Month: December 2024

MOTU History

Masters of the Universe Power Promo

Posted on by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday season. I am excited to share a document I’ve been chasing for a little while. Years ago I’d seen a couple of low res images from it. This year it came up for auction, but I didn’t end up winning. Then Andy Youssi was kind enough to send me some scans of his copy, which is greatly appreciated. For those who don’t know, Andy Youssi is the person who first shared with us the “Lords of Power” slides with all the early prototype images, created when Mattel was calling the line Lords of Power. Andy had this material because his father John Youssi was a freelance artist for Mattel who did promotional artwork for MOTU.

The “Power Promo” was given out to retailers and venders as a way to promote the soon-to-be launched Masters of the Universe line. It was not intended for consumers, which is why you rarely see it pop up. The document outlined Mattel’s plans for promoting the new Masters of the Universe line, along with some great pictures of the figures. Each page has text added by Andy as way of making sure the source of the images is retained in the future. I’ll go over each page and add some commentary.

Cover Page

The above cover image shows Castle Grayskull, He-Man and Skeletor. He-Man and Skeletor lack the quirks of the first release figures. Texture-wise Skeletor especially looks like a hard copy prototype rather than a factory example. As we’ll see later, Castle Grayskull is probably an early factory sample. This image also appeared in the 1984 Aurimat (Mexico) MOTU Catalog.

Page 1

Page 2 mainly focuses on marketing and market research Mattel had conducted on the line before release. Mark Taylor talked frequently about the early child testing for the line, and how kids were so excited about the early product they would often try to steal it from the testing room!

Page 2

Page two talks about some of the planned promotions, including TV ads, national print ads, the free minicomics included with figures, something called a “Power Sword National Sweepstakes,” shelf strip marketing, and cash rebates. The earliest commercials must have been filmed at this point, since there appears to be a screen grab from one of them. However, I’m not familiar with the Power Sword sweepstakes. That will show up again later in this article.

Page 3

Page three talks about some of the other promos, including the upcoming DC comics full-size five issue miniseries. They don’t have actual covers for them, so they must not have been available yet. Also discussed are Ben Cooper Halloween costumes and the MOTU Pop-Up Game. Also included in a folder on the page was the early sample version of He-Man and the Power Sword, which I recently discussed in a separate article.

Since both pages work together as a centerfold, I’ve included them together below:

Page 4

I’ve previously covered the history of early MOTU photography, as way of tracking toys from their early prototypes to final prototypes/hard copies, to early factory samples and eventually to common production examples. The photos on Page 4 appear to have been taken sometime after the photos in Mattel’s 1982 dealer catalog, because the development of the toys is further along on almost all of them:

Castle Grayskull: looks like an early factory sample. It has the finalized lock mechanism and the light colored jaw bridge, but the fine paint of early Mattel models.

He-Man: this looks pretty close to a factory He-Man, but it lacks the production quirks of early examples. Maybe it was an early factory sample that was sent to Mattel before the partially unpainted boot tops became a common error on early figures sold at retail.

Battle Cat: this looks like a factory striped tail Battle Cat, as opposed to a hand-painted prototype.

Skeletor: this version looks hand-painted to me – possibly a hard copy made at Mattel.

Teela: this is at least the third generation Teela prototype, the first that was actually articulated. Note the Barbie/She-Ra style hip articulation, green snake eyes on armor, and large shield. There was at least one other prototype made after this before Teela actually went into production.

Battle Ram: this looks pretty much like a factory version.

Man-At-Arms: this is an early version that has the cuff at the wrist. The armor looks like it might be painted, so possibly this is a hard copy made at Mattel.

Beast Man: this looks like it might be a sample from the factory, except he has an early whip that actually fits in his hand (thanks to John for the heads up).

Mer-Man: possibly a hard copy made at Mattel? It looks to have a matte, painted finish.

