Masters of the Universe: Revelations- Comes with Everything You See Here

 "We have the power!"

And so it ends, and brilliantly, the perfect deconstruction of Masters of the Universe yet with plenty of heart, plenty of nicely existentialist themes and plenty of character. Kevin Smith has done good.

We get Ram Man. We get Teela rejecting the need to stay tethered to the castle as Sorceress, preferring to share the power with all Eternia. And even He-Man, whose return is a massive and greatle earned event followed by much joyful kicking of arse, notes to Skeletor that "It's not about us" because too much hoarding of agency by "heroes" is not a good thing. It's a pity it doesn't extend to getting rid of Randor because kings are not a good thing either but, you know.

We get Orko back, for a little while, this time being awesome. We get Lyn being a well-rounded and empathetic baddie again, but best of all we get Teela basically saving the universe by putting the case for existentialism instead of nihilism. God is dead, perhaps, but one can see a universe without purpose as bleakness or as freedom. Let's choose freedom, and live the life we want.

And then we get the sequel-hunting end, with thre Motherboard taking Skeletor, and the symbol of Hordak. This is amazing. I hope we get more.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Gutter Rat

 "Nobody around here fears you, Evil Lyn. We all pity you."

This series gets better and better, really making the most of the opportunity to use this setting without a reset button. So we have Adam's parents both overjoyed to see him alive- but they've grown apart in his absence, and Adam feels guit over that, as he does with how his secret hurt Teela. The other thread of the episode is, of course, the edgy subject of Skeletor's domestic abuse of Evil Lyn, and her depressingly typical downplaying of it, until the worm turns after some hard-hitting words from Duncan.

There's some joy in that Andra finds belonging in Eternos, yet we also hear of Lyn's tragic upbringing, and how appalled she is at the cold, impersonal emptiness of the universe and Skeletor's lack of ambition. In the end it's almost easy how she usurps the power of Skeletor, who has always been her inferior. And she does have ambitions... first with a very literal deconscruction of the concept of heaven. Wow.

Then, just when it looks as though there can be no suprrises left to spring, bloody Skeletor turns up wanting to help our friends...

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- Reason and Blood

 "Isn't this usually the bit where you start cackling?"

And so we have another fascinating episode which expands the mythos while also developing characters. Adam has called forth the power without the sword and, well, turned into the Hulk. But the original, pre-cartoon conception of He-Man was as a barbarian, appropriately with the exact same axe that barbarian Adam uses.

There's a poerfully emotive climax as the Hulk is turned back to Bruce Ban... er, Prince Adam by the loving words of a father who admits what a fool he's been to be so disappointed over all these years. And yet there's something else, too. It's impressed on us, again and again, that Adam used the power only to help others, and relinquised it when finished, while Skeletor hoards the power greedily. And both Skeletor and Evil Lyn are interested in the wheres and wherefores of relinquishing the power as we already see rifts growing between Skeletor and his new Sorceress.

Teela, too, has growing magical powers, inherited from her mother, while her father Duncan continues to be the gruff hero even in such adversity as this. For a twenty-odd minute episode there's a lot going on. I continue to be impressed.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- Cleaved in Twain

 "I'd sure like to fist him!"

Yeah, there was only going to be one possibility for this episode's quote.

This is, of course, an outstanding episode, and not only because Kevin Smith totally leaned in to our childish jokes about Fisto there. It seemed almost impossible to top the cliffhanger at the end of last episode before this agonising break, but the episode pretty much managed it.

The extended scenes of the now-godlike Skeletor gloating over his enemies are eletrifying, and a triumph for Mark Hamill. The Sorceress- after a moving flashback showing her having to leave her baby daughter with Duncan- gets a heroic death. But all seems bleak as our heroes escape, with Skeletor now seeming both all-powerful and genuinely terrifying, proceeding to turn the entire population of King Randor's city into an Army of the Dead.

Cruelly, this includes (ahem) Fisto and Clamp-Champ, who get heroic deaths... only for their souls to be unjustly damned by Skeletor. Ouch. That's bleak.

And yet, after an episode of increasing bleakness, we end on a note of hope, and a brilliant conceptual leap- Adam calls upon the Power of Grayskull without the sword. And, er, seems to turn into some kind of Incredible Hulk. Which is sort of appropriate, because in 1982 or so, when I was five, the series of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ended on Children's ITV ad was replaced with the then-new cartoon of The Incredible Hulk.

I'm already addicted. This is awesome.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Most Dangerous Man in Eternia

"I don't know why I thought the lady named Evil-Lyn would be nice..."

Another rushed evening, so blogging this.

I've never read any Joseph Campbell, and probably never will: I tend to take a dim view of overly reductive classification of mythical narratives into quests, hero's journey or any of that. Taken too far it shrinks the world of story to be smaller than it should be. This episode, however, is blatantly part of an overall quest narrative and also features a reconciliation, of sorts, between father and daughter.

Kevin Smith, of course, is far too clever not to be meta about this. Theres rather a lot going on, and not just the witty dialogue ("He-Man had the sense of humour of a teenager who didn't get out much"). There's Man-at-Arms being the typical old ex-hero who refuses to get back in the saddle, nicely subverted by Roboto. There's the splendid Evil-Lyn's gloriously cynical advice to Andra and Teela as she regrets wasting her life with Skeletor and, more broadly, a realigning of allegiances across the board. The conveniently easy definitions of good and evil are gone.

This is good stuff- well-written and acted. I'm enjoying the He-Man vs Skeletor flashbacks at the start of each episode, too.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Power of Grayskull

 "You can't tend a garden without pulling a few weeds..."

Obviously I was never going to blog the original '80s cartoon. Xennial that I am, and as important Masters of the Universe was to my primary school days as well as those of ever other little boy born in 1977 or thereabouts, I prefer to leave such never-ending cartoons with their big red reset buttons out of the blog. There wouldn't be anything of substance to write about, and I'm no druggie.

This, however, is quite another prospect. For some reason, after blogging more that 750 films, I've never got round to  doing any by Kevin Smith, but in my twenties I was a massive fan of Jay and Silent Bob. His involvement makes this a must-blog.

And it doesn't disappoint. We begin by leaning into the nostalgia, with the introductory art even deliberately homaging the art style of those little comic books  you used to get with the toys. It shows us all our favourite characters being themselves, wallowing in nostalgia, although having a bit of metatextual fun with the catchphrases.

And then, magnificently, it punctures everything as surely as Adam punctures Orko's semi-metaphorical bubble.We learn the secrets of Castle Grayskull- and the whole edifice is a massive exercise in misdirection, to distract Skeletor from what lies beneath- the lair of the Elders, and the Orb that is the source of Eternia's magic and, apprarently, creation itself. At last, as reflected in the dialogue, Skeletor's endless failures are over. At last, as Skeletor sardonically remarks, He-Man finally uses his famous sword to seemingly kill his nemesis. The narrative rules are ended, and that big red reset button is destroyed, never to be pressed again.

The first to die is obscure (and smelly!) goodie Moss Man, but He-Man and Skeletor soon die and, in a dramatic- and perhaps too sudden- final scene, it all collapses as the King and Queen learn simulaneusly that their son was He-Man and that he is dead. Randor's, er, rancour, his banishing of Duncan and Teela's own outburst are perhaps a little too much to accept, even with this stellar cast, bt it all feels so fresh, and Masters of the Universe is at last unpredictable. Hooray.

If one must wallow in nistalgia, one must at least do something new and interesting with it, and upset all the right people. So far Kevn smith certainly seems to be doing that.