What is Masters of the Universe to you???

[Salamandra]

I grew up in a really rural area as a kid in the '80s, and MOTU was my first exposure to sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Loved it. And I agree that MOTU was definitely the thing that made Christmas most memorable...CG under the tree!

It was also really a bonding experience for my brother and me. We both started collecting MOTU and I got some PoPs...and we'd tear the cushions off the couch on snow days and stage epic wars. The figures all existed in the same universe, and it was a great thing for us to do together. Which is not really something I see with a lot of toys on the market today for boys and girls right now...a lot are very specific for boys and very specific for girls. Not much overlap.

And collecting MOTU...it still keeps us close as adults. My mom still remembers those toys and gets a kick out of seeing the latest acquisitions.

[Rakashian Calamari]

My Masters world is based off of the toys from the 1980's and my imagination driven from the early mini-comics, golden books art, William George Box art and Earl Norem artwork. I watched and loved Filmation growing up but it was always an interpretation and not the rule for my He-Man play. Faker, in my early child mind was just a He-man variant, like he woke up blue-skinned and red-headed one morning. Of course that morphed over time into him being a bad guy for most of my storylines, but it is testament to the versatility of the stories we can create based on how random some of the components of the series can fit together. The royal family was part of the cartoon and not my playtime, Teela is an still is a snake armor clad warrior that aides He-Man and isn't attached to Palace Guard duty. To me Eternia is a post-apocalyptic world of uneasy alliances and nothing as clear cut as what you get in a cartoon or cardback. It has held my attention for going on 31 of my 35 years on the planet and I want to see it continue.

[Romadon]

I recall one day watching tv with my cousin. We were both six years old at the time when the first he-man toy commercial was shown. You know the one with Beastman, He-man, and CASTLE GRAYSKULL!!!! I can't describe to you in words our reaction, we were blown away. At first our eyes light up and our jaws dropped at the sight of castle grayskull!! like *** is that!!, then when beastman pops out!! OMG!! we were full of wonderment! as though we fell into a spell. as soon as the commercial ended we looked at each other and we're like, "we gotta buy that, holy crap what was that!!! we beg our parents to buy it, and they had no idea what we were talking about. Every time that commercial came out we stood there in awe!! The only other commercial ever to come that close was the GI Joe commercial advertising the USS FLAGG.
I can't remember exactly when we got the figures, but i do remember how i ended up with Teela. Our Grandmother was visiting and she loved going to the flee market, we always went to the gheto flee market on the west side of chicago in our neighborhood near the border of cicero and chicago....anyway they had brand new MOTU figures there, and our grandmother offered to buy us one each. My cousin picked Faker, i wanted zodac, but he begged me to get Teela cuz he wanted he-man to have his girl friend. I really wanted zodac, but in the end, i picked teela. I never found zodac. i would however stare at him on the cardbacks of the other figures we had.
The filmation cartoon hooked us in even further. I loved the episodes with Zodac, which made not having him more painful.
The other figure I wanted badly was trap-jaw. Never saw him at the store, however i did find him at a yard sale with only one arm. so when classics came out u can guess my first figure was Zodac! and when i saw trap-jaw photos fom SDCC i couldnt believe it.

I did watch POP but never owned any horde or pop figures. I skipped the whole NA era and 200x cartoon until just recently a few yrs back i watched the whole series.

lol, sorry, one last story...I was with my two older brothers and my mother walking through Jewel-Osco one day. Back then Osco sold motu gi joe etc. anyway i saw castle grayskull and i begged my mother to buy it, but she said no, that i needed shoes instead. I cant remember the exact price but i think it was being sold for 26$, does sound right? anyway i begged her the whole time we were there. meanwhile my brothers were calling me a brat and other names. anyway my mother finally gave in despite my brothers telling her not to. As we walked home, my castle was in a cart with the grocery bags and I walked along side it looking at the box....lol my brothers walked behind me scolding me all the way home. lol I had my head down as though i felt bad and ashamed, but really i was hiding my face so they wouldnt see the excitement. I thought, all the name calling in the world was worth castle grayskul

[Nemisythe]

Very simply put...

When I was a kid I guess I was just coming into the age of action figures where my mom thought I was ready for them. Now at the time Star Wars was out and I played with my friend who literally had almost everything of it but I think that scared my mom cause of the quantity. Now G.I Joe (the 3.45") were starting and my mom bought me a couple but I think she realized they were just as much (in quantity) as Star Wars. At this point I was indecisive as well cause I realized we couldn't afford to get every single thing so I was content with what I got.

It would not be until that one Christmas year we went to our local Macy's when they actually sold toys (Oh man I hope that doesn't date me ) and I saw the display case which featured He-Man. I guess my mom noticed how my face lit up cause that X-mas year, I got the entire line at the time... All the figures, Battle Ram, Wind Raider and Castle Grayskull thanks to her and my older sister. And from that moment on, my mom decided I was ready!

So MOTU to me is what Star Wars and GI Joe is and has been to others!

[King Criss79]

My Masters world is based off of the toys from the 1980's and my imagination driven from the early mini-comics, golden books art, William George Box art and Earl Norem artwork. I watched and loved Filmation growing up but it was always an interpretation and not the rule for my He-Man play. Faker, in my early child mind was just a He-man variant, like he woke up blue-skinned and red-headed one morning. Of course that morphed over time into him being a bad guy for most of my storylines, but it is testament to the versatility of the stories we can create based on how random some of the components of the series can fit together. The royal family was part of the cartoon and not my playtime, Teela is an still is a snake armor clad warrior that aides He-Man and isn't attached to Palace Guard duty. To me Eternia is a post-apocalyptic world of uneasy alliances and nothing as clear cut as what you get in a cartoon or cardback. It has held my attention for going on 31 of my 35 years on the planet and I want to see it continue.