Stratos: this has the glossy finish of a factory toy. But, it has a gray beard and blue goggles. Perhaps the Blue Beard variant/error came in once they went into full production.

Zodac: He looks like he has a matte body, but his armor has been updated from his appearance in the 1982 dealer catalog to the finalized version. He still has the prototype paint pattern on his helmet (thanks to John for the tip).

Wind Raider: this has been updated since its appearance in the 1982 dealer catalog, with enlarged engines and more detailed looking wings.

One more interesting thing below: we see what looks a few early packaging samples. Note that He-Man and Skeletor are missing their minicomics, and Battle Cat is missing the black insert in his packaging. Note also that Battle Cat is the early striped tail variant.

Recently some similar figures showed up at auction. The Man-At-Arms below lacks a minicomic in his packaging as well, although he does have a warranty slip. The card has a Mattel Archives sticker on it, and was something Mattel held onto for a while and eventually offered to its employees for sale.

Page 5

Page 5 is interesting because it includes a marketing schedule. Now, I’ve done quite a lot of research on the release dates for the MOTU toys. Multiple lines of evidence point to May 1982 as the mass retail introduction for Masters of the Universe. However, Mattel’s rebate program for the year included a March 1, 1982 date as the earliest window for the rebate. It’s possible that the so-called test market program was going on in March. It’s long been rumored that Mattel did a limited release of the figures ahead of time to one geographic area as a way of testing out the figures at retail. The March date for “promotions” on the calendar above may also point to that as the true date of introduction of the line. But, I’ll also point that this page says that Mattel reserved the right to change their marketing schedules, so this wasn’t written in stone.

Other interesting dates are May, August, September, November and December 1982 for comic issues, presumably referring to DC comics. The actual printed dates on those comics was somewhat later than the dates printed here, but Jukka Issakainen has pointed out that actual release dates for DC Comics was usually ahead of the printed date.

For network TV we’re given dates of June, July, and then September through December 1982. For merchandising we’re given a date of May 1982 through the rest of the year, which may give us a date for the MOTU Pop-Up Game. I believe the Ben Cooper masks actually came a bit later.

John also included the following scans of the proposed Power Sword Sweepstakes promotion and Shelf Talker. Again, I’m not familiar with that particular promotion or if it event went into effect, so if someone has any information on it to share I’d be grateful!

Below is the actual final art Andy’s father John Youssi did for the shelf talker promo:

Because it’s so wide and short, I’m chopping it up into two pieces to make the art easier to appreciate:

And finally, here is a pencils version for a promotional Man-E-Faces standup display, by John Youssi:

Thanks again to Andy for sharing this amazing material with me. He has truly been a treasure trove of historical information over the years!

Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters or Facebook subscribers!

  • Adam A.
  • Allison T.
  • badtaste®
  • Ben M.
  • Chupakaibra
  • Cory from Make Shape Create
  • Eric H.
  • Gianluca V.
  • JackieX
  • João S.
  • Jon E.
  • Kris K.
  • Lyca
  • Max I.
  • Michael M.
  • Mike G.
  • MotuOriginsCork
  • Orion W.
  • Øyvind M. (Patreon & Facebook)
  • Philip O.
  • Robert B.
  • Scott B.
  • Steven K.
  • tupalev

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter or Facebook subscriber. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

5
History, Prototypes

Ninjor, Scare Glow and Blast-Attak prototypes

Posted on by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Danielle Gelehrter has long been one of the most prominent contributors to Masters of the Universe to come out of the fan community. A long-time member of the He-Man.org forums (and before that, a member of the Guardians of Grayskull mailing list in the 1990’s), she was also a co-host of the popular Roast Gooble Dinner podcast. She did quite a few interviews with Mattel creators that were published on He-Man.org. From there she contributed (with research, writing, photography, scanning and/or proofreading) to most of the great Masters of the Universe books that have come out in the last decade, including:

  • The Power and the Honor Foundation Vol. 1 Catalog
  • The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – A Character Guide and World Compendium
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips
  • The Toys of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
  • Character Guide and World Compendium Supplement Vol. 1

Danielle contributed to the Battle Ram Blog in the interview we conducted together with Mark DiCamillo. She and Eric Marshall co-wrote the Masters of the Universe Classics toy packaging bios and the digital “Masters Mondays” bios in an official capacity after the departure of Scott Neitlich from Mattel. She also created a horror-themed character called the Crimson Countess who appeared in those bios. In short, you won’t find any fan with more MOTU bonafides than Danielle.

