As of August 1st, Kevin Smith has announced that filming for Clerks 3, the third sequel to the college indie lover’s favorite Clerks released 1994, is officially underway opening the door to a litany of criticism on the Gen X director’s catalogue of work. None more current and venomous than Smith's He-Man sequel series on Netflix, Masters of the Universe: Revelation.
Beginning as an advertisement for toys aimed at kids and masqueraded as a cartoon, He-Man seemed like a safe property in the hands of middle-aged king of the nerds, Kevin Smith. Yet, surprising no one, the He-Man series that takes the time to focus on female character Teela has proven divisive among fans.
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He-Man first appeared in the illustrated books released with the first series of toys in 1981. This was followed by the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe which ran from 1983 to 1985 and then in syndication until 1990. He-Man has been adapted many times in comics, a live-action film (Masters of the Universe) in 1987, a 2002 reboot He-Man and the Masters of the Universe renamed Masters of the Universe vs. The Snake Men, and generally (though the lore has evolved since the toy's first inception) the story is the same.
Taking place on the planet of magic, myth, and fantasy, Eternia, Prince Adam is the young son of Eternia's rulers, King Randor and Queen Marlena. He is bestowed the Sword of Power which, when Prince Adam's holds aloft and proclaims "By the Power of Grayskull!" he is transformed into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. Together with his allies, Battle Cat, The Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, Orko, and somehow the only person in Prince Adam's life to not put it together that he's He-Man… Teela, He-Man uses his powers to defend Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor.
Pretty simple and most adaptations stick to that story. He-Man is strong, evil is weak, "by the power of Grayskull" and Skeletor loses. Except, Masters of the Universe: Revelation took a different approach. Revelation, while sequel series to the original series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, sends the He-Man story in a controversial direction. After a final battle that fractures Eternia and takes out He-Man, it's up to Teela to solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power in a race against time to prevent the end of the Universe. That's right. It's a Teela adventure (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar).
To be clear, only the first five episodes of Masters of the Universe: Revelation have been released on Netflix. It has yet to be foreseen whether or not Part II continues the focus on Prince Adam's bestie and sometimes Man-At-Arms, Teela. And why not if it did?
There’s a lot to cover here. First, nostalgia and fan-ownership of properties. As witnessed, almost every single property that existed as a childhood staple, reimagined in current times, has disappointed someone. And that disappointment usually follows that it is impossible to recreate a person’s childhood memory. Even the closest and most well-received attempts will have detractors on this principle alone. You can’t go home again.
Second, female representation in traditionally male-dominated areas being confused with "woke" culture. Commentary from disgruntled fans has included direct references to "it was nerdy white guys who were buying these comics and watching these cartoons in the first place." Which is blatantly untrue. While the majority of the fandom has been "nerdy white guys", the lack of female representation is not due to female disinterest. They were simply not counted in 80s and 90s marketing though they were there (proven by the very successful spin-off with its own attacked modern Netflix reboot, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power).
The focus on Teela in Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation has been accused of bowing to "SJW" culture, "butching up" Teela, and, oddly, a steroid crisis in Eternia much to Kevin Smith's Twitter post fury. In short, some fans are furious that the current political climate has infected He-Man and Kevin Smith is not having it. As reported by Gizmodo, “Like, you really f***ing think Mattel Television, who hired me and paid me money, wants to do a f***ing Masters of the Universe show without He-Man? Grow the f*** up, man. Like, that blew my mind, bunch of people being like, ‘Oh, I smell it. This is a bait and switch.’”
However, in that quote is a final point that’s a bit more fair to some of the outrage. That the problem for some isn’t that Teela was the focus or that any woman overshadowed He-Man. But that Kevin Smith did very much say the show was going to be one thing and then it was actually another. Stripping away assumptions of sexism and “SJW” culture aversion, fans of He-Man were told they were getting a He-Man show and got the Teela show instead. That would be like Kevin Feige pumping up Marvel fans for a Spider-Man series and then debuting a show that sends Peter Parker to space in the first episode while the narrative focuses on MJ. Not necessarily a bad show, no one has a problem with MJ, but fans wanted the Spider-Man show.
It might have been more fair to title it Masters of the Universe: He-Man Lost or He-Man: The Chapter of Teela or something that was a little more clear. But, frankly, would the diehard He-Man fans even have given it a chance if they had been tipped off? Judging by disgruntled fans review bombing the series online, as Captain Marvel and the infamous all-female Ghostbusters also received for similar reasoning, the answer is a big "Nope."
Whether or not Masters of the Universe: Revelation is good is subjective but there was no way a He-Man series was going to miss some backlash. Hopefully, with Clerks 3 on the horizon and those fans already expressing disappointment, Kevin Smith can keep his patience.
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