The He Man Fandom

He Man TV series (1)

He Man first appeared in 1982 when Mattel, a toy company, produced the first 12 action figures of the Masters of the Universe series. They released 5 heroes: He-Man, Teela, Man-at-Arms, Stratos, and Zodac, and 3 villains: Beast Man, Mer-Man, and Skeletor (Cave, 2025). As the action figures became more popular, more and more characters were added. Playsets came out as well, most notably He Man’s fortress, Castle Grayskull. He Man and the Masters of the Universe TV show first came out in 1983. The cartoon lasted 2 seasons of 65 episodes each (Cave, 2025). Although most fans of He Man grew up with it in the 80s, He Man culture has persisted and fans have expressed their love for He Man in many different ways. 

Conventions: 

Poster for MOTUNIVERSE (2)

MOTUNIVERSE is a fan funded convention where fans come together and bring figures, comics, collectibles, voice actors from the show, comic writers, and anything else He Man related. The next one is being held in May of 2026, in Southern California. One guest who will be coming to the next convention will be Alan Oppenheimer, who voice acted Skeletor, Cringer / Battle Cat, Man-At-Arms, Mer-Man, and Roboto from the 1980s cartoon (MOTUNIVERSE, n.d).

Lore Continuation: 

DC Universe vs. The Masters of The Universe #1. (3)

Since the He Man universe has many underdeveloped characters and storylines, fans have added their own ideas into the world by writing their own fanfictions about the characters. Many fans have made their own comics to continue storylines, or even cross over into different universes. This is the comic, “DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe”, A crossover comic where He Man and other heroes travel to Earth to stop Skeletor’s plot, and come to odds with the Justice League, and battle against them  (D.C, n.d).

The Wizard of Stone Mountain Poster (4)

Some fans have made their own fan films, both animated and live action, adding to the MOTU universe. One of the most well known MOTU films is the live action movie, “The Wizard of Stone Mountain. The movie came out in 2011 and premiered at Grayskull Con, and Power Con. The movie received positive feedback from critics and fans, although it was made on a very small budget (Wikipedia, 2025).

He Man Heya Meme:

In 2005, the same year which YouTube was created, a music video of a remix of the song "What's up", by 4 Non Blondes was posted by the account "ProtoOfSnagem". The video used clips from the 1980's He Man cartoon, and edited the video so the character's voices synced with the music. The video has become incredibly viral on the intranet, amassing 224 million views as of 2025. Many parodies and references have been made for this video over its fifteen year lifespan (viewtfuljoe61, 2010).

He Man’s Impact on Me:

My dad collected He Man figures and watched the show as a kid, and saved his collection and passed it onto me. I ended up becoming just as immersed in the toys and the story as he was. The unique designs and goofy names of all the characters captivated me, and mini comics my dad had collected let me dive deeper into the story and background of these action figures. The comics and show connected the story and characters all together and I became a big fan, and ended up collecting figures and comics on my own. 

He Man figure collection (5)

Works Cited

(1) Alec Arcane (2021, September 26). A guide to every HE-man and the masters of the universe movie and TV series. Fandom Factory. https://fandomfactory.com/2021/09/26/a-guide-to-every-he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-movie-and-tv-series

(2) Now the Fans Have the Power. MOTUNIVERSE. (n.d.). https://motuniversecon.com/

(3) DC Universe vs. the masters of the universe #1. DC. (n.d.). https://www.dc.com/comics/dc-universe-vs-the-masters-of-the-universe-2013/dc-universe-vs-the-masters-of-the-universe-1

(4) IMDb.com. (2011, October 31). The Wizard of Stone Mountain. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1873626

(5) R/nostalgia on reddit: He-man.. ohhhh he-man. anyone have any figurines still? (n.d.). https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/196he1u/heman_ohhhh_heman_anyone_have_any_figurines_still/

(6) Cave, B. (2025, October 6). He-man Poised to be Next Retro Name to Join UK Toy “Newstalgia” Trend. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/06/he-man-poised-to-be-next-retro-na

(7) Cave, B. (2025, October 18). A Brief History of He-man and the Masters of the Universe. The Retro Network. https://theretronetwork.com/a-brief-history-of-he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe

(8) Crane, C. C. (2025, October 17). The Power Returns Power Con is Back

https://www.he-man.org/the-power-returns-power-con-is-back

(9) He Mania. (2025, August 26). Why are we he-man and she-ra fans? inside and out. https://he-mania.com/community/main-category-everything-you-see-here/why-are-we-he-man-and-she-ra-fans-inside-and-out

(10) Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, March 18). The Wizard of Stone Mountain. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Stone_Mountain

(11) viewtfuljoe61. (2010, May 16). He-man sings / heyyeyaaeyaaaeyaeyaa. Know Your Meme. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/he-man-sings-heyyeyaaeyaaaeyaeyaa