The first part of Masters of the Universe: Revelation was better than it deserved to be. Kevin Smith was able to pull off a miracle by staying true to the foundations of the franchise while expanding it for its now 40-something fans, despite being a sequel to an ‘80s cartoon that never had enough story to make a sequel feasible. The problems of Part 2 of Revelation are disappointing.
The end of Part 1 was one of the best endings in recent memory, as it included a secret resurrection of Prince Adam. It was a shocking development in a series that already had plenty of shocks, followed by Skeletor finally holding He-Man's sword, yelling "I have the power," and transforming into Skele-God. It felt like our heroes were in a bad situation.
Skeletor and the show's use of the power of Grayskull are two problems that plague the second half of Revelation. The first half of the series was very confident in both the ‘80s cartoon and a nostalgic show for grown-up fans, but the second half was chaotically between the two sides. The Skeletor calls people "brutally boobs" even though he murders heroes. He is depicted as a physically and emotionally abusive lover of Evil-Lyn, but Revelation has him making a lot of groaners and puerile jokes. Skeletor can almost see his eyebrows wagging when the villain threatens to cut off Man-at-Arms. Skele-God should be the most menacing character, but he has less gravitas than his ‘80s incarnation.
Skeletor was more powerful than He-Man, despite the fact that they should have received the same power-up when they yelled "I have the power!" You could wave it away because Skeletor was already a powerful wizard and Adam was a scrawny teen, but Skele-God could turn the entire city into zombies. When He-Man is strong, it's wild when Evil-Lyn tells him he can crush King Randor from afar. Preternia, the Masters of the Universe equivalent of heaven, is destroyed when Evil-Lyn seizes the sword and power of Grayskull. In the last battles between He-Man and Skeletor and God-Lyn and Teela, it still devolves into sword-fighting and magic blasts. Revelation went so far out of its way to up the ante that it would have been fine.
There are other negatives. Andra, a new character in the first half of season one, is almost completely out of the picture. Smith can't help but indulge in bouts of immaturity, like when Fisto exclaimed, "I'd sure like to fist him!" upon seeing Skele-God or the sex scene between Skeletor and Evil-Lyn. The idea that Adam can call down the power of Grayskull without the sword is cool, and it is awesome to watch him beat the living hell out of Skele-God. The worst part is that all of Evil-Lyn's character development from the first half of the series gets derailed to focus on her abusive relationship with Skeletor, which is a natural extrapolation from their relationship in the ‘80s cartoon but isn't handled with the deftness that such
There is still a lot to like about Part 2. The show depicts Prince Adam as a hero in his own right, and why the Sorceress chose him as her champion. His emotional reunion with his parents is touching. If vague, it's cool that Teela is changing the rules of Castle Grayskull. The show has a chance to evoke the classic cartoon's wonderful background art since it spends more time in Eternia proper. Even if God-Lyn looks like a Final Fantasy villain, Evil-Lyn's character designs are great. I'm still bewildered that my least favorite He-Man character is now favorite because Orko is a total badass.
If you are an old-school He-Man fan, Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 2 is still worth watching, as it continues to fulfill the storylines the cartoon implied but never followed up on. It is a pity that the show misses the high bar it set for itself. The series ends with a tease for a second season, which may or may not happen, but I hope it does. The show proved that it can be great, and it needs to hold onto that power next time.
There are various musings.
The first half of the season was solely devoted to the techno-cult so that the second half could end with a tease that the Horde is coming in season two. I wonder if Skeletor will become the Skeletor of The New Adventures of He-Man, the 1990 sequel cartoon which sent He-Man and his foe into space, if Skeletor gets bitten by the techno-viruses. I think that would be a rule.
The power of Grayskull is pure rage. It seems off-brand.
I understand that seeing the void of the universe would turn someone into a nihilist, but the decision to erase reality still feels out of left field.
I didn't expect Danny to voice Ram-Man.
I don't know how much I didn't need to know about Skeletor.
Hello, Mom. Do you think I should be dropped off at the ground assault? It's really bad.
You can stop someone from getting sucked back into hell by grabbing their hand. This makes absolutely no sense, even though Masters of the Universe standards are crazy, and I will accept it because I just want more Orko.
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