The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2015)

Posted on December 21, 2016September 11, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Review by Adam McCombs

The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (published by Dark Horse, April 28, 2015) is a celebration of He-Man from his earliest known concept drawings in 1979 to his latest 2015 evolution in modern comics and toys (images below courtesy of Jukka Issakainen).

*Limited Edition printing of The Art of He-Man, with Castle Grayskull slipcover and exclusive artwork by Gerald Parel.*

The focus of the book is primarily on artwork, although there is some time spent on toys. In many ways the Dark Horse book seems to take some cues from Mattel’s 2009 book, The Art of Masters of the Universe (a San Diego Comic Con exclusive). The 2009 book took a broad approach to the subject, starting with early concept artwork and moving on to cross sell artwork, box art, mini comics, the New Adventures of He-Man line, the 2002 He-Man line, the ongoing Masters of the Universe Classics adult collector line, and finishing up with some modern concept art for a potential rebooted line. The Dark Horse book follows the same general outline, but radically expands it with more than five times as much content.

The Art of He-Man was written by Tim and Steve Seeley and edited by Daniel Chabon and Ian Tucker, with contributions by Emiliano Santalucia, Joshua Van Pelt, James Eatock, Danielle Gelehrter, Val Staples, and others. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, from current and former insiders at Mattel to external collectors and experts, The Art of He-Man is able to delve deeper into the subject than the 2009 Mattel SDCC book, and expands the territory into areas like the 1983 Filmation cartoon and the 1987 live-action film.

By comparison, The Power and the Honor Foundation’s 2011 Catalog Volume One went into far greater depth on the subject of toy design, but stayed away from topics like packaging design, mini comics, and Filmation. Some of the artwork from both The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog and the 2009 Mattel book made it into The Art of He-Man, but by no means all of it.

Early on, The Art of He-Man was slated to be much shorter, capping out at 168 pages by the beginning of chapter 10 (thanks to Jukka Issakainen for the image and the reminder):

After I believe some extensive contributions from The Power and the Honor Foundation and others, the page count was radically increased to about 320 pages total:

The Art of He-Man starts things off with some tantalizing internal memos, most of them directly or indirectly related to the creation of He-Man. One notable exception is the December 24, 1981 memo from Mark Ellis looking into the creation of a generic male action figure line for use in licensed properties. The He-Man line had already been largely created by then, and the memo seems to favor a smaller scale line of figures.

If you’re familiar with my blog, it might not surprise you that the first chapter of The Art of He-Man is my favorite, as it covers early concept designs by Mark Taylor, Ted Mayer and Colin Bailey, as well as the first He-Man prototype sculpted by Tony Guerrero. We also get to see a number of other concept drawings by Roger Sweet, Ed Watts, Mark Jones, James McElroy, David Wolfram and others. Quite a lot of the artwork in the sample below was contributed by The Power and the Honor Foundation:

About 40 pages in, the book switches gears to packaging artwork, including figure and vehicle cross sell artwork, some of it blown up gloriously large. It’s here where I get a little frustrated at the limitations of printed media, as many of these images are heavily cropped.

At about 50 pages in, the book changes focus to concept artwork for unproduced toys like He-Ro, Turbosaurus, Rotary Man, Rhino Man, Torton, and others. Some of my favorites here are the Ed Watts concepts, which were also contributed by The Power and the Honor Foundation. Watts created some really imaginative vehicle and vehicle/creature designs in full color illustrations with background scenery included.

*Turbosaurus, by Ed Watts. An early incarnation of Gigantisaur. Originally via The Power and the Honor Foundation.*

About 60 pages in the book begins to explore some of the painted packaging artwork that appeared on product boxes and cardbacks. We’re treated to a gorgeous, two-page spread of Rudy Obrero’s iconic Castle Grayskull illustration. We also see a great deal of artwork by prolific MOTU artists Errol McCarthy and William George. There is also the packaging illustration for Tyrantosaurus Rex artwork by Warren Hile, who painted several packaging illustrations near the tail end of the line.

At around the 70 page mark, the book changes focus to the vintage mini comics. I would say that this section had been rendered mostly redundant by the Dark Horse He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Mini Comic Collection (more on that in a separate article), but this section does feature some lovely blown up pages, as well as an interview with writer Steven Grant and illustrator Larry Houston.

Speaking of interviews, The Art of He-Man is peppered with them. Interviewed subjects include:

David Wolfram
Dolph Lundgren
Earl Norem
Eric Treadaway
Erika Scheimer
Gabriel de la Torre
Gary Goddard
Joe Ferencz
Larry Houston
Paul Dini
The Power and the Honor Foundation
Rob David
Scott Neitlich
Steven Grant
Val Staples
William Stout

At the 85-page mark, the book switches focus to the subject of the Filmation He-Man series. It includes some lovely drawings from the early Filmation animated toy commercial, and development artwork and story boards for the actual series. One of my favorites is a page showing numerous early designs for Hordak. There is also included a replica animation cel and three printed backgrounds, so you can get a tangible lesson in the magic of traditional hand-drawn animation.

At 120 pages in, we turn to the subject of artwork from magazines, story books and posters. That means we’re treated to a number of large size images of artwork by the late, great Earl Norem, not to mention the fantastic William George.

Some 150 pages into the book, there is a smattering of miscellaneous subject matter, from the vintage DC comics, newspaper comic strips, Golden Books, coloring books, as well as some style guide and licensing artwork by Errol McCarthy.

At 175 pages, the book takes a very in-depth look at the 1987 Masters of the Universe motion picture, a topic not covered in the 2009 Mattel art book. This section is thick with interviews, draft scripts, and concept artwork by William Stout, Claudio Mazzoli and Ralph McQuarrie.

The subject turns to the New Adventures of He-Man some 200 pages into the book. We get to take a peek at early attempts to relaunch He-Man as a G.I. Joe-like military hero, before designers eventually moved toward a science fiction look for the most powerful man in the universe.

*New Adventures of He-Man concept, by Martin Arriola*

At 219 pages we finally move on to the 21st century, with a look at the 2002 reboot of Masters of the Universe. I remember at the time I did encounter the Commemorative reissues of the vintage toys (I bought one of the five-packs immediately when I saw it at Toys ‘R’ Us), but I somehow missed the entire 2002 relaunch.

We get some great concept drawings from the Four Horsemen, including depictions of many new characters who never made it into the toyline or the cartoon series. This section also covers the Mike Young Productions cartoon, with some lovely background art, as well as an extensive look at artwork from the MVCreations comic book series. I do like the Four Horsemen’s original concept He-Man, but I’m not as fond of the anime look and oversized weapons that are peppered throughout the 2002 line. On the other hand, I absolutely adore the line’s vision for characters like Stinkor, Leech, Mer-Man and Webstor. I also find the stories in the 2002 cartoon series more compelling than the original Filmation series, although I prefer the look of the original cartoon.

four-horsemen-concept-he-man — *Concept 2002 He-Man, by Four Horsemen Studios. Image via The Art of He-Man.*

At about 250 pages in, we turn to the 2008 adult collector series, Masters of the Universe Classics. We to see some of the artwork that Rudy Obrero produced for the toyline (including his maps of Eternia and Etheria), as well as prototypes from Four Horsemen Studios. There are also maps, concept art, packaging artwork by Nate Baertsch and Axel Giménez. Tucked away in this section is also the original 1981 Wind Raider box art, which was used as a basis for the Masters of the Universe Classics version of the toy.

*Classics “Alcala” style Skeletor and prototype Demo Man*

The last 20 pages or so are a hodgepodge of subjects, from mobile games to social media, modern DC MOTU comics and far-out, exploratory artwork.

The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is practically mandatory reading for any serious He-Man fan, but I there’s I think it’s broad enough to appeal even to non-collectors who merely remember He-Man with fondness.

Several sections of the book have since been expanded into separate Dark Horse books, or else are in the works:

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Mini Comic Collection
He-Man and She-Ra – A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – The Newspaper Comic Strips (Available February 14, 2017)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – A Character Guide and World Compendium (May 16, 2017)

I hope that at some point we’ll see the subjects of vintage toy concept artwork and packaging artwork get the same treatment. The two topics could easily fill a couple of large volumes, and would be, in my opinion, required reading.

*Modulok illustration for Masters of the Universe Classics, by Axel Giménez*

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Interviews

Martin Arriola: Guardian of Grayskull

Posted on December 18, 2016November 14, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Interview by Adam McCombs

Martin Arriola was a designer on the original Masters of the Universe toyline. He went on to work on the 1989 New Adventures of He-Man reboot, the 2009 adult collector Masters of the Universe Classics toyline, and many other lines for Mattel. He graciously agreed to sit down and talk to me about his work.