Image courtesy of Danielle Gelehrter

Having said that, Danielle is also a popular horror hostess under the name of Penny Dreadful, and she hosted the television show “Shilling Shockers” from 2006-2016. Currently, she hosts the Terror at Collinwood Dark Shadows podcast. She has been a fan of all things creepy and ghoulish her whole life, and you’ll find her focused mostly on that area of fandom these days.

Why the backstory about Danielle? She was kind enough to send me a box of materials she collected over the course of her research. Much of it came from her work as the lead researcher for the Newspaper Comic Strips book. I was blown away by her generosity and by the fascinating material she sent me, and I will be working over the next months to share that material with you.

To begin with, I’ll be covering three items included in the box from Danielle. They are photos of prototypes/hard copies for Scare Glow, Ninjor and Blast Attak. They are pretty close to final in regards to the looks of the actual toys, but there are some differences, which I will discuss shortly. First, here’s Danielle’s description of the three photos:

Those photos were given to me by Chris Weber and Karen Willson. They were in their files and given to them by Mattel for reference when they were working on the comics strip. They used all three of them in the storyline, ‘Ninjor Strikes by Night’. So those are original ’80’s Mattel reference photos.

For reference, Chris Weber was a writer for the He-Man newspaper comic strip series, and Karen Willson was the editor. A couple of pages from the “Ninjor Strikes by Night” story as they appeared in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips are represented below:

Images courtesy of Jukka Issakainen

All right, so let’s take a look at the reference material that Mattel sent to Weber and Willson!

Scare Glow

Scare Glow is quite interesting. You can tell that the figure is really just a standard Skeletor or similar figure that has been painted by hand, and given a new head. Because the white had been painted on, it’s quite brilliantly white, more so than the glow-in-the-dark plastic of the actual figure. You can see the paint starting to peel/crack around the tops of the legs. The paint pattern around the knees is a bit different than the actual figure.

Probably the most obvious difference is his halberd weapon (or “scythe of doom”), which has been painted black. The white paint of the figure’s hand has rubbed off on the weapon, as you can see. In the US his weapon would be cast in bright green, and in Europe it was usually cast in glow-in the dark white. The cape is similar to the production version, except the elastic at the neck is white. The production figure also got the Dragon Blaster Skeletor legs with the enlarged feet, while the prototype has the original Skeletor legs. The figure was designed by David Wolfram. You can read more about the history of Scare Glow here. (I haven’t yet added this prototype image to my original Scare Glow article, but I will do so soon.)

Mass-produced Scare Glow action figure.
Glowing brightly

Ninjor

Ninjor is quite a clean prototype or hard copy. I can’t tell if it’s another Skeletor figure painted over, or if it’s actually been cast in black plastic at Mattel. I suspect the latter because of the cleanness of the black on his arms and legs. You can tell that his sword is the Jitsu katana that has been painted silver – it has lost some of the paint at the handle and the original orange is showing through. His bow is a repaint of the accessory that came with the Eternia playset. His only new parts are his head and his nunchucks. The big difference between this prototype and the production Ninjor is the emblem on his shirt – it’s much more crude on this prototype, compared to the final toy. He also has the original Skeletor legs with the smaller feet, while the final toy got the larger feet of the Dragon Blaster Skeletor legs. The figure was designed by David Wolfram. Eventually I’ll update my original article with this new prototype image.

