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.
Artwork by Earl Norem
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.
Ralph McQuarrie’s Man-At-Arms
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.
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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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
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.
Update 4 (Jan 24, 2025): I’m adding some color/shading coding to the list. In hindsight I think “first use in commerce” dates that were filed are somewhat vague and arbitrary. The most meaningful dates are concept art dates, certain key document and event dates, and the earliest newspaper ad dates. Most important dates will be bolded, least important dates in gray, and everything else in regular text. Oh, and I’ll color the dates related to the Conan license in blue, to easily distinguish them from the He-Man material.
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
Torak, by Mark Taylor – 1979. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation
1979: First Castle Grayskull sketch, by Mark Taylor
1979: Torak (precursor to He-Man) sketch, by Mark Taylor
08/15/1979: Category Management Teams memo
1980
December 1980: Roger Sweet’s “He-Man” trio; the barbarian figure was based on designs by Mark Taylor. Image via the Power and the Honor Foundation.
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
??/??/1980: Early Conan-related design by Mark Taylor, pre-CPI agreement
1981
Tony Guerrero’s early 1981 He-Man prototype. Image source: Tomart’s Action Figure Digest.
??/??/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
08/02/1985: 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
Megator concept, by Mark Jones, based on Mark Taylor’s Demo-Man concept – 1987. Image source: The Art of He-Man/The Power and the Honor Foundation
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
07/22/1987: Battle Base concept for live action TV show, by Dave McElroy
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
10/05/1987: Live action TV show vehicle concepts, by Dave McElroy
10/06/1987: Live action “Harm Arm” TV show vehicle concept, by Dave McElroy
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.
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Name: He-Man Faction: Heroic Warriors Approximate US release date: May 13, 1982
He-Man was released with the first wave of action figures in the 1982 Masters of the Universe line. But for a simple, relatively unadorned action figure, He-Man has a complex and storied history. His origins are the subject of much controversy, and frequently discussed lately in the wake of the recent Toy Masters documentary and the Dark Horse Art of He-Man book. I can’t definitively settle those controversies, but I will attempt to present the key facts as I understand them in the development of the most powerful man in the universe.
Update 2/7/2024: since writing this in 2015, I think I have a much clearer picture of He-Man’s origins. This article has been updated several times since 2015 as additional information came to light, and my recent article about the “He-Man Trio” also provides a very clear picture of the early development of He-Man.
From Rudy Obrero’s Castle Graykull box art illustration
Design & Development
The earliest known artwork related to He-Man is a 1979 drawing by Mattel artist Mark Taylor. When Taylor was hired at Mattel, he initially did packaging design for the Barbie line. In his free time he would sketch the kinds of fantasy heroes he had been interested in since he was a child. He was influenced by Tarzan and Prince Valiant comic books, as well as the artwork of Frank Frazetta and the various artists featured in Heavy Metal magazine.
Torak, by Mark Taylor, 1979. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation
In this 1979 sketch (above), Torak certainly looks the part of He-Man. The facial features, determined expression and blond hair are all very familiar. The leather strap around his chest almost looks like half of what would eventually be He-Man’s distinctive chest harness. There is even a villain in the background who resembles Skeletor.
The image below has commonly been assumed to be an early He-Man sketch, but it’s possible that this was done for the Conan line – Mark Taylor did the concept art for both, although the Conan line didn’t move forward due to the sex and violence of the movie.
Mark Taylor illustration, from the Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
As Taylor tells the story, Mattel was looking for a new boy’s action figure line that could be produced without paying licensing fees to a third party. The company had passed on making Star Wars toys, and of course Star Wars had become enormously successful in the meantime. Mattel’s existing boy’s lines (Clash of the Titans, Battlestar Galactica and Flash Gordon) could not compete with Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
As part of the initiative to create a new male action figure line, Roger Sweet (a designer at Mattel), used some of Mark Taylor’s drawings to assist in developing a pitch for a new line of action figures. For a presentation to Mattel CEO Ray Wagner, Sweet sculpted a rudimentary action figure, which was really a Big Jim figure packed with extra clay muscles. It was then cast and duplicates were created to try out different costume looks. In Roger’s concept, the character could be a generic hero, outfitted with science fiction, barbarian or military costumes, and would have access to science fiction vehicles.