Battle Ram: Thanks for agreeing to this interview! So, how did you get into the toy design business?

Martin Arriola: My dad was a carpenter, I always watched him work. He was good at what he did. I was always drawing – I was terrible at math, and I didn’t like hard work, so I wanted to see if I could make it in the field of commercial art.

Everyone keeps telling you it’s very competitive. But if you never try you never know. I went to trade school for two years. I went to UCLA, then I started attending Art Center College of Design. I started at Art Center at night, and one of my instructors told me to come full time.

I went from there in 1980 and freelanced for a couple of years. Then I got a call from head hunters. One was from Mattel, offering a job that paid $33,000, which was decent money in the ’80s. Another was a call for startup newspaper. These guys saw some of my illustrations (I graduated as an illustration major). They wanted to hire me as director, for same amount of money Mattel was offering. They were based in Washington DC, and Mattel was in California. In the end I wanted to stay in California, so I went with Mattel. It turned out that paper was USA Today. I stayed at Mattel for 32 years.

BR: What did you start working on when you were hired at Mattel?

MA: I started on Hot Wheels stuff. They didn’t have toy major designs back then. Seventy percent of their designers came from the Art Center. I didn’t know a label sheet from an overspray, but I could draw. There were no computers at the time, no Photoshop. Mark Taylor was great at markers. I was a marker freak – that’s what got me the job.

Ted Mayer was still there when I was there. I was hired to replace Mark Taylor, at least that’s what I had heard. That was back in 1982.

I remember rendering a bunch of vehicles. I did a bunch of renderings for Hot Wheels. I learned everything there at Mattel.

When I first got there the designers were over-worked, but it was also lax, it was so much more fun. Mark Taylor had just left to go to Playmates… I almost quit under Roger Sweet. I came close to quitting. The credit stealing was awful.

Anyway, there was a big paradigm shift. I know Ted and Taylor were part of visual design. I started as an art director in Visual Design. Shel Plat asked if I wanted to work on products or packaging. I thought products would be more fun. A lot more goes into it, although you have to deal with engineers.

BR: When was this?

MA: I think I started in 1983 on He-Man. One of the first things I worked on was the figure with the rotating drum, Battle Armor He-Man. We did same thing with Skeletor, same feature.

I may have done Screeech and Zoar. I don’t know what came first. I started out picking the colors. Zoar was the Big Jim Eagle, and Battle Cat was also from Big Jim. He-Man’s Battle Cat was already done. I worked on the other cat, Panthor. I picked the colors. There was a lot of refresh back then.

BR: Who were you working with?

MA: Colin Bailey was one. He could draw anything, this guy was awesome. I said to myself, I gotta draw like him. I watched him do Fisto, Buzz-Off. He did the original Stridor. I think I picked colors on Night Stalker. I got more familiar with the line, and I started doing a lot more as far as art directing and sculpting.

BR: Was it a challenge get a good design through engineering?

MA: It’s totally different now. Everything goes to Hong Kong. Design now has a big role, as opposed to what it used to be. In 1982, designers never went to Hong Kong. Engineering was the big division then. They traveled everywhere. It wasn’t vendors, it was captive plants. We did tooling inside, and there were all these divisions in Mattel that no longer exist. Design got bigger and bigger and more powerful.

Prelim, guys like Rogers Sweet would always over-promise to marketing, and sometimes add stuff that was unsafe or not practical.

BR: Oh, like what?

MA: There was Dragon Blaster Skeletor. Prelim design came up with breadboard model. It was unpainted, using old legs and arms and a body sculpted from square styrene blocks. Sweet was touting this one, Smoke and Chains Skeletor, it was called. It had a bellows on its back. You would load the bellows with talcum powder, and there was a pipe going from a cavity to the figure’s right hand. Talcum powder would come out like smoke. The figure was draped with chains, so the working name was Smoke and Chains Skeletor.

*Image via Tomart’s Action Figure Digest, issue 202*

I was thinking about doing the final design. Around that same time there was a big grain factory in Texas that exploded. It killed a lot of people, so it made big news back then. Everyone smoked back then.

I said, wow, this has powder. I lit a match and squeezed the bellows. A four foot flame came out of Skeletor! Luckily I hadn’t pointed it at anybody. I remember going to the VP of Design, Gene Kilroy. I had Smoke and Chains Skeletor and a lighter. I just happened to come across the greatest TV moment. I lit the thing and a big old flame came out it.

BR: That’s insane!

MA: When safety got a hold of this, obviously it couldn’t be released. We tried diluting the powder with baking soda, but then it didn’t look like smoke anymore.

So we brainstormed, me and Tony Rhodes. We didn’t do much with water squirting at the time. We had a big brainstorm, and thought, what about squirting water? So we ended up sculpting the dragon on the back of Skeletor, and being able to load that up with water.

*Image source: 1985 Mattel Dealer Catalog, scanned by Orange Slime*

There was a lot of trial and error stuff like that. We had to change because prelim would promise that this was going to be the feature, and get it for this much. They would always say it was cheaper than it was going to be. They would say it can’t do this and can’t do that. We were always having to make sure it was safe, affordable and that it would actually work.

BR: Do you know who designed Clawful?

MA: Colin Bailey did Clawful, he was one of the first designers to work on the vintage He-Man line. By then Taylor had already left to do Ninja Turtles with Playmates.

BR: What were the figures you primarily worked on?

MA: Just about all of them, to be honest with you. I did all the Secret Wars figures as well. I actually became a manager of the (He-Man) line, but they didn’t give me the title. I managed the line from Screeech and the drum rotating guy, until the line got dropped. They over shipped the line to make the numbers, and that’s what killed it.

I hired Dave Wolfram and had some temps working for me too. Basically from Screeech until the end. The dinosaurs, I worked on those as well. I hired a couple of guys. I had to approve everything. I’m not taking credit for that, that’s not what I do. From then until New Adventures. I worked on all that stuff too.

*New Adventures He-Man concept, by Martin Arriola (image via The Art of He-Man)*

It was not like it is now, I retired on my own time, the politics got so bad. I worked on Disney-Pixar cars stuff. I made a billion dollars for that company.

BR: Do you know who designed Stinkor and Moss Man?

MA: Those were refreshes like Scare Glow and Ninjor. I also worked on Land Shark and Laser Bolt, that was kind of a challenge. I worked on Stinkor, Moss Man, and Ninjor. Clamp Champ, too. If you look at those, its all existing parts. We tried to save as much money as we could. Whenever we could refresh, we’d do a refresh.

BR: Right, like Faker. Did you work on that figure?

MA: I did label sheets for Faker’s chest, it looked like a reel-to-reel tape deck. On [Sy-Klone], I came up with lenticular lens. We reused the idea for Secret Wars. Sometimes you get lucky.

BR: What about Snake Mountain?

MA: Snake Mountain, I wish I had one now. Eddy [Mosqueda] sculpted it*. Eddy was really really fast. The guy who sculpted [Eternia] was really, really slow.

*Snake Mountain. Image via Orange Slime*

On the boys’ side, [engineering] was all done inside, and you had to go through politics. Now everything goes to vendor. You had to get saddled with people who were not so talented. Like Bionatops. This guy, Hal Faulkner had a bitchin sculpt, but the engineer started smoothing out the mold and getting rid of musculature. Smoothing it all out. My manager said he was fixing it, but it looked like a piggy bank. He also worked on middle tower for Eternia. There was only so much you could do.

Now it’s different. You do a front three-quarters sketch, send it to Hong Kong, and you see a digital output.

BR: Do you know anything about a brown-haired He-Man variant? People seem to think that you could get it in a mail-away offer. What many people recall is that you would send in three proofs of purchase and you would get a free figure in the mail, but no one seems to know much about it or why it was made in the first place. It looked like this:

MA: The brown haired variant was either just done or in the works when I got there, but I think you’re right. Has it been referred to as The Wonder Bread mail-in offer? Again, I just got there and was just trying to keep my head above water, keeping up with great talents like Colin Bailey who drew like an angel with so much ease.

BR: Do you know who designed Jitsu?

MA: I watched Colin draw control art turn views of Jitsu as reference for sculpting.

