He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
The iconic toy brand from Mattel
The TV Connection
He-man and the Masters of the Universe have a very unique story to them. The toy came before the tv show. As many would have guessed otherwise. Masters of the Universe or popular as ‘MOTU’, is a toy line of action figurines released by Mattel in early 1982. Each action figure came with a mini-comic.
In 1983 Filmation started to release a TV series, based on toys. It was a huge success. Comprising 130 episodes, the tv show ran until November 1985
Combat animals
The toy line came with a whole host of characters, vehicles, animals, and a castle called Greyskull. He-Man was the main character, with his rival called Skeletor. The evil blue, skeleton-faced, leader from another dimension, and invaded Eternia. He-man’s (or Adam) homeworld.
Combat Vehicles
A generous line of vehicles was released by Mattel. Among them were the Attack Trak and Battle Ram. The latter firing projectiles from a spring-loaded mechanism at the back. The front came apart to become a glider.
Other versions of He-Man eventually came from the Mattel drawing board. One example is the “Battle Damage” He-Man. It had a chest with a built-in mechanism that would flip over to reveal battle marks on his armor.
No other toy line comes close to Masters of the Universe when it comes to relating to the 1980s. How many did you have?
Reference
Masters of the Universe (classic toyline) | Wiki Grayskull | Fandom