We open with the Cannon film logo, which is, appropriately enough, a symbol coming together briefly and then falling apart dramatically. Next we’re given a list of names on a plain blue background, which doesn’t exactly fit the windy sounds that serve as soundtrack. But that’s okay. It’s building.
Next begins an expository voiceover, an unnamed narrator explaining the location and foreshadowing the plot. This is a popular trope of many sci-fi/fantasy movies aiming for an epic scope. It also serves as a convenient introduction as the film itself, once it starts up, wastes very little time on explanations.
This particular introduction is spoken as we fade in on a matte painting of Castle Grayskull, the centermost point of Eternia, a planet at the center of the galaxy. As we get closer, we see the intricacies of the castle’s design. It’s gothic, temple-like, but hedged with blinking lights. Technology and mysticism, if not outright magic, living in perfect harmony.
A mere speck in the left eye socket of the titular skull of Grayskull, we are first shown the Sorceress. She stands in her home, this castle, seemingly miles above the surface of the planet. The tiny homes and dwarfed spires twinkle below her, but she’s looking upward, into the night sky. Something is happening up there, some colors warbling into existence. Is this the ancient, cosmic power the Sorceress is tasked with protecting? No. It’s just the credits.
Bill Conti’s soaring, bombastic theme has often been unfavorably compared to the brassy anthems in the Star Wars films. Hearing it like this, as actors names fly around space, it’s easier to think of one of John Williams’s other classic scores—1978’s Superman. The film’s theme, complete with its subconscious associations, does its job. Immediately, the viewer knows they are in for a grand space opera, complete with one immensely powerful protagonist.
To these sounds, the names of actors and crew are propelled through a space rainbow. After one last name, Gary Goddard, the film begins with a literal bang. An explosion rips through space, ending our credits.
“The whole idea here was to set a mood,” said Goddard. “We started, really, from the villain’s point of view, and got a lot of exposition out of the way.”1
We’re treated to a brief view of Eternia, an alien landscape brought to life on the Vasquez Rocks outside Escondido, California. The aftermath of a battle is visible in the smoldering sci-fi wreckage. Surrendering Grayskull guards are being herded by black armored figures. The war is over, and from the looks of it, the bad guys won.
Inside Castle Grayskull, a massive throne room has been similarly overrun by these “crack troops.” One more man in black marches along the impossibly long walkway. The dark, ominous score is punctuated by the sound of his staff striking the ground. Here we have the man in charge. He demands a report from his second-in-command, Evil-Lyn. He-Man, we’re told, is leading the resistance. The Sorceress has been captured. Their side has won, she says. Grayskull is theirs.
“No,” Skeletor turns, correcting her harshly. “Mine.”
Goddard has called Masters of the Universe a labor of love, and it’s overwhelmingly obvious in this scene. The score is booming and epic, the lighting is pitch-perfect to bring the costumes and makeup to life, and the throne room set is both huge and minutely detailed. We can see tier after tier of staircases descending into the depths of Grayskull, along with gigantic statues stretching up into the distance above. This is far from the only example of such an attention to detail from the production.
A sizeable chunk of the magic on screen is centered on Frank Langella as Skeletor. He has disappeared into the character, swirling his cape and growling his pompous dialogue. Though he is clearly enjoying the inherent camp of the project, Langella also provides moments of genuine creepiness.
In this first sequence, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, as played by Meg Foster, deliver their exposition, by occasionally staring directly into the camera. Breaking the fourth wall like this is certainly unorthodox, but guaranteed to deliver chills to the children in the audience. Sure, this is a kiddie movie, but there is a surprising edge to the family-friendly entertainment.
“People of Eternia,” Skeletor announces to the planet, “the war is over. My forces are victorious!”
The villain’s face is broadcast into the skies surrounding Grayskull by the holo-spheres, witnessed by handfuls of surrendering castle guards. And someone else, too.
He-Man stands atop the slanted rocks with the Power Sword, here called the Sword of Grayskull, in hand. The cartoon character has become battle-hardened, his hair mussed, his bare muscles soot-smudged. His costume is familiar enough, but not exactly the same as it appears on the action figures. While just as exposing, the boots are taller, the chest piece covers less, and his trunks aren’t furry, like a barbarian’s. He has a flowing cape in royal purple. At once, it’s more utilitarian and more gaudy.
Surveying the wreckage, He-Man spots a small group of Skeletor’s troops leading away a prisoner, a small figure trapped in a net. With this, he leaps into action.
He also leaps into one of the most awkwardly edited sequences of the film.
On the whole, Masters of the Universe is smooth and competently made, especially for a first-time director. But the following brief scene is difficult to follow.
The shots of He-Man looking over the battlefield and the shots of him fighting these troopers were clearly filmed far apart. Where he’s looking doesn’t match up with the camera angles we’re shown, so when he jumps into frame, it’s seemingly from out of nowhere.
Much of the ensuing fight is filmed in close-ups, focusing on the clash of sword against rifle barrel, He-Man’s chest as he turns, his grimacing face. At its best moments, it’s confusing. At worst, it’s fuel for the camp crowds, the viewers looking for “so bad it’s good.”
He-Man shows no mercy, flinging a knife at one trooper, slashing another across the torso with his sword, gunning down several more. As the film never explicitly states these soldiers are robots, the violence can be a bit surprising at first.
Though he doesn’t seem to need it, He-Man receives assistance. The last few crack troops are shot by Teela and her father, Man-At-Arms. These two are dressed in variations on the Grayskull guard uniforms we’ve spotted in battlefield backgrounds. The design has been streamlined since the cartoon, and it’s all in shades of blue instead of Filmation’s gold and green.
That small figure in the net is calling out for help. Our reunited friends hurry over to set him free. This is Gwildor, who introduces himself as a locksmith, inventor, and member of a race called Thenorians. “Any foe of Skeletor is a friend of ours,” Man-At-Arms tells him.
When asked why he is so important to Skeletor’s forces, Gwildor invites He-Man and the others back to his workshop. Here Gwildor reveals his greatest invention, a small device covered with buttons and spiky tuning forks: the Cosmic Key.
The Cosmic Key, Gwildor explains, can allow travel to any place by manipulating the “gravitonic tones” that bind the universe together. Immediately, He-Man sees where this is going. “And that’s how Skeletor’s troops got into the city and surprised us,” he finishes his new ally’s sentence.
Gwildor hurries to explain. It was stolen by Skeletor’s lieutenant Evil-Lyn. The villains have the Cosmic Key, but Gwildor still has its prototype.
“You little worm,” Teela spits. “Don’t you realize what you’ve done?”
She’s calmed by He-Man, but this isn’t the only instance of Teela’s bigotry toward Thenorians in the film. It’s a small character quirk, but a puzzling one for a children’s movie. In her defense, Gwildor doesn’t seem too broken up about his part in the capture of Castle Grayskull.
Alarms are sounded. Skeletor’s troops have found them.
Outside we see one of Skeletor’s major henchmen, Karg, leading a group of black armored troopers. Gwildor pulls a lever and beckons his new friends to hurry through this secret passage into “the caverns beneath Grayskull.” If these caverns and passages exist, it’s unsure why Skeletor needed a Cosmic Key in the first place.
Following He-Man into the passage, Gwildor pauses. “I don’t like adventures,” he says to himself. Goddard added this line as a Lord of the Rings reference.2 Upon speaking it, the small, hermitic character rushes off with his new tall, brave friends on a journey that will take him very far away. He might even just save the day.