BR: Besides Rudy Obrero and Bill George, there was another person who painted some of the box art. We don’t know his name, but he did the box art for Point Dread & Talon Fighter, Panthor, Skeletor/Panthor Gift Set, Teela/Zoar Gift Set, Night Stalker, and a few others. Any clues there? Here’s an example of his/her art:

MA: Unfortunately I can’t remember that guy’s name, but his stuff was pretty decent as a fill-in when Bill [George] was overbooked. His art was better than the guy who did the dino art, Warren Hile, who I went to Art Center with. He now makes furniture in Pasadena. I looked up his art in the SDCC He-Man book that I designed, which sold out in a day, but no names are listed. I’ll find out because now it’s bugging me, thanks to you.

BR: What about Tony Guerrero? Do you remember him?

MA: Tony Sculpted THE He-Man. He had a twin brother, Ben. He was on the engineering side and Tony was a sculptor. One of guards once asked Tony for a property pass and offended him. He said, “Do you know who I am, I sculpted He-Man!”

*Tony Guerrero’s He-Man prototype. Image source: The Art of He-Man/The Power and the Honor Foundation*

Tony didn’t do a lot of the later stuff. I don’t know if he got let go. I can’t tell you how many purgings I survived there. They didn’t care how good you were, or what you contributed. It was how much money you made. They would bring a new guy in that they could pay less and force you out.

Tony and Colin left shortly after I got there. Colin was there for a couple of years.

Bill George did the best art. He was at Power Con, the very first one. Bill’s paintings were the best. He did the best He-Man ever.

BR: By 1986, there seemed to be a lot more stylistic diversity in the line. Can you talk about that?

MA: Extendar was designed by John Hollis, he was a temp who reported to me. He did Extendar, and he also did Rattlor and Turbodactyl. Each one has own style. Pat Dunn worked on Mosquitor. They way they turned out depended on they designer’s style and the action feature and play feature. The hardest one I worked on was Sorceress. Her wings popped out on back pack. Roger Sweet promised all those things. It’s hard to pack a mechanism on a thin-looking body. There was no other way I could do it except to put hump on her back.

We did Turbosaurus [later, Gigantisaur] that never got made. Too impractical? Of course. Roger Sweet had a sketch done by Ed Watts. It showed He-Man on this dinosaur. He sold it with all these features at a price that was low. I said, do you know how big this is going to be?

I went to Dave Wolfram, and I said, “We gotta breadboard this stuff.” Sure enough, that dinosaur was probably three feet. I told marketing, if you want this to reflect what Sweet sold you in the B-sheet, this is how big it’s going to be. We hand painted it. One thing that Sweet sold to marketing is that it would swallow a He-Man figure. But you know how splayed out the he-man figures were. It would have been as big as Eternia.

Image via Orange Slime. From the 1987 Mattel Dealer Catalog

Ed Watts was the best and he actually did some preliminary designing and B-sheets on many of the vintage Masters toys, including Land Shark, the dinos, and Skeletor’s Dragon Fly [Fright Fighter], just to name a few. He actually had talent and thus recognized others who had talent, and was not insecure or jealous of others, so that’s why we got along. He was my manager when I designed/developed all the Bug’s Life line. Unfortunately he died of brain cancer way too young.

BR: What else did you work on in your time at Mattel?

MA: Everything that failed, I didn’t do, like that 2002 series… I was already off the line at that time. I worked on Harry Potter. I remember it was the Four Horsemen that were sculpting it. They were going old school, with clay molds and final waxes. Those guys are awesome…anyway, the Four Horsemen went in and did a really great sculpt of He-Man and Skeletor, almost two feet high. But at that time anime was coming in. So when they approached the Four Horsemen they had them sculpt them anime style as well. On that version, He-Man’s neck is coming out of his chest. Mattel did a focus test (which I hate), and the kids picked the anime style.

2002 prototype He-Man, by Four Horsemen Studios. Image via Eternian Dreams

Then I got put back on He-Man, and started working with the Horsemen on [Masters of the Universe Classics], with no features. So there was this weird roundabout way I came back and worked on He-Man with the Horsemen, which they then gave to Terry Higuchi, because I was pulled to work on Remi from Ratatouille. Terri did a great job.

BR: What figure or other toy are you most proud of in your time at Mattel?

MA: I did so many entire lines there in 32 years. It would seem like bragging if I listed them all, which were approximately 15 to 20. Several never made it to retail. In hindsight I guess my favorites were the vintage MOTU line; resurrecting the then-dead Disney-Pixar Cars Line and generating a billion dollars for the five years I had it before my jealous VP stole it from me; and the Disney-Pixar Ratatouille line, which I designed/developed single-handily with my Hong Kong counterparts.

I’m especially proud that all those toys I designed/brought to retail made kids happy and filled their lives with joy & imaginative play. I’m happily retired now, focusing on painting full time. You can check out my original art on my website, www.martinarriola.com.

To hear more from Martin, check out these Power Con panels:

Several pieces of cross sell art used in this article are courtesy of Axel Giménez.

*Note: Eric L. recently contacted Eddy Mosqueda, and confirmed that Eddy did not actually sculpt Snake Mountain.

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Catalogs

1982 Mattel Wish List, plus a look at early MOTU product photography

Posted on December 1, 2016December 28, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Mattel’s 1982 Wish List is a pamphlet-sized little advertisement for the latest and greatest Mattel had to offer at the time. It was distributed as an insert in the November 16, 1982 issue of Family Circle magazine.

Barbie gets the most print space in the Wish List, but there is a page and a half devoted to the brand new (at the time) Masters of the Universe toyline.

The photographer attempted to spice things up with some clear plastic rods, although I’m not really sure what they’re supposed to be in this context.

Quite often catalog photography can be a good source for images of prototype or at least hand-painted pre-production versions of these toys. In fact, you generally tell how early or late these images were taken by the number of prototypes in them. The more prototypes, the earlier the photo was taken.

In this case, almost everything in the Wish List is a standard (first release) version of the mass produced toys. Skeletor is the first run “orange cheeks” and half boots version. Unlike earlier catalog photos, both Battle Ram and Wind Raider are the final, mass-produced versions. Stratos in this picture is not a prototype, but he is the ultra-rare, early “blue beard” version.

*Notice that He-Man is captioned “Strongest man in the universe!” Some early sources refer to him that way, but it was quickly changed to “Most powerful man in the universe!”*

The Battle Cat in this catalog isn’t technically a prototype, but it’s rare enough that it might as well be. A small number of factory Battle Cats were made with striped tails and orange lines around the mouth, based on pattern of the original hand-painted prototype. Unlike “blue beard” Stratos, this version does not appear to have ever been sold in stores. They may have been early samples that were intended to be use for product photography.

Castle Grayskull is a little unusual here as well. I’ve only seen one example in the wild with so little black paint around the eye and nose region. This could be another early factory sample intended for product photography, or it could just be an early release example.

The Man-At-Arms in the photo is the second prototype version – you can tell by the wrist extension on his armor that was removed on the mass-produced toy:

*Prototype Man-At-Arms riding Battle Ram*

The earliest known example of Mattel photography of MOTU toys comes from a series of promotional slides shared by Andy Youssi (below). All of the toys in this series are early prototypes. In fact this series is so early that we see the “Lords of Power” label, a working title for the toyline before “Masters of the Universe” was settled on. This is an amazing assortment of early concept images, some of which had not been seen until recently. Most of them (Skeletor, Beast Man and Mer-Man) are not even articulated.

He-Man is the closest to being finished, but he lacks his left forearm bracer and his hands are both closed and not quite finished. Man-At-Arms is quite a bit more detailed than the late-stage prototype that came out later. Battle Cat is hand painted and features the orange mouth and tail stripes that persist in early product photography. The Battle Ram prototype is more finely detailed than the final toy. Castle Grayskull is also larger and more detailed, with the ledge and pointed helmet that appeared in many early illustrations. A more in-depth look at these images is available here.

The second earliest known example of MOTU photography comes from the 1981 licensing kit, called Fast Male Action For Licensees. The kit contains some amazing Errol McCarthy artwork, but it also has some great toy photography featuring quite a few of prototypes, although most of them more late stage than the ones featured in the “Lords of Power” series. Prototypes include: Teela, Battle Cat, Zodac, Stratos, Man-At-Arms, Wind Raider, and Battle Ram. The Battle Ram prototype is the same one seen in the “Lords of Power” set. Teela appears to be an unarticulated statue.

