Primal Origins
A look back at the primitive beginnings of the Saga of Eternia
By Matthew Martin

Many toy lines undergo shifts from their original concept--witness the move of Transformers from the modern-day vehicles of 1984 to a mix of current vehicles, futuristic mechanisms, and mechanical animals in the last years of its original life. Very few, however, have had the dramatic change in backstory that occured with the Masters of the Universe line after the first year of its life in 1982.

Join us, now, as we look back at the primitive beginnings of the Saga of Eternia.

According to several sources, Masters of the Universe began life as a proposed line of Conan the Barbarian toys, to tie in with the 1982 movie. These same sources report that Mattel likely changed its mind due to the R rating of the movie and the general air of 'sex and violence' associated with the character of Conan.

One of Mattel's designers on the proposed line had been doing concept sketches that differed somewhat from the warrior's general image. This barbarian hero was fair-haired instead of dark, and a pair of adversaries had also been conceived.

This was the birth of He-Man, Skeletor, and Beast Man.

In 1982, the first wave of Masters of the Universe toys hit the market. They included He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Skeletor, and Beast Man, as well as Battle Cat, the Battle Ram, and Castle Grayskull. (The four other 1982 figures, as well as the Wind Raider, are given as 'Coming Soon' on a promotional sheet in the middle of my copy of "King of Castle Grayskull".)

The story told by this first action figures differs greatly from those we later heard from Filmation and even from Mattel itself. He-Man, as many know, was portrayed as a jungle tribesman, while Man-at-Arms was a hermit, although his "people were masters of all weapons". Eternia itself is portrayed as a world left devastated by the Great War of ages ago; He-Man's weapons, power suits, and Battle Ram (which in these early stories possessed space-warp abilities) were legacies of pre-War scientists, as is Castle Grayskull itself. That same war also caused the breach in a 'magical wall' separating Skeletor's homeworld from Eternia. In this, we see the likely origin of Infinita.

The general feel of the original version of Masters of the Universe was far more primitive and basic than the latter tales. There was little civilization; indeed, in the first four mini-comics we see no sentient beings aside from the seven main characters, the 'Sorceress' (a green -skinned version of the Teela figure, who fills much the same role as her later counterpart), and the ghostly Spirit of Grayskull. With spectral protections of Castle Grayskull, maps drawn in blood, and a unicorn mount for Teela, there's also a stronger 'swords and sorcery' element. Indeed, this early version of MotU feels very close to the Conan roots from which the series was born.

The direction of the line's stories changed suddenly when DC started doing Masters of the Universe comic books, starting with the famous Superman/MotU crossover in DC Comics Presents #47, and continuing through a special preview and a three-issue mini-series. These stories introduced many of the elements familiar to us--King Randor and Queen Marlena (including Marlena's origin), Prince Adam, the Man-at-Arms and Teela we've come to know, and many of the relationships between those characters. While the characterizations weren't exactly like the ones of the Filmation series and other material, and some details hadn't quite settled yet, this was a version of Eternia much closer to the 'standard' one than the original story.

Why the change? I don't think anyone outside of those working on the line knows for sure. My speculation is that the designers or writers decided that the original setup lacked long-term potential for storytelling. The characters were defined more by their powers and alignment than by any personal issues and interactions, and the basic conflict would have gotten repetitive quickly. They might have felt that to properly address those problems, the whole setting needed to be changed. It's also possible that the line was changed to be more appealing to the young audience.

In any case, that earlier vision of the Masters of the Universe line is a fascinating look at the way Eternia started. All things considered, though, I for one am glad it didn't stay that way.

Questions? Comments? Flames? Suggestions for future editorials? Mail me at mlmartin@he-man.org.