Roger Sweet’s “He-Man Trio”, late 1980
As you can see, a recognizable version of the final He-Man harness is present on the center figure, which has come to be known to fans as Vykron:
Image: The Power and the Honor Foundation
Roger has acknowledged in a podcast interview (Masters of the Universe Chronicles) that Mark Taylor designed the harness for his barbarian prototype, including the Templar cross. And if you look closely at the bracers on the center figure, you can see they resemble those of Mark Taylor’s Torak character. The shin guards also have the cross, so they are another Mark Taylor element. The helmet also comes from another Mark Taylor design from the 1970s. This fits with statements by both Mark Taylor and Ted Mayer that Roger’s model was based off of Mark Taylor’s designs. Elsewhere, in the Toy Masters Podcast, Roger and others acknowledge that Mark’s He-Man artwork predated Roger’s prototype.
Of the three 1980 prototypes, it was the barbarian-themed figure, with his Mark Taylor-designed costume, that was green-lit by Ray Wagner for further development. Roger designed the other two costumes on the military and space themed figures (they are actually kit-bashed, using one or more parts from existing toys, such as the repainted Boba Fett helmet and a WWII German tank kit).
Image: The Power and the Honor FoundationImage: The Power and the Honor FoundationImage source: Rebecca Salari Taylor
Mark Taylor also drew a couple of illustrations in 1981, apparently based on the prototype (in turn based on Mark’s designs). The harness in these drawings was even closer to the final toy design:
Image Source: The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation, via The Art of He-Man
Still, Roger Sweet has been claiming for many years that he “originated” He-Man:
“What I always say is, I originated and named He-Man, and originated the general concept of the Masters Of The Universe. I constructed three prototype figures at nine and a half inches, which I first showed at a product conference at Mattel in late 1980. These three prototype figures brought He-Man into existence. They were all of He-Man in different themes and configurations. One had a barbarian theme from the ancient past (low tech), another had a current military enhanced theme (mid tech), and the other one had a futuristic military, a la Star Wars, enhanced theme (high tech), showing that He-Man can go anywhere, and do anything, at any time, in any theme. These figures were nine and a half inches tall, and the figures in the line from 1982-87 were five and a half inches. But I knew if I showed these figures at the height they ended up being, I would have a very poor chance of selling the concept, so I made them very tall, huge, and very impressive.” – Roger Sweet
As far as Roger Sweet’s barbarian prototype goes, the harness appears to be the only element on the sculpture that is unique to the final He-Man’s design. And as we’ve already learned, it was Mark Taylor, not Roger Sweet, who designed the harness. It appears, moreover, that the entire barbarian prototype costume was designed by Mark Taylor. Roger appears to have been the first sculptor, not the designer (later, finer sculpts were done by Tony Guerrero). Sweet has based his claim to creating He-Man on this prototype, but it’s hard for me to see how Sweet can be given any credit for the visual design of He-Man.
Based on all available evidence, it is my conclusion that Mark Taylor is the principal and primary designer of He-Man, with some ancillary contribution and input from many others at Mattel. In fact, the whole 1982 lineup was almost entirely designed by Mark Taylor, aside from the vehicles, which were designed by Ted Mayer. The toyline was really Mark’s vision, at least for the first year of its existence. Mark was in charge of the creating the figures and the Castle for the 1982 line, in addition to being in charge of the packing on the larger items like Castle Grayskull and Battle Cat.
As far as I can tell, Roger Sweet’s contributions to He-Man (the figure) were primarily as follows: the name itself, and the “power punch” action feature, and the idea to exaggerate the musculature (as Roger often says, he wanted He-Man to make Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a wimp). Roger Sweet’s more significant contributions to the Masters of the Universe toyline seem to have come later, with figures like Tri-Klops, Mekaneck, Sy-Klone, Kobra Khan and others. We have Sweet’s concept drawings for most of those figures, but all the concept artwork for He-Man and other figures released in 1982 comes from Mark Taylor. You can see in the quote by Roger below, he didn’t really like the first wave of the line – indicating he had little say in its design or direction (and indeed Roger has said he was taken off the line as soon as it was approved for Development by Mattel’s president):
“When I first saw the [1982] Masters of the Universe line all together I thought it was somewhat weak because it was low-tech and it was conservative. My concept of MOTU was that it combined everything- low-tech, high-tech, past, present and future. I wanted MOTU to be as expansive as possible and do anything that was appealing. I would love to see a G.I. Joe segment in MOTU. I wouldn’t mind seeing a character like [Child’s Play] Chucky in it.