Castle Grayskull here is a finely painted pre-production model, finalized in shape and modified in many ways from the previous prototype. In fact, just about everything here, with the apparent exception of He-Man, appears to be hand-painted, at the very least. I would guess that many of these that appear to be final sculpts were cast at Mattel, and hadn’t gone to the factory yet.

*Image source: Michael Jay* via Orko’s Keep on Facebook

*Prototype Teela, recreating a scene depicted in He-Man and the Power Sword (or vice versa)*. *Image source: James Eatock*

*Notice that the prototype Wind Raider is missing its figure head.*

You can follow the development of these photos as you see prototypes start to disappear. The photos from 1982 Mattel Dealer Catalog show the same prototypes and models as the license kit photos, with two exceptions; Battle Ram, which appears in its final (albeit hand-painted) form, and Stratos, who now sports a hairy chest:

A similar photo used in the 1982 dealer catalog shows up in a 1983 Dutch catalog. This one features smoke in the background, and it’s cropped and arranged slightly differently.

It also shows up in this 1985 Mattel France catalog:

The same photo also shows up in this 1982 store display:

Very similar-looking photos with identical models appear on the sides of the original Castle Grayskull box. They appear to have been taken during the same session as the photos used in the 1982 Dealer Catalog:

Some higher quality versions of a few of these photos (and an alternate version of the Beast Man picture) come to us via Grayskull Museum (who in turn got them from Mark Taylor):

I suspect several of the images from the 1984 UK Masters of the Universe Annual were also taken at about the same time. These images also give us an interior view of the hand-painted Castle Grayskull model (although the image is reversed):

Update: the photo below from the MOTU Power Promo (courtesy of Andy Youssi) seems to come next, chronologically. For more details, check out this article:

The photo in this MOTU advertisement seems to have been taken a bit later than the dealer catalog photos. Every figure here seems to be hand-painted. We still have the late-stage prototype Man-At-Arms (evidenced by the wrist extension on his armor). We also see a new prototype version of Teela, different from previous versions, with Barbie-like leg articulation.

The photo that appeared in an early French mini comic appears to come from a slightly later session still. Stratos’ colors have now been reversed (this is the “blue beard” version that we saw in the Mattel Wish Book). He appears to be a production sample rather than a hand-painted model. We have final, production versions of Man-At-Arms, Skeletor and He-Man. We see the striped tail Battle Cat (like the 1982 Wish List, this one does not appear to be hand-painted). We still have the finely painted Castle Grayskull model. We see the same Teela prototype that appeared in the previous advertisement.

*The full image without cropping or text. Source: Catone82, via Gec Blec*

The 1982 Sears and JCPenny Catalog pictures (below) were probably taken sometime after the photo from the French mini comic. We can again see the striped tail factory sample Battle Cat, and a later, almost final Teela prototype. Her sculpt is finalized, but her paint applications are more in keeping with earlier prototypes and design drawings. The castles are first release factory versions. Everything else looks pretty “off the shelf”.

The 1982 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog is very similar to the above 1982 Sears catalog, featuring the display model Castle Grayskull and striped-tail Battle Cat:

Update: I’m not sure of the exact date behind this German ad (below), but it does show an early Castle Grayskull and a striped tail Battle Cat (discernible from the orange mouth). According the the owner (The_Old_Force on Instagram) it’s a “German ad targeting parents who have doubts about MOTU being good toys for children.” It’s possible the photo came from Mattel in the US from early in 1982, given the early toys featured in it.

The photo used for the Masters of the Universe Poster (below) was probably taken later than many of of the product photos in this series (I would place the 1982 Wish List photo second or third to last). Just about every toy here is a mass-produced example. This is the only photo in the series to feature a standard Battle Cat. The Castle Grayskull in this photo is likely another very early factory example, similar to the 1982 Wish Book photo.

Again we see the “blue beard” Stratos. I believe that while the hand-painted prototypes for Stratos had red wings, blue armor and a gray beard, the very first-factory produced versions had the blue beard, blue wings and red armor (which is consistent with Mark Taylor’s original B-sheet drawing). Then at some point the factories started producing figures using the prototype color scheme. It sounds a bit convoluted, but that seems to be what the photographic evidence is saying.

Finally, this photo from the reverse side of the 1982 store display (discussed earlier) shows finalized and typical examples of the 1982 Masters of the Universe action figure lineup:

Addendum:

This technically isn’t “early” product photography, but strangely it does feature a hand-painted Castle Grayskull, along with the new product lineup from 1984:

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History

Masters of the Universe Timeline (1971-1987)

Posted on October 3, 2016November 13, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

In my continuing quest to understand the history of the vintage Masters of the Universe toyline, I’ve put together the following timeline. It’s generally focused on toy design, drawing dates from concept artwork, internal Mattel documents, patent filings, trademark filings, and even the Masters of the Universe Bible. My goal here is to give readers a sense of how the He-Man toyline developed and evolved. I’ve also included a few dates gleaned from the CPI (Conan Properties International) vs Mattel court cases. I believe this will help put to bed the idea that He-Man started out as a Conan figure. While He-Man was certainly influenced by Conan as depicted by Frank Frazetta, the He-Man project predates Mattel’s work on the Conan property by some time.

I drew on a number of different sources in compiling this information. Those sources include:

The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog, Vol. 1
The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Mark Taylor – The Original B-Sheets Collection
Grayskull Museum – Mark Taylor Artwork Concepts
Tomart’s Action Figure Digest
Justia US Law
Google Patents
US Patent & Trademark Office Trademark Electronic Search System
Ted Mayer
Rebecca Taylor
Additional information provided by Miguel Á.

This is by no means an exhaustive timeline. I included only those pieces of information that were dated in some way. That includes information from court cases that was assigned an approximate date, like an early 1981 date for Tony Guerrero’s He-Man prototype. That also means that undated material like Mark Taylor’s Demo Man concept or Roger Sweet’s Mekaneck concept are not included in the timeline. I could of course infer dates for this kind of material, but I wanted to avoid guessing and stick to known facts.

I also have stayed away from dates tied to media not directly related to toy production. There are many specific dates available for individual episodes of the Filmation He-Man cartoon, for instance, but that is really outside of the parameters of this particular project.

I have only included a few images of concept designs here – some of them appear in earlier posts in this blog, and almost all of them appear in the sources I drew from. Unfortunately it would not be practical to try to include all of them in this post.

Finally, I’ve included some names that were listed in the Masters of the Universe Bible. The Bible itself is dated December 1, 1982, which gives us an early (if not exact) date for at least the conceptual existence of characters like Orko (or Gorpo, as he was first named) and Jitsu (or Chopper).

Update: on December 28, 2022, I updated this post with additional dates from previous research. That includes “first use in commerce” dates from the US Trademark office, which they say means:

“A date of first use in commerce is the date when (1) the goods were first sold or transported, or the services were first rendered, under the mark in a type of commerce that may be lawfully regulated by the U.S. Congress (such as interstate commerce or commerce between the United States and a foreign country), and (2) such use was bona fide and in the ordinary course of trade.”

Update 2: On January 1, 2023 I added first newspaper ad appearance dates from this article.

Update 3 (May 26, 2023): I recently noticed in a 2015 Slashfilm article about the MOTU toyline and movie, one of the people they interviewed was Joe Morrison, an EVP of Marketing at Mattel. Joe is quoted as saying:

When we got the go-ahead from management to do the original toy line, we put in an estimate of, like, $12 million in sales. Well, we didn’t even release the toy until May of that year and we wound up doing $32 million. These were significant numbers in 1982.

This supports the data that I’ve been finding that all points to a May 1982 release date for the Masters of the Universe toyline.

