He-Man

This article is about the character. For the franchise featuring He-Man, see Masters of the Universe.

He-Man
File:He-man.jpg He-Man as seen in a DC comic from December, 1982, one of his earliest appearances and preceding the debut of his animated series.
Portrayed by	John Erwin in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Gary Chalk in The New Adventures of He-Man Cam Clarke in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
In-universe information
Relatives	King Miro (grandfather) King Randor (father) Queen Marlena (mother) She-Ra (twin sister)
Alignment	Good
Secret Identity	Prince Adam
Affiliations	Sorceress, Teela, Man-At-Arms, Cringer, various others
Powers/skills	Superhuman strength Highly resistant to damage Superhuman speed and agility Super breath Telepathic contact with the Sorceress of Grayskull Exceptional tactician All his powers are derived from the mystical power of Grayskull
Weapons	the Power Sword

He-Man is a heroic fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is the alter ego of Prince Adam and also the twin brother of She-Ra. He-Man and his friends defend Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil forces of Skeletor.

Fictional character biography

Early mini-comics

In the illustrated books released with the first series of toys and drawn by Mark Texeira, He-Man is a barbarian from an Eternian tribe. The planet's inhabitants are dealing with the aftermath of the Great Wars, which devastated the civilizations that once ruled supreme over all lesser beings. The Wars left behind advanced machinery and weaponry known only to select people. An early incarnation of the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull gives He-Man some of these weapons, and he sets out to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil villain Skeletor. He-Man possesses one half of the Power Sword; the second half is possessed by Skeletor, who uses it as his main weapon. When joined, the two halves of the Power Sword will provide the key to Castle Grayskull. This is why the two figures' swords could combine into one sword, when the action figures were initially released. In one early illustrated story, He-Man and Skeletor actually united their two Power Sword halves to form the true Power Sword in order to defeat a common enemy.

Filmation era

Prince Adam

By the time the animated series was being developed, He-Man's origins had been revised as follows: his true identity is Prince Adam of Eternia, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena who rule the planet of Eternia along with Adam and the rest of their inner circle. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull endows Prince Adam with the power to transform into He-Man, which Adam does by raising his Power Sword and proclaiming: "By the power of Grayskull...I have the power!"

Prince Adam's pet is a cowardly green tiger named Cringer. When Adam becomes He-Man, he similarly transforms Cringer into a brave armored green tiger named Battle Cat. Battle Cat serves as He-Man's steed and fierce fighting companion.

Adam is friendly with the beautiful and strong-willed Teela, the adoptive daughter of his mentor Duncan. Adam and Teela grew up together and now, as Captain of the Guard, Teela is entrusted to protect the prince. She often sees Adam as lazy and cowardly because she is unaware of his alternate identity as He-Man.

Duncan, also known as Man-At-Arms, is He-Man's closest companion and the Eternian royal family's innovator of technology and weapons. In many episodes, Man-At-Arms unveils new and fantastic weapons or devices that help He-Man and his friends.

Castle Grayskull is the source of He-Man's powers. Inside the Castle lives the Sorceress, who grants Prince Adam his transformative abilities, and communicates telepathically with He-Man.

To protect his family, He-Man keeps his double identity secret, sharing the knowledge only with Orko, Man-At-Arms and the Sorceress.

The spin-off cartoon series She-Ra: Princess of Power later revealed that Adam has a twin sister, the Princess Adora, a leader in The Great Rebellion against Hordak on the planet Etheria. Adora, like Adam, is given the gift of the power of Grayskull and has her own sword which she uses to transform into She-Ra, Princess of Power. He-Man makes a number of appearances in the She-Ra: Princess of Power television series.

He-Man's chief adversary is Skeletor, a blue-skinned sorcerer with a skull for a head, wearing a cowl. He is skilled in black magic as well as all forms of combat. Though his origin is mysterious, and the cartoon describes him only as a "demon from another dimension," a tie-in comic implies that Skeletor's true identity is Prince Keldor, older brother of King Randor, thus making him He-Man's uncle. It is revealed in the animated motion picture He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword that Skeletor was Hordak's right-hand man up until his capture, and supposed release. Skeletor is accompanied by a group of henchmen who aid with his evil schemes.

He-Man in live action

In 1987, Cannon Films produced a Live-action film Masters of the Universe which features Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man which was a commercial failure at the cinema.

The New Adventures of He-Man

After the demise of the MOTU toy line, Mattel attempted to reinvigorate interest in He-Man by producing a new toy line, simply titled He-Man. The accompanying storyline in the minicomics packaged with the figures explained that He-Man had now left Eternia and pursued Skeletor into the depths of space, where Skeletor had now set his sights on conquering the distant world of Primus, a planet with high technological resources. He-Man was shown to have given up the identity of Prince Adam altogether to permanently become He-Man, basing himself on the world of Primus where he had allied with a team of defenders known as the Galactic Guardians and become their leader. He-Man's appearance was re-designed for the new toy line, with a space helmet and golden armor added to his attire to give him a more futuristic appearance, and his sword was also completely redesigned.

A cartoon series was produced by Jetlag Productions to accompany the toy line, titled The New Adventures of He-Man. Although generally in-keeping with the story line from the mini-comics, this series maintained the double identity of Prince Adam and He-Man. On the world of Primus, Prince Adam posed as a travelling merchant and the nephew of the character of Master Sebrian in order to disguise his secret identity. His transformation oath was also altered slightly to become "By the Power of Eternia".

