Everyone loves trivia about their favorite animated features and series, but with over 100 years of animation history behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in cartoons in this continuing video series. You think you know cartoons? Well, here’s a few things you might not know!

This week we're taking a look at the hero of Eternia, He-Man! Debuting in 1983, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was one of the first wave of cartoons created to help sell toys, in this case, a line of figures from Mattel designed to compete with Kenner's line of toys based on Star Wars. Since that time, He-Man has become one of the most beloved series from the 1980s, inspiring various revivals and adaptations in the decades since its creation. This video looks at the history of the franchise from its inauspicious start as a trio of weird looking mock-up action figures all the way to its current comics adaptations.

Show notes:

  • There have been so many comics adaptations of Masters of the Universe that, yeah, some of them got left out in the video. I promise the accidental omission of the 2002 series from Image/MV Creations was not malicious. You don't have to tell me I forgot it, because here's me, in the show notes, telling you I forgot it.
  • You can get the original series on DVD starting here.
  • You can get the complete 2002 reboot series on DVD here.
  • You can get a collection of the mini-comics that came packaged with the toys here, and a collection of the newspaper comic here.
  • The 1987 live-action film is here.
  • DC's recent Masters of the Universe comics start here. He-Man vs the Justice League here. He-Man vs the ThunderCats here.
  • You can get the 2016 cartoon "The Curse of the Three Terrors" on Amazon Video here.

Check out some installments of our other video series below, and let us know which cartoon series you think we should cover next in You Think You Know Cartoons?

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