“In other words, anything could go into it. When I became the manager in charge of creativity for the line in 1983 I worked real hard to change that.” – Roger Sweet
The first year of the Masters of the Universe line
Mark quit Mattel in 1982, after the line had launched. Arguably had he not quit, he would have continued to lead the design of subsequent waves of figures. But because Mark had left, Roger was put in charge. You can kind of tell Mattel was caught off guard, because the 1983 wave of figures relied heavily on repaints and old tooling, and had the fewest new figures of any year of the brand. Mark had designed Ram Man and Man-E-Faces before leaving Mattel, leaving other Mattel designers like Colin Bailey and Roger Sweet to move very quickly to get toys out in time for 1983.
Rudy Obrero, the freelance packaging artist behind the artwork for the earliest MOTU product boxes (Castle Grayskull, Battle Cat, Wind Raider, etc), described his working relationship with Mark Taylor:
I don’t remember the conversations [with Mark Taylor about the MOTU line] but I remember the feeling I got. I left there thinking this guy is really into it. He’s really into this. And that’s why I always thought he created it. It just felt like it was his baby.
Source: Power & Honor FoundationImage Source: Power and Honor Foundation Image source: Tomart’s Action Figure Digest. Note that this version has smaller horns on the helmet. Tony made a number of wax copies of the original and gave it out to people who worked on the He-Man line. This one used to belong to Ted Mayer.
Update: here is the original wax sculpture of Tony Guerrero’s He-Man prototype, shared by Luis Villagomez. Tony made multiple at least five such sculptures by hand, and this is the first. The previous painted hardcopy shown a few images up was apparently made from Tony’s fifth sculpture.
The various helmeted 1981 prototype models by Tony Guerrero have some hallmarks of the final He-Man design. The bracers and belt now look very recognizably He-Man, as does the belt/loin cloth. I’m not sure if this was meant to have a harness put over top it or not, but I would assume that it did. A version of this sculpture appears in early prototype pictures of Ted Mayer’s Battle Ram vehicle, as well. I would speculate that they may have been considering cloth boots for He-Man at this point, which would explain the bare feet.
Close to final Battle Ram concept by Ted Mayer. Note that the He-Man figure in the drawing has boots.
Incidentally, a helmet very similar to the one on the above prototype appears on the door to Castle Grayskull:
The horned helmet stuck with He-Man until very late in his development. It appears in several versions of Mark Taylor’s B-sheet for the character, including an early colorized version dated April 6, 1981, and a later recolored version dated August 3, 1981:
From the Mark Taylor Portfolio, published by Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation. Scan courtesy of Axel Giménez.Colorized version from August 3, 1981. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation
The version immediately above looks very close to the final production figure. The colors have been made brighter, probably in a bid to be more appealing to children. The shield looks close to the final version.
A prototype (below) was sculpted based on the 1981 B-Sheet. Most of the elements from the B-sheet are there, with the notable exception of the horned helmet. This version is also missing the bracer on the left wrist and the boot knife. Perhaps the left bracer is missing because its presence on the B-sheet was obscured by the shield.
Closer to final prototype. Image source: He-man.usImage originally posted by Jordan Hembrough. Note the double-sized Beast Man head!
Mini comic artist Alfredo Alcala probably used both the B-sheet and the above prototype as a reference, because his earliest depictions of He-Man have specific elements from both (notably, the knife in the boot, the two-tone boots, the belt, the occasional lack of a bracer on the left wrist, and the shape of the axe).
Another view of the close to final prototype appears in this photo (courtesy of Ted Mayer) of an early version of the Wind Raider. In this image, the detail on the right forearm bracer is more evident. From this angle, it looks like the harness is a part of the chest sculpt, although it’s difficult to say for sure. It’s also clear that the cross symbol on He-Man’s chest is also more raised than the final toy.