At this point, about 11 minutes into the film’s running time, it’s worth noting how fast it’s moving.
It’s common for genre films of this nature to begin with an action scene, but Masters of the Universe goes far beyond a standard set piece. Aided by the ominous score, the film already has a great deal of momentum behind it. This first extended sequence of Masters could even be confused for the third act of another film, one which has already established all it needs to and it now simply focusing on the action.
We’re given that brief voiceover introduction and then we are thrown headfirst into a civil war. Even if the viewer is familiar with these characters from cartoons or action figures, that still does little to explain why Eternia is in this state. And so we’re simply along for the ride. We’re piecing together the backstory when we’re given clues and we’re rooting for He-Man because he looks like the hero. The story’s mechanisms and plot holes fall away. This is simply entertainment.
Passage through the caverns beneath Grayskull has delivered our heroes to the castle’s throne room, which now appears to have been emptied of Skeletor’s troops. He-Man and the others are apprehensive, but still move in to free the Sorceress from the energy field Skeletor has trapped her in.
While Gwildor attempts to use the Key to open a “doorway” through the force field, the Sorceress tells He-Man just how bad the situation is. Skeletor is stealing her powers. “I can withstand him until moonrise,” she says, “until the Great Eye opens on the universe.” Our heroes have been given a deadline but, for the viewers, it’s a wobbly one. We’re not told how long an Eternian day is. Again, we’re not given the time to consider that.
The rattling of armor alerts our heroes to Skeletor’s return. The black-clad troops file in with Skeletor and Evil-Lyn. Man-At-Arms and Teela take up defensive positions, as He-Man stands defiant beside the Sorceress. Behind the dais, Man-At-Arms shouts at the villain, asking if he dares to threaten the Sorceress’s life.
“I dare anything! I am Skeletor!” This is one of those lines of dialogue that might’ve scared off most actors, but Langella is eating up the melodrama. His performance grows more gloriously unhinged throughout the film.
Evil-Lyn hears Gwildor using his prototype key, and the shootout begins. The massive throne room set allows for plenty of creative camera movements, sweeping in and around the squadron of crack troops as they fire away. Sparks explode whenever one is shot. Evil-Lyn has pulled back to a safer position, but Skeletor stands in the midst of the battle, too obsessed to be anywhere else.
Man-At-Arms, the tactician, realizes the battle isn’t going to end well. He tells Gwildor to stop working on freeing the Sorceress and to get them a doorway out of the throne room. Gwildor hits keys at random and presses the big red “Energizer” button.
In the corner of the throne room, balls of light swirl together and we watch the flat surface of the film dip inward. A misty vortex is formed. Begrudgingly, He-Man follows his companions toward the portal. As the shootout continues, an errant shot hits Gwildor’s Cosmic Key and it drops to the ground.
He-Man grabs Gwildor and jumps into the portal while the troops lunge for the Key. As the portal begins to fade, a claw on a grappling line is fired back out into the throne room, grasping the Key and retracting it back toward our heroes. The door closes.
“Find them,” Skeletor screams. The villains’ Cosmic Key can trace the prototype whenever it is used. The next time the Key is activated, they will know where they are.
“He-Man lives and possesses that Key,” Skeletor says to the camera. “I must possess all or I possess nothing.”
Lightning strikes in a sunny, verdant forest, and we begin to see a familiar swirling of light. Another portal has been opened. Our heroes are flung through the “doorway” onto a muddy riverbank.
“We could be anywhere,” Gwildor says. “Any planet in the galaxy! Any planet in a thousand galaxies!” They can find their way back to Eternia with the help of the Cosmic Key … which seems to have been misplaced in their journey.
In this scene, we can practically hear the film relaxing. After an action-fraught first sequence, the story finally has a chance to settle into itself. The characters’ definition shapes up. Man-At-Arms is the team’s realist, the seasoned and unflappable veteran. Teela is the fiery one, always first to let loose with her tongue or her laser pistol. Gwildor, the comedy-maker, is another of cinema’s absent-minded inventors.
He-Man, our hero, is conspicuously bland. He’s peaceful, smiling at Gwildor’s antics, and fast to calm the hot-headed Teela. As an icon of machismo and alpha male might, he almost seems censored. Due to the cartoon’s violent reputation with concerned parents, Mattel was clearly cautious to not make him appear too warlike.
This temporary respite also allows more lightness to creep into the film. The first sequence held firm to its portrayal of a planet at war. The tone was grim, the protagonists seemed outnumbered and overwhelmed. Now Gwildor clears his clogged gill-slits, spraying the group with muddy water for a moment of comedy. They group then ventures off to marvel at their first alien life form: a cow.
But the clock is ticking down. To enact their next suicide mission to free the Sorceress, they first need to find the lost Key. The team splits up to scout the area.
Nearby we see the sign for Robby’s Ribs, a local fast food joint.3
Inside is Julie, a bright eyed teenager wearing a waitress’s red checkered shirt and neckerchief. She smiles as she hands over a bucket of fried chicken to a customer off-screen.
Julie, we learn, has suffered a family tragedy. Her parents died recently when her father’s plane crashed. Julie blames herself, in a not-quite-sensible teenage way, because she wasn’t there with them. Instead, she lied about needing to study so she could spend time with her rock ’n’ roll boyfriend, Kevin. Now she’s packing up, quitting her fast food job, and moving to New Jersey.
She removes her apron and walks to the back of the store. A coworker follows her, gnawing idly on a fried chicken leg. “If you break up with Kevin Corrigan,” she tells Julie, “you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
Behind a swinging saloon door, Julie is unbuttoning her uniform shirt. Though only shown from the shoulders up, and even in a movie alongside a nearly naked Dolph Lundgren, this image is surprisingly intimate. Julie, as a character, is stripped raw.
A horn sounds outside the restaurant. Kevin Corrigan has arrived. Julie has to catch a bus to the airport that night, but they have some time to kill. On her last night in town, Kevin asks his girlfriend to come listen to his band’s sound check. He’s just that type of guy.
Teela and her father have converged in the woods near Robby’s. The two Eternians spot Gwildor hiding in nearby bushes, using his grappling claw to steal food from a nearby convertible. They confront him and accept their share of the bounty.
Teela speaks through a full mouth: “I wonder why they put their food on these little white sticks…”
“Those are rib bones,” Man-At-Arms says, unperturbed. He continues to munch while his daughter and Gwildor freeze.
“You mean this used to be an animal?” she asks, coughing. Man-At-Arms smiles and takes another bite. His companions have lost their appetites.
“What a barbaric world,” Teela says, throwing down her half-eaten barbecue.
This scene is the perfect example of a major theme of the rest of the film–The fish out of water. These Eternians bumble through 1980s Earth, misunderstanding social mores and standing out like sore thumbs. They also learn from these Earthlings, even as they endeavor to protect them from the evil that will follow them from their home planet. Where He-Man is, Skeletor can’t be far behind.
While it’s entertaining to watch aliens be confounded by what the viewer considers ordinary, it’s also a one-way mirror. We infer that Eternians, and Thenorians, for that matter, don’t eat meat. But what do they eat?
Masters of the Universe is admirable for its sense of scope and perspective. We’re shown world-building in ways both grand, like the throne room shootouts, and subtle, like expressions in throwaway dialogue. For example, the characters have their own measurements for time and distance, chromots and metrons, respectively. While this does wonders for immersion, it also brings up more questions than it answers. We have no idea how long a chromot is, or how far a metron4 is.
