Transformers vs He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Who’s Better?
The child in me is happy that Transformers has officially surpassed He-Man in popularity. I loved both, but my preference was Transformers. And, not only did it surpass it, but it did so in a manner that was respectful of the show’s history. What more can I ask for?- VanZee, DailySkew poster
I’m not going to agree or disagree with you, VanZee. But your comment did inspire me to run a comparison between the two properties (Masters of the Universe vs Transformers):
Toy Line:
Transformers were originally designed and produced by Takara and Hasbro, initially reusing previously-released toys from the Japanese toylines Diaclone and Microman. Jim Shooter and Denny O’Neil helped with storylines in the U.S. The original toyline was one of the highest quality action figures of all-time. Perhaps notable is that the U.S. let this Japanese “weird” toyline invade without a fight. (It should be noted that the first Japanese U.S. robot invasion was Shogun Warriors in the 1970’s.)
Masters of the Universe was originally supposed to be a Conan the Barbarian line, but according to currently outcast creator Roger Sweet, things changed. The Masters of the Universe toyline itself made Mattel billions of dollars, and is still regarded as the highest peak for any boy’s toyline to this day.
Edge: TRANSFORMERS. Transformer figures were more original, more sturdy, and awe-inspiring. As a child, I used my imagination more with Masters of the Universe figures, and enjoyed them much more and were more fun for me, but objectively speaking, the Transformers were a better toy for most other kids. That’s why I give the edge to the robots, but in my book, human figures lead to more storylines and emotions as I created storylines for them as a kid.
Later Toy-Lines:
Transformers had so many later toy-lines it is a JOKE, although the current stuff you see in Target or Toys R Us looks alright.
After He-Man’s peak, they were failed attempts to reboot the franchise. Only the last revival was any good, but it was aimed to the collector’s market only. The current toys are pretty much high quality statues, and you won’t see them at major distributors.
EDGE: Because Transformers can still be found ANYWHERE, it goes to TRANSFORMERS.
Original Cartoon Run:
Transformers was strong from 1984 to 1986, peaking at the Death of Optimus movie (although it was a box-office bomb). There can be no doubt that Transformers was just as talked about in school as the other major cartoons of that era. Some say the Transformers “jumped the shark” after the movie, as storylines got very hard to follow for the average kid, separating the die hard obsessed fans from the casual fans.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the first cartoon to be massed-produced straight to syndication, therefore had hundreds of episodes made during its 2-year run, which did not falter from its peak. Mattel made the mistake of canceling He-Man and going with She-Ra for Filmation’s third season.
In comparing cartoons, one must consider that He-Man was a magnet for censorship. I find this extremely humorous. When viewing the episodes, the messages from the writers are 100% clear- that violence and evil is WRONG. He-Man never hit a living thing with his sword. Unfortunately, the censorship kept He-Man as a kiddie cartoon, like the Carebears or Smurfs. The Transformers- being machines- did not have to worry about that as much. G.I. Joe had to worry about it, too, as no one ever got shot.
Ultimately, watching the episodes today, the Filmation team hired some of the top sci-fi writers, and as long as one keeps in mind that the show was geared towards kids, and wanted to give positive moral messages, (these are handcuffs) the edge is HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Cartoon Spin-Offs:
The sheer amount of crap that was produced after Transformers Generation 1 is not worth the space to write about.
Attempts to relaunch He-Man were commercial failures, but at least were watchable. The caveat remains the same- whereas Transformers had the luxury of tackling grim storylines, Mattel refused He-Man to engage in any seriously threatening or dark storylines.
Edge: HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
Comics:
Transformers by Marvel was- at one time- the most anticipated title on the comic book stands (for me, and my classmates). They had a great gimmick- they promoted it as “4-Issue Limited Series”, with Issue 4 resulting in the death of all of the Autobots. Issue 5, with Shockwave featured on the cover, was THE MOST TALKED ABOUT COMIC AT THAT TIME in my age group. The writing was much more mature and top-notch compared to the cartoon, which is probably why I never formed an attachment to the cartoon. Most current fans just collected the toys and watched the cartoon, so I am different, as I was obsessed with the comics more than the actual toys and cartoon. I won’t discuss the U.K. or spin-offs comics, simply because it’s too detailed. Suffice to say, the Marvel series did take some liberties pretty early which frustrated me as a reader- Megatron was ousted by Shockwave right away, and never made the triumphant return that I wanted. Megatron was phased out. And so was Optimus. Optimus was in his prime in the limited series, and that was it most of the time in Marvel. (I had stopped collecting when the toyline got ridiculous, and the focus was on Cybertron and the future). So, although the series was enjoyable, and I looked forward to every new issue, I was anticipating for Megatron and Optimus to be their respective leaders, and it just never happened…something that should have been there all the time. Finally, to me, the original Marvel series is the cannon for Transformers, not the cartoons.
He-Man’s best comic run actually occurred as mini-comics which were packed with each action figure. Some of the best comic book writers wrote them, and they were not censored, or originally influenced by the cartoons (at first). These old comics are the true original history as conceived by the action figure creators. The storylines are dark and mature. There is no Prince Adam, Orko, or Cringer- all Filmation cartoon creations. Most of these are online to read now. The Marvel Series has the Star label, once again assuring that the writing and fanbase were for ALF, and Strawberry Shortcake readers. DC’s original Masters of the Universe 3-issue limited series predated the cartoon, and mixes Conan with magic- and Skeletor acknowledges the pre-Crisis multi-verse!! Also, this is the first appearance of He-Man having a dual identity, but as Adam he was a womanizer, not a…anti-love guy who wore a pink vest and purple tights.
