Lessons from Masters of the Universe (2026)

Cold Open And Welcome

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Is He-Man one of the healthiest male heroes we've had in years? And why does the internet completely disagree about what this movie is actually saying? We discussed that and more on this episode of the Phantom Portals podcast with the Masters of the Universe. Welcome to the Masters of the Universe. Welcome to the Masters of the Universe. Welcome to the Fandom Porters Podcast. Well, yes, you're Adam Heman, and I'll be Teela. Welcome to the Vandom Porters Podcast, a podcast that proves that your favorite film has something to teach you. If you want more from what you watch, then you are in the right place. I'm Aaron, a teacher and a film fan. As always, I'm joined by Brash. So today we're going to be looking at the Masters of the Universe, the 2026 version. We know there's an 80s version as well, and we're probably going to be discussing Adam's search for purpose and the representation of healthy masculinity. We're going to talk about Skeletor and the illusion of power that he has. We're also going to talk about a little bit about meta modernism, and we're also going to have a caveat on this conversation to say we know that this is a movie called Masters of the Universe about cool action figures selling characters from the 80s. So yes, we're talking about these topics and concepts, but please don't misunderstand the fact that we do know the purpose of this movie is to actually just be enjoyed as a pop conflict. So

Why Fans Cannot Agree

SPEAKER_00 1:28

there is those two debates going on the internet right now. Have you seen any of that brash?

SPEAKER_01 1:31

All over the place.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

And there's there's diehard fans who really like like the movie. And then there's diehard fans who also don't like the movie. And then there's people who only know Masters of the Universe through like the re more recent animated adaptations on Netflix and that, that also didn't like the movie because it wasn't anything like the new adaptations, which the new adaptations I think are a bit more serious and a bit more they seem a bit more political to me, and they seem a little bit more geared towards correcting the wrongs of the 80s cartoon, you could say, in terms of how masculine heroes are represented.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

I know, for example, that Tila took a primary role in the Kevin Smith cartoon that was on Netflix, and she was kind of mean all the way through. And Adam kind of took a backseat in that one. I know that wasn't very well received, but yeah, this one's been very polarizing. I've seen across the internet on TikTok and also Instagram. There's a lot of people that really do enjoy the movie, and a lot of people who think that it is a just a great pulpy popcorn flick, which is great for the American summer and now whatever season we're in here in Australia. Yeah, hot or dry is what we get. People that are reading into this movie and talking about the the how the masculine characters are represented. We're doing so in a in a fun sort of way, in a way that represents these characters and how they differ from the A's versions of themselves. But yeah, please just know we understand that the purpose of this movie was indeed to entertain.

From Earth To Eternia Synopsis

SPEAKER_00 2:56

So without any further ado, Brash, do you want to give us your brief synopsis of Masters of the Universe? Adam, tell us about Adam. Actually, not that brief, but I'll see how quicker I can go through. Well, to be fair, it is a two hours and 20 minute long movie.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

