The column: The continuation of the cult series “He-Man” puts an end to the same cheese.
He-Man. He-man. The manliest of all men, a double masculine, so to speak. Many little boys were enthusiastic about the franchise in the 80s, which began with plastic toy figures until the manufacturer Mattel finally invented a series of animated cartoons for advertising purposes. In this, Prince Adam of Eternia, who turns into the muscle-bound fighter He-Man, fights against evil.
Director Kevin Smith has taken on a sequel to the cult 80s series, “Masters of the Universe – Revelation” (on Netflix) was eagerly awaited. But after the appearance of the first five episodes, the horror was great among some of the older (mostly male) He-Man fans. Because Kevin Smith has turned a dull children’s series into a diverse, tricky story with a real plot. And some fans don’t like that at all.
While the long-term feud between He-Man and his archenemy Skeletor was the main plot in the old He-Man series, director Smith makes short work of the same old cheese in the first episode of the sequel: The two disappear from the scene. Teela is now the heroine of the series and must bring back the lost magic on Eternia and save the planet.
Of course, Teela does not fight alone, she is accompanied by a colorful team. Diverse thought was also given to the visibility of PoC: Teela’s companion Andra, a minor character in the old He-Man series and white, is now black. Teela’s affection for her companion Andra can be understood as a nod to the LGBTQ community, but at least in the first five episodes it doesn’t go beyond queerbaiting.
For the old He-Man fans, all of this is somehow too much equal rights, too much a reflection of the diverse society, because it hails racist and sexist comments. “The director should be banned and brought to justice for killing an iconic series,” wrote a fan on Twitter. Teela’s appearance also makes the fans angry. Why does she have short hair and be muscular – and does she not wear lipstick either? “Not a real woman,” said one fan.
A particularly common accusation: “What is this political shit about?” What they mean by that: Male, white, heterosexual is accepted as the standard. Deviations from this are perceived by those profiting from the predominance of this same standard as an “unnatural” distortion of reality through measures deemed necessary by politicians – and not as what it actually is: the visualization of society as a whole.
It is bitter that under the din of these angry fans it completely goes under that “Masters of the Universe – Revelation” is a really successful series. This is also reflected in the reviews, critics celebrate Kevin Smith’s new He-Man series. The old He-Man fans don’t want to let that go. They left massive amounts of negative reviews on the relevant platforms. At Imdb, the series has a rating of 5.1 / 10. At Rotten Tomatoes, the audience rating is 39 percent.
Although director Kevin Smith has taken on an already existing story with He-Man, the change within the main characters enabled a new perspective on Eternia and the story. But the angry fan base will probably not be appeased even if the old heroes return in the further course of the series – which is to be assumed. The fans still have to be patient. It is not yet clear whether the second part of the first season will be released this year or in early 2022.
” Masters of the Universe – Revelation”, first part of the first season, on Netflix.
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