Film Review : "Masters of the Universe"

As a kid in the 80s, I loved the figures but always thought the cartoon was a little silly. Cool character designs, but less depth than characters from, say, Marvel. So I had enough of an attachment to the concept of what tis could be, but little faith in Hollywood to respect it in 2026. What unfolded on screen was a happy surprise that did require a little compromise on my part, but was entertaining in the same way as the last "Dungeons & Dragons " movie.  It did not take itself too seriously but showed enough respect to the mythos as needed. It can be summed up when Cringer assumed the role of Bastle-Cat without armor on but said, "The next time I do this, I'd better be in armor" to acknowledge this. 

Could they have used a little CGI to help Nicholas Galitzine look more muscular as He-Man instead of having a mid-Gym-Shark build? Yes, he only weighed 200 lbs at six feet tall. Weird to think I have fifty pounds of muscle on He-Man, but here we are. The rest of the cast worked well, and Skeletor looked great and was not too jokey, but there was plenty of humor at all the characters' expense that wa still respectful. The elements of the movie that could be called "woke" felt like they were done in a way that made fun of the whole woke thing rather than capitulating to it. 

The other observation, which was not a deal breaker as they eventually delivered, was we got a little too much Prince Agam and not enough He-man, This falls along the de-powered super-hero trope from the first Thor movie where if the writers dont know how to write a powerful character they think by making him more human that will make him more relateable and I think that misses the point, as it's the god-like power gives us a vision of our higher selves to aspire to. 

Too many generic minions could have been replaced with actual characters from the series/toyline. There was supposed to be a Mer-Man in the background at the end, but he is a major charater who deserved screen time, along with Man-E-Faces, Zodak, Stratos, Two-Bad, or Webstor. The post-credit appearance of a certain character made much of this forgivable, and the fact that Snake Mountain was in the movie was also cool. All this coming from someone wh os is not all that invested in this mythos, but carries over a nostalgic appreciation for it, so super fans that do not hold the microscope too close and are just looking for fun should be rewarded. I went with younger people who had no real clue who He-Man was other than being aware of the emes and they had fun. 

Marvel Comics in 2026

It's been four years since I last posted about the comic books. They seem to be almost forgotten by Marvel themselves as the company shifted the brand's focus to movies, which did make them huge amounts of money, well...Disney perhaps is the man behind the curtain on this. Yet comics keep being made, and I keep reading them, but it is hard for me to imagine buying a physical copy of one at this point, as they are so inconsistent. To keep abreast of what was really going on, you would be blowing a hundred dollars a month on what?  Characters that are not being respected? 

How is this disrespect to the characters happening? Well, their stories are being bastardized. How many people have worn the Spider-Man mask in the past year? Wel that first requires you to answer the next stupidest question, who is Spider-man? If the answer is not Peter Parker, then the legacy of this character is in trouble. When I tell you, Norman Osbourne was wearing the red and blue suit while Parker was in space recently, then you might understand how sharks have been jumped, and poor editorial decisions have been made, and they are affecting most characters. This bleeds over into their delusion of what will work on the big screen or television, and things compound. 

I am going to look at 10 other comics aside from Spider-Man, featuring the 10 charaters that matter the most to me aside from Parker, and see where the problem lies. It makes sense to give my favorite character a look first, so let's see how ole Bruce Banner is doing.

The Hulk

Just got finished reading the lastest issue of the Infernal Hulk. The latest gimmick.  I approve of taking the Hulk in a more horror-oriented direction, and like the Immortal Hulk series, some of those books would have been worth buying. Maybe one day I will grab a trade paperback. For Infernal, I will break it donw like this an Anicent demon , yanked Banner from Hulk and now wears the Hulk as it has possessed him to wage war against god, not a bad concept in theory I am not opposed to it the execution is jumping ahead of it self as it has this Infernal Hulk taking on the Marvel Universes incarnation of God, the One Above All, or so the fight was billed but it was reallyu for of an Arch angel andd the Infernal Hulk crushed it, not Stark is about to put on some fancy armour and right him. It's dark, reminds me a little of Alan Moore Swamp Thing days when it comes to the art. Give it a B+

The Sentry

He just got a new series. It is not clear where this falls on the timeline in terms of  Canon; it looks like  New Avengers' era or an alternate Universe, he did get ripped apart by Knull a while back, and I do not recall reading an reasonable explanation for his reincarnation, but as his power set, I am not asking too many questions. Jenkins wrote this, so it should come together it seems the Void is acting on its own accord at times. I will see where it goes. Give it a C+

    Thor

Well, his book is now called Mortal Thor, so you can guess he came back from the dead with no powers, does not remember that he is Thor, nor does anyone really remember him as Thor, so magic is afoot in this regard. His son is about to take the throne in Asgard. It is a case of writers who should not be writing a character that they do not know what to do with at full power, as this has been done before, so why recycle the story? The art is decent. Give it a D +

Doctor Strange

He is in Asgard, being a wizard with Angela in tow. The writer is obviously into Dungeons & Dragons, it would be nice to see him more grounded in a 9th Gate type story, moving in a more Lovecraftian direction, but here we are, give it a C

She-Hulk 

She is now on Skaar, Planet Hulk, in a more involved soap opera of a storyline; they brough her boyfriend Jack of Hearts to fight her. It looks like after six issues, she might be heading back to earth as they milked it for all it was worth, very Star Wars-like story and action, give it a C

the Punisher

Another reboot finds Marvel repenting for being apologetic for the character after his iconic symbol was almost cancelled by stupid Millennials. He is back in the proper costume being treated the right way with great art. The first issue of the new series is some of their best work in years. Give it an A

Iron Man

Only on the 2nd issue of the new series so too hard for them to screw it up, but they are working with what is tried and true, which is the formula they should stick with. Give it a B

Captain America

With the Avengers disbanding their current roster, it means we have to use Steve Rogers, the heartbeat of what is going on at the center of the Marvel Universe. He does have General Ross (the Red Hulk) in the periphery of his stories, but things have not really come to a head with that. Seems like he has just been on an endless mission the past few years that digs deeper into things, but there is no clear story. Give it a C

Scarlet Witch

Not the best at holding down her own series, she is now the Sorceror Supreme, not the first time. The art is very 90s, and in some ways it works, but we got her fighting Agatha for four issues, and that got old. Not a fan of how she is drawn, not really as hot as she used to be in the 80s and 90s, she can still be curvy and powerful, it kind of kills their whole feminist vibe by not letting this happen ou are saying that those concepts are mutually exclusive- give it a C

Will try to get more regular with writing about the comic books, but the comic books should be more inspiring and not a second thought to the movies.