We hear characters saying, “Thank the Sorceress,” as if she’s a religious or political figure. And she very well may be both. While previous incarnations of the Masters franchise did portray a king of Eternia, there is no reference to one onscreen. Grayskull is a proper castle, complete with a throne room, and we’re told the only person who belongs there is the Sorceress. Is she merely a figurehead, or something more? It makes one curious what, exactly, Skeletor’s claim to the throne is.
Twilight’s gloom is approaching the small California town. On the way to his sound check, Kevin has driven Julie to the cemetery so she can say goodbye to her parents. They stand in front of the graves and Julie’s voice cracks as she elaborates on her feelings of guilt. “God, I wish … I wish I could change things,” she whispers into the shoulder of Kevin’s leather jacket.
“But you can’t. That only happens in fairy tales.”
Kevin helps her away from the gravesite and, on cue, the cemetery’s lampposts flash into life, spreading a golden light around them. A beeping noise gets their attention, leading them from the path toward a small smoking crater. Inside, they find the Cosmic Key. These two innocent kids are walking directly into a fairy tale or, as their Eternian counterparts would think, just an average day. But those are cultural differences for you.
Across the cosmos, Evil-Lyn has been alerted by the Earth kids playing with the prototype Cosmic Key. They can’t locate them too closely just yet; the readings are still only narrowed down to the closest “parsec-eon.”
The Cosmic Key was always intended to be a device for not only traveling to different planets, but also to different times. While this plot element is used much later in the film, it was never clearly established beforehand. The Key is always used for transportation, getting Skeletor into Castle Grayskull or He-Man to Earth. This throwaway line, saying our renegade heroes were tracked down to the parsec (unit of distance) and eon (unit of time), is the closest we get to foreshadowing the final scene.
By now, Julie is awkwardly standing by as Kevin sets up for his band’s big gig at the local high school. Once his keyboard is sound-checked, he begins to fiddle with the Cosmic Key once again. He happens across the Energizer button and, as the two of them marvel at the lightshow the Key produces, Skeletor’s forces are able to zero in on them.
Sensing a trap, Skeletor ordered Evil-Lyn to round up an advance team of mercenaries to investigate before sending a battalion of his soldiers. He stands by as she introduces each member of the team:
Blade, a one-eyed, bald humanoid in spiky body armor, is introduced first. He was intended to be a physical equal for He-Man, especially as a swordsman. Though the Power Sword has always been an important element to the character of He-Man, he almost never engaged in a sword fight on the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. The live-action filmmakers were interested in correcting that oversight.
The reptilian Saurod is introduced next. Possibly the film’s most visually striking character, this first moment on screen shows off the detail of the costume and makeup. As expert puppeteer Pons Maar arches and sways his neck, a sac in his throat inflates like a frog’s. It’s a tiny moment that came from a lot of hard work by the film’s designers and costumers.
Next is the only previously established character, Beast Man, now called The Beastman. He was one of the first Masters of the Universe action figures made and has been present in every incarnation of the concept. Mattel wanted as many familiar characters as possible in the film, an idea Goddard bristled at. While most established characters did not make the cut, Beastman earned himself a fairly prominent role.
The last in this “elite commando unit” is Karg, the gray-skinned, hook-handed lieutenant who earlier lead the raid of Gwildor’s workshop. Karg is portrayed as being a figure of authority, second only to Evil-Lyn. He will be leading this “curious quartet,” as Skeletor calls them.
The evil, black-cloaked figure marches in front of them, issuing his demands. He wants the Key but, even more so, he wants He-Man. “Now,” he says, “you are to go through to this world where they are hiding, find the Key, do what you wish with the others but bring He-Man back alive. Understand?”
It’s almost uncomfortable how similar this scene is to one in the Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1982). In it, Darth Vader, another melodramatically evil figure in a black cape, marches in front of his assembled team of bounty hunters, issuing his orders for the capture of Han Solo and the crew of the Millennium Falcon. It’s easy for films like these, epic comic book-y space operas, to fall into the same tropes and repeated motifs, but these sequences almost mirror each other. It’s hard to believe this wasn’t intentional.5
Masters of the Universe certainly has an awkward relationship with Star Wars, but that’s not the only awkward relationship on screen. As the film progresses, we are privy to more of the strange bond between Evil-Lyn and Skeletor. The two are never implicitly stated to be lovers—this is a kids’ movie, after all—but there is a sinister sexual tension between the two of them. The relationship warps throughout the running time, as Evil-Lyn seems nearly worshipful of her leader at the beginning, but she slowly grows resentful as she watches the obsession with destroying He-Man consume him. It’s a subtle character arc, another tiny detail which adds so much to the film’s re-watch value.
Back in the high school gym, Kevin is still amazed by the Cosmic Key, which he’s convinced is a new high-tech Japanese synthesizer. He wants to drive it over to show his friend Charlie, the owner of the local music shop. Julie volunteers to stay behind in the school.
Kevin hesitates for a second, but then rushes off. She’ll have the place to herself, he says, except for school’s janitor, Carl.
As soon as she’s alone, there’s a noise from behind the gym’s door. In the hallway, the Key’s doorway is opening. The mercenaries and a handful of black armored troopers are hurrying into our world. In classic horror movie fashion, Julie walks slowly toward the door.
“Carl?” she asks hopefully. “Is that you?”
Carl is thrown through the doorway and the mercenaries enter. Julie shrieks. As she runs off to hide behind the stage, they open fire. Sparks fly. Speakers explode. A fire catches.
“No, no, take her alive!” Karg orders. “She may know where the Key is!”
The four creatures hunt as Julie struggles to scurry away. Julie manages to splash ammonia in Beastman’s eyes and, as he’s blinded, escape through the door to the outside. The gymnasium is left in flames behind her.
According to Goddard, “The challenge here was to make it look like a girl like this could actually escape these four attacking villains and make it look realistic, so you wouldn’t think they look foolish. And I think we did that in the cutting.”6
This sequence underwent many changes before filming. David Odell’s first script only included two mercenaries, Beastman and Saurod. The two were to chase Julie through the entire high school, until she manages to trap Saurod under a bookshelf in the library and blind Beastman with sulfuric acid from the science lab. The finished product makes Skeletor’s minions more menacing, and Julie’s escape more difficult. In the film, the Earthling barely makes it out alive.
Tracking the Key nearby, He-Man hears Julie’s screams. She’s running down alley, banging on doors and shouting for anyone to help. Night has fallen, and the mist is mixing with nearby sign’s neon lights to make everything look slightly surreal. Julie ducks under a fence into a junk yard. Blade easily slices through the fence with one of his swords and the mercenaries follow.
Inside, He-Man catches Julie and tries to calm her. Hearing her talking about “monsters,” a realization flashes in his eyes. He-Man says he’ll take care of it. “Protect yourself,” he says, handing her a pistol. And then he walks off to take care of it.
The film has had plenty of action so far. The characters are constantly running or shooting or narrowly escaping, but this is the first full-on fight scene since the brief confrontation when He-Man saved Gwildor.
The ensuing junk yard fight is much better shot and edited than that first example, thankfully. He-Man sneaks through the maze of wooden crates, attacking the troopers and mercenaries. It’s a complicated scene, involving many unique characters, air cannons, and special effects, and it all comes together beautifully.