Mass-produced Ninjor figure with updated emblem on costume.
Eternia playset bow and arrow weapon prototype, made from wood originally! Image via heritage auctions.

Blast-Attak

Blast-Attak here is a hard copy that is very close to the final look for the figure. The only differences here are his much darker green boots and gloves, his red “thermometer” that is painted red all the way up, and the gold connectors inside his body (they were red on the final figure). You can also see that his weapon was cast in white and painted red: some of the red paint is flaking off. This prototype (or a similar copy) was actually shown in the 1987 dealer catalog (below), although you can see that the Scare Glow in the same picture is production, not a prototype:

Prototype Blast-Attak, as shown in Mattel’s 1987 dealer catalog. Image source: Nathalie NHT.
Mass produced Blast-Attak figure

The figure was designed by Mark Jones and Richard Lepik. Once again, I’ll be updating this image into my original article about Blast-Attak soon.

So, that’s all for now. Danielle sent me quite a lot of material related to the newspaper comic strips, but she also sent me some other things as well, and I will document them here on the blog over the next weeks and months. Many thanks again to Danielle for sending these things with me so I can document and share them with fellow fans!

Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters!

  • Adam A.
  • Allison T.
  • badtaste®
  • Ben M.
  • Chupakaibra
  • Cory from Make Shape Create
  • Eric H.
  • Gianluca V.
  • JackieX
  • João S.
  • Jon E.
  • Lyca
  • Max I.
  • Michael M.
  • Mike G.
  • MotuOriginsCork
  • Orion W.
  • Øyvind M.
  • Philip O.
  • Robert B.
  • Steven K.
  • tupalev

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

2
Galactic Guardians

Thunder Punch He-Man (1991)

Posted on by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

The confusingly named Thunder Punch He-man from the “New Adventures” line was released in limited numbers as the line was dying out in 1991. It appears that the figure was released in a final mini wave probably toward the end of 1991 consisting of variants of existing characters, all of them bigger and bulkier than previous figures in the rebooted 1989 He-Man line. (Update: after discussing it with Mark Polygonus Knobloch and reviewing the totality of the evidence, I now believe this figure probably came out in 1991, rather than 1992, as I had previously written).

Design & Development

Thunder Punch He-Man was designed by Martin Arriola, who joined Mattel in 1982. He worked on the original Masters of the Universe line, and he would go on to design many of the heroic Galactic Guardian characters in the rebooted He-Man line. Unfortunately I don’t have any concept art for the figure, but I do have some images of the hard copy prototype.

Thunder Punch He-Man’s design fused some elements found in the 1989 version of He-Man as well as the 1990 Battle Punch He-Man. He had tall gold and brown boots, blue pants, and a gold and red HM symbol on his belt. He was bare-chested, with one gold bracer on his right wrist. The bracer was actually based on the Thunder Punch role play toy, and I’ll get into that later. All of his accessories were made primarily from translucent yellow plastic, including a harness, a large shield and and an all new Power Sword design. He had short hair, unlike Battle Punch He-Man.

Thunder Punch He-Man was quite a bit beefier than previous versions of the figure, almost as muscular as the original He-Man. The original figures in the 1989 line were relatively slender, similar in size and scale to the Princess of Power Bow figure. The last half of the 1991 wave represented a return to the muscular builds of the original line. Perhaps this change was meant to save the line from dying out at retail, but it obviously wasn’t enough.

First, here are some images of hard copy prototypes from an old eBay auction put up by the designer himself:

From the original auction description:

Figures are @ 6″ with sword, “deflector shield” and harness.

You get THREE prototype figures – 3 identical – each with their own removable sword, shield and harness.

These are all HAND MADE, HAND PAINTED and HAND assembled resin prototypes from Mattel’s He-Man classic 1992 re-launch that was mostly canceled with a VERY LIMITED number of figures released to retail. This figure was released as New Adventure’s “Thunder Punch” He Man which adds to the confusion as that was a name assigned to another version but anyway, these are the prototypes created for a TV commercial that was never shot.

