Rio Blast | |
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Masters of the Universe character | |
Created by | Mattel |
Information | |
Aliases | Riolus Blast |
The Masters of the Universe franchise debuted in 1982, the creation of American company Mattel. The MOTU characters have appeared in a wide variety of different forms, including toys, animation, film, comics, books, videogames and spin-offs.
All of these characters were released in the vintage Mattel toyline.
He-Man is "the most powerful man in the universe" and in most media he is the alter-ego of Prince Adam. He is armed with a power harness that enhances his strength, the Sword of Power, a battle axe, and a shield. Early media, such as the minicomics packaged with the original run of action figures, also depicts him carrying a knife. He-Man possesses superhuman strength and is capable of performing incredible feats, such as lifting heavy objects such as boulders and buildings, breaking solid rock with his fists, as well as having the advantage over just about any opponent. He is a formidable warrior, although he usually prefers to avoid conflict. He is a strong upholder of moral justice and is regarded by the people of Eternia as their greatest hero. In the original minicomics He-Man was a wandering barbarian hailing from a jungle tribe, but both the DC comics and the cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe portrayed him as the alter ego of the young Prince Adam, heir-apparent to the throne of Eternia, and most media since have followed suit. Prince Adam is the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena of Eternia, and is viewed by many as fun-loving, lazy and cowardly. This is merely an act to keep people from suspecting that he is also He-Man. The 2002 cartoon revealed that Adam was carefree and reckless in his younger days, before he accepted his destiny. Prince Adam was given the Sword of Power by The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, and when he lifts the sword and says "By the Power of Grayskull... I Have the Power!" he is magically transformed into He-Man, defender of Eternia. Man-At-Arms, Orko, and the Sorceress are the only characters who share in the knowledge of Adam's secret.
Depending on his transformation to He-Man, at times he is also armed with plate armor, a battle axe, a shield, or deadly snake pinchers. In the 1980s series, Prince Adam and He-Man are almost identically drawn, the difference being that Adam has lighter blonde hair and paler skin, while He-Man has bronzed skin and more golden hair. In the 2002 series, which features a teenaged Prince Adam, he is much shorter and slender than his alter-ego, with blonde eyebrows and pants (versus 1980s Adam's tights). He speaks with a higher tone of voice and often comes across as a clueless adolescent. He-Man, however, has black eyebrows, is much taller, and is far more muscular, as his transformation to He-Man later in the series (starting with "Council of Evil") shows. His voice is deeper, he is wise, and his age in indeterminate (mid 20s to mid 30s in appearance).