Masters of the Universe (He-Man + She-Ra) General Support Thread

[Greenhorne Ethan]

What is "MOTU?"

Masters of the Universe is a science-fantasy franchise which began with the titular toyline, released by Mattel in 1982. A sister toyline starring Prince Adam's canon sister Adora, Princess of Power (or "POP"), launched in 1984. The MOTU figures and playsets came with "mini comics" to give some context to the scenarios, which were further explored and/or retconned on TV at Filmation, who were more directly involved in the creation of Princess of Power. Though they have remained iconic over the past 40 years, largely due to the animated series and specials produced by Filmation, many attempts to renew interest in the universe of He-Man and She-Ra have remained niche outside of the grown-up fans and their own kids. (The biggest exception being 2018's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which ended its story over 5 seasons with little merchandising.)

There is a lot of deviation depending on the continuity, but the scenario generally revolves around the conflicts on planets Eternia and Etheria, which are far from Earth, but close to each other. Prince Adam and Princess Adora can both call upon the power of Castle Grayskull to become He-Man or She-Ra, a power they wield alongside allies against the Evil Forces (lead by Skeletor), and/or the Evil Horde (lead by Hordak). To avoid sounding too much like a wiki, here is Wiki Grayskull for any further reading you desire.

Why MultiVersus?​

If it is indeed true that MultiVersus intends to explore IPs beyond the Warner umbrella, I feel Mattel would be pretty high up on their list for potential "third-party" series, as they have collaborated many times for toys or distribution of tie-in media. For example, 2002's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe aired on Toonami, and DC has long been the current publisher for MOTU-related comic books, including crossovers with their main roster of characters.

The MOTU movie currently slated for Netflix was at Warner before its long development hell. The CGI reboot of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was cancelled prematurely, but the aforementioned She-Ra series still got its full intended run, even with little to no promotion on Mattel's end. Although toy sales remain strong enough within the current fanbase, the only screen productions currently in the pipeline are the He-Man movie and Masters of the Universe: Revolution (a successor to the polarizing Revelation series), and a live action She-Ra series at Amazon. Despite these setbacks, however, it remains an iconic franchise with a massive pool of material to pull from (for example, I could see Orko as an assist who casts one of various spells that could help or hurt everyone, like Tingle was in Smash).

Pros & Cons​

PROS:

• Iconic and recognizable franchise originating in the toy industry, which I believe has yet to be covered in the roster.
• Good matchup options between He-Man/She-Ra, their allies, and their common enemies.
• The tone of the setting, mixing sci-fi with a more cosmic take on sword-and-sorcery, would be a great fit for what MultiVersus seems to have planned regarding its scenario and story.
• Multiple incarnations/designs to pull from for skins. (In my opinion, He-Man or Skeletor's default would be based on Revelation, and She-Ra's should be based on her solo reboot. I prefer Filmation's Hordak design though, mix it up and respect that this She-Ra's Hordak is a sympathetic character.)

CONS:

• Although being included in this game would help a lot, most past attempts to bring kids and younger teenagers into the franchise have generally been unsuccessful besides DreamWorks' She-Ra. The franchise is more or less kept going by its adult following of collectors and fans of newer media.
• Additionally, the rights to characters and other elements under MOTU (He-Man) and POP (She-Ra) seem to be managed separately, which is evident by recent Netflix series having nowhere near the same level of universe-sharing that was established in the 80's. If it's too much of an issue, I think they will just go with He-Man stuff. (Though that still includes the Evil Horde, who the Great Rebellion faced in both She-Ra series.)

Heroic Warriors (Supporters)

Greenhorne Ethan​