It is a fairly long movie. Does it need to be? I didn't expect it to be that long, but I'm kind of glad it was in a way. Um, I think if it wasn't, then I can be far too rushed.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Yeah, I think so too. That being said, I feel like some of the Earth portion of the movie, the first 40 or so minutes.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Remember? Remember the movies? That's that's the like the first thing I said when like he gets sent to Earth, I'm like, oh, I get sent to Earth.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Yeah, because we know that in the 80s version, most of the movie took place on Earth due to budget constraints, and not many, very, very many people enjoyed that. So, but yeah, after about 40 minutes or so of Adam finding his feet, he eventually made his way back to Eternia, and then the action began. So without any further ado, brash.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Long ago, during the final days of a brutal war on the planet Eternia, the infant Prince Adam is sent through a magical portal to Earth to protect him from the ruthless skeletor, who has seized control of much of the kingdom in his relentless hunt for the sword of power. Adam grows up living an ordinary life while the legendary sword remains hidden from him as he searches for it. Fifteen years later, Destiny catches up with him when the sword of power reveals itself to him in the grip of what can only be described as a budget conan.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Guided by the uh sort of magic sword, Tila arrives to help Adam return to Eternia on her ship, only to discover that his once beautiful homeland has fallen into darkness. Skeletor's army dominates the land, the royal family has been torn apart, and hope has nearly vanished. Adam, after reuniting with Tila, and the fearless captain of the royal guard, Duncan, who is now a drunken slob, after the sword is taken by Skelator and it doesn't work for him. He tries to return it to Castle Grey Skull, only to find out that the power was within himself all along, and Skeletor not being able to come to grips with that, fights Adam, loses, and becomes a skull.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Yeah, and um there are a lot of tropes through the movie that we have seen very, very regularly through other action movies, especially the idea of a once royal prince or person of royalty of noble birth going into Earth in order to relearn what they once should have known. The the primary reason for this is usually so the audience can have a character that they relate to and they're learning things as the main character does. A primary example would this be the first Thor movie that came out. In this case, Adam spends the first 15 years looking for this sword. And my brother, shout out Derek, how are you going? He mentioned the point, like, how does it take him 15 years to find a sword that just wound up at a comic book shop? And that's what I'm talking about when I'm thinking, like, it's a little bit thinly veiled, this sort of plot device that shows that we definitely needed Adam to grow up external, away from Eternia, in this part of the story, in order for him to then go back and see the influence that Skeletor had on it and for him to be shocked and appalled by that, and for also for Teela to grow up and for the characters to change in the way that they did it, needed that time period to go by. So that's the way that they did it. But this movie is directed by Travis Knight. This is his uh one of his second or third runs at directing. He actually also did my favorite Transformers movie, which is Bumblebee. He directed that. It also stars Nicholas Galadzine, who's in The Idea of You. Great movie that stars, also stars Ann Hathaway, and we've got Camilla Mendez as tealer in Riverdale as well. And one person who surprised me, and also surprised lots of fans, is Skeletor, played by Jared Leto. He didn't suck in this movie, brash.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

No, I don't think he did. Like a lot of people say he thinks he did. One person I like sort of had a glance at their sort of review

Casting Choices And Classic Tropes

SPEAKER_01 6:41

of the movie, and they really didn't like Jared Leto. Yes, was he not the greatest in as the Joker? Probably. Probably like the probably the worst.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Probably the worst that you could be as the Joker.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

But like, even so, like even before that, he was in the movie Um Lord of War with Nicolas Cage as Nicolash's brother. Like, I love that movie, and I thought he was really good in that movie.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Good performance in that one. He's obviously also won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, so the man can't act. I think he's just cursed with choosing poor franchises and roles for the minute, or he hasn't found something that fits into his niche. But playing the quippy, sarcastic, but also eternally evil skeletor kind of fit his vibe a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

So yes, you can not like an actor, but realistically, it's the director and like showrunners and producers as well scripts and all that that they have to follow. Like, can you can you blame Jared Leto for being a not a very good Joker when like the makeup design and the art design and the structure of him and everything like that was created for Jared Leto to portray.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Yeah. So pretty much out of his hands, so yeah. But yeah, I think the parts that he did in this with Skeletor, his comedic timing was really good, which I didn't think he'd he had that in him, really. Crescendo. Yeah, pulls his fist up. It's very good. And also his chemistry with Alison Bree? Yeah, Alison Bree, that was really good as well, being the the the counterpart to his evil doing. Their scenes together were really, really good.

What Real Strength Looks Like

SPEAKER_00 8:10

But if we are to analyze this movie for a most valuable takeaway, I would say that this movie's most valuable takeaway is that real strength isn't proving that you're powerful, it's knowing when and why to use your power. And I think this fits for this movie because we follow Adam, who begins the story, believing that strength is something that he has to possess in order to rule, because that's how he has to impress his father. Duncan also goes through a transition with how he looks towards strength and how he looks towards his own masculinity. And also Teela does a little bit of changing through this movie as well, but Skeletor represents the flip of that coin. And I know a lot of people say that he's just a villain, and that's how they're representing him, and he even says that line, I'm he I he's just a villain and he likes to be a villain. And that's very, very well and good, but you examine his choices, you examine why he's choosing to be a villain, and you get some little messages there in terms of his relationship to power, because I reckon that his relationship to power isn't as well constructed or isn't as secure as some of the other characters in this movie, even though he probably has the most physical power and biggest representation of power, being that he controls all of it turning at the point of the movie that we introduce to him. But Adam eventually learns through this that character, not capability, is what makes someone worthy of that power. There's that scene with the what's her name, Brash? The sorceress. There's that scene with the sorceress where she actually reveals to him that it was in him all along, and the reason he was chosen as the vessel was because of all the empathy and the kindness that resided within him all the time. So and then it comes to that that head at the end, where which we'll talk about a little bit later when we get more into the characters.

