Some shows of the 80s hold a special place in the viewers of those shows, and rekindling nostalgia with a strong narrative becomes quite a task for creators. We have seen various studios venture into that realm, wander without a destination, and eventually falling into an abyss of bygones. We have our Teen Titans Go, lacking any link to the previous iteration. On the other hand, we have our Garfield and Scooby-Doo remakes that are outright pathetic. Another addition to this list is Netflix’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation.
While the absence of the keyword He-Man was quite iffy, I reassured myself that in no way the showrunners would discard the mighty He-Man, but against all the expectations, the very first episode of Masters of the Universe: Revelation removes him from the storyline with quite an absurd chronology.
The Good!
Let’s talk about the good stuff first as there is not much to speak of; yeah, the casting is phenomenal, and so is the voice-acting as Mark Hamill, Lena Headey, and others give impressive performances to a lousy script. The other good thing about the show is the animation. Its top-notch with its 80’s aesthetics mixed with the fluid animation tech of 2020 is something I liked, and I am sure every fan of the show would agree with that. Animators put in a lot of effort and dedication, while Kevin Smith’s love for the original series can be seen from the overall animation and editing. The humor is not dated but reasonably family-friendly and feels nice to know that it’s nothing over the top in that aspect.
The Bad!
This section stems strictly from the narrative in which the new master of the universe is Teela. It would have been amazing to see the rise of a female protagonist, but the transition is very rough. It’s like the creators want you to instantly erase the memories of your childhood in a single episode to churn out a story that will sell the latest merchandise of Skelegod and the new master of the universe. It feels like the creators were intentionally trying to hurt the emotions of the long-term fans to be a bit more socio-politically correct, which is not needed every time. Learn from the fiasco of Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn.
The Ugly!
While some prominent Youtube Channels may have tried to sugarcoat the hell out of this by mincing words and telling our readers that it is a new take, He-Man is used as bait to lure in the viewers with immense nostalgia for the show. At the same time, the Teela storyline is elongated without any positive reception due to the sheer injustice to He-Man as he is portrayed like a dumb prince throughout. It would have been better if the writer Kevin Smith, a huge He-Man nerd, wouldn’t have dumbed down the main lead for the purpose of the story, which at the end is quite mediocre.
What to Expect in ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’ Part 2?
In full disclosure, I seriously do not know which direction the story will go as everything is quite vague. A void has been created with the absence of He-Man, the next part might redeem itself after backlash from the viewers, but I won’t bet my money on that as I have seen various such cash-grabs meeting their eventual fate, cancellation.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation is a 2021 Animated Television Series created by Kevin Smith for Netflix.
