TV

Conservative Twats Are Very Annoyed That The New ‘He-Man’ Series Features Female Heroes

A new instalment in the never-ending culture war is here.

by Junkee  28 July 2021
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION (L to R) MARK HAMILL as SKELETOR and CHRIS WOOD as HE-MAN in episode 101 of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVELATION Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021

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The new He-Man series, Revelation, has become an unlikely lightning point in our new, ceaseless culture war, with right-wingers and internet pissbabies alike decrying the show for being too “woke.”

— Content Warning: Spoilers for He-Man: Revelation follow — you have been warned. — 

Billed as a direct sequel to the original ’80s series, Revelation rewrites the playbook in its first episode. Think “all hope is lost” vibes: He-Man becomes mortally wounded in a showdown with Skeletor that takes both iconic characters out of the picture, with the series shifting focus onto Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who must reluctantly take on the mantle of avenger and team up with the villainous Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey.)

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Along the way, the two unlikely heroes meet a number of characters from the show’s past, while facing a threat in the form of Henry Rollins’ Tri-Klops, the cultish leader of a group of techno wizards.

So yeah, even though He-Man might be mostly absent, appearing predominantly in flashback, all the mainstays of the series are there — larger-than-life villains, deep lore-building, and dangerously raised stakes.

It’s original storytelling, a way of staying reverent to the show’s mythology while shaking things up. Indeed, in its raucous re-writing of the past, it feels closest to Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, another franchise-continuer that jettisoned some prior rules in favour of telling a new kind of story.

And just as The Last Jedi became a flashpoint for controversy, so too has Revelation been subject to the worst kind of online discourse. The show has been review-bombed over on Rotten Tomatoes, with a sub-section of fans of the original series taking umbrage with the shift in focus and taking to Twitter to announce their displeasure.

It’s worth pointing out a couple of things at this stage. Firstly, not all the fans have taken issue with the new series, and some are calling it an intelligent and even loving continuation of a story that enraptured them as children.

Secondly, this so-called “new” direction for He-Man is far from as fresh as it is being depicted on some corners of the internet. The show has long been adored by the LGBTQI community for its high camp factor, and for its rotating cast of female heroes. He-Man has always been “woke”, despite its genre trappings — these critics of Revelation are simply displaying their lack of knowledge of the original series.

Finally, Kevin Smith, the showrunner of Revelation, has said that his critics are jumping the gun. Only half of the series has dropped on Netflix — the next five episodes will be released at some point in the future. Assuming that He-Man stays absent for the rest of the show is a mistake.

“I see people online go, ‘Hey man, they’re getting rid of He-Man!’” Smith said during an interview with Variety. “Like, you really fucking think Mattel Television, who hired me and paid me money, wants to do a fucking Masters of the Universe show without He-Man? Grow the fuck up, man. Like, that blew my mind, bunch of people being like, ‘Oh, I smell it. This is a bait and switch.'”

So there you have it — another ridiculous debate about nothing in particular.