Update: More views of this early prototype have recently surfaced in these promotional images shared by Andy Youssi. These images include He-Man’s prototype axe:
Mark Ellis, who was in charge of marketing for the fledgling MOTU line, explains some of the changes to He-Man’s design:
Preliminary Design did the original figure for the theme test, one of which was the barbarian. After the research came back on the theme, work began on developing the line. Engineering and the art departments took over the development of the characters. Each character was modified a few times, each time being a little less barbarian and finally to what was produced. In developing the original line, you have to remember that we were introducing it without the benefit of a movie, comic character, or TV show. It was on its own. From the Usage Research, kids when they are 5 and 6 want to know if the character is good or bad. So over time, changes were made to make He Man more clearly good and Skeletor and his cronies made to look quite different from the good guys. I do remember changing He Man’s hair to be blond because my boss had blond hair. I had a chart on my office wall to keep track of who was who, and what their special powers were so that everything we did in the commercials and packaging was consistent.
You might have noticed that every version of He-Man we’ve seen so far lacks the iconic power sword. The sword seems to have been an added later as a marketing consideration, according to Ellis:
I will say that at Mattel, we were careful to make sure the sword fit into the characters hand. An idea was proposed when we were doing the television commercial for the line that involved a split sword. That is why He Man’s and Skeletor’s swords fit together. We later dropped that idea in the development of the commercials.
I’d also like to note that the upward-curved cross guards on the sword were meant to be open, as in the Alfredo Alcala artwork (below). But it appears that strengthening connectors were added to the cross guards because the plastic used was so flexible. So the ends of the cross guards were often depicted in media as being fused together, especially in the Filmation cartoon – an interesting accident brought about by engineering and safety considerations.
Quick mock-up of the Power Sword with open cross guards
According to designer Mark Taylor, the upward curved cross guards were actually meant to be handles, as you turned the sword like a key to open Castle Grayskull. In his view of the He-Man mythos, He-Man would have inherited one half of the sword from his ancestors, and the Skeletor would have inherited the other half.
It was recently pointed out to me by Dušan Mitrović that there is an early Filmation drawing that features the half sword concept. The split sword idea was dropped before the show went into production.
This final, hand-painted He-Man prototype (below) brings all the refinements and changes (many driven by market research) into the final iconic look for the most powerful man in the universe:
Notice the unpainted bracers on the forearms – a cost-saving measure. From The Art of He-Man.
The cross sell art (below) is very true to He-Man’s finalized design, and so was likely created sometime after the final prototype:
Packaging
He-Man was first packaged on the sought-after “8-back” card. Reissued versions featured an amazing scene on the back of the card of He-Man, Teela and Man-At-Arms gazing out over the rolling hills of Eternia, vigilant for any signs of Skeletor. My favorite version is the reissued “12-back” card, because it features that artwork.
Art by Errol McCarthy, from The Art of He-Man
The first He-Man 8-back release figures were made in Taiwan. The version below (image via Hakes) is the very first release, which you can tell because it has no warranty information listed on the back, no subtitles for the character names, and no batch number (ie G1, G2, G3, and so forth).
He-Man, Mexico “8-back” packaging, 1983, with warranty:
He-Man, Taiwan “12-back” packaging, 1984:
Production Figure
Early versions of the 1982 made in Taiwan loose figure (stamped 1981) have a sculpted belly button, which disappeared from the figure starting in 1983. I believe the earliest versions have somewhat blue-ish gray accessories, while subsequent versions have more of a flat gray color.
The belt color ranged from an orange-salmon color to more of a mustard yellow. His hair color could be subdued or quite bright. I won’t explore production variants in depth in this particular article.
One of the things that really captivated me about He-Man as a kid, aside from his powerful appearance and striking but simple design, was his face sculpt. It wasn’t a handsome face. He had very strong cheekbones and muscular jaws. Depending on the angle, his expression could go from a grimace to a smile. It’s really a remarkable face, and a testament to the great skill of Tony Guerrero.
