He-Man

This article is about the original character from He-Man, She-Ra, and Masters of the Universe series and movies.

He-Man 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.

Early Mini-Comics
In the illustrated minicomics released with the first series of toys and drawn by Alfredo Alcala, 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
By the time the Filmation 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 live in the palace of Eternos along with Adam and the rest of their inner circle. Marlena was a lost astronaut from the planet Earth. 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; like He-Man, he was created prior to his alter ego.

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. Teela is revealed to be the only daughter of the Sorceress and the future inheritor of Grayskull; the Sorceress chose adoption for Teela after her father died, when she was just a baby.

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. The episode "Evil-Lyn's Plot" reveals that she also created He-Man's harness from a rare Eternian mineral called Coridite, which adds to his physical strength.

To protect his family, He-Man keeps his double identity secret, sharing the knowledge only with Man-At-Arms, Orko, Cringer/Battle Cat, and the Sorceress; with the advent of the She-Ra: Princess of Power series, this list is expanded to also include Adora/She-Ra, Spirit/Swift Wind, Light Hope, Loo-Kee, Madame Razz, and Kowl. The original cartoon series also includes the dragon Granamyr and the cosmic enforcer Zodac being in on He-Man's secret. The episode "The Rainbow Warrior" also strongly hints that Queen Marlena has worked out He-Man's secret but will not admit it. He-Man is usually accompanied by an assortment of allies in his battles, such as Ram-Man and Stratos.

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 She-Ra: Princess of Power.

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.

According to Lou Scheimer, executive producer of the Filmation animated series, the idea of He-Man having a teenage alter-ego was derived by from the Fawcett/DC Comics character Captain Marvel, about whom Filmation had already produced two TV series: Shazam! and The Kid Superpower Hour with Shazam!. He-Man's twin sister She-Ra was created as a female spin-off, as Captain Marvel's twin sister Mary Marvel had been.

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".

Live Action Film
In 1987, Cannon Films produced a live-action film Masters of the Universe which features Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man. Although the film was not received well upon its release, it has developed a strong cult following over recent years.

Although generally portrayed in much the same manner as other media, there were several notable differences in the character of He-Man within the movie. His additional use of a gun in several scenes, rather than only his characteristic sword, caused controversy among some fans. Also, there was no mention of his secret identity of Prince Adam within the film, which some fans have interpreted as an implication that the makers envisioned him as having only one permanent identity, as in the early mini-comics. He is portrayed as a widely recognized hero, regarded as a great leader and Eternia's best hope of survival.

2002 TV Series
To tie-in with a new line of revamped figures based upon the original toyline, a new He-Man cartoon series was produced in 2002-03 by Mike Young Productions, again titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. This series retold the MOTU story from scratch. 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").

Immense Strength
He-Man is characterized as "The Most Powerful Man in the Universe". 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.

Superhuman Durability
He-Man is shown enduring the brunt of at least two large explosions, which 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.

Superhuman Swimming Speed
He-Man is depicted him as being able to swim at a far faster rate than is humanly possible.

Superhuman Speed
Able to run at such a high speed, to create a vacuum ("The Once and Future Duke").

Super Breath
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").

Human Tornado
He-Man is 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).

Skilled Swordsman
He-Man almost always uses his sword in combat so it is assumed he's highly skilled in sword combat.

Skilled Acrobat
He-Man is skilled in acrobatics as seen in the 1980's cartoon.

Random Abilities
Able to rub his hands together fast enough to turn sand into glass (as seen in "Temple of the Sun").