Well said.My sentiments except it seemed like I could never find my Faker.

[mellowfellow]

It was a huge part of my childhood with filmation and the toys, and now with classics i get to share my love of MOTU with my son.

[DVD]

I had almost all of the figures as a child, reading the mini comics and the Golden Books, but as he debuted in '83 and I was born in '80, I was pretty young and don't remember a whole lot from the early years. However, I think that almost benefited me in the end, because now as a 33 year old adult, my idea of Masters as a property encompasses all aspects, be they mini-comic, Filmation, figure bios, or other media. I don't like my Cringer or Battlecat to talk, but I can appreciate that he did in the Filmation cartoon. In essence, I *love* Masters of the Universe. For me it's more special than Star Wars, DC super heroes, and Marvel super heroes put together. There's just something about Masters that grabs me. I don't know what it is, nor do I care to find out, as long as it never goes away.

[Captain Atkin]

The 1987 movie, which for the most part has been ignored by MOTUC.

[bcrduke]

I grew up with it all...

At first it was a story about a strong guy, a guy with armor, a bird monkey, and a pretty lady with snake armor battling a skeleton man with monsters at his command over a castle...

Then it became so much more!


It's all about He-Man AND She-Ra... it's the story of the twins... their family... their people... their history... their ancestors... their worlds...

It's an amazing thing.... and none of it is as good without all the components

[Vikor]

The correct answer to this thread is....

AN EMPTY WALLET!!

[RockinHard]

For me, MOTU is and always will be centered around those 1982-1985 vintage MOTU characters, with the mini-comics and early FILMation He-Man toons playing a part. Everything else: PoP, She-Ra Filmation, NA, 200x, concepts, are all just crust and icing, extra parts.

[Madison Carter]

All of it.

I was there when the first toys and mini-comics came out. Picked up the MOTU previews in DC Comics Presents. Watched the Filmation cartoon, bought the STAR comics and the official MOTU magazine. Saw the movie, owned it on tape later.

[EagleOne]

The correct answer to this thread is....

AN EMPTY WALLET!!

Awesome! LOL!

My MOTU world growing up was the '87 movie and whatever my imagination made up with the toys I had. I actually had most of the toys but never read the mini-comics and only had about 4 episodes of the Filmation cartoon recorded. And having watched all of the Filmation series, I think I had 4 of the worst episodes.
Now it is all inclusive. I want everything in my MOTU world. It has room for He-man, She-ra, Rio Blast, Hydron, Spector, Madame Razz, and Laz-Or (aka Sir Laser Lot).
The more the merrier. Which is why I don't mind the concept characters being made. I have some small lesser known characters I want made so I'll buy your favorite lesser known figure so I can get mine.

[Ben Solstice-Moon]

My MOTU was magick... pure magick...

My first exposure was at a Clover store in Palmer Township, PA at the mall. I saw the original 8 backers sitting. My Nana and my Uncle Donnie used to provide me with an allowance for doing well in school, and it was burning a hole in my pocket that particular week, as I recall. I grabbed He-Man, and, using my allowance, took him home. I consecutively purchased them all over the next few weeks... (the final one being Man-At-Arms because I thought, at that point, he was the most boring), and got Castle Grayskull for my birthday that year.

The following year my father took us out to Philadelphia area to hit Chinatown for chinese food, (something we used to do!), and I had wanted Snake Mountain so damned badly... I can still see him in my minds' eye walking down the aisle in Kiddie City carrying the huge box smiling, (my father reminded one of Mr. Edwards from Little House, just for a visual here...)

These were good times.

So, what is MOTU to me? Remembrance of a simpler and better time in my life when I was surrounded by those who made me feel warm and loved in a child's eyes... and He-Man was capable of anything.

My father, Nana, and Uncle Donnie are all gone now, but the memories, the feelings, and MOTU still remains.

Thanks for allowing me to indulge, but this is the answer to the particular question on the thread.

[Cammor]

Well, our area did not get the cartoon on TV, so for the first 2 or 3 years of He Man's existance, I only had my imagination to guide what the characters were to me. My first figure was Whiplash, found him at an Otaso store for $3.99. I bought him and was hooked.
From there, my birthdays, Christmas gifts were heavily He Man for a year or two. My favs were Snake Mountain from my grandmother (the empty box is still in her basement), Stinkor, Clawful and Prince Adam.
The comics that came with them were okay but I liked my stories better. It took me months to actually find a He Man, so my adventures were other characters trying to find him and his magic sword.
Eventually, I saw the cartoon. Not too impressed, it seemed so silly. I eventually learned to enjoy it for what it was (awkward animation and all).
So, He Man to me is the vintage figures and my memories of playing with them.
The cartoons and later toys are all nice but don't mean the same to me as far as what I enjoy about the world of he man.

[AGE]

Masters of the Universe to me is anything that surrounds itself with the Brand!!! Forgot Brain and Pinky.... MASTERS WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD

[Benedict Judas Hel]

Forget Brain and Pinky.... MASTERS WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD