Masters of the Universe: Revelation (TV Series) The Power of Grayskull (2021) User Reviews

Faithful Opening

[blr-btc · 8/10 · 24 July 2021]

The generation that grew up worshiping these characters will be somewhat pleased by the faithful reproduction.

The animations were similar enough to create nostalgia, the voice overs likewise took us back to that time.

The writing is great and finds the simple/clever balance.

For those of us that knew He-Man as all powerful might not be happy with his demise right in Episode 1 this is way too crafty and unnecessary for a story that's already so fixed in middle age minds. This might have been saved for a mid season high point. A slower build up perhaps.

Just grateful that nobody mucked around with the original concept too much but I've heard this didn't last long from others, lets see.

Onto episode 2!

True fans.

[AtlasWolf · 8/10 · 12 August 2021]

I'm having a difficult time connecting the dots on what people were so upset about. I grew up watching He-Man and was a pretty hardcore fan as a kid. This was such a fantastic trip down memory lane. From what people were saying leading up to me watching this, I was expecting them to do something terrible to He-Man's character. He ended up being an absolute savage!

The action, animation and voice acting is all great! I've only seen this first episode, but so far, it's freaking rad. As for the complaints about Teela being masculine, she looked completely normal, like any depiction of a female warrior. Wonder Woman, Big Barda, Xena, She-Hulk etc.

Oh, and there's a reason it's called Master(s) of The Universe...

This is absolutely great for what it is

[xJrobx · 8/10 · 23 July 2021]

I'm not usually early enough to write a review so before people get busy giving 1s and 10s let me tell you something.

Keep your mind open and expectations low. This franchise has failed before because people wanted more than it could offer.

This series had me rolling my eyes just a hair at first. It's not going to be the kind of reboot you think.

I loved it. I grew up with this cartoon and the toys and I loved what's been done here to set a new standard and break away from the old molds.

Kevin Smith did a great job balancing each aspect of the show but building on the mythos.

I watched it for nostalgia and didn't expect much but for what it is this is a fantastic iteration and I can't believe it got better with each episode.

I really thought I'd end up dissappointed but now I'm angry it feels so short and who knows when we'll get a season 2.

If you enjoyed Castlevania I'd compare it very favorably but less adult oriented. It's family friendly even I'd say.

Please don't give it a 1 when it doesn't immediately go the way you had thought. This is some serious character building for a known commodity in the animated space.

Loved it and would rate at 7.6 but I'll round up since it's damn near impossible to make He-Man and not be corny in 2021 while staying true to what I remember as a fan.

Way better than it has any right to be

[kindofplace · 8/10 · 24 July 2021]

People are complaining that this show isn't "faithful" to a series of half-hour toy commercials from the '80s, but fail to acknowledge that those cartoons were actually insufferably preachy and took plenty of liberties away from both the original toy line and the DC Comics that preceded it. This new cartoon aims to combine these as one canon with: better animation better characterization, actual story, ... and actions have consequences instead of beginning and ending every episode on a status quo (Filmation be like: Skeletor's doing bad things! Heroes fight him and win. The End. Every time.) Action sequences involve honest to goodness violence. Swords aren't just for clanging! Sometimes, good guys die

All the mock outrage online complaining that this show has gone "woke"... it's just "cancel culture" with a different costume.

Swords get used as swords ... and keys (like the original toy line). Adam as a shrimpy kid isn't new (self-professed fans will remember this from the 200x cartoon reboot, and nobody blamed "sjw's" or sounded the alarm that they're after our testosterone), but it's a big step up from a muscle-bound He-Man hiding his secret identity with tights and a lavender blouse. Man-At-Arms and Sorceress totally banged. If you're worried about a side character like Fisto (really?) being black, calm down. It's not the same guy. And so what if it was?

The old Filmation cartoon kept rehashing the same handful of clips of footage, and made it worse by recycling animation cels from their older cartoons. Look at the original Teela figure and tell me how "faithful" Filmation was.

So, if you feel threatened by "representation" in an updated toy commercial cartoon, relax. People out there just want you to join their outrage bandwagon and make sure you don't see shows like this. Think about it for a minute.... Who's peddling an agenda on you? And why don't they want you to see shows like this?

Nostalgia, partially satisfied.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 5 August 2021]

First off, I felt instant nostalgia, a show I literally have not seen since my youth, instantly I was blown away by the animation itself, I had visions of them making it super modern, but it's in keeping with the original show. Personally I think it looks awesome.

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a one for animations, with the exception of Family Guy and American Dad, so my expectations were perhaps lower than some here.

So Skeletor is still after Grayskull, even after all these years, he's still trying so hard.

The question is.....could the writer refrain from doing what's been done to other shows?

Looks apart, the early content was great, and pretty much what you'd expect it to be, action galore, old rivalries reignited, Skeletor up to his old tricks.

I don't actually think it was that bad, I quite liked it to be honest, Teela's rant at the end wasn't a great moment, and I have a feeling I know which way the rest of the series is going to go, but as it stands, this wasn't bad. I won't let one single moment sour the whole thing, 6/10.

Ignore the haters, this is great.

[spocksoddsocks · 10/10 · 15 August 2021]

Strong opener to the series, with a twist that seems to have caused lots of hate from some fans. Ignore them.

Manowar of the Universe

[Nyco_Teen · 7/10 · 24 July 2021]

I am a big Fan of 80s Pop Culture. I have never seen the original series, but my feeling while I watched first episode Was like "Is this the Trailer for a New Manowar Album?"...

Awful writing

[vladimir-vusovic · 2/10 · 23 July 2021]

The show started good, almost whole first episode was perfect. And I was beginning to think that all bad reviews are unfounded.

But then at the very end of the first episode Teela's reaction was totally out of place. I don't know how could anyone think that this writing does anything for character development.

Amazing

[jerome_thieme · 10/10 · 23 July 2021]

I grew up with He-Man and this first episode gave me goosebumps! Just loved it! What a wonderful way to start the show.

Massively disrespectful to the original show and it's fans

[maxglen · 2/10 · 24 July 2021]

I'm usually all for letting someone come into a franchise with a fresh idea and a new perspective but Kevin Smith slaughtered the franchise in less than half an hour. First red flag? Castle Grey Skull, the coolest location in 80s animation. One of the most desired toy sets a kid could ask for. It doesn't exist, it was a front for some generic, shiny building called the hall of wisdom. Then, they kill off Moss Man after he has 30 seconds of screen time. He's literally burnt to a crisp. And the icing on the cake? He-Man and Skeletor are disintegrated in the first episode with no build up by a plot device we've never heard of or seen until it appears approximately 2 minutes before their deaths. I've given 2 stars for this and that is 1 for both the gorgeous animation and immensely talented voice cast. Sorry, but as someone who grew up with both the 80s show and the 2001 CN reboot, this was atrocious and kind of insulting. I'll keep watching out of morbid curiosity but I've heard it gets worse so I don't expect I'll be changing my mind anytime soon.

He-Man is back!!!

[marcusjames_24 · 10/10 · 23 July 2021]

What a first episode, Kevin Smith has brought our childhoods back to life and changed everything we thought we knew!! Worth waiting 35 years for!

Worth the wait

[darrenrobinson-03384 · 8/10 · 24 July 2021]

Writing a show that originally just sold toys, and making it a bit more modern n grown up.

Well done all involved I say. Anyone crying and giving it a 1 obviously missed the point.

Greatest MotU story in a long time.

[josephdobbins-97606 · 10/10 · 26 July 2021]

This episode is fantastic. I was already anticipating this show, the trailer filled me with Nostalgia and gave me goosebumps. The original "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" was the first TV show I can vividly remember watching as a child. It was the first line of toys that I ever collected and in a way was partially responsible for shaping the earliest version of my moral values. So to say I'm passionate for the franchise in general is an understatement. So, after reading a plethora of negative reviews and bigoted statements about "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" I knew that watching it was going to impact me in some way for better or for worse. Luckily (as it seems anyway) a lot of these so called reviews were clearly people with a desire to have something to gripe about. Teela's haircut? A number of the complaints aren't even applicable and are, well, falsehoods which leads me to believe a number of the reviews were from people that didn't even watch this show. Spoilers, yes, He-Man sacrifices himself to save everyone in the first episode, but, if you've ever read stories like "The Death of Superman" or you've watched a show in which the main protagonist perished, rarely do they stay gone for too long. This particular episode is the beginning of the scenario of a world without He-Man but the majority of the episode prior to He-Man's end is a Motu fans dream. A nice combination of the original Filmation series, the 2002 animated series, and various comic book elements. Even if you don't give this series a chance in its entirety, I implore you to check this episode out if you're a true lifelong Motu fan. Fantastic animation by Power House, great modernized character design, and a stellar voice cast.

He-Man fans, avert your eyes!

[unicron-63008 · 1/10 · 24 July 2021]

I feel used. We were LIED to.

All the promotion about this show claimed that this was a continuation of He-Man. It's not. He-Man gets killed right off the bat to make way for another character, Teela.

They also completely alter Teela, physically as well as psychologically. Her reactions are selfish and cruel. I don't see why we're supposed to root for this character.

This is a classic "bait & switch" reboot where they use the existing fanbase to boost the views, then discard the fans AND the main character to make way for their own creation, hoping enough people will stick around.