After a shootout, and brief-but-satisfying sword fight with Blade, He-Man once again receives assistance when he doesn’t particularly seem to need it. After single-handedly taking on about a dozen combatants, Teela and Man-At-Arms again show up, guns a-blazing. Karg orders the retreat, and the remains of his team pulls back to transport to Eternia.
Alerted by the fire trucks’ sirens, Kevin hurries back to the high school as the blaze is still being extinguished. As he asks about Julie, who he left there “just ten minutes ago,” he falls under the overbearing gaze of tough guy Detective Lubic. We’re told vandalism, possibly even arson, is suspected.
Blocks away, Julie recognizes He-Man’s description of the Cosmic Key and says it’s with her boyfriend.
“He’s in terrible danger,” He-Man tells her. He introduces Teela and Man-At-Arms and asks if his friends had any luck in their search.
“Not as much as you, apparently,” says Teela, staring daggers at the young Earthling wrapped in He-Man’s cape.
This throwaway line is a reference to the character’s flirtation in the minicomics. Any romance was merely implied in the Filmation series, of course, as it was a children’s cartoon. If anything, their relationship in that incarnation was closer to confused love triangle between Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Superman, as it also involved He-Man’s secret identity, Prince Adam.
This exchange also is notable for being the only instance in which He-Man is not treated like an utter eunuch.
Although He-Man is muscular, barely dressed and, objectively, rather attractive, the idea of his sexuality never once factors into the story. There’s never a whisper of attraction from suburban damsel-in-distress Julie and, when boyfriend Kevin joins the group, there’s never a second of jealousy when He-Man sees him rescuing her. One can assume that, just as Mattel insisted, “He-Man can’t kill,” they also added, “He-Man can’t be sexualized.” A quick eyebrow-raise from Teela is all we get.
But the moment ends and the film carries on. Gwildor arrives, bearing another moment of lightness and “native transportation”—a pink Cadillac equipped with new sci-fi gadgets.
In Castle Grayskull, Evil-Lyn is kneeling before Skeletor. He grasps her head with both hands, peering in close as they whisper.
“The people wait for He-Man,” she says, her pale eyes gleaming. “They believe that he will return to lead them. For you to rule completely, he must be destroyed.”
“He-Man…. If I kill him, I make him a martyr … a saint … no. I want him broken.”
This Macbeth-style interaction is interrupted by the banging of the throne room’s doors. The advance team has returned. And He-Man is not with them.
Stammering, Karg reports that they found the Key, but could not capture it. They battled the Eternians but were “outnumbered,” so they’ve returned for a larger invasion force.
He-Man is still free. He still lives. The four mercenaries cower as Skeletor rises to his feet. They all know the penalty for failure.
They beg for another chance, and this time Skeletor speaks an actual Shakespeare quote–“I am not in a giving vein this day,” from Richard III. He extends his hand and purple lightning arches out, striking Saurod. The reptilian henchman writhes and screams as he’s slowly dissolved.
“It would be a pity to let their talents go to waste,” Evil-Lyn says, taking her place at Skeletor’s side. He grabs her arm and pushes her out toward the remaining mercenaries.
“Save your pity for yourself, if you fail!”
Confusion washes over Evil-Lyn’s face as Skeletor tells her she’s in charge of the team now. Just like that, Evil-Lyn’s spot of privilege and confidence is taken away. Their relationship has pivoted; from here we can watch the disillusion grow in Meg Foster’s performance as Skeletor’s obsession pushes his right-hand woman further away.
In a film unafraid to flirt with darkness, this is by far the most grim sequence in its running time. As Gary Goddard wrestled with both Mattel and Cannon for every ounce of creative control he could, this shows us where that leeway went. He has created a story with stakes, where characters can die even if the hero can’t kill them, and where the villain is cartoony but still utterly evil.
Evil-Lyn’s team arrives near the junk yard. Inside the fence, she uses an Eternian “scanner” to view the past, watching for the ambush Karg spoke of. All she sees is He-Man.
“Outnumbered?” She smirks. “Outclassed is more like it.”
Troopers report activity from the Key. They trace it to Julie’s house, where Lubic drove Kevin. The paranoid detective soon loses interest in the missing Julie or any possible arson her boyfriend may have committed. He is more interested in the Cosmic Key. The device may not be a Japanese synthesizer, Lubic says. It may be part of some Communist plot. He takes the Key back to Charlie’s music shop to ask some questions, leaving Kevin at the house.
Movies are best interpreted when viewed in the context of their original release date. Masters of the Universe hit theaters in the fall of 1987 and, like most films of the era, the decade’s motifs were quite strong.
One common trope of science-fiction/fantasy films of the time was “coming to Earth.” Appropriate budgets were not always available, or the filmmaking technology was not always advanced enough to express the future or an alien world. As a result, there would often be “bookend” scenes at the beginning and end of the film, or merely an introduction taking place in these fantastic locales before the action relocates to the then-modern day.
Masters was constructed with these limitations in mind. By setting so many scenes inside Grayskull’s throne room, the story could bounce back and forth between Earth and Eternia more often. This gave the fantasy world more screen-time than it did in films like The Terminator (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Howard the Duck (1986).
The film also comments on the popular mindsets of the time. Detective Lubic is the voice of the ’80s establishment, paranoid about the rise of cults or Communist sabotage striking the small, idyllic California town.7 Later in the film, he’s seen leading his police squad around, swearing he just saw an invading army. He’s portrayed as both eager for and ultimately unprepared for war.
Perhaps the greatest ’80s trope found in Masters of the Universe is the story’s reverence for music. Music is quite literally magic, the glue binding the universe together. And the instrument best identified with 1980s music, the synthesizer keyboard, is also a lynchpin. The Cosmic Key functions as a keyboard, the instrument our teenage musician Kevin plays, allowing him to eventually save the day through rock ’n’ roll.
These elements can “date” any film, but it can also allow it to work as a time capsule. In a story about interplanetary travel, even travel across time, we need a concrete locations in both space and time. Looking at Teela’s aerobics-style spandex costume or hearing Kevin insist Gwildor’s Cosmic Key is a Japanese synthesizer, there can be no doubt that we’re looking at the 1980s.
As Evil-Lyn and the remaining mercenaries storm Julie’s house, Kevin is alone and cleaning the kitchen. As Beastman approaches, he throws the only thing within reach—a paper towel. This does not work as well as Julie’s ammonia did.
When he is subdued, Evil-Lyn applies another Eternian gadget—the Collar of Aldruber. With it in place, Kevin is calm and docile, hypnotized, his eyes dilated, speaking with a voice that sounds auto-tuned. Shown a hologram of the Cosmic Key, he tells Evil-Lyn it was taken by Lubic only minutes before.
“We should be able to track the Key from the air,” Blade says. Evil-Lyn agrees and the team returns to the hovering transport in the front yard. They leave Kevin behind, the collar still in place.
Gwildor’s modified “land-boat” pulls up moments later. He-Man and our heroes storm in, finding only destruction and the collared Kevin. When Man-At-Arms frees him, Kevin blinks away the Collar’s effects and mistakes our Eternians for the evil crew representing Skeletor.
Julie tries to calm him by saying these strangers are her friends.
“Your friends?!” he sputters. “Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on here?”
An awkward introduction follows.
Just past halfway through the film’s running time, the gang is all together. All the characters have been introduced and maneuvered into place. All expositions and introductions finished, we’re ready for a massive battle or two and an action-packed third act.