What better than to hear it directly from billion-dollar club toy designer, Martin A. who was the Senior Design Lead on He Man during this time.

Normally, we only create one prototype for all the responsible parties to sign off on but when a TV commercial is on the schedule, we create extras to make sure if anything happens to figure during the shoot, we can sub in another quickly.

The accessories – sword, “deflector shield” harness are plastic and not resin.

As you can see, the figures had to be “checked out” – YES, you get the original INTERNAL BOX plus the “library card” you’re supposed to fill out to check it out. But since the TV commercial shoot was canceled, the “library” never asked for the box and the figures back.

The check out system was interesting, and so is the fact that the figure was going to be in a commercial that got cancelled. The “Thunder Punch” accessory on He-Man’s wrist was not painted on the hard copy version.

Below are some images shared by Fabio Leone that show more of the box and the figure:

Image courtesy of Fabio Leone
Image courtesy of Fabio Leone
Image courtesy of Fabio Leone

One thing that is not apparent by looking at the hard copy by itself is that it was noticeably bigger than the actual mass-produced toy. Below are some comparison shots, courtesy of Freddy Guardia:

Hard copy on left, mass produced figure on right. Freddy notes that the arms on the hard copy are held on with pins
Image courtesy of Freddy Guardia
On all three hard copies that were sold, the chest harness seems to be more yellow and less translucent than the accessories. Image courtesy of Freddy Guardia

In one of the auctions, Martin Arriola provided an illustration of the figure. This isn’t concept art since it was done long after the fact, but it probably is quite similar to the original concept art, which may have been lost:

Image courtesy of Fabio Leone

Toy & Packaging

The figure was released on the the standard “New Adventures” card, with an action image on the front and a bio on the back.

Thunder Punch He-Man cross sell art

The back of the card provided this bio for the figure:

The Most Powerful Man in the Universe! He holds the fate of Primus and the rest of the universe in his powerful hands. Eternian strength flows through his sword arm and thunder rumbles in his punch.

Mission: To champion the good for all times, past and future.

Battle Equipment: Sword, deflector shield & battle harness

The figure’s action feature is a return to the old “power punch” feature of the original Masters of the Universe line. His face is a bit ugly compared to the original, but he is otherwise a pretty nice looking toy.

It’s actually a bit difficult to find these in good shape, and that’s particularly true of the sword. Most often the handle has snapped off over time. The figure’s right hand holds it quite tightly, and the translucent plastic becomes brittle with age. Combine that with his difficulty in remaining standing due to the way his feet are sculpted, and any Thunder Punch He-man who is holding his sword is probably going to break it the first time he falls over. If yours isn’t broken, it’s probably wise to holster the sword on his back – that way it’s much less likely to break if the figure falls over.

The 1992 variants, Battle Blade Skeletor (designer: David Wolfram) and Thunder Punch He-Man (designer: Martin Arriola)

On his wrist, He-Man had a sculpted version of the full size Electronic Thunder Punch role play toy. In the “New Adventures” He-Man line, Mattel released a series of role play toys. The most famous were the Electronic Power Sword and Electronic Skull Staff, but there were also two wrist-mounted toys, the Electronic Thunder Punch and the Electronic Terror Punch. The wrist mounted accessories were released in 1992, the same year as Thunder Punch He-Man. The Electronic Thunder Punch could make four different battle sounds, two activated by physically punching, and two activated with a push of a button.

