaMarr as He-Ro, Tony Todd as Scare Glow, Cree Summer as Priestess, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Beast Man round out the main parts.

For David, "becoming the best version of yourself" has always been at the heart of He-Man, and it's true now of Revelation. "We wanted to reiterate that, but make it even more broad," he says. "It's not just He-Man that has something special inside him, but every character and every viewer. We all have the power."

image


https://ew.com/tv/masters-of-the-un...twitter.com&utm_term=609d31470637600001de767b
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