Kevin is clearly not on board with the plan, but he tells He-Man that Lubic said he was heading to Charlie’s music store to ask more questions about this mysterious Cosmic Key and its possible Soviet connections.
Our heroes reach Charlie’s before Evil-Lyn’s forces and Lubic is there, revolver in hand, demanding answers from these strangely dressed visitors. “How come I get the feeling I’ve been looking for you all night?” he asks, poking a finger at He-Man’s bare chest.
As He-Man’s attempts diplomacy, Teela kicks the gun out of Lubic’s hands and snatches the Key away. Skeletor’s forces are closing in. The clock is ticking down to Eternian moonrise, when the balance of cosmic power is set to shift. Gwildor is set to work on the Key, trying to find their coordinates home. Teela leads him and the humans into the back of the music shop, Lubic at gunpoint, as He-Man and Man-At-Arms fortify the storefront to prepare for battle.
Evil-Lyn’s flying transport has landed in the middle of the deserted, idyllic downtown. She tells Beastman to rally the troops and attack the music shop on her signal. Blade and Karg follow her off to prepare for a secret side mission.
Inside Charlie’s, He-Man and Man-At-Arms have hunkered down behind a stack of amplifiers and keyboards. In the back room, Teela paces anxiously as Gwildor tinkers with the Cosmic Key, muttering to himself about the distances and melodies.
Beastman’s black-clad troopers smash through the shop’s windows and everyone starts shooting. The troops and musical instruments alike explode in showers of sparks. Our heroes are well-defended, but there are so many of them rushing in. He-Man and Man-At-Arms quip calmly as they toss grenades and dive for cover.
The entire music shop shootout is expertly filmed. The atmosphere is tense and imposing, letting the viewer know that their favorite action figures are better than these faceless soldiers, but they are still in danger of being overwhelmed. The camera shows us multiple perspectives in such an enclosed space, and the sparks erupting from the troopers look fantastic. In a movie so reverent of music, the destruction happening in Charlie’s music shop is framed as especially monstrous.
In the back room, Gwildor explains the workings of the Cosmic Key to Kevin. The Thenorian is working hard on those coordinates, but he tells Teela he has no idea how long it will take him.
“I’d give all the chalconite in Fribillian if I could only spend two units with a master Songmaker!” he exclaims in frustration.
The Cosmic Key was better explained in earlier versions of the script. Each gravatonic tone Gwildor punches into the Key is a part of a time-space coordinate. By combining the right notes in the right order, the melody opens a doorway to the exact second and exact square foot he wants. Determining these notes is an exact science, and for a person like Gwildor, it requires a great deal of calculations. A master Songmaker, however, simply feels the music of the universe. They can complete the precise melody instinctively. Someone with such a magical power would make their path back to Eternia much easier.
Teela tosses the revolver to Kevin and hurries up to the front of the shop to assist He-Man and her father. Her addition to the music shop shootout makes a noticeable difference. Commenting on the need for a “woman’s touch,” she stands from behind their barricade of amplifiers and mows down a batch of troops in a shower of sparks.
She pops back down behind the barricade and, smirking at the camera, says, “Woman-At-Arms.” Masters is occasionally awkward with its attempts at humor, but this is by far the most cringe-worthy.
In the back of the store, Julie looks out the window, where she sees a vision of her late mother standing in the alleyway fog. She quietly slips out the back door.
“Mother?” she asks. “But the plane…?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that Julie,” the woman tells her. “But we had to disappear! We’re doing very important, very secret work….”
Gary Goddard has spoken many times about his intention of making Masters of the Universe as a “live-action comic book,” and this plot twist is a prime example of the supernatural soap opera that entails. A character’s parents faking their death while working on, apparently, top secret government work isn’t far removed from the funny books. A very similar story is told a few years later in Amazing Spider-Man issue 366, in which Peter Parker’s long-dead parents return with stories about being secret agents. They’re later revealed to be robots. Just like that story, all is not as it appears in the alley behind Charlie’s music shop.
Julie runs back into the store, snatching the Cosmic Key and bringing it to her “mother,” who is then revealed to be Evil-Lyn.
With the Key in Evil-Lyn’s hands, Beastman pulls his forces out of the music shop. The shootout moves to the back alley, where Skeletor’s troops fire on our heroes, preventing them from chasing down Evil-Lyn and getting the Key back.
The squadron marches back to the parked transport. Evil-Lyn cradles the Key like a child, carefully typing in the coordinates for Eternia.
Finally able to pursue, He-Man and his friends are hurrying down the empty downtown streets when the wind whips up. A ghostly blue light is projected on them. They’ve seen this before—the formation of one of the Key’s portals. The group scrambles to hide.
A marching, ominous theme swells as Skeletor’s forces emerge into planet Earth. For all their comparisons to the Stormtroopers of Star Wars, those white-armored bad guys never looked as fascistic as these ones do. They march in perfect formation, holding their weapons in identical postures, their superior officers wearing capes to signify rank. The Air Centurions, troopers on flying discs, soar overhead. It’s a massive military presence.
Finally, Skeletor arrives in his huge personal transport. He is seated on a throne inlaid with images of skulls and snakes, in front of a red glowing dish. “Contact Evil-Lyn,” he growls, not looking particularly pleased with the mission’s success.
A blue light projects on her face as she smiles faintly, reporting in. “I have the Key, my lord,” Evil-Lyn says, clearly proud.
“And He-Man?” Skeletor cuts her off.
“He has eluded us.”
“That will be all,” he grunts, ending the transmission. As the blue light fades from Evil-Lyn, we can see her expression sinking. This moment may be it, the final slight that pushes her too far.
Back at Charlie’s, Detective Lubic has acquired a shotgun but knows he needs backup. “It’s an invasion,” he proclaims.
It is and it isn’t. There is clearly a military force assaulting the town, but almost nobody seems the wiser. The streets are empty. The shops are closed. This is played for chuckles at Lubic’s expense later, but it’s also a symptom of the budgetary restrictions of the project. We can have an invasion, but it can’t become an invasion movie.
Curiously, no version of the script called for the town to be aware of Skeletor’s incursion. Odell made mention of bystanders hiding behind their cars and running in terror. One brief scene was cut from the finished script that would have a young neighbor boy watching the mercenaries land their flying ship and break into Julie’s. He watches excitedly, ignoring the unnamed “sci-fi fantasy cartoon show” on the television. When he tells his mother about the aliens and flying saucers, she turns off the TV and says, “I think you watch too much of this garbage, Jimmy.”8
The Air Centurions chase our heroes through alleyways until He-Man steals one of their flying discs. He battles more Centurions in the air above the town, in a potentially exciting sequence which just never quite works out. The technology to make this look good doesn’t seem to be available just yet. Or if it is, Cannon Films didn’t provide the money or time to make it happen. It’s worth noting a similar sequence is pulled off beautifully in another famously troubled production, 1991’s Highlander II: The Quickening.
As He-Man uses Gwildor’s grappling device to steal the Cosmic Key from Evil-Lyn, the rest of our heroes hurry through an apparently abandoned building to take shelter on the rooftop. Kevin and Julie huddle in the corner. Teela expresses concern for He-Man, as he should’ve joined them by now, and Gwildor explains to Man-At-Arms how his calculations for their return trip have been progressing.
All the while, Skeletor’s massive flagship has been silently rising behind them.
“I only have two numbers left,” Gwildor explains. “Once we get the Key back, we’ll be gone within two pretons!”
