Masters of the Universe: Revolution

It is a source of amazement to me that a toy franchise, which is what Masters of the Universe is, manages to give rise to so many inventive re-workings. We’ve had the magnificent She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series, and more recently two competing Masters of the Universe series. There is no canon. All of these series exist entirely in their own part of the multiverse.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution is the latest season of the Kevin Smith helmed incarnation of He-Man and his pals. It is a direct sequel to Masters of the Universe: Revelation. The series is most notable for an absolutely stellar cast, led by Mark Hamill who hams it up magnificently as Skeletor. We’ve also got Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) as Evil-Lyn. This season also adds William Shatner as He-Man’s evil uncle, Prince Keldor.

He-Man himself is played by Chris Wood, whom you may remember as Mon-El from Supergirl. This season the role of He-Man’s sorceress girlfriend, Teela, is taken by Supergirl herself, Melissa Benoist, who is also Wood’s wife. Presumably they can manage the chemistry. Another replacement for this season is Gates McFadden who takes over the role of He-Man’s mother, Queen Marlena. See what I mean about a stellar cast?

Anyway, to the plot. In Revelation, Evil-Lyn managed to destroy Preternia, the heaven of the MotU universe. At the start of Revolution, He-Man’s father, King Randor, dies. There is no afterlife for him to go to! Teela resolves to use her magic to restore Preternia, but soon finds that she needs far more power than she currently has, forcing her to go on a quest for new sources of magic.

Meanwhile, He-Man, in his role of Prince Adam, is about to take the throne of Eternia when his long lost uncle, Keldor, turns up and claims to be the rightful heir. Relieved that he doesn’t have to become king, and can carry on being He-Man instead, Adam agrees. Little does he know that this is all part of an evil plot by Hordak to conquer Eternia.

I must say that I prefer the She-Ra version of Hordak to this one, who is just another all-powerful baddy that He-Man has to overcome. But there are interesting character arcs in this season, not the least for Skeletor and Evil-Lyn.

There are only 5 episodes to this season. It is easily bingeable, and a lot of fun.