1971

*“King of Styx” – illustration for a short story by Mark Taylor. Some elements later reused for Skeletor. Image courtesy of Rebecca Salari Taylor*

1971: “The King of Styx” concept, by Mark Taylor

1979

1979: First Castle Grayskull sketch, by Mark Taylor
1979: Torak (very early He-Man) sketch, by Mark Taylor
08/15/1979: Category Management Teams memo

1980

05/22/1980: Fantasy Make Believe idea disclosure form
06/11/1980: Male Action Figure attributes list
09/08/1980: Figure Attributes list
09/21/1980: Space/Monster/Fantasy Figures budgeted hours form
11/03/1980: Megaton Man project request form
11/??/1980: Work started on “He-Man trio”, Roger Sweet; Barbarian He-Man based on illustration by Mark Taylor (late November)
12/??/1980: He-Man trio presented at Mattel Product Conference (mid-December)
12/30/1980: He-Man Characters & Accessories idea disclosure form

1981

1981: Bird Man (Stratos) concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Mer-Man concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Castle Grayskull concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Battle Cat concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Sensor (Zodac) concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Battle Tester/Combat Trainer concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Heroic Figure (He-Man) concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Heroic Figure (He-Man) battles plant monster concept, by Mark Taylor
01/06/1981: He-Man Vehicles and Accessories idea disclosure form (modular vehicles)
01/23/1981: Drawing by Colin Bailey depicting Mark Taylor working on He-Man project
03/30/1981: De-Man (Skeletor) concept, by Mark Taylor
04/01/1981: Man-At-Arms concept, by Mark Taylor
04/02/1981: Tree Man (Beast Man) concept, by Mark Taylor
04/06/1981: He-Man (tan boots) concept, by Mark Taylor
04/07/1981: Battle Ram (tank treads version) concept, by Ted Mayer
04/24/1981: Memorandum urging negotiation for Conan license
04/27/1981: Revised Battle Ram concept art drawings, by Ted Mayer
05/03/1981: He-Man (red/yellow boots) concept, by Mark Taylor
05/05/1981: CPI draft licensing agreement sent
05/20/1981: Skull Castle (Castle Grayskull) Weapons Rack & Weapons by Mark Taylor
05/28/1981: Female Warrior (Teela) concept, by Mark Taylor
05/28/1981: Battle Ram control drawing, by Ted Mayer
06/03/1981: Sorceress concept, by Mark Taylor
06/05/1981: Battle Chariot concept, by Ted Mayer
07/??/1981: He-Man designed by this month, per CPI vs Mattel lawsuit
07/09/1981: Draft Skeletor toy head design document
07/14/1981: Memorandum discussing Mattel’s presentation of He-Man to Toys ‘R’ Us
07/23/1981: Tony Guerrero worked on Conan toys from this date until Sept 11, 1981
07/31/1981: CPI and Mattel entered license agreement to manufacture toys based on Conan movie
08/10/1981: Attak Trak mechanism patent filed (non-Mattel)
09/16/1981: Mer-Man sword design concept, by Mark Taylor
09/30/1981: “Proprietary Line Concepts” document (Megaton Man, Kid Gallant, Robin & The Space Hoods, Monster Fantasy/He-Man)
11/28/1981: King of Castle Grayskull published per copyright records
11/28/1981: He-Man and the Power Sword published per copyright records
11/28/1981: The Vengeance of Skeletor published per copyright records
12/08/1981: He-Man first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Battle Cat first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Battle Ram first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Beast Man first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Man-At-Arms first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Teela first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Mer-Man first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Stratos first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Wind Raider first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Zodac first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Masters of the Universe first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Filmation animated commercial retakes shot
12/14/1981: He-Man trademarked
12/14/1981: Teela trademarked
12/14/1981: Man-At-Arms trademarked
12/14/1981: Stratos trademarked
12/14/1981: Wind Raider trademarked
12/14/1981: Battle Ram trademarked
12/14/1981: Beast Man trademarked
12/14/1981: Mer-Man trademarked
12/14/1981: Zodac trademarked
12/14/1981: Masters of the Universe trademarked
12/21/1981: Battle Cat trademarked
12/21/1981: Castle Grayskull Trap Door patent filed
12/28/1981: Skeletor first use in commerce
12/28/1981: Castle Grayskull first use in commerce

1982

1982: Gargo/Gargoyle dragon concept, by Mark Taylor
1982: Ram Man concept, by Mark Taylor
1982: Man-E-Faces concept, by Mark Taylor
01/??/1982: Mattel requests termination of Conan license agreement
01/15/1982: Castle Grayskull trademarked
01/15/1982: Skeletor trademarked
02/17/1982: Mattel introduces new “Masters of the Universe” toy line at Toy Fair
03/01/1982: Rebate offer date in first mini comic (earliest purchase date)
03/04/1982: Attak Trak control drawing, by Ted Mayer
03/23/1982: Attak Trak concept, by Ted Mayer
04/08/1982: DC Comics: From Eternia With Death! street date. Cover date: July 1982
05/??/1982: Masters of the Universe toyline released this month, per Mattel EVP Joe Morrison
05/13/1982: Earliest known newspaper ad for MOTU
05/13/1982: First Skeletor newspaper ad
05/13/1982: First Man-At-Arms newspaper ad
05/13/1982: First He-Man newspaper ad
05/13/1982: First Beast Man newspaper ad
05/21/1982: Trap Jaw concept, by Colin Bailey
06/03/1982: First Battle Ram newspaper ad
06/03/1982: First Battle Cat newspaper ad
06/03/1982: First Castle Grayskull newspaper ad (“Castle Grey Skull”)
06/03/1982: First Stratos newspaper ad (pictured, not named)
06/03/1982: First Zodac newspaper ad (pictured, not named)
06/09/1982: First Teela newspaper ad
06/18/1982: First Stratos newspaper ad (mentioned by name)
07/05/2022: CPI and Mattel entered into a termination agreement
07/??/1982: Wasp Man (Buzz-Off) concept, by Colin Bailey
07/??/1982: Lizard Man (Whiplash) concept, by Colin Bailey
07/22/1982: First Wind Raider newspaper ad
08/08/1982: First Mer-Man newspaper ad (mentioned by name)
08/08/1982: First Zodac newspaper ad (mentioned by name)
08/26/1982: DC Comics Fate Is The Killer street date. Cover date: November 1982
09/xx/1982 – 12/xx/1982: Masters of the Universe Figures TV ads
09/xx/1982 – 12/xx/1982: Masters of the Universe Castle Grayskull TV ads
09/xx/1982 – 12/xx/1982: Masters of the Universe DC Comics scheduled run
09/21/1982: Zoar first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Ram Man first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Man-E-Faces first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Trap Jaw first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Attak Trak first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Point Dread & Talon Fighter first use in commerce
09/27/1982: Attak Trak trademarked
09/27/1982: Man-E-Faces trademarked
09/27/1982: Point Dread & The Talon Fighter trademarked
09/27/1982: Ram Man trademarked
09/27/1982: Trap Jaw trademarked
09/27/1982: Zoar trademarked
10/01/1982 – 12/21/1982: “Masters of the Universe Collection” TV ads
10/05/1982: Sultra (Evil-Lyn) concept, by Colin Bailey
10/14/1982: DC Comics The Key To Castle Grayskull street date. Cover date: January 1983
10/19/1982: Black Widow (Webstor) concept art, by Roger Sweet
10/25/1982: Castle Grayskull copyright registered
10/26/1982: Teela copyright registered
11/04/1982: Battle Ram copyright registered
11/04/1982: Beast Man copyright registered
11/04/1982: He-Man copyright registered
11/04/1982: Man-At-Arms copyright registered
11/04/1982: Mer-Man copyright registered
11/04/1982: Skeletor copyright registered
11/04/1982: Stratos copyright registered
11/04/1982: Wind Raider copyright registered
11/04/1982: Zodac copyright registered
11/11/1982: DC Comics Within These Walls… Armageddon! street date. Cover date: February 1983
11/22/1982: Tri-Klops first use in commerce
12/01/1982: Masters of the Universe Bible created. First ever character/place mentions include: Marlena, Tri-Klops, Snake Mountain, Panthor, Gorpo, Delora, Ram Man, Spy Man, Bugoff (Buzz-Off), Tri-Trak, Roton, Faker, Black Widow (Webstor) Fang Man, Chopper (Jitsu) Tornado Traveler, War Sled (evil Battle Ram), Grinder vehicle
12/07/1982: King of Castle Grayskull copyright registered
12/08/1982: He-Man and the Power Sword copyright registered
12/10/1982: Tri-Klops trademarked
12/28/1982: The Vengeance of Skeletor copyright registered

