I’m still holding this one over
in the "I’ll believe it when I see it" column because there is so much
that could possibly happen to kill the project. Being the huge He-fan
that I am, I’m more than a little surprised (albeit pleasantly, if it’s
true) by this news. With the new He-Man figures no longer available from
major market players like Wal-Mart and Target, etc. and Cartoon Network
no longer airing episodes of the new cartoon, I assumed that this was a
dead property (except for the ongoing comic book and collector’s
market).
In 1988-89, I had almost every
figure that was available to the general market (the only one I was
missing was Clamp Champ). I had Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, and
the much sought-after Eternia playset. I had the minor playsets like
Point Dread (technically a Grayskull Add-on that came with the Talon
Fighter), the Slime Pit and the Fright Zone. I had vehicles. I had
books. I had comics. I had a subscription to the magazine. I had the
movie poster.
Unfortunately, the other thing I
had was an old electric blanket with a short in it.
Long story short, my room caught
fire - all my comics turned to carbon and my carefully set-up MOTU world
came out of the ordeal as a block of grey/blue/purple plastic. The only
survivors were a shirtless Clawful and one of the Snake Men with half of
his face melted off. Oddly, it was also at that time that Mattel pulled
the plug on He-Man. It was the end of an era.
I moved on to other pursuits and
used the insurance payment to buy a computer. I was, nonetheless,
excited a few years ago to hear about the He-Man renaissance - and
disappointed a couple of years later that it had not captured the
imaginations of this generation like the original had captured mine (Ice
Armor He-Man? What were they thinking?). I’m hopeful that, if this movie
is made, it will be either a new beginning for the property -
re-introducing the characters I loved to a new generation, or a fitting
end to an enduring legacy.
-
Marty
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You know, if you were ever thrown backwards in time through some accident of science, you’d probably need the help of the smartest people of that past time to help you return.
