Roger Sweet passed away Tuesday morning on April 28 (which happens to be Masters of the Universe day) at the memory care facility he was staying in. Generous fans donated to his GoFundMe after he was diagnosed with dementia, which allowed him to have the care he needed. He was 91 years old.

In Roger’s memoirs (Mastering the Universe), he recalled that he and Mark Taylor were both listed as the creators of He-Man when the idea was pitched to Mattel. He also later acknowledged that his barbarian He-Man prototype (below, center) was based on Mark Taylor’s concept art. Roger’s important contribution was less about the design of He-Man himself and more about the attributes of the line as a whole, including the highly muscled look of the figures, the power-punch waist action feature, the idea for interchangeable costumes, and of course the name “He-Man.”

When Roger was put in charge of design of the line in its second year, after Mark Taylor left the position and the company, he created many beloved characters, including Tri-Klops, Mekaneck, Sy-Klone, Spikor, and Two Bad. He was also in charge of the team tasked with designing the line, which included Ted Mayer, Ed Watts, Martin Arriola, Colin Bailey, and others.

Our hearts go out to Roger’s wife Marlene. We should celebrate Roger’s many contributions to Masters of the Universe. Aside from his design skills, Roger was a talented inventor who came up with many of the action features used on various figures and vehicles in the Masters of the Universe line. According to HeraldNet, Roger graduated from Institute of Design in Chicago and started work at Mattel in 1972.

Our hearts go out to Roger’s wife Marlene. We celebrate Roger’s many contributions to Masters of the Universe. Aside from his design skills, Roger was a talented inventor who came up with many of the action features used on various figures and vehicles in the Masters of the Universe line. According to HeraldNet, Roger graduated from Institute of Design in Chicago and started work at Mattel in 1972.

Note: this article is based on the story I wrote for He-Man.Org announcing Roger’s passing.