Masters of the Universe: Revelation has been dubbed by many as the He-Man franchise’s version of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In many situations, a comparison to something as iconic as a Star Wars movie might be welcome, but in this particular case, it’s not meant to be a compliment. The second installment in Disney’s sequel trilogy was met with a ton of controversy fueled by issues that fans took with how the characters were handled.
Picking up where Star Wars: The Force Awakens left off, the eighth canonical Star Wars film delivered on its predecessor’s Luke Skywalker tease by showing its lead – Daisy Ridley’s Rey – struggling to enlist the aid of the original trilogy’s hero. The new characters introduced in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars adventure, such as Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico and Benicio del Toro’s received praise from critics, but reaction to the movie was a long way from across-the-board positive. Fans had a list of problems with it that are too numerous to name, such as the portrayal of Luke Skywalker, focus on newer characters, and more. What seemed to add to the problems was the reverse-course taken by Disney in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which made obvious efforts to undo things that were established in The Last Jedi, one example of which being Rey’s parentage.
Looking at everything that’s been said, it does seem fair to say that the He-Man franchise is indeed dealing with a similar controversy. Like Disney’s Star Wars sequels, Netflix’s Masters of the Universe show acts as a long-awaited continuation of a beloved story that played out over 30 years ago. So for that reason, there were high expectations from the fanbase, who were excited to see what the show would do with old favorites like He-Man, Skeletor, Orka, Man-At-Arms, and more. That has a lot to do the frustration and disappointment that Masters of the Universe: Revelation’s first episode generated when it killed off He-Man.
He-Man dying early (or at all) in Revelation is the main point of outrage for fans of the original series. How people have responded to his death shares a lot in common with The Last Jedi’s Luke Skywalker controversy. Since he received nothing more than one brief scene in The Force Awakens, there was a belief that he’d step up and be the hero again in The Last Jedi – but he instead avoided that path for most of the movie, only to die at the end.
How Masters of the Universe: Revelation moved on from He-Man in the episodes that followed with characters like Teela and Andra has also been hit with a great deal of criticism that stems from the same anger that drove The Last Jedi’s detractors. Both the new show and The Last Jedi have been accused of being “woke” with their emphasis on female characters. However, whether or not Revelation really is anything like The Last Jedi is a question that can’t be properly answered after just five episodes. After all, Prince Adam was resurrected in episode 5 and could end up sticking around. Plus, comments from Revelation creator Kevin Smith has made remarks that suggest the franchise isn’t abandoning the He-Man-Skeletor rivalry. So all things considered, the show’s The Last Jedi comparisons may turn out to be unearned in the end.
