All 6 Classic Masters Of The Universe Characters Killed Off By He-Man's New Show

April 21, 2024, 4:45 p.m.

Movies

All 6 Classic Masters Of The Universe Characters Killed Off By He-Man's New Show

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Summary Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe: Revolution takes bold risks by killing off classic He-Man characters, raising the stakes higher than ever.

The series delves into new revelations, like Skeletor's backstory as Keldor and Teela's quest to restore Preternia, bringing back deceased heroes.

Characters like King Randor, Granamyr, Moss Man, and potentially Beast Man meet their end, challenging the franchise's lore in surprising ways.

Throughout its brief-but-bold 5-episode run, Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe: Revolution kills off several classic He-Man characters. In fact, glimpses into Preternia’s cast of characters affirm that Revolution takes out even more nostalgic MotU personalities than its predecessor, the two-part Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021). Both Revelation and Revolution serve as sequel series to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which ran from 1983 to '85. Although Smith’s Netflix continuation ignores the ‘90s cartoon, The New Adventures of He-Man, both shows are steeped in MotU franchise lore. Of course, that doesn’t make 2024’s Masters of the Universe: Revolution any less controversial.

...the stakes have never felt higher than they do in Smith’s Masters of the Universe outings.

Divisive among long-time fans of the Masters of the Universe franchise, Kevin Smith’s sequels reinvent classic He-Man lore. In Revolution, He-Man — the powerful, muscled form that Prince Adam can take on thanks to his sword — and Skeletor are front and center once more. The series even delves into Skeletor’s backstory, revealing him to be Keldor, the half-brother of King Randor. Corrupted and manipulated by Hordak, Prince Adam’s would-be uncle became Skeletor. The Skeletor/He-Man connection reveal, which has ties to the classic Masters of the Universe canon, isn’t the only shocking element of the series.

In fact, Teela’s quest to bring the overworld afterlife of Preternia back means the show’s heroes come face-to-face with death — and, by Revolution’s finale, those who have passed on. It seems that massive character deaths are par for the course with Smith. In Revelation, crucial Masters of the Universe characters died in order to pave the way for new stories. While it’s certainly a blow to see certain characters fall in battle (or to illness), the stakes have never felt higher than they do in Smith’s Masters of the Universe outings. Even the seemingly all-powerful Hordak isn’t safe from meeting his doom.

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6 Wun-Dar

In Masters of the Universe: Revolution’s ending, Teela manages to successfully restore Preternia. This allows viewers to catch a glimpse of classic Masters of the Universe champions and heroes who have passed on, including Wun-Dar. Dubbed “savage He-Man,” Wun-Dar lived a century before Prince Adam. After saving the Goddess of Eternia, the warrior was tasked with defending the halves of the power sword. Since he so bravely defended ancient Eternia, Wun-Dar was granted a place in Preternia among other heroes of the realm. Although he remains among the deceased in Revolution, it’s good to see him standing tall after Evil-Lyn’s Revelation schemes.

5 King Randor

King Randor, the ever-noble leader of Eternia, is also father to Prince Adam. In the original series, Randor is often frustrated by Adam’s unwillingness to take responsibility or fulfill his royal duties. In Revelation, Randor takes a firm stand: Eternia’s leaders and heroes should be different — and it’s this stance that impacts one of Prince Adam’s crucial decisions in Revolution.

Tragically, King Randor dies early on in Masters of the Universe: Revolution. Instead of dying on the battlefield, King Randor is taken out by a fatal illness. On his deathbed, he tells Adam to pursue Teela, his true love, but doesn’t live long enough to say much more. As Castle Grayskull’s Sorceress, Teela attempts to restore Preternia. Doing so will allow King Randor a proper sendoff. When Teela finally completes her task in the final episode, King Randor appears briefly with the other fallen leaders and champions of Preternia.

To him, humanity is a lost cause — a species that’s so obsessed with power that it’s led to the destruction of Eternia.

4 Granamyr

Strangely, Granamyr is yet another classic He-Man character who dies as a result of a fatal illness. After traveling to Darksmoke, Teela meets Granamyr, lord of dragons. One of the oldest and most powerful beings in Eternia, Granamyr has served as an obstacle for He-Man and his friends. In Revolution, however, all of Evil-Lyn’s cosmic meddling has stuck the dragon with a terminal diagnosis.

Related Why Masters of the Universe Was Right To Kill Off So Many Characters Masters of the Universe: Revelation created controversy with its multiple character deaths. Here's why these story decisions weren't mistakes.

When Teela asks for Granamyr’s help, the dragon doesn’t show interest. To him, humanity is a lost cause — a species that’s so obsessed with power that it’s led to the destruction of Eternia (and Granamyr himself). Eventually, Evil-Lyn convinced Granamyr to help Teela, and it’s the dragon’s gift to Teela — the Staff of Ka — that secures him a place in Preternia at the end of Revolution.

3 Moss Man

Able to shape-shift into plant life and camouflage himself with foliage, Moss Man is one of Masters of the Universe’s more unique characters. At peace with the natural world, Moss Man appears in both Revelation and Revolution. Using his powers, Moss Man encouraged all the nearby plant life to defend Castle Grayskull. After Skeletor used the Havoc Staff to burn the Nature God, Moss Man secured a place in Preternia. At one with nature even in the afterlife, Moss Man makes a brief appearance at the end of Revolution.

The classic Moss Man action figure was fuzzy and smelled of pine.

2 Beast Man (Unconfirmed)

Beast Man, also known as Raqquill Rqazz, was one of the first seven characters Mattel created for its Masters of the Universe line of toys. Able to summon Eternia’s wild creatures, the classic Beast Man is one of Skeletor’s closest followers. In the Revelation and Revolution continuity, Beast Man ends up becoming more feral after Skeletor’s apparent defeat.

Eventually, he joins forces with Evil-Lyn and, despising his old master, spies on Skeletor for her. When Evil-Lyn becomes god-like, she transforms Beast Man into Battle Dog in order to fight He-Man’s trusty Battle Cat. While Beast Man’s death isn’t necessarily confirmed, he is knocked into a chasm during the battle at Castle Grayskull.

1 Hordak

At first, Skeletor doesn’t realize that he really was Keldor once — long before Hordak’s manipulations. In the original series, Hordak is something of a mentor to Skeletor, and while he does groom Skeletor’s thirst for villainy in Smith’s series, Hordak isn’t definitely not someone Skeletor respects. While fighting near Castle Grayskull, Skeletor harnesses great power; Havoc Staff in hand, he kills Hordak. The end of Revolution makes it clear that Horde Prime’s servant, Despara, intends to revive Hordak. For now, however, the villain can be counted among the dead in Masters of the Universe: Revolution.