Edge: TRANSFORMERS. With G.I.Joe, Marvel’s original Transformers comic book was HOT, exceeded expectations, and was able to be much more mature. After all, it was 1980’s comic books, were storylines were supposed to have angst and gritty.
Modern-Day Comic Books:
Transformers was rebooted so many times, it’s hard to follow. All I do know is that the artwork and computer generated ink is HIGH QUALITY stuff.
Master of the Universe’s reboot was based on the new cartoon, and the writers and artists were huge fans. The storylines were able to be more dark and mature, even sensationalizing the villains.
EDGE: DRAW. Both comics were published by small-time independent presses, not Marvel or DC, which shows you that DC and Marvel didn’t think it would be worth buying the licenses again in this current market. Both comic runs are for the die-hard fans, now in their 30’s.
Cartoon Movie:
The Transformers’ cartoon movie left kid’s with their mouths open. I know I cried when Optimus Prime died. Anyone who says they didn’t is a liar. They changed so much in this movie (Megatron becomes Galvatron, Unicron, new Autobot leadership, Starscream getting what was coming to him, etc.) that the series truly peaked for me, and should have ended there. The marketing campaign or distribution method must have SUCKED for this movie to have bombed.
He-Man’s cartoon movie was interesting and enjoyable, but was no where near the quality or darkness of the Transformers’ movie.
EDGE: TRANSFORMERS
Live-Action Movie:
Transformers
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% critics; 80% Users
$319,014,499 gross
DVD rentals so far: $45,560,000
Masters of the Universe
Rotten Tomatoes: 22% Critics; 35% Users
$17,336,370 gross, plus a combined $1.5 million in Germany and Australia
This movie came out AFTER the cartoon was cancelled, and He-Man was no longer the top selling toy. I rewatched it again recently, and liked Frank Langella’s Skeletor performance, and it was not as bad as when I saw it as a kid.
EDGE: TRANSFORMERS
Some final conclusions: Count up the Edges.
He-Man has always been handcuffed by Mattel and Filmation, and even when other companies bought rights, it was always been targeted towards kids, no different than Rainbow Brite, Barbie, or Cabbage Patch Kids. Until the day comes where He-Man can be put back to its Conan-like roots, like a 300 movie-treatment, it can never have the “relevance” or respect of people like VanZee, who likes robots.
Transformers has always benefited from being robots, which are timeless and universal. He-Man just seems dated in 2008.
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I respect He-Man. I watched the cartoon every day growing up. I hope they come out with a great movie one day. I was rooting for the recent cartoon to be a hit.
If you want to see Optimus FINALLY get his due, see the new movie.
***
When I was growing up, He-Man was way more popular than Transformers. It wasn’t even close. I was one of the few at P.S. 86 who enjoyed the robots — everyone else at school had He-Man or GI Joe figures. I was the only one in my class with a Brawn or Bumblebee car in my bookbag.
It wasn’t until years later, after I graduated High School, that I met people who loved the toys as much as I did.
***
As a child, I loved the personalities of the characters — noble Optimus, Megatron the tyrant, Starscream the suck-up/backstabber, Soundwave the loyalist. I loved the conflicts within the teams.
I loved imagining new storylines with my Transformers … I even drew comics with backstories and history.
***
Anyway, I was unaware that Transformers were always more popular, even when He-Man sold more toys in the 1980’s. Thanks for the perspective.
Hey Van I didn’t know either until you inspired me to do the research and compare and contrast. I know you like both, I was just trying to provoke you, and poke fun around the research. I loved Optimus as a kid, too.
Since I’m probably a little younger than you, my experiences in P.S. 251 were a little different: He-Man’s peak was unbelievable strong from Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd grade, but I began to see cracks in his armor thanks to G.I. Joe and Transformers in 2nd grade. By 4th grade, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Voltron, and even Thundercats were major players.
I just WISH He-Man was given the adult treatment (no comedy/no censorship) for once.
It is a shame that even with the Masters of the Universe’s reboots, spin offs or sequels, that the franchise was never able to even come close to being what it was in the 1980’s.
One of the reasons why the latest reboot failed, is that they were torn between target audience- they wanted kids to watch it an Cartoon Network, but also cater to the 30 year old collectors. The actual scripts were still too kiddy, making it 100% UNCOOL for an adult to watch it. The good news is that they did make some money, and still cared about the characters with the quality figures that are still made, but the bulk of the fanbase is Internet only.
Mattel is a poorly run LME company, so I don’t have faith in them for the rumored 2009 movie. With the popularity of the Lord of the Rings/Braveheart/Harry Potter-type movies, it is POSSIBLE to pull off an epic He-Man movie, though.
But I doubt it could ever come close to the $350M Transformers made.
I also doubt a live action G.I. Joe movie could come close either. I smell bomb if that ever comes out, unless they focus on Snake Eyes, who is still marketable today.
TMNT drew $54,132,596 in theaters, and around $10M in rentals…not even close to Transformers.
When everything was said and done, robots truly are timeless and not dated.
The general public will probably ALWAYS consider He-Man an 80’s fad with a BAD Dolph Lundgren movie, whereas in one form of another, Transformers has always been in toy stores, cartoons, or comics. It doesn’t help that He-Man’s NAME sounds so corny.
So yes, Transformers finally won- one shall stand.
Glad I inspired you!
By the way, I had these two Shogun Warriors:
http://wildtoys.com/shogun/ShogJumbo/daimos.asp
http://wildtoys.com/shogun/ShogJumbo/godzilla.asp
Don’t ask me who purchased those toys. I barely knew it was 1979 back then!
More madness:
http://www.plaidstallions.com/mattel79/godzilla.html
I have a co-worker named Chuck who had a lot of those in the 1970’s. I have some Shogun Warriors comics, and for the life of me never understood what the deal was for Toho to give them Godzilla…