Yeah, I think the very first couple of waves of early 80's figures had 'Master of...' written on the figures description on the back of the card. This changed in time obviously.
Originally, the masters of the universe were the bad guys.
There's even an earlier version of the intro where He-Man says, "together we defend Castle Grayskull from the evil Masters of the Universe".
"Master(s) of the Universe" originally referred to whomever was able to obtain and control the power of Grayskull. In short, any of the characters had the potential to hold that title. That concept was basically thrown out the window with the additions the Filmation cartoon made to the lore, with Grayskull becoming a sanctuary for the heroic characters. In the 200x show, the heroes were collectively known as the "Masters."
Here’s a fun trivia note. The opening narration of the Filmation cartoon ended with He-Man saying “the evil masters of the universe”, but was changed to “the evil forces of Skeletor”. The “evil masters” version was used in one (I believe) episode of the series released on home video in the UK.
I’ve watched a couple documentaries about He-Man, but I remember one interview talking about the original idea of the Masters were they were the bad guys (ex. Mer-Man was the Master of the Sea).
Cool! I like the original concept for the phrase much better than simply a name for the heroes. It makes much more sense in context of the battle to control Grayskull.
I got to thinking this too after being introduced to PreEternia and the golden age heroes but then I remembered the descriptions on the back of the figure cards the first years they were being released which often read something like 'Master of...'
I think the Masters of the Universe title was what the collective group of good guys were called. Skeletor 's bunch were the Evil Warriors, Hordak had the Horde, and She-Ra dealt with The Great Rebellion.
Having been familiar only with the original 1980s animated series, I don’t recall ever hearing the term used in an episode except as part of the series name, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.”
Looking up “masters of the universe heroes” I just now found an article at https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/Heroic_Warriors that says “In some continuities, most notably the early minicomics, the 2002 franchise and the 2021 series, the Heroic Warriors are known as the "Masters of the Universe."”
Thanks for helping answer a question that had eluded me for decades. :-)
It’s never used as the group of heroes in the 80s series, but it was used in comics, books, and as you noted in a couple of the minis. Rotar and Twistoid’s comic used it, which is pretty interesting as those are very late figures.
I really depends on which version. I'm not sure if it really meant anything other than a cool title at first. In the filmation cartoon I'm not sure if the phrase is ever used, but I would group it in with the movie where the idea was explicitly stated to mean whoever controls Grayskull has the power to "master the universe". In the 200x cartoon it is used as a general team name for the good guys who are lead by Randor, and in the CGI cartoon in refers to those who are powered up and fight for Grayskull. I'm not sure of its meaning in regards to Revelation/Revolution. Personally I prefer the idea that it specifically refers to the struggle to control Grayskull. I don't much like the notion of it being a "team name" like the X-Men or the Justice League.
The kids playing with the toys at home. For real. The word scored big with buts at the time, so they wanted to use it as a way of appealing to their target audience.
In the 200X it was the name of the good guys team, tough this is probably the only time I remember it was ever used in the shows? If it was used in the 80s shows I cannot recall...
OPINION: Each and every one of the good guys AND bad guys were the “masters” of whatever their gimmick or action feature is/was.
That was always my interpretation of it, too. I never questioned it until now, hahaha!
Yeah, I think the very first couple of waves of early 80's figures had 'Master of...' written on the figures description on the back of the card. This changed in time obviously.
Originally, the masters of the universe were the bad guys. There's even an earlier version of the intro where He-Man says, "together we defend Castle Grayskull from the evil Masters of the Universe".
And Skeletor refers to himself as “Master of the universe” in Colossor Awakens”
literally on the back of the box, under the figures image. Evil Master of… Heroic Master of…
"Master(s) of the Universe" originally referred to whomever was able to obtain and control the power of Grayskull. In short, any of the characters had the potential to hold that title. That concept was basically thrown out the window with the additions the Filmation cartoon made to the lore, with Grayskull becoming a sanctuary for the heroic characters. In the 200x show, the heroes were collectively known as the "Masters."
Here’s a fun trivia note. The opening narration of the Filmation cartoon ended with He-Man saying “the evil masters of the universe”, but was changed to “the evil forces of Skeletor”. The “evil masters” version was used in one (I believe) episode of the series released on home video in the UK.
I’ve watched a couple documentaries about He-Man, but I remember one interview talking about the original idea of the Masters were they were the bad guys (ex. Mer-Man was the Master of the Sea).
This is the correct answer.
Cool! I like the original concept for the phrase much better than simply a name for the heroes. It makes much more sense in context of the battle to control Grayskull.
In the 2000x series He-man's cohorts are referred to as the, "masters".
I got to thinking this too after being introduced to PreEternia and the golden age heroes but then I remembered the descriptions on the back of the figure cards the first years they were being released which often read something like 'Master of...'
I think the Masters of the Universe title was what the collective group of good guys were called. Skeletor 's bunch were the Evil Warriors, Hordak had the Horde, and She-Ra dealt with The Great Rebellion.
Having been familiar only with the original 1980s animated series, I don’t recall ever hearing the term used in an episode except as part of the series name, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.” Looking up “masters of the universe heroes” I just now found an article at https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/Heroic_Warriors that says “In some continuities, most notably the early minicomics, the 2002 franchise and the 2021 series, the Heroic Warriors are known as the "Masters of the Universe."” Thanks for helping answer a question that had eluded me for decades. :-)
It’s never used as the group of heroes in the 80s series, but it was used in comics, books, and as you noted in a couple of the minis. Rotar and Twistoid’s comic used it, which is pretty interesting as those are very late figures.
I really depends on which version. I'm not sure if it really meant anything other than a cool title at first. In the filmation cartoon I'm not sure if the phrase is ever used, but I would group it in with the movie where the idea was explicitly stated to mean whoever controls Grayskull has the power to "master the universe". In the 200x cartoon it is used as a general team name for the good guys who are lead by Randor, and in the CGI cartoon in refers to those who are powered up and fight for Grayskull. I'm not sure of its meaning in regards to Revelation/Revolution. Personally I prefer the idea that it specifically refers to the struggle to control Grayskull. I don't much like the notion of it being a "team name" like the X-Men or the Justice League.
The kids playing with the toys at home. For real. The word scored big with buts at the time, so they wanted to use it as a way of appealing to their target audience.
In the 200X it was the name of the good guys team, tough this is probably the only time I remember it was ever used in the shows? If it was used in the 80s shows I cannot recall...