Prince Adam And Healthy Masculinity

SPEAKER_00 9:46

But let's talk about Adam. Let's talk about how he was represented in this movie. What are your thoughts of the actor that portrayed him and how he was represented and also how it changes or is similar to that of the cartoon?

SPEAKER_01 9:58

I I like their casting choice pretty much across the board.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Like even Alison Bree, even though like I look I look at Alison Bree, and because I've known her in so many other things, seeing her as Eva Lynn sort of like drew me out because I like the way she put on a little bit of a voice and and leaned into the camp and also was uh admiring Skeletor in a sort of evil, maniacal mustache twirling way, as both of them really were in the in the spots that they were in. And I think that's what sold it for me was the fact that they were actually kind of leaning into the camp. Yeah. Allison Bree definitely did a good job of that.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

But I uh I really I really did like Ildis Elbow as Duncan as well, though. I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about him, but he did a fantastic job. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yeah, I agree. I think that Duncan was we'll talk about him a little bit later too, but he's probably my favourite character in representation of how he learns his lesson through the movie about strength is probably one of the ones that resonated with me the most.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

But Nicholas he he was I I think that he was a probably a per like a perfect choice for Adam. And even like I think it was more so like camera magic and the attire he wore and stuff like that, but have him it sort of helped him like the clothes he wore seemed to help him hide his size at the start of the movie, yeah, yeah. I agree. Adam's meant to be like a not so like not small, I would say, but he's not meant to be like a big like a muscly dude. He's just meant to be just an average guy.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

And then as soon as he calls on the power, he hulks up a bit.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Yeah, which we see a definitely CGI rendered version of where he's basically poppying out of his muscles there. But you you're right. They use the pink shirt and the white underneath and then the jeans as well, which is very reminiscent of the meme culture as well, and also his standard attire while they're Prince Adam. Yeah, and he does that wearing his earth garb and his uniform for his HR job, which I think is kind of what he fell into in terms of HR because that's where he aligns himself in terms of his kindness and his empathy. And when he approaches lots of different conflicts, I've also read a couple of comments online that have said, why did why does he have to try and talk to everybody all the time first? You know, I feel like that's kind of central to his character, where he does try to use any other element or any other way to avoid violent conflict as he possibly can. And, you know, he he talks about how he's unsure in his belonging, especially in terms of Earth, and he knows that he's destined for greater things, and he's obsessing about how he has to find the sword, to the point where he's ostracizing himself on all different relationships in on planet Earth until he finds his his housemate who's largely accepting of his weirdness, which is great. But one thing I loved about that sort of friendship connection that he had with his housemate was we saw another representation of masculinity there where he's sitting there watching all of these different sort of romance movies, like the notebook, and then there was the other one as well, 10 Things I Hate About You, both absolute classics that I love. But he was like crying toward them, and then as soon as Adam walked in, he'd hide the fact that he was being emotional with the with the movies, which I think is relatable to a lot of guys, but also that stigma is getting broken down as well, where it's okay to cry in movies. We've talked about it all the time as well. We cry in movies, it's all it's all good here, but yeah, I think that he's definitely Adam is definitely discovering who he wants to become before he's accepting the destiny of being, you know, Prince of all Atoni. He doesn't he doesn't go around saying that he has a mantle that he has to take on for the purposes of the power. I think it's more for him that he wants to belong to something and he doesn't feel like he belongs on earth. And that's why he wants to get back so badly.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