I wouldn't be so mad if Kevin Smith hadn't plain out LIED. He swore this wouldn't be the "Teela Show", but that's exactly what this is.

I had a good time

[chambers-joel · 8/10 · 28 July 2021]

As a person with zero attachment to the original show and who's prior knowledge of the show is purely from pop culture this first EP was a lot of fun for me.

The Animation was beautiful and it set up the rest of the season. Pretty interested to see where it goes and what twists and turns it's going to take.

T's Tantrum!

[suyash-01747 · 1/10 · 24 July 2021]

So, we have a grieving father and mother who just heard the news of the death of their son and suddenly Teela makes it all about herself.

She is upset because people lied to her and that's of utmost importance RIGHT NOW.

The shocking revelation of He-man isn't important. The death of a prince and friend after the biggest attack on the kingdom is not important! Nope. Not even the banishing of her own father! (Which by the way didn't make much sense either) But that everyone kept her in dark. She is angry and this couldn't wait.

Screw everyone because I have instinctively taken a decision to abandon everything and go away, probably on a journey of some teenager idea of "self discovery"?

If this kind of "tantrum" throwing and fake/shallow feminism is supposed to build a character, then I'm done with this.

P. S. If you want to build up other characters and not just He-man, look at the 2002 series. Almost every episode in the first season focussed on one of the masters and their character development while still managing to keep He-man alive.

And they were really doing well with Teela too by 2nd season when show got cancelled, unfortunately.

Reintroduction to Greyskull

[bishopokullu · 10/10 · 25 July 2021]

The onslaught of negative reviews make this new chapter to the masters of the universe much better there's continuity to our beloved cartoon show..... I hope the following episodes will be as good!

Power To Greyskull!!!

THIS is what always wanted from MOTU!

[naboo-82670 · 10/10 · 29 July 2021]

Lifelong fan here; I know the property backwards and forward and have a healthy respect for it in all its incarnations. This is shaping up to be the very best in my opinion; don't let the toxic, misinformed, erroneously angry "fans" steer you from an awesome show you can share with the family. My daughter, 9, is loving it, and thinks all the new developments are amazing and brave. Kevin Smith has done more for MOTU with his talented team and with Powerhouse Animation than anyone in a very long time. Bring on the second half of the season and bring on plenty more! This show will make you love characters you might have cast aside previously as camp cheesiness. Good journey!

Great Episode

[shonadle · 9/10 · 24 July 2021]

I think this was a great episode. For fans of the early series (and especially the comics), it definitely reminds you of the heart of the original series while improving upon characters (Orko and Cringer are still the comic relief but are no longer totally useless.)

Teela is the biggest change from what we had in the cartoon but this means she is NO LONGER A CARTOON. She's a real character who can think and react for herself. Her reaction to the end is actually not uncommon when you are dealt with a big shock (and tragedy) and confusion and hurt pride rise to the surface.

The original series was based on selling toys and definitely plot driven. It's looking to be that the show is shaping up to be character driven, with Teela at the top of that. Hopefully this quality continues.

Nostalgia and fanservice first; and then character destruction later

[tengslade · 3/10 · 26 July 2021]

The opening is full of nostalgia and fanservice for hard core fans of the series. Honestly it might even a bit overboard on the fanservice and many characters appear without proper introduction for any newcomers to the show.

Then after a big important plot twist, two people, King Randor and Teela act out of character and become very unlikable. King Randor is very hard-hearted, unforgiving, and rash. He doesn't behave like a wise benevolent ruler. Teela reacts uncaring and selfish and without regard for others that are impacted more than her.

It really takes you out of the show.

Nailed it.

[adderband · 10/10 · 28 July 2021]

Perfect combo of MCU Style modern magic while still keeping it true to He-man. The voice acting is top shelf.

Abomination!!!!

[ivan-simeon-simo · 1/10 · 26 July 2021]

This is not He-Man. This is abomination!

Who ever thought that it's good idea to make He-Man sidekick deservers to be fired instantly.

Strong start

[ptebble · 8/10 · 29 July 2021]

Well they said they were going to do it and they totally did. Feels like a natural evolution of the Filmation show, up to the big divergence, which needs to happen so that we can have a plot. Not sure how well it all works for newcomers to MOTU, as it's designed for people bringing prior character knowledge, but they do spend a little time on introductions so probably ok. I'm not super happy with how a couple of characters react right at the very end, but again the story needs to happen so what're you gonna do?

Amazing episode terrible ending

[JQPbannana5578 · 9/10 · 1 August 2021]

The ending was... bad.

But up until that it was amazing with great action and glorious animation, it's what you thought He Man looked like as a kid and that's exactly what you'll feel like again when watching it, I'd suggest giving it a watch and when you get to the ending you can decide wether or not to keep watching because everything after it is a completely different show.