(Image Source: Amazon MGM Studios)
Unsurprisingly, fans of the He-Man franchise had passionate opinions regarding the first Masters of the Universe trailer. Some of these were negative takes on the casting of Jared Leto as Skeletor or the comedic tone of the trailer. There is one complaint, however, that seems born of ignorance of the classic lore of the animated series.
Some are complaining about Masters of the Universe’s apparent focus on the planet Earth. The plot centers around Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), Prince of Eternia, who is sent from the mythic world to Earth as a boy. It is here he spends half his life working a desk job, while remembering the world of his birth and his destiny to defend it with the Sword of Power. The trailer also reveals that Earth will, at some point, be invaded by the sorcerer Skeletor and his evil armies.
Some of these complaints relate to the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, which was largely set on Earth due to budget issues. However, the chief nature of these complaints is born of the apparent belief that Earth is unimportant to the He-Man saga. This is wrong, since Earth has always been tied to the franchise’s central setting of Eternia.
Masters of the Universe has almost always incorporated Earth
Before she became Queen of Eternia, Marlena Glenn was a USAF pilot and NASA astronaut. She became lost in space and crash-landed on Eternia. She was found by King Randor, who offered her his hospitality while she recovered from her injuries. However, the two fell in love, and Marlena became Randor’s queen.
(Image Source: Filmation)
This history was most famously recalled in the 1984 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode ‘The Rainbow Warrior.’ It also figured prominently in the 1985 episode ‘Visitors From Earth,’ when two more astronauts came to Eternia. However, Queen Marelena’s status as a lost traveler from Earth was first revealed in a 1982 comic book.
1982’s DC Comics Presents #47 featured a team-up between He-Man and Superman. Perhaps not coincidentally, this was the first story to introduce Prince Adam as He-Man’s alter ego. It also revealed that Adam played the fool to keep his identity secret, much like Superman’s clumsiness as Clark Kent. Indeed, it’s possible that the Masters of the Universe movie sending Adam to Earth is a tribute to Superman’s origin.
(Image Source: DC / Curt Swan)
In any case, Earth also featured prominently in the Masters of the Universe series bible. It depicted Marlena Glenn as part of a crew of astronauts, rather than a lone pioneer. The rest of the crew would be transformed into the villains Beast Man, Evil-Lyn, and Tri-Klops. While this idea did not make it into the cartoon, the new movie does reference it.
Alison Brie is credited as both Evil-Lyn and Professor Evelyn Powers. This was the name of Marlena Glenn’s rival, who became the witch Evil-Lyn. Apparently she adopts this identity in the new movie while on Earth, spying on Prince Adam.
Masters of the Universe arrives in movie theaters on June 5, 2026.