Image via eBay
Image via eBay
Image via eBay
A gold version of the Electronic Thunder Punch is sculpted to He-Man’s wrist

Other Media

Because Thunder Punch He-Man came out at the tail end of the line, he doesn’t have much in the way of appearances in other media. He does show up in a New Adventures playing card set. In fact the image below appears to be one of the hard copy prototypes. He-Man has brighter yellow and less translucent armor, which is how he is depicted in his packaging art as well:

Image source: Mundo Masters

He also appeared in a Spanish Club He-Man magazine as part of a coloring page, along with Battle Blade Skeletor:

Image source: Mundo Masters

The above image was actually based on an appearance of the figure in the 1991 German magazine, He-Man News:

Image via Ben Massa/Orko’s Keep
Image via Ben Massa/Orko’s Keep

In the above image, He-Man is described like this:

The new He-Man is even stronger, even more muscular, even faster. With his swinging hip rotation he puts even more power behind his fist. His sword, his shield and his two-part armor are also new.

I hope you enjoyed this look at the 1991 Thunder Punch He-Man. For reference, the other versions of He-Man and Skeletor in this line are covered in the articles linked below:

Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters!

  • Adam A.
  • Allison T.
  • badtaste®
  • Ben M.
  • Chupakaibra
  • Cory from Make Shape Create
  • Eric H.
  • Gianluca V.
  • JackieX
  • João S.
  • Jon E.
  • Lyca
  • Max I.
  • Michael M.
  • Mike G.
  • MotuOriginsCork
  • Orion W.
  • Øyvind M.
  • Philip O.
  • Robert B.
  • tupalev

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

2
Comics

He-Man and the Power Sword sample, the Lords of Power, and the French connection

Posted on by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

One of the most interesting of the minicomic variants is the sample version of the first comic, He-Man and the Power Sword, illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. It’s called the sample version that because on the cash rebate offer toward the end of the comic, it’s stamped over with the word “SAMPLE” on both sides, indicating that the comic itself was just an early sample, and therefore the rebate wasn’t valid:

As a side note, I’ve done a lot of research about dates for the release of the Masters of the Universe line. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that He-Man was released starting in May of 1982. I’ll note however that the date on the rebate indicates a purchase window of March 1, 1982 to January 31, 1983. There has long been talk of an early test market release for He-Man, on a limited basis, prior to its wide release in stores across the country. It’s possible that these test market figures (typically identified as the “G0” early release MOTU cards) were released in March of 1982, but I’d want more evidence to be able to say that with any degree of confidence. I actually don’t know what the source is for the test market pre-release claim. It could stem from an interview with someone at Mattel, or it could just be a fan theory. If anyone has any sources, please contact me!

Sample Comic and its Logo

Regarding the sample comic in question, I know from my interview with Alfredo Alcala Jr. that his father received a number of copies of this early sample after its printing. In the interview he also referred to the comic as an artist’s proof. Mattel employees working on the brand also received copies of the sample comic, and it may have even been handed out at New York Toy Fair in February of 1982.

Image courtesy of Alfredo Alcala Jr.
A worn example of the sample version of the comic.

A number of years ago, Jukka Issakainen interviewed the creator of the Masters of the Universe logo, Bob Nall. (The interview used to be hosted on He-Man.org.) Jukka asked Bob about the variant logo on the sample version of the comic:

Jukka: I found a pic of the alternative logo of MOTU on the minicomic cover. Can you tell me more about this logo version?

Bob Nall: It mimics the original but is not too good as far as logos go (my opinion). Back in the day, MOTU was taking off and making tons of money so many Mattel entities and others outside of Mattel wanted a piece. These types of anomalies popped up all the time.

Bob Nall: But, I will say this – the logo you are questioning definitely followed the original MOTU logo which I created. It may have been rendered that way for a variety of reasons (who knows) but none of which came through my office for approval. As I said, there were many hands in the pot once the Brand became successful.

Sample version of the comic with unofficial logo. Image via Jukka Issakainen
Standard version of the comic with official logo

My opinion is that the official Masters of the Universe logo hadn’t been finalized at the time the artist’s sample was to go to print, so Alfredo must have created a placeholder for the cover until the final logo was ready to go.

