Although Kevin Smith’s sequel to the beloved ‘80s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has been divisive among fans, I’m confident that they’ll be tuning to watch the rest of the series thanks to its jaw-dropping cliffhanger. These He-Man fans won’t have long to wait to find out what happens next, as Revelation returns to Netflix on November 23 — although we already know the surprising hero who’ll be facing off against Skeletor when the show concludes.
If you watched Masters of the Universe: Revelation — which has managed to be an impressive love letter to the original cartoon while still being willing to make some thoroughly unbelievable story choices — you’ll remember that the first half of its 10-episode series ended with the newly resurrected Skeletor murdering the newly resurrected Prince Adam, and grabbing He-Man’s sword of power for himself. It transformed the villain into a being Mattel’s action figures have dubbed “Skelegod,” so that’s the level of threat the planet of Eternia faces.
MotU toymaker Mattel has also specifically announced which hero will be battling Skelegod, and revealed his action figure. It’s actually a big spoiler, and I don’t know why it was announced, so…
Introducing (well, reintroducing) Savage He-Man:
His origin in Revelation (courtesy of a Mattel press release) is as wild as the rest of the series, and I love it:
“For years it was assumed that Prince Adam could only call upon the Power of Grayskull using the Sword of Power, but Adam himself always wondered what would happen if he called upon the power without the sword. We now know the answer: Savage He-Man.
“With the full Power of Grayskull unleashed inside him, Adam gains a combination of primal rage and all of the power in the universe — the raw fury, the brutal strength, and the unbridled speed of 10 He-Men! But without the Sword of Power to temper these mighty forces, Savage He-Man is all strength with no intellect to control it. The barbarian version of our hero leaves his friends wondering if Adam is truly present within the transformed beast, as he tears through Eternia in an uncontrolled frenzy. Luckily, Adam at his core possesses innate compassion, humility, goodness that rivals the Power of Grayskull itself. Only the Prince of Eternia could wield such Power and be both willing and able to relinquish it once the battle is won.”
Savage He-Man also makes an appearance in this new and very rad promo poster for Revelation Part 2:
I have no idea how Prince Adam will get resurrected a second time, but I’m immensely looking forward to seeing him just chockful of He-ness. The idea that his iconic sword wasn’t just a conduit for the powers of Grayskull but a sort of safety valve is exactly the sort of wonderfully crazy idea Smith and his crew have repeatedly brought to Revelation, and which has made it so entertaining.
Savage He-Man was never in the original cartoon, but he is a literally legendary action figure. He was thought to have been sold in the ‘80s as a Wonder Bread promotion (it was actually a trading card tie-in). The figure differed from the regular He-Man figure by having brown hair and a black belt and boots, but fans still don’t agree what accessories he came with, if any. Obviously, Mattel’s Masterverse figure has nothing in common with the original other than the name, but he does include a very, very sad Orko figure, which more than compensates for the changes.
The Savage He-Man figure won’t be available until next year, which means you’ll have plenty of time to ponder the purchase after you watch him kick Skeletor’s Happy Meal arse up and down Main Street (metaphorically speaking) in Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 2.