Warning: The following contains spoilers for the first five episodes of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, now streaming on Netflix.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Kevin Smith's direct sequel to the classic '80s cartoon He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, debuted on Netflix to glowing reviews from critics. However, not everyone seems to be enjoying this new take on He-Man. The show has angered some fans, who have taken to review bombing the first part of the series. Most of the criticism seems to be centered on the lack of He-Man, despite the hero's prevalence in the marketing and Sarah Michelle Gellar's Teela being the show's focus.
Revelation opens with the classic He-Man villain, Skeletor, finally gaining access to Castle Grayskull and the orb that will grant him the power of all magic in the universe. As always, He-Man and his allies arrive to save the day. However, during this confrontation, both He-Man and Skeletor are seemingly killed and the orb destroyed, which wipes out all magic in Eternia. Though He-Man is featured in flashbacks throughout the first five episodes, most of Revelation follows Teela and her quest to restore magic in Eternia while also wrestling with her feelings of grief and betrayal for not knowing that He-Man was also her best friend Prince Adam.
Many fans cried out against the show relegating He-Man to the sidelines to focus on Teela. Some have even accused Netflix and Kevin Smith of intentionally misrepresenting Revelation as a He-Man show when it really wasn't. Most of the marketing surrounding the series focused on the muscular hero -- featured heavily in trailers, promo art and action figures -- which certainly seemed to set the expectation that this would be a He-Man-centric show. Though it seems that this approach was mostly to avoid spoilers, many saw it as a "bait and switch" to avoid fan backlash for killing off the hero to make Teela the new main character.
Other fans have attacked Revelation for being too "woke" by focusing on a woman and heavily featuring people of color. The flames of this outrage were first fanned when the show was announced in 2019, and Smith revealed that Revelation would primarily follow Teela instead of He-Man. Later, Smith announced King Grayskull, a key figure from MOTU mythology, would be Black and a new Black character named Andra would also be introduced, which furthered angered this group of fans. The outrage over the show being too "woke" seemed to quiet down as the marketing focused more on He-Man and Skeletor. However, when the first five episodes went online, many saw this as confirmation that their fears about the show being female-led were true.
Despite the pushback, many others have praised Revelation. Though fondly remembered, the original He-Man and The Masters of the Universe was really nothing more than a way to sell toys, and the cast was predominantly made up of white male characters. Critics and fans of the new show have praised the diverse, mature and character-driven take on the classic property that managed to add depth to even the most hated MOTU character and seemingly set up redemption arcs for several classic villains.
Showrunner Kevin Smith has defended the show, implying that the outcry isn't coming from true MOTU fans and has stated that like the classic show, Revelation mainly focuses on He-Man's relationship with his allies."I see people online go, 'Hey man, they’re getting rid of He-Man!' Like, you really fucking think Mattel Television, who hired me and paid me money, wants to do a fucking ‘Masters of the Universe’ show without He-Man?'" Smith stated in an interview. Despite He-Man's reduced role, most of Revelation still revolves around his relationship with the other characters and the impact his absence has had on them and the entire planet of Eternia. Given Smith's comments and Episode 5's cliffhanger ending, it seems likely that He-Man will be around more in future episodes.
Netflix hasn't announced a release date for Part 2 of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which is currently in production. Though the first five episodes have drawn criticism from some for having a female focus and "killing" He-Man, the hero returns in Episode 5, though he once again finds himself in mortal danger thanks to the also returning Skeletor. It remains to be seen if future episodes will address the criticism or if the angry fans will come around to the show once they see the full picture. Despite the fan backlash, critics have responded positively to the new show as well as some fans, old and new alike.
Executive produced by Kevin Smith, the first five episodes of Masters of the Universe: Revelation are now available on Netflix.