He-Man in Action
Some photos and a short video of He-Man in action, contributed by Øyvind Meisfjord:
Reception
He-Man and his early compatriots were an instant success. Even before the debut of the Filmation cartoon, the Masters of the Universe line sold five million figures in its first 10 months:
Trade magazine advertisement, reusing a pose by artist Alfred Alcala in the mini comic, King of Castle Grayskull. Image via www.motucfigures.com
Some additional trade ads featuring He-Man, via MOTUC Figures:
Gift Sets
He-Man, as a toy, was sold in a number of configurations, apart from the single-carded figure. I won’t get into He-Man variants (ie, Battle Armor He-Man, Thunder Punch He-Man, etc) for now. But the standard release He-Man was available in the following gift sets:
He-Man/Battle Cat
He-Man/Wind Raider
He-Man/Jet Sled
He-Man/Skeletor
He-Man/Teela
He-Man/Teela/Ram Man
You can check out these and other gift sets in these articles:
An interesting side note. In early materials He-Man is referred to as “Strongest man in the universe” rather than “Most powerful man in the universe.”
Artwork
He-Man appeared in most of the box art produced for the MOTU line. My favorite depictions of He-Man in box art tend to be the Rudy Obrero pieces. I’m also quite fond of William George’s depictions, but I’ll get into his artwork in another post when I discuss Battle Armor He-Man:
Origin Story
He-Man’s origin story changed dramatically over the first few years of his existence. In the Alcala/Glut mini comics, he was a jungle warrior who had been gifted by the Sorceress/Goddess with some powerful weapons and artifacts. His harness acted as a force field and amplified his strength. He-Man was strong but he couldn’t move mountains. He could be overpowered by enemies like Beast Man or Mer-Man, if he wasn’t careful. He-Man was always He-Man in this continuity – there was no Prince Adam.
In the earliest Golden Books stories, He-Man again lacks an alter ego. He is simply He-Man, tireless protector of Castle Grayskull. That’s even the case in some subsequent stories, like the one below from the Golden Book series:
In the 1982 DC Comics series, the alter ego of Prince Adam was introduced for the first time. This Adam (dressed in a blue vest) could only transform into He-Man by entering the “Cavern of Power”.
By the time the Filmation cartoon debuted in September 1983, Prince Adam was sole keeper of the power sword (in other canon it was often hidden in obscure places or guarded by the Sorceress), and he used it to summon the power of Castle Grayskull and transform into He-Man. He was warrior with immense, almost limitless strength, but he had an aversion to violence except as a last resort.
Animation
In the Filmation cartoon, He-Man’s design was noticeably softened. He lost the rectangular elements on his harness and the detail on his bracers and belt. But in the Filmation-produced commercial, He-Man retained the details of the vintage toy:
He-Man as he appeared in the Filmation cartoon
He-Man from the animated commercial. Image source: The Art of He-Man
Advertising
As the protagonist of the MOTU line, He-Man was of course featured prominently in almost all marketing materials for the line, including catalog images and television commercials:
Impact
He-Man captured the imagination of a generation of children, from 1982 until the demise of the Masters of the Universe line in 1988. He was a bit of a contradiction, though. He tapped into the primordial barbarian fantasy worlds that were so popular during the 70s and early 80s (Conan the Barbarian, The Beastmaster, etc), but he also had a heart and was a good role model for children. And despite the fact that he wore furry shorts and rode a giant tiger, he would also pilot fantasy vehicles and fight opponents armed with laser canons.
Equal parts Conan, Trazan, Luke Skywalker, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant, He-Man was derivative of dozens of disparate but iconic characters. But He-Man also transcended those influences and became something much more. Would it be at all plausible to say that He-Man represents some kind of unconscious primordial image – a Jungian archetype? Maybe that’s taking things a bit too far. But then again, maybe not.
Joseph Campbell is one of my heroes. Joseph Campbell’s concepts about myths and legends and icons are ingrained in all artists’ mentality. If you’re going to tell a story, you need to understand Joseph Campbell.
As an artist it’s always been integral to me to tell the story. Even if I’m doing something that you wouldn’t think has a story to it, like a painting, I have to feel that I’m telling a story.
I think I got this [idea of what a hero is] by looking at Greek literature and Tarzan and Prince Valiant. I would read it with my dad, which was really important, and I wanted to be the next hero. And at the same time I was kind of fascinated with the idea of Cro-Magnons and Vikings. They would just go into battle with almost no armor on. They went into battle, and so did the Greeks and so did all the heroes. A hero doesn’t need a lot of armor. To me the hero is the guy that is willing to go out there and just do it no matter what. His job is to prevail.
Illustration by Earl NoremIllustration by Earl Norem
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