I have seen a lot of things out there, especially like towards the like the last fight, and or even the fight against Lockjaw. Yeah. Where like he's some of the power punches Lockjaw in the mouth and goes, he shouldn't be hurt, he should be able to go all day. Right. I always try and in my mind like think of like the alternative or like a different because realistically, anyone who watches anything and what they take in, they can take in even with their like everyone has their own point of view on that. So one person can watch a movie and see it one way, another person can watch a movie and see it completely different way. And so I always try and when I watch anything or watch anything, read anything, do anything, I always try and think of different possible ways that it can be interpreted, interpreted. And for like for me, like in that moment, that's the first time he's used the power. Yeah, he has he doesn't have what for me doesn't seem like he has full control all over it. So he may only have a portion of that strength. So he may have got a bit bigger and got stronger, but he was still like having a hard time beating Lockjaw. So for me, that's that's that's him not fully accepting the power because he doesn't want to want violence, he doesn't want to fight, he wants to talk things out and wants to like peace and love, man. Yeah, and that that's how I interpret it, as that's his first time using the sword, he does have full control, he's not full He-Man.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

I think that for him not being able to be as physically strong as he was at the end of the movie when he was facing Lockjaw in the middle, is definitely it goes to show that his physical strength is only one aspect of becoming a protector, like he definitely has embraced that power when it sort of came to him in that moment. He did the the the chant and channeled the energy through the sword, and he physically looks the part, but you know, as you said, he definitely hasn't adapted to that new strength. And also, growing up, he was never really good at that aspect of being physical in the first place. If we remember early on in the movie when he was training with Duncan, he'd always get smacked around by Teela to the point where he disappointed his father and get granted him disapproving nods and a lifetime of turmoil and misery from that relationship as a result of the fact that he actually can't fight very well. So I think if he went in there and was immediately able to fight Lockjaw with immaculate prowess, it would have been less realistic, we'll say, to me, because he was a person who always leaned into that conversation first and he never ever solved things with violence to start with, which I think is a great aspect of his character. And it takes that gradual shift that we were talking about away, where he was it would have taken that gradual shift away, and we wouldn't have then got to grow into the moment where he does then learn that he has the power, and he says that pivotal line, which I think has been used lots of different times when men are talking about being protectors and being physical, they definitely say, I d I have the power inside of me, I just prefer not to use it. And I think that's the mantra of men being masculine, but men also being protectors in that space as well. You have the capability to do what you need to do to protect your family, to protect your loved ones, to protect Eternia, to do all these things, physically beat the absolute crap out of Skeletor. But if there is another way, you will explore all other avenues prior to doing so. And I think that was a really good line to put in at the end of the movie, especially coupled with the fact that Skeletor said, I just like being a villain. So, like He-Man said everything that he possibly could. He tried to convince him to change his mind, he looked in a different direction, he tried to change the way that Skeletor's thinking was in terms of power. All of that failed, and Skeletor himself said, I don't want to change. So that was the time when Adam He-Man said, Okay, then here is the power. And sometimes that's what has to happen if you're a protector of a magical kingdom called attorney, you have to throw down against a skull-faced man.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

And I really enjoy like I actually really enjoyed his character art through this movie because you'll see, like, when he first uses the p get gets the penalty's power against Lockjaw, he's very not with it. And then sort of towards the end where he sort of leans into the fact that, oh shit, I'm gonna have to actually use violence, and that's when he's ripping off his arm and stuff like that, and that's when it's actually that's when he's actually just showing his strength fully, and then in that state later on they're doing a ship fight, because he's more leaned into that, he that's he's not taking damage and stuff like that. And then you see once they crash land and they're safe, and he lifts up the aircraft for dealer, and he's like, he's lifting up like fairly easily with one hand, but then he's like like holding his like I can do this all day, but then he's like but I can hear up, it's actually kind of getting this this is actually kind of heavy, yeah. I feel that's more so because now he's relaxed and he doesn't have that adrenaline, he doesn't have that power, he's sort of falling back into his sort of empathetic self, and then fighting to save his dad, a skeletal's castle, and you see him fully like that's like when he sort of fully leans into power again. He's a bit cheapish at first, but quickly falls falls into sink and gets that power, starts beating everyone up, and then it's afterwards when he causes and he himself with all the damage and the strength that causes the cave in, that ultimately ends his father. I think that's sort of like after that, he's sort of like, oh shit, I've gone too far. I and that's where I think of his where he's like, where he tried to fully embrace the power, wasn't ready to embrace it.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