“I think not, Gwildor!” booms Skeletor’s voice. Our heroes whirl around and fire their blasters. Skeletor raises his hand and the bolts are harmlessly dissolved in his force field.
He is clearly growing more powerful as the story progresses, as his energy field saps the magic from the Sorceress back on Eternia, reducing her to a feeble old woman. He demands Man-At-Arms and Teela drop their weapons and, Teela a bit more reluctantly than her father, they comply. Given the budget, the rooftops around them are filling with a surprising number of armored trooper extras.
“I would never knowingly serve the lord of Snake Mountain,” Gwildor proclaims. “Wait until He-Man arrives. He’ll see to you.”
He-Man, the villain gloats, is expected.
Skeletor’s troopers circle our heroes and, at that moment, He-Man’s flying disc follows the last Air Centurion up and over the rooftop. Shock dawns on his face as he sees all those soldiers waiting for him. It was a trap.
Julie rushes forward to warn He-Man. Skeletor raises his hand, and a purple lightning arcs from him fingertips. He-Man’s flying disc is struck, along with Julie’s exposed leg. Skeletor blasts again, hitting the Cosmic Key once it tumbles loose as He-Man crashes to the rooftop.
The troopers swarm He-Man. He fights through them, drawing his sword, just really cleaning house. Teela and Man-At-Arms begin to struggle, but are quickly reduced to hostages once more. Our hero, however, if having no such issues. In any other movie, this would be a serious issue.
Time and time again throughout the runtime of Masters of the Universe, it’s proven that no one is greater than He-Man. In this scene, scary robot soldiers dog-pile on him and he throws them off by flexing. Having an invincible protagonist is the surest way to spoil any sense of danger in the narrative. But then again, this is He-Man. This is the melodrama of Good Vs. Evil on a cosmic, sci-fi/sword-and-sorcery scale. Of course he’s stronger than the bad guys. He’s the Most Powerful Man in the Universe.
In the end, He-Man has only one weakness, and it’s one Skeletor knows to exploit. “One more move,” he shouts from his floating ship, “and your friends will not live to see another day!”
And that’s that.
He-Man allows himself to be shackled by the troopers under Evil-Lyn’s command. The mercenary Blade beams excitedly as he collects He-Man’s massive sword, and our heroes wish each other “Good journey” as He-Man is led away.
Man-At-Arms, Teela, and Gwildor are left to rot in this “primitive and tasteless planet” alongside Kevin and the injured Julie. Their prototype Cosmic Key is left behind, but Skeletor’s magic has wiped Eternia coordinates. They’re stranded.
Masters of the Universe moves quickly and avoids being bogged down by building the worlds and mythologies of the cartoon and toy line. It does, however, occasionally skip over establishing some important information.
“This is our fight,” He-Man tells Skeletor on the rooftop, one of many references to the two’s animosity. However, there’s no explanation in the film of how this came about. We can infer that He-Man is the guardian of Castle Grayskull, but for all the focus given to Skeletor, we get very little of his motivation. He wants to rule the universe. Why exactly this is, or how he managed to amass his followers and robot army, aren’t even hinted at.
In addition, we see very little of Eternia. We are shown the majestic throne room of Grayskull and the smoldering battlefields on those sideways rocks, but nothing of everyday life. We don’t see the average Eternians that Skeletor addresses in the film’s opening. We don’t know how they feel about Skeletor, or about the Sorceress, who the main cast of heroes seem to treat as both a ruler and a deity. As we are without context, it’s possible to view Skeletor as a liberator overthrowing a theocracy. Instead, we’re supposed to embrace the simplicity of the narrative–Shirtless guy is good, skull-faced guy is bad.
A simple workaround for the light story-telling is to watch Masters of the Universe as a sequel to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the Filmation cartoon show. However, many fervent fans of the show never accepted the film as canon. There were too many differences, namely the lack of characters like Battle Cat and Orko, the assorted redesigns of costumes and characters, and the vastly different tone Goddard brought to this version.
In most of the films which followed Masters, audiences were treated to origin tales or rehashes of familiar stories from other media. Skewing closer to the source material in 1987 would have likely placated fans but, at the time, it’s unclear if Hollywood would’ve known that. Much of what was learned from the making of this first action figure adaptation was what not to do.
Goddard and the screenwriters, Odell and Tolkin, may have been instructed to avoid the simplistic motivations and backstories of these characters. They may have also decided to sidestep these elements to focus on the action, even as a way of broadening appeal. The filmmakers were discovering how this new subgenre could work as they made the movie.
Back on Earth, the invasion is over. As soon as the Cosmic Key’s massive portal fades, Detective Lubic is shown leading a group of cops around the empty streets. “They were here, I’m telling you,” he shouts. “It was the damnedest thing you ever saw.”
Left alone, Man-At-Arms, Teela, and Gwildor follow our Earthlings down to a small fountain. Everyone is concerned for Julie, as she’s become feverish since struck with Skeletor’s magic. The spot of her leg is a sizzling mass of blood and strange green pustules. The poison is already in her bloodstream, they tell Kevin. Only their Sorceress can heal her now, but the path back to Eternia is all but impossible.
“You see, Kevin,” Gwildor gently explains, “opening a dimensional door is relatively easy. But the tones, Kevin. The tones that were stored in this Cosmic Key were completely erased.”
Kevin brainstorms for a moment and then whistles the melody played by the Key whenever they’ve pressed the Energizer button. Gwildor and the Eternians watch in awe; remembering a catchy tune is as magical to them as their run-of-the-mill dimensional doors seem to us. A Songmaker is tantamount to wizardry.
Even with the praise heaped on him, Kevin’s confidence falters when, on the bench beside him, Julie shifts and whimpers in pain. He’s nothing special, he tells his new friends. “There’s a million of me.”
The Kevin Corrigan at the start of the third act is light-years from the Kevin Corrigan we meet in the first act. Initially introduced as a self-centered character, we watch the concern for Julie and his new friends blossom throughout the story. Our action figure characters are larger than life, Lubic is played for laughs, and Julie is a kind girl who misses her parents; Kevin is the only heroic character with an arc.
The villains, namely Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, are a different story. Goddard directed his focus from the less dynamic character, He-Man, and the less trained actor, Lundgren, to keep the camera on Langella’s Skeletor as much as possible. The focus on Kevin is a less obvious creative choice, but his development helps make these new, original Earthling characters more interesting.
Gwildor hatches a scheme. Using spare Eternia technology Man-At-Arms and Teela have on them, they’ll be able to jump-start the Key. As for coordinates, they now have a master Songmaker to supply the tones. Kevin rushes off to steal a keyboard from Charlie’s demolished music shop. It’s up to him, up to the magic of synthesizer-based ’80s music, to save the day.
Back on Eternia, the villains march into Castle Grayskull triumphant. He-Man is there, bound as their captive. They march him down the long walkway to the throne. Skeletor is the lead, and he doesn’t even pause mid-step to snatch his tall snakehead staff from a tiny green minion, a character seen only in this brief shot. Blink and you’ll miss him.
Meet Pig-Boy.
As Masters of the Universe was in pre-production, Mattel announced a contest for one lucky fan to win a part in the film. Children across the country saw the toy advertisements and rushed to fill out the entry forms. Soon a winner was announced: eight-year-old Richard Szponder from Chicago, Illinois.