1983

01/11/1983: Evil-Lyn first use in commerce
01/21/1983: Evil-Lyn trademarked
01/21/1983: Heroic Warriors trademarked
01/21/1983: Evil Warriors trademarked
02/09/1983: Panthor first use in commerce
02/09/1983: Screeech first use in commerce
02/16/1983: Panthor trademarked
02/16/1983: Screeech trademarked
02/20/1983: First Man-E-Faces newspaper ad
02/22/1983: Battle Cat copyright registered
02/25/1983: Ram Man copyright registered
02/25/1983: Man-E-Faces copyright registered
03/15/1983: Faker first use in commerce
03/28/1983: First “Buy 3 Get 1 Free” offer ad (Wun-Dar aka Savage He-Man aka Wonder Bread He-Man)
04/04/1983: Attak Trak copyright registered
04/04/1983: Faker copyright registered
04/17/1983: First Faker newspaper ad
05/11/1983: First Ram Man newspaper ad
05/13/1983: Prince Adam first use in commerce
05/23/1983: Prince Adam trademarked
05/25/1983: Faker trademarked
05/25/1983: Point Dread trademarked
05/25/1983: Talon Fighter trademarked
06/21/1983: Evil-Lyn copyright registered
06/30/1983: First Evil-Lyn newspaper ad
06/30/1983: First Tri-Klops newspaper ad
07/15/1983: First Attak Trak newspaper ad
08/04/1983: First Talon Fighter newspaper ad
08/05/1983: Mekaneck first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Fisto first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Jitsu first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Whiplash first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Clawful first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Buzz-Off first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Roton first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Road Ripper first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Stridor first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Snake Mountain first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Battle For Eternia first use in commerce
08/15/1983: Snake Mountain trademarked
08/18/1983: Webstor first use in commerce
08/22/1983: Battle For Eternia trademarked
08/22/1983: Buzz-Off trademarked
08/22/1983: Clawful trademarked
08/22/1983: Fisto trademarked
08/22/1983: Jitsu trademarked
08/22/1983: Mekaneck trademarked
08/22/1983: Road Ripper trademarked
08/22/1983: Roton trademarked
08/22/1983: Stridor trademarked
08/22/1983: Whiplash trademarked
08/28/1983: First Trap Jaw newspaper ad
09/05/1983: Filmation He-Man cartoon debuts (UK)
09/17/1983: Gyro (early Roton) concept, by Ed Watts
09/19/1983: Filmation He-Man cartoon debuts (US)
09/19/1983: Spider Attack Vehicle (early Spydor) concept, by Ed Watts
09/19/1983: Ball Buster (early Bashasaurus) concept, by Ed Watts
09/21/1983: First Screeech newspaper ad (spelled “Screech”)
09/22/1983: Zap ‘N’ Go vehicle concept, by Ted Mayer
09/22/1983: First Panthor newspaper ad
09/23/1983: First Zoar newspaper ad
09/26/1983: Dungeon concept, by Ted Mayer
09/29/1983: Vehicle Launcher (very early Road Ripper) concept, by Ted Mayer
11/18/1983: Masters Playset (two towers) concept, by Ted Mayer
12/05/1983: Early Fright Zone concept, by Ed Watts
12/05/1983: Webstor trademarked
12/08/1983: Dragon concept, by Ed Watts
12/08/1983: Dragon concept (without helmet), by Ed Watts
12/08/1983: Flying Fists He-Man/Battle Armor He-Man concept, by Ted Mayer
12/14/1983: First Mekaneck newspaper ad
12/28/1983: Trap Jaw copyright registered
12/29/1983: Mekaneck patent filed
12/29/1983: Battle Armor He-Man patent filed
1983: Dragon Walker concept, by Ed Watts
1983: Snake Mountain packaging sketch, by William George
1983: Dragon Walker with Land Shark packaging sketch, by William George

1984

01/06/1984: Kobra Khan first use in commerce
01/06/1984: Battle Armor first use in commerce
01/10/1984: Dragon Walker patent filed
01/13/1984: Tri-Klops copyright registered
01/25/1984: First Road Ripper newspaper ad
01/27/1984: Battle Armor trademarked
01/27/1984: Kobra Khan trademarked
01/27/1984: The Fright Zone trademarked
02/09/1984: Torton concept, by Ed Watts
02/16/1984: Road Ripper copyright registered
03/11/1984: First Battle Armor He-Man newspaper ad
03/11/1984: First Battle Armor Skeletor newspaper ad
03/11/1984: First Roton newspaper ad
03/22/1984: First Prince Adam newspaper ad
03/22/1984: First Orko appearance in stores (costumed actor- unclear if that means toy was available)
03/29/1984: Hordak concept, by Ted Mayer
04/20/1984: Point Dread & Talon Fighter copyright registered
04/20/1984: Roton copyright registered
04/28/1984: First Buzz-Off newspaper ad
04/28/1984: First Whiplash newspaper ad
04/30/1984: Mekaneck copyright registered
04/30/1984: Stridor copyright registered
05/07/1984: Buzz-Off copyright registered
05/07/1984: Whiplash copyright registered
05/11/1984: First Dragon Walker newspaper ad
05/15/1984: Battle Armor He-Man copyright registered
06/01/1984: Horned helmet warrior woman concept, by Ted Mayer
06/03/1984: TM action figure concept, by Ted Mayer
06/03/1984: First Snake Mountain newspaper ad
06/03/1984: First Stridor newspaper ad
06/06/1984: Modular Man (Multi-Bot) concept, by Ted Mayer
06/07/1984: Horde Octopus Woman (Octavia) concept, by Ted Mayer
06/15/1984: Snout Spout concept, by Ted Mayer
06/15/1984: Dragon Walker copyright registered
06/18/1984: Walking skull vehicle concept, by Jim Keifer
06/19/1984: Early Megator concept, by Ted Mayer
07/06/1984: Chest cannon He-Man concept, by Ted Mayer
07/06/1984: Multi-Bot concept, by Ted Mayer
07/07/1984: Chest monster Skeletor concept, by Ted Mayer
07/07/1984: Transparent Man (Roboto) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/07/1984: Jester figure (Acrobad) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Vulture figure concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Rotary Man (early Hurricane Hordak) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Horde Mummy concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Stilt Stalkers concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Helicopter accessory and Claw Climbing accessory concepts,, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Jet Sled (close to final) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/09/1984: Handsome and Basher concepts, by Ted Mayer
07/10/1984: Megalaser concept, by Ted Mayer
07/10/1984: Octavia (colored) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/12/1984: Tung Lashor concept, by Ted Mayer
07/13/1984: Snout Spout concept, by Ted Mayer
07/13/1984: Masters Gigor concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Fright Fighter Concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Mantor (Mantisaur) concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Battle For Eternia game concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Attack Pose Panthor concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Dart (Laser Bolt) concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Ted Mayer unproduced concepts: Big Foot, Snowman, Green Witch, Archer Woman
07/13/1984: Ed Watts unproduced concepts: Cyclo Marauder, War Wing, Monster Walker, Dungeon, Tyroar, Disc Blaster
07/15/1984: Turbosaurus (early Gigantosaur) concept, by Ed Watts
07/16/1984: Weapons Factory concept, by Jim Keifer
07/22/1984: Land Shark & Battle Armor Skeletor packaging sketch, by William George
08/03/1984: First Fisto newspaper ad
08/30/1984: Land Shark first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Stinkor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Hordak first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Leech first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Mantenna first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Grizzlor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Spikor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Two Bad first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Spydor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Fright Zone first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Thunder Punch He-Man first use in commerce
09/09/1984: First Webstor newspaper ad
09/10/1984: Grizzlor trademarked
09/10/1984: Hordak trademarked
09/10/1984: The Horde trademarked
09/10/1984: Land Shark trademarked
09/10/1984: Leech trademarked
09/10/1984: Mantenna trademarked
09/10/1984: Spikor trademarked
09/10/1984: Spydor trademarked
09/10/1984: Stinkor trademarked
09/10/1984: Thunder Punch trademarked
09/10/1984: Two Bad trademarked
09/15/1984: Canyon Hopper concept, by Ed Watts
09/18/1984: Motorized walking monster armor concept, by Ed Watts
09/24/1984: Dragon Fly (Fright Fighter) concept, by Ed Watts
09/27/1984: First Weapons Pak newspaper ad
09/27/1984: First Clawful (misspelled “Clawfall”) newspaper ad
09/29/1984: Transforming figure concept, by Ed Watts
10/03/1984: Firepower Man (Rio Blast) concept, by Ed Watts
10/12/1984: Clawful and Buzz-Off mentioned as popular toys in newspaper story
10/24/1984: First Kobra Khan newspaper ad
10/25/1984: First Orko newspaper ad (actual toy)
11/08/1984: Dragon Blaster Skeletor first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Modulok first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Battle Bones first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Night Stalker first use in commerce
11/08/1984: The Evil Horde first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Bashasaurus first use in commerce
11/13/1984: Land Shark patent filed
11/18/1984: First Jitsu newspaper ad
11/23/1984: Bashasaurus trademarked
11/23/1984: Night Stalker trademarked
11/23/1984: The Evil Horde trademarked
11/29/1984: Battle Armor Skeletor copyright registered
12/01/1984: Engine Man (Dragstor) concept, by Ed Watts
12/07/1984: Moss Man first use in commerce
12/11/1984: Conan Properties, Inc. v. Mattel Inc. lawsuit
12/14/1984: Battle Bones patent filed
12/14/1984: Sy-Klone patent filed
12/17/1984: Mantenna patent filed
12/19/1984: Dragon Blaster trademarked
12/19/1984: Modulok trademarked
12/19/1984: Moss Man trademarked
12/24/1984: Two Bad patent filed
12/24/1984: Jitsu copyright registered
12/24/1984: Kobra Khan copyright registered
12/24/1984: Clawful copyright registered
12/24/1984: Webstor copyright registered
12/28/1984: Battle Bones trademarked
1984: Mantisaur concept variations/for “New Ventures”
1984: Battle Armor Skeletor & Panthor packaging sketch, by William George
1984: Dragon Blaster Skeletor packaging sketch, by William George
1984: Jaws I, Jaws III, various unproduced concept vehicles for “New Ventures”