2002 series

To tie-in with a new line of revamped action figures based upon the original toyline, a new He-Man cartoon series was produced in 2002-3 by Mike Young Productions, again titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. This series retold the MOTU story from the very start. He-Man's origin was told in a 3-part episode that began the series, in which the 16-year-old Prince Adam is summoned to Castle Grayskull by The Sorceress to take upon the identity of He-Man and the role of Eternia's defender. The portrayal of his character in this series was mostly consistent with Filmation's portrayal, although the character of Prince Adam was shown to be much more brash and youthfully energetic than his 1980s counterpart, to convey the image of a teenage boy saddled with the overwhelming responsibility of defending the entire planet from evil. The second season episode "The Power of Grayskull" also revealed He-Man to be a descendant of King Grayskull, an all-powerful barbarian hero from Eternia's ancient past, who sacrificed his life to save Eternia from the Evil Horde and was the original wielder of the Sword of Power. He was the original owner of Castle Grayskull, and his sword was concealed in the castle for centuries before being given to Prince Adam, who inherits his ancestor's own power which is channeled through the sword (thus giving an alternate meaning for the phrase "By the Power of Grayskull").

Actors who have played He-Man

In the 1980s series, He-Man is voiced by John Erwin. In the 1987 live-action feature film, he is played by Dolph Lundgren. Gary Chalk provides the voice of He-Man for the 1989 series The New Adventures of He-Man, and later the voice of Man-At-Arms for the 2002 series. He does not provide the voice of Prince Adam; Adam is instead voiced by Doug Parker, unlike the 1983 and 2002 series, where Adam and He-Man were voiced by the same actor. In the 2002 series, He-Man is voiced by Cam Clarke.

Powers and abilities

He-Man is characterized by his incredible strength. In the intro sequence of the 1980s cartoon series he claims to be "The Most Powerful Man in the Universe". Similar wording is also used in early packaging of He-Man toys. He-Man's strength is an issue rarely tackled and seems to vary depending on the adaptation. In his first DC comics appearance he was able to trade punches with Superman. And in one episode, he even lifted AND was able to throw Castle Grayskull itself (when it was transported to another dimension), though this was the result of a temporary increase in power. Typical of most adaptations is that He-Man is often shown successfully attempting feats deemed impossible by other characters. Episodes of the original cartoon also depict him as being able to swim at a far faster rate than is humanly possible.

It is unknown if there is a limit to how long He-Man can remain He-Man before he reverts back to his original form of Adam; but in the 2002 series, He-Man is shown enduring the brunt of the RamStone of Zelacia, a gem whose mystic force can pierce any barrier or topple any obstruction. He survives, but reverts back to Adam in the process, suggesting that even He-Man has a limit as to how much abuse he can endure before his superhuman strength and stamina are exhausted.

His physical prowess is not limited to strength, however, and he is also depicted as being extremely fast and acrobatic. These traits do not show themselves in He-Man's movie appearance, but this may have been due to budgetary reasons, as well as the fact that Dolph Lundgren, in the absence of a fitting stunt double, was obliged to perform all his own stunts.

On the other hand, He-Man as a character is largely non-violent and usually only resorts to combat as a last resort, often preferring to outsmart his adversaries, his most violent actions typically consist of picking up an enemy and tossing him away like a rag doll, though the 1987 film and 2002 series show him fighting more aggressively. He-Man is also depicted as a leader, most noticeably in the movie adaptation where he is referred to as the leader of the resistance. Sometimes He-Man's intellect appears to cross a point not within his character, but this usually happened in the original 80s cartoon.

He-Man's primary weapon is his sword, but he also uses other weapons, such as a laser-gun in the film, and equipment while battling his foes. His sword is able to deflect bolts of energy both magical and technological. Originally He-Man's primary weapon was an axe. The chest piece on his baldric (battle harness) is made of an Eternian mineral called Korodite that helps add to his physical strength.

Due to his costume he can rarely carry large items with him. The 1980s cartoon depicts He-Man sometimes carrying items in his chest-plate and in some cases in his belt. This has caused some irritation with fans who consider the latter cases as embarrassing to the character. The He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon by Filmation also gives He-Man a number of powers many fans considered silly or over-cartoonish and which in result have not appeared in other versions. Such powers include:

• He-Man being able to blow, using the full-capacity of his lungs, a gust of wind powerful enough to knock over most opponents (similar to Superman's "super-breath").
• Able to transform himself into a human tornado (sometimes with the aid of spinning his sword) to divert objects, or even fly short distances on rare occasions ("Evilseed" and "The Shadow of Skeletor" being two such examples).
• Able to run at high speed, creating a vacuum ("The Once and Future Duke")
• Able to rub his hands together fast enough to turn sand into glass (as seen in "Temple of the Sun").

There are also dubious feats specific to plot, such as an inexplicable ability to fix a broken chain by merely connecting both ends ("Evil-Lyn's Plot"), to adjust the course of one of Eternia's moons by flying a Wind Raider to it and pushing it ("Jacob and the Widgets"), and shattering/deflecting a falling moon (on a collision course with Eternia) by throwing a rock from the ground at it ("Eternal Darkness").

External links

• He-man.org
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at IMDb (1983–1985 series)
• Masters of the Universe at IMDb (1987 live action film)
• The New Adventures of He-Man at IMDb (1990–1991 series)
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at IMDb (2002 series)
• Masters Cast - He-Man and She-Ra Podcast
• He-Man Costumes - The Official Licensed Range