As Mattel finalized the paperwork with Szponder’s family, Goddard and the crew began scrambling to find a way to fit him in. No such roles had been prepared. There were no parts for children in this children’s movie.
In the DVD commentary, Goddard laughs when the character makes his appearance. “The way the contest came down,” he explains, “by the time we got to the final sequences, when this kid was actually flown out to be in the movie, we are essentially in Eternia. So the only way for the kid to appear in Eternia, based on the way the script was written, was to put him in some kind of character makeup or costume.”9
“Prior to arriving in California, I had no idea how they would fit me into the film,” Szponder said in a 2010 interview. “During one of our first visits to the studio, we were taken on a tour where I was shown concept drawings for the Pigboy character.”10
At a point in the production when time, money, and tempers were running short, this contest was a promise that needed to be fulfilled. Mattel paid for the Szponder family to be flown out to California for nine days, along with various sightseeing trips to keep everyone else occupied while Richard was on set. Limousines were hired. A tutor was brought on to keep the boy current on his schoolwork.
Just as it was for Billy Barty and the other actor working in costumes, it took several hours each day to transform Szponder into Pig-Boy. Adhesives used to attach the mask left his face burning for days.
“Being in full makeup and costume probably made the whole experience easier,” he said. “I don’t remember being particularly nervous, and I do remember that everyone on set seemed excited to have me there. They were all very encouraging and helpful and treated me like a professional.”
Pig-Boy can first be spotted in the background of the scene early on as he brings Skeletor’s staff to the throne. After his close-up, however, he disappears.
“When the scene was filmed,” Szponder said, “Skeletor grabbed the staff from me, turned to look at me, and shouted, ‘Now leave!’ I then scurried off. When I first saw the film in the theater, I actually missed my scene. I was expecting something much more significant than what ended up in the film.”
The young would-be actor still recalls his disappointment that day in the theater. “What was even more disappointing, though, was when the film was first aired on television. The portion of the scene where I appeared was cut altogether!”
He-Man is shackled in the throne room before a gloating Skeletor. The mercenary Blade hands over He-Man’s sword, eliciting a look of shock from the Sorceress, who has become withered and drained from the force field. The Sword of Grayskull is sheathed in a blinking gizmo next to the throne. Moonrise, the final component of this techno-mystical ceremony, is imminent. “Our lifelong battle is ending at last,” Skeletor proclaims, “in the only way it could.”
But acquiring all the powers of the universe isn’t enough for the villain. He orders the holo-spheres activated again, so that when the power is bestowed upon him, the planet can watch He-Man kneel to him.
He-Man, understandably, refuses.
That’s when Blade moves behind him, activating a glowing red laser whip. Skeletor watches with delight as his enemy is flogged.
The scene was filmed with De Longis only holding the handle while the laser whip was inserted in post-production. “They wanted to show off their special effects,” he’s since stated. “Frankly, I prefer real skills done in real time. I think it provides a character credibility and offers the audience more emotional investment and ultimately a more satisfying moviegoing experience.”11
The laser whip sequence is considered one of the most memorable points in the film. Like the Air Centurion set-piece earlier, it’s a fun, high concept sci-fi idea, but the execution falters. The arc of the bright red laser whip doesn’t match the movements of De Longis’s arm at several moments, and when Lundgren moves to react to the “impact” of the whip, it doesn’t seem to match up either.
On Eternia, the clock is counting down. “The moon rises to its apex,” one of Skeletor’s robot troops announces.
“Ah! Do you hear?” In a tight close-up, Skeletor taunts the captive, bloodied He-Man. “The alpha and the omega. Death and rebirth. And as you die, so will I be reborn!”
The giant circular window behind the throne whirs open to show the night sky. Skeletor turns to face it triumphantly.
The great eye of the universe is opening, shown as balls of glowing golden energy flying down into the throne room. They spiral around Skeletor before being absorbed into his pale skull face. He describes the feeling to his audience as his body begins to glow with golden power.
“Of what consequence are you now?” he says, spitting his laughter. “This planet, these people … they are nothing to me! The universe is power! Pure, unstoppable power! And I am that force, I am that power!”
Although we can assume he’s speaking to He-Man, he seems to be addressing the entire throne room. As power-mad as Skeletor has always seemed, he’s now proclaiming himself a god. Evil-Lyn visibly gulps.
Goddard seems to have turned Frank Langella loose in this scene. Skeletor comes into his own with some delicious chewing of scenery, interspersed with reaction shots of his overwhelmed cronies.
“I actually didn’t want to cut away from him at all,” Goddard said. “I think he did a brilliant performance. The cut-aways I reluctantly agreed to. The studio felt we needed them, but I really felt this was a scene we could stay with Frank for the whole performance.”12
That golden glow surrounding Skeletor becomes a blinding flash of light. Everyone covers their eyes except for Evil-Lyn. When the light fades, Skeletor has changed. His dark robes have been replaced by shiny golden armor. His hood has become a tall, ostentatious helmet covered with spines, spikes, horns and a pair of bat wings.
For all his transformations and newfound power, he’s still the same petty Skeletor. “Now, kneel!” he screams at the captive He-Man. That cosmic power blasts from his eyes, striking He-Man’s bare chest.
That golden energy suggests something. Gold is the color of power, not of good or evil. Castle Grayskull, as we’re told by the opening narration, is at the direct center of the darkness and the light of the universe. Just as the massive throne room shows both the statues of the benevolent “Gods of Technology” and the dark, sinister-looking pits and sub-levels, this cosmic power is similarly neutral. The banners hanging throughout, which have typically been the same dark, regal purple as He-Man’s cape, are now that same shiny gold color.
Skeletor has finally won. He is now free to use all the powers of the universe for his nefarious purposes.
Back on Earth, Gwildor’s plan is coming together. Kevin plays the melody on a keyboard as blue electrical energy arcs around the Cosmic Key. As the light flashes, the beginning moments of their dimensional portal, the persistent Detective Lubic jumps out with a shotgun. He threatens arrest. Teela pulls out her blaster. Lubic reaches for Kevin as he frantically plays the keyboards…
Meanwhile, Skeletor is taunting He-Man, asking where his friends are, when his friends arrive. A lightning-crackling portal flashes in the throne room, and suddenly there is a chunk of Earth around our returning heroes, including portions of sidewalk, brick facade, Cadillac, and a very bewildered detective Lubic.
Much of this sequence changed from the original script, as well. Initially, He-Man was not taken back to Earth as Skeletor’s captive. He was stranded on Earth with his friends, only to come back to save the day as everyone might expect. Perhaps this level of predictability is what caused these changes. Instead, the audience is shown He-Man being brutalized, so his lowest point comes from torture and humiliation instead of simple powerlessness.
Instead, the heroes and the Earthlings appear right in the thick of the action for their rescue mission. Skeletor’s forces open fire on them. They take cover behind their borrowed Earthling structures to shoot back.
He-Man, realizing Skeletor won’t keep his pledge to let the others live, breaks free rather easily. Though his back has become bloodied from Blade’s lashes, it suddenly appears he’s been playing possum this whole time. He escapes as soon as he realizes he can and begins smashing his way through the robotic troopers. Skeletor blasts at him with his extra powerful golden lightning, but it becomes evident that even now the two aren’t equals.