1985

01/03/1985: Roboto patent filed
01/03/1985: Thunder Punch He-Man patent filed
01/04/1985: Bashasaurus patent filed
01/13/1985: First Land Shark newspaper ad
01/24/1985: First Moss Man newspaper ad
01/24/1985: First Stinkor newspaper ad
01/31/1985: Snake Mountain copyright registered
02/05/1985: Wolf head Eternia concept, by Ted Mayer
02/25/1985: Battle Bones copyright registered
02/26/1985: Early Blast Attak concept, by Mark Jones
02/28/1985: First Roboto newspaper ad
02/28/1985: First Two Bad newspaper ad
02/28/1985: “Tongue Lasher” (Tung Lashor) concept art by Martin Arriola and Pat Dunn
03/04/1985: Pre-Production Early Rio Blast Guns Rough Pencil Concept by John Hollis
03/14/1985: “Tongue Lasher” (Tung Lashor) illustration by John Hollis
03/18/1985: “Tongue Lasher” (Tung Lashor)”Dragonfly Compound Bow” concept art by John Hollis
03/29/1985: Seaman (Scubattack) concept, by Alan Tyler
03/31/1985: First Bashasaurus newspaper ad
03/31/1985: First Battle Bones newspaper ad
04/05/1985: Fright Zone puppet tooling method patent filed
04/18/1985: Heroic Giant (Tytus) concept, by Alan Tyler
04/22/1985: Fisto copyright registered
05/03/1985: Tung Lashor “Dragonfly Compound Bow” concept art by John Hollis
05/22/1985: Land Shark copyright registered
05/22/1985: Bashasaurus copyright registered
05/22/1985: Roboto copyright registered
05/22/1985: Two Bad copyright registered
05/30/1985: First Spikor newspaper ad
05/30/1985: Sy-Klone first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Flying Fists He-Man first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Terror Claws Skeletor first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Rokkon first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Stonedar first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Rattlor first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Tung Lashor first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Laser Bolt first use in commerce
06/01/1985: First Spydor newspaper ad
06/14/1985: First Night Stalker newspaper ad
06/14/1985: Laser Bolt trademarked
06/14/1985: Terror Claws trademarked
06/15/1985: Gyrattacker concept, by Ted Mayer
06/17/1985: Flying Fists trademarked
06/17/1985: Rattlor trademarked
06/17/1985: Rokkon trademarked
06/17/1985: Stonedar trademarked
06/17/1985: Sy-Klone trademarked
06/17/1985: Tung Lashor trademarked
06/19/1985: Eternia blueprint by John Hollis
06/24/1985: Slime Pit trademarked
07/08/1985: Spydor patent filed
07/25/1985: Slasher/Punjab concept, by Roger Sweet
08/08/1985: First Dragon Blaster Skeletor newspaper ad (implied)
08/08/1985: First Hordak Newspaper ad (costumed actor appearance)
08/08/1985: First Thunder Punch He-Man newspaper ad
08/20/1985: First Grizzlor newspaper ad
08/20/1985: First Hordak newspaper ad (actual toy)
08/20/1985: First Leech newspaper ad
08/20/1985: First Mantenna newspaper ad
08/25/1985: First Dragon Blaster Skeletor newspaper ad (explicitly shown)
08/30/1985: First Sy-Klone newspaper ad
09/04/1985: Triceratops (very early Bionatops) concept, by Mark Jones
09/04/1985: Turbodactyl concept, by Mark Jones
09/09/1985: Horde Slurb concept, by Mark Jones
09/13/1985: Unproduced Alan Tyler concepts: Dragon Lord, Sorcerer, Steel Kill
09/13/1985: Laser Bolt patent filed
09/14/1985: First Fright Zone newspaper ad
09/16/1985: Secrets of Grayskull “New Notes” document (Grayskull Tower/King Hiss/etc.)
09/22/1985: Early Jet Sled concept, by Ted Mayer
09/25/1985: Horde Trooper patent filed
09/27/1985: King Hiss patent filed
09/27/1985: Megalaser patent filed
09/28/1985: First Modulok newspaper ad
10/04/1985: Fright Zone patent filed
10/10/1985: Grizzlor copyright registered
10/10/1985: Mantenna copyright registered
10/10/1985: Moss Man copyright registered
10/10/1985: Spikor copyright registered
10/10/1985: Spydor copyright registered
10/10/1985: Sy-Klone copyright registered
10/10/1985: Thunder Punch He-Man copyright registered
10/11/1985: Hurricane Hordak patent filed
10/16/1985: Modulok copyright registered
10/17/1985: Secrets of Grayskull Preliminary Story Background (Eternia/King Hiss/etc.)
11/04/1985: Medusa-Man (Snake Face) concept, by David Wolfram
11/06/1985: Snake Men first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Snout Spout first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Multi-Bot first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Horde Trooper first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Mantisaur first use in commerce
11/12/1985: Horde Trooper trademarked
11/12/1985: Mantisaur trademarked
11/12/1985: Multi-Bot trademarked
11/12/1985: Snake Men trademarked
11/12/1985: Snout Spout trademarked
11/12/1985: Leech copyright registered
11/21/1985: Tyrantisaurus concept, by David Wolfram
11/22/1985: Blasterhawk first use in commerce
11/25/1985: Laser Bolt copyright registered
11/25/1985: Hordak copyright registered
11/25/1985: Fright Zone copyright registered
11/26/1985: Crack-Pot (Blast Attak) concept, by Richard Lepik
12/06/1985: Streak concept, by Alan Tyler
12/09/1985: Rio Blast first use in commerce
12/09/1985: Extendar first use in commerce
12/12/1985: Blasterhawk trademarked
12/16/1985: Evil Giant (Megator) concept, by Alan Tyler
1985: “The Slime Pit” finished painting, by William George
1985: Hurricane Hordak pencils, by William George
1985: Flying Fists He-Man pencils, by William George