Sample Version vs. Standard Version

So what are the differences between the sample version of He-Man and the Power Sword and the version that came packaged with figures? We know the logo was different, but there is a difference in the artwork on the cover as well. On the sample, the sky is a single color of blue, while the final version has a color gradient going from dark to light blue. The clouds behind Castle Grayskull on the final version of the comic have been redone, with more detail, and they cover more of the page. Finally, the title of the story has been moved so that it’s over rather than underneath the logo:

Sample version (left) vs standard version

Lords of Power

As shown at the beginning of the article, the rebate pages were stamped “SAMPLE” on the early version of the comic. But there is one more important difference. On the final page of the story, the Spirit of the Castle delivers a message to the heroes. In the sample version he calls them the “Lords of Power,” while in the standard version he calls them the “Masters of the Universe.” As you may know, “Lords of Power” was one of the early working names for the line. That name was dropped because it was thought that it might have unintentional religious connotations. The sample version of course has the revised name, Masters of the Universe, on the cover. The inclusion of “Lords of Power” on the last page must have been a simple oversight by the editor.

Sample version (left) vs. standard version.
Close up of the text of the sample version.

Interestingly, in ads promoting the full collection of the first four minicomics (or adventure books, as they are called), the sample version of He-Man and the Power Sword is pictured:

The Adventure Books – probably a better description for the first four comics, which are really story books with no panels or speech balloons.

I’ll also note that there were a couple of other US variants of He-Man and the Power Sword. There was a later reprint, which had a yellow title, fewer pages, and updated advertisements. There was also a version that lacked the word “FREE” on the burst on the cover. You can check out those and other variants here.

The French Connection

The story doesn’t end there, however. For reasons unclear to me, the French version of He-man and the Power Sword was partially based on the US sample version (the same goes for the French Canadian version). On the cover, the French edition has the official Masters logo (or the official French version of it), but it is colored according to the unofficial logo from the US sample. The sky on the illustration is the solid blue of the sample version. The title appears below the logo, like the sample version. However the clouds are the revised version that appeared in the standard version:

French edition of He-Man and the Power Sword. Also note there is no “Free illustrated book with purchase” burst on the cover.

The final page of the story in the French edition also mirrors the US sample. The Spirit of the Castle addresses the heroes, twice calling them the “Seigneurs de la Force” or Lords of Power (literally “Lords of the Force”):

Final page of the French story
“Lords of Power”
Back cover, printed in France

Why did the term Lords of Power end up in the French version of the comic? I don’t know. However, this isn’t the first time early lore ended up in French materials. In an early French catalog, Mer-Man is said to be a companion of He-Man, and Stratos is said to be a companion of Beast Man. We know Mattel originally planned to have Mer-Man as a Heroic Warrior and Stratos as an Evil Warrior. You can read more about that here.

Bonus: extras in the French edition of He-Man and the Power Sword:

The French edition is interesting for other reasons as well. It contains a number of coloring pages, based on some of the US wave 2 minicomics:

Best of all, it also had a two-page photo, featuring an early Teela prototype with Barbie-style leg articulation, the Castle Grayskull model used for catalogs, blue beard Stratos, and striped tail Battle Cat:

Left to right: regular version, sample version, and French version

I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of some interesting variants of He-Man and the Power Sword. Bonus for Patreon supporters only: Here are some additional coloring pages from the French edition of Vengeance of Skeletor. Also, look for an upcoming video where Mega Jay Retro and I discuss this topic at length!

Thank you to the following individuals who are current Patreon supporters!

  • Adam A.
  • Allison T.
  • badtaste®
  • Ben M.
  • Chupakaibra
  • Cory from Make Shape Create
  • Eric H.
  • Gianluca V.
  • JackieX
  • João S.
  • Jon E.
  • Lyca
  • Max I.
  • Michael M.
  • Mike G.
  • MotuOriginsCork
  • Orion W.
  • Øyvind M.
  • Philip O.
  • Robert B.
  • tupalev

Want to support the blog? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. You’ll also gain access to exclusive content and early access to posts on the blog. Thank you!

4