As the shootout rages, our Earthlings join in. Protecting the injured Julie, Kevin is seen brandishing an Eternian pistol. Lubic calls the troopers “Pinkos” and begins dispatching them with his shotgun. Though the odds are clearly against them, perhaps due to the element of surprise, our heroes are gaining the upper hand. Again, it’s unclear whether He-Man actually needs any of the “cover action” Man-At-Arms and the others are providing. He seems to be taking out the bulk of the army on his own.
Evil-Lyn, Karg and Beastman are seen backing toward the door before flat-out leaving. The production team didn’t view this as a cowardly retreat. It was more of them washing their hands of Skeletor and his mad war. Evil-Lyn had been spurned one time too many.
He-Man is battling his way through the troopers to get to Skeletor, and his Power Sword. Overwhelmed in the midst of the robots, mercenaries, and laser crossfire, he takes cover behind one of those towering statues and decides to push it over, scattering the villains. He-Man was typically shown as absurdly super-strong in the cartoons, strong enough to push moon out of their orbits even, and this live-action moment is a remnant of that.
He-Man rushes past Skeletor to collect the sword of Grayskull from the contraption beside the throne. Skeletor blasts at him, and He-Man is shown struggling briefly as the golden lighten strikes him. But he doesn’t let go of that hilt.
He soon pulls the sword free with a flash of light, and holds it over his head to shout the trademark, “I have the power!” The music swells. The lights glare and people watch in awe.
But he doesn’t give the full catchphrase, “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power,” only the last bit. In previous versions of the Masters script, He-Man swears by the power of Grayskull on several occasions. For example, on the rooftops after the Air Centurion sequence, the hero was meant to draw his glowing sword and say, “By the power of Greyskull, [sic] I challenge you, Skeletor. Here and now.”13 It’s unclear why this well-known phrase was removed by the time filming rolled around.
“Let this be our final battle!” Skeletor shouts and, in one blinding instant, his staff connects with He-Man’s sword. Blue and yellow glows emanate from the weapons and, sudden, those are the only lights left in the room. Everything else fades away.
The change in lighting isn’t the only difference. The room seems to have cleared out, giving the two more room for their duel. There’s no tripping over blasted robot bodies. The camera work has altered as well. Gone are the smooth, sweeping dolly shots, replaced now with jerky steadicam and close-ups. Things suddenly look much more like a music video from the era.
The man inside Skeletor’s golden armor has changed as well. Filling in for Langella is the Blade actor and Master’s fight choreographer, Anthony De Longis.
De Longis recalled filming this sequence in a 2010 interview. He had been working with Dolph Lundgren to make the fight appear even between the hero and villain. “I designed some practical but very complex and flowing attacks and defenses,” he said, “to give Skeletor’s character credibility by pitting He-Man against a worthy opponent.”
But this did not work out as planned. The choreography had begun before the design for Skeletor’s armor had been finalized, and the size of the helmet wasn’t revealed to De Longis until the day of filming. “I couldn’t wield the staff around my head or even efficiently around my body without clipping the projecting horns,” he said.14
The fight needed to be reworked on the spot, as production could not waste a single moment at this point. This sequence was the very last to be filmed.
In the end, He-Man breaks Skeletor’s staff, severing his connection to his cosmic power. He-Man, ever heroic, hesitates, unwilling to kill his adversary. Skeletor, ever villainous, takes advantage by attacking him with a hidden sword of his own. By now the two have edged close to one of Grayskull’s many bottomless pits. Through no fault of the virtuous He-Man, Skeletor slips over the edge. Just like the death of the Filmation Faker character in “The Shaping Staff,” care was taken to make sure He-Man’s hands are unbloodied in the end.
In the throne room, the lights come back on. The crackling force field around the Sorceress fades, and she is seen at her proper young age once more. The rest of He-Man’s allies cautiously peek over the top of that pink Cadillac. “Victory!” they shout.
Exhausted, the hero nods in agreement. “Victory.”
There’s a dissolve, indicating an undisclosed amount of time has passed. Castle Grayskull’s throne room has been repaired to its former glory. Man-At-Arms’ Eternian guards stand throughout as He-Man leads Kevin and Julie to the throne. The Sorceress is seated at her rightful place, surrounded by Man-At-Arms, Teela, Gwildor, and Detective Lubic. A woman in a shimmering toga is standing at his side. He has decided to stay.
“What am I going to go back there for?” he asks the incredulous Kevin. “And look what I got here, I got a castle, I got a view, I got clean air, I got a beautiful woman…. It’s some kind of retirement, eh?”
The Sorceress gives Julie a small token of their planet’s affection—a glowing blue ball surrounded by a golden ring. The two humans look around, eyes growing misty. Hugs are exchanged. “Don’t say ‘goodbye,’” Teela tells Julie. “Say ‘good journey.’”
According to Gary Goddard, much of this scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Despite the longer sequence being well received by test audiences, the studio wanted to wrap up this epilogue quickly. “Essentially,” he said, “Julie has a ‘moment’ with each of her Eternian companions, leading to her departure. That scene got cut in half—and I think—we lost the heart of the moment.”15
This scene was clearly a favorite of Goddard’s. In the DVD commentary he refers to it as “a little homage to Wizard of Oz.” Visually, it does resemble the scene when Dorothy prepares to board the hot air balloon back to Kansas. Gwildor’s wild red hair is even adorned with bows and ribbons like the Cowardly Lion’s was. But the scene is brief. Julie, our “Dorothy,” speaks each companion’s name but isn’t allowed the time to share what important life lessons they’ve taught her.
He-Man calls for the portal to Earth to be opened. Gwildor approaches, the Cosmic Key in hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back in your planet’s history?” he asks them. Though never stated before this on screen, the Key is also a time machine.
Our Earthlings politely refuse, simply wanting to go home. The doorway opens in the middle of the throne room and Kevin and Julie make their way toward it. The Eternians call out a last “Good journey” as they step into the light. Suddenly, Julie turns back to shout, “No, wait Gwildor! Send us back, back before…” as the portal’s whooshing sounds drown her voice out.
The lights flash and fade, the music rescinds to birdsong, and Julie wakes up in her own bed. Everything is in place, not packed up for her move, not trashed by Skeletor’s troopers. She sits up in bed, wearing a large, white, full-length nightdress as a visual symbol of our return to innocence.
It’s easy to spot Goddard’s allusion to the Wizard of Oz in this epilogue, but the messages don’t quite sync up. In that classic 1939 musical, Dorothy returns home to the drab sepia-toned Kansas farmhouse to realize how good her life was before she went off on a magical adventure. In Masters of the Universe, however, Julie’s life had been pretty awful before the adventure. She’s sent back in time to correct something that was done before the film even started. We only get a happy ending because of He-Man.
Her mother and father are downstairs in the kitchen. They seem surprised when she rushes in, hugging them and sobbing with joy. She’s returned to the infamous day, the day she lied to spend time with Kevin, leading to her parents’ tragic plane crash. She grabs their plane keys and flight logs, backing toward the door. “I love you!” she cries happily and rushes outside.
In the middle of the street, Kevin Corrigan is waiting for her. He remembers the films events, too. It wasn’t a dream.
They look down at the glowing blue ball in his hands. “Eternia,” Julie breathes.
In the ball, an image appears. We see the tall, gothic facade of Castle Grayskull and then, overtop of it, He-Man lifting his sword triumphantly and calling out, “I have the power!”
After the credits, out of steaming, bubbling muck at the bottom of the pits of Grayskull, Skeletor’s gleaming white head pops up.
“I’ll be back!” he promises the viewers with an evil grin.