1986

01/09/1986: Extendar trademarked
01/09/1986: Rio Blast trademarked
01/11/1986: First Laser Bolt Newspaper ad
01/11/1986: First Slime Pit Newspaper ad
01/14/1986: Rokkon/Stonedar patent filed
01/15/1985: Triceratops (Bionotops) concept, by David Wolfram
01/17/1986: John Hollis “Terror-Dactyl” (Turbodactyl) concept
02/02/1986: First Rokkon newspaper ad
02/02/1986: First Stonedar newspaper ad
02/11/1986: Rokkon copyright registered
02/11/1986: Stonedar copyright registered
02/12/1986: First Flying Fists He-Man newspaper ad
02/12/1986: First Terror Claws Skeletor newspaper ad
02/21/1986: First King Hiss newspaper ad (figure coming in April)
02/21/1986: First Rattlor newspaper ad (figure coming in April)
02/21/1986: First Tung Lashor newspaper ad (figure coming in April)
03/07/1986: Fright Fighter first use in commerce
03/07/1986: Stilt Stalkers first use in commerce
03/15/1986: Comet Warriors trademarked
03/21/1986: Battle For Eternia (game) trademarked
03/21/1986: Fright Fighter trademarked
03/21/1985: John Hollis Rio Blast Fold Out Arm Blaster drawing
03/21/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Early Rio Blast Arm Blaster
03/24/1986: Stilt Stalker trademarked
04/07/1986: Eternia first use in commerce
04/07/1986: Jet Sled first use in commerce
04/16/1985: John Hollis Rio Blast Pre-Production Chest Gun Sketch
04/18/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Rio Blast Backpack Gun and Concept Sketches
04/18/1985: John Hollis Rio Blast Backpack Gun control drawing
04/23/1986: First Dragstor newspaper ad
05/01/1986: First King Hiss newspaper ad (figure listed as available)
05/03/1985: Mike McKittrick Pre-Production Eternia Playset Blueprint of Parts Layout
05/10/1986: First Rattlor newspaper ad (figure listed as available)
05/10/1986: First Tung Lashor newspaper ad (figure listed as available)
05/11/1986: First Mantisaur newspaper ad
05/12/1986: Flying Fists He-Man copyright registered
05/12/1986: Rattlor copyright registered
05/12/1986: Tung Lashor copyright registered
05/12/1986: Mantisaur copyright registered
05/13/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Rio Blast Leg Control Drawing
05/14/1986: The Multiples (heroic) concept, by James McElroy
05/16/1986: Monstroid first use in commerce
05/19/1986: Terror Claws Skeletor copyright registered
05/28/1986: Snout Spout copyright registered
05/28/1986: Dragstor copyright registered
06/03/1986: First Blasterhawk newspaper ad
06/05/1986: Sorceress first use in commerce
06/05/1986: Mosquitor first use in commerce
06/05/1986: Buzz-Saw Hordak first use in commerce
06/09/1986: Tower Tools/Cliff Climber/Scubattack mechanism patent filed
06/12/1985: John Hollis “Snake Tower” Eternia sketch
06/14/1986: Sticky Minions concept, by James McElroy
06/14/1986: Spider People Centiped concept, by James McElroy
06/15/1986: The Multiples (evil) concept, by James McElroy
06/16/1986: Recording Sound Playset concept, by James McElroy
06/18/1986: Spider People Tarantula concept, by James McElroy
06/19/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Near-Final Copy with Color Marker
06/20/1986: The Lockers concept, by James McElroy
06/20/1986: Skeletor Dragon Disguise concept, by James McElroy
06/20/1986: The Slime Monster concept, by James McElroy
06/20/1986: Gwildor concept, by Alan Tyler (based on movie designs)
06/23/1986: Rotar/Twistoid patent filed
06/23/1986: Eternia trademarked
06/23/1986: Grayskull (He-Ro early name) trademarked (canceled)
06/23/1986: Jet Sled trademarked
06/23/1986: Monstroid trademarked
06/23/1986: Buzz-Saw trademarked
06/23/1986: Mosquitor trademarked
06/23/1986: Sorceress trademarked
06/23/1986: Meteorbs trademarked
06/23/1986: Cometroid trademarked
06/23/1986: Ty-Grrr trademarked
06/23/1986: Astro Lion trademarked
06/23/1986: Comet Cat trademarked
06/23/1986: Tuskor trademarked
06/23/1986: Dinosorb trademarked
06/23/1986: Crocobite trademarked
06/23/1986: Rhinorb trademarked
06/23/1986: Orbear trademarked
06/23/1986: Gore-Illa trademarked
06/29/1986: The Optimagic concept, by James McElroy
06/30/1986: The Voice concept, by James McElroy
07/09/1986: Giant Foot Print Trap concept, by James McElroy
07/09/1986: Net Trap concept, by James McElroy
07/13/1986: Gyrattacker patent filed
07/15/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eterna Playset Center Tower Gun Control Drawing
07/18/1986: First Jet Sled newspaper ad
07/18/1986: First Megalaser newspaper ad
07/18/1986: First Stilt Stalkers newspaper ad
07/24/1984: Ed Watts Pre-Production Fright Fighter “Dragonfly” (Fright Fighter) Concept Photo
07/29/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Snake Tower Strut Concept Details
08/02/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Center Tower Strut Drawing
08/04/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Elevator Crank Control Drawing
08/05/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Elevator Lift Platform Blueprint
08/01/1986: King Hiss copyright registered
08/07/1986: Horde Trooper copyright registered
08/15/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Grappling Hook Control Drawing
08/18/1986: Slime Pit copyright registered
08/18/1986: Extendar copyright registered
08/22/1986: Rio Blast copyright registered
08/24/1986: First Snout Spout newspaper ad
09/10/1986: First Hurricane Hordak newspaper ad
09/16/1986: Blast Attak patent filed
09/17/1986: Tyrantisaurus Rex first use in commerce
09/17/1986: Bionatops first use in commerce
09/17/1986: Gigantisaur first use in commerce
09/22/1986: Bionotops trademarked
09/22/1986: Gigantisaur trademarked
09/22/1986: Powers of Grayskull trademarked
09/22/1986: Tyrantisaurus Rex trademarked
09/28/1986: First Fright Fighter newspaper ad
09/30/1986: Turbodactyl first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Blast-Attak first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Gwildor first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Rotar first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Twistoid first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Cliff Climber first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Scubattack first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Tytus first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Eldor first use in commerce
10/xx/1986: He-Man military pitch, by Stephen Lee
10/06/1986: Eldor trademarked
10/06/1986: Rotar trademarked
10/06/1986: Turbodactyl trademarked
10/06/1986: Twistoid trademarked
10/06/1986: Tytus trademarked
10/07/1986: Blast-Attak trademarked
10/07/1986: Gwildor trademarked
10/11/1986: First Meteorbs newspaper ad
10/11/1986: First Multi-Bot newspaper ad
10/14/1986: Cliff Climber trademarked
10/14/1986: Scubattack trademarked
10/23/1986: First Monstroid newspaper ad
10/28/1986: Mosquitor copyright registered
10/28/1986: Ninjor copyright registered
10/28/1986: Scare Glow copyright registered
10/28/1986: Sorceress copyright registered
10/28/1986: Sssqueeze copyright registered
11/05/1986: First Extendar newspaper ad
11/05/1986: First Rio Blast newspaper ad
11/08/1986: First Horde Trooper newspaper ad
11/10/1986: Blast-Attak copyright registered
11/17/1986: H.E./M.A.N. concept, by James McElroy
11/23/1986: First Eternia Playset newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Beam Blaster & Artilleray newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Mosquitor newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Ninjor newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Scare Glow newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Snake Face newspaper ad
12/09/1986: First Clamp Champ newspaper ad
12/09/1986: First King Randor newspaper ad
12/09/1986: First Faker (reissue) newspaper ad

1987

01/21/1987: The Evil Horde Slime copyright registered
01/28/1987: Snake Face copyright registered
02/02/1987: Artilleray copyright registered
02/02/1987: Beam Blaster copyright registered
02/02/1987: Blasterhawk copyright registered
03/14/1987: First Tyrantisaurus Rex newspaper ad
03/21/1987: First Blast Attak newspaper ad
03/21/1987: First Sorceress newspaper ad
03/21/1987: First Sssqueeze newspaper ad
04/04/1987: First Bionatops newspaper ad
04/04/1987: First Turbodactyl newspaper ad
04/15/1987: Saurod first use in commerce
04/15/1987: Megator first use in commerce
04/27/1987: Saurod trademarked
04/27/1987: Megator trademarked
04/28/1987: Bionatops copyright registered
04/28/1987: Turbodactyl copyright registered
05/18/1987: Laser Power He-Man concept art, by David Wolfram, based on design by Martin Arriola
06/22/1987: Regular Bio-Mechazoid Skeletor (early Laser Light) concept, by David Wolfram
08/08/1987: First Blade newspaper ad
08/08/1987: First Gwildor newspaper ad
08/08/1987: First Saurod newspaper ad
08/18/1987: Bio-Mechazoid Skeletor (revised Laser Light) concept, by David Wolfram
11/11/1987: First Buzz-Saw Hordak newspaper ad
11/11/1987: First Rotar newspaper ad
11/11/1987: First Twistoid newspaper ad
1987: Megator concept/based on Mark Taylor’s Demo-Man, colored by Mark Jones

Thanks to Shawn for pointing me towards the CPI vs Mattel material.

“Death of Mark Taylor From Night Visitation.” Artwork by Colin Bailey, January 23, 1981. Given to Mark when he was working on his “dark project” (He-Man). Image courtesy of Rebecca Salari Taylor.

Other timelines:

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Battle Ram

Battle Ram

A He-Man Blog

Tag: Mark Taylor

The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2015)

Martin Arriola: Guardian of Grayskull

1982 Mattel Wish List, plus a look at early MOTU product photography

Addendum:

Masters of the Universe Timeline (1971-1987)

1971

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987