So in Skeletor's lair, when Adam is using his power as well to fight off all of Skeletor's goons and his father's there, he he uses that power in a very violent way, and he uses it while he's angry and desperate. And you can look at the fact of using those different sort of elements of physicality for the right reasons but in the wrong way. And I think it can definitely communicate some of those times where men can use their strength in a manner that feels correct and feels protective, but then it can also hurt those that we care about if we're not careful or if we use it in an incorrect way. So the cave-in representing, you know, the unforeseen consequences of using strength when it's uncontrolled. Yeah. And then by the time he ends up facing Skeletor face to face at the very end, that's a very much more controlled fight. You can see that the camera freezes in on the punches, showing for the fact that they are controlled hits. He's choosing to use that power where he can, whereas in that lair, he was swinging the sword, I'll say wildly, but he was definitely using it precisely. But he was chopping down person left, right, and center and throwing them into walls and using improvised weapons where he could. That was more a rageful power to me, as opposed to a controlled protective power at the end. And I think the film navigates that really well, the what the way he progresses in his power.

Teela And Duncan Redefine Strength

SPEAKER_00 20:28

But what's interesting to me is seeing Tila, who is obviously the daughter of Duncan, her role and her strength ends up like she has to be really, really strong at the very start because her father is physically weak in that moment. So Duncan goes into this alcoholic episode because he has perceived that his version of masculinity and his version of strength has failed. He can't protect anybody like he wanted to. So Teela would have had to grow up quicker than she would need to and take on leadership positions quicker than she would need to in order for her to become this fierce warrior of strength. And we see that when Adam's a bumbling oath, I'll say in quote marks at the start of the movie, she's the one that comes in and rescues him from Beastman. She's the one that's physical, she's the one that's controlled, she's the one using her power in that manner. And as Adam learns and grows into his masculine strength, he can see that she then begins to soften a little bit as well. And yes, she's just as lethal and she still has the power within her too. But she then falls into a role where she is supporting those characters around her to lean into their strength whilst also embracing her own. And that's also the time when Duncan then is able to realize hey, there's more to being a strong leader, a strong father, and having my identity attached to being the protector, the man at arms. There's more that I can do here because I think he definitely fails to acknowledge the power that he had Adam early on in his life when his father was rejecting him because he didn't show that physical strength. But Duncan was the one that was in his ear saying, When he turns around, he's gonna see you standing up. And Duncan always says as well, you know, a man stands up when he is needed, which is another healthy trait of of masculinity that he does hold. I feel like he's definitely a character, and if we're talking about Duncan, he's definitely a character where he's the strongest man in the masters of the universe, but he's a man that learns that he's still valuable after he fails. And I think that's important for him and it's definitely one of the better transitions in the movie as well.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

My favorite, my favorite arc in this movie of any of the characters, is Roboto.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

Roboto played by Kristen Wig. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

My fa my favorite character.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Well she was brain controlled into being servitude basically.

unknown 22:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

By Duncan. Because he was he was scared of her strength we'll say. He was scared of the fact that or what she could do because he harmed her or she harmed him to the point where he had to turn the switch.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

And then in the end he ends up trusting her because after that scene in like in the the cell I'd call it where she's cleaning up because that's when that's when he releases her because he's like if you want to get me out you have to release me and he's like okay and then just pulls out one like little toggle and she's like and they're like you had it all along yeah yeah but yeah uh Robot's like one of my favorite cases the whole thing because she sort of reminds me um of like because she's always that like she has like that dark humor where she's like talking about like what was it it doesn't matter existence is a series of abs absurdities leading to infinite nothingness and like oh yeah she was just my favorite the whole time and of course at one stage I think when we're in the movies you saw because I was like fucking taffy on the shoulder or some shit when it happened. But of all the characters to like fall she's the one that got absolutely destroyed and I was so I was so hurt and I was so worried that she was going to be the character that was dead dead and it like it hurt my it hurt my heart and I'm like of course they kill my favourite character.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Yeah I know you've verbalised that out loud as well. But you know I like that she came back with her see-through casings which is reminiscent of the cartoon show as well. I love that part. For me it's her how she has that relationship with Duncan as well.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

And he's well so I think it's like he's not so worried about like her hurting them and like the whole time because I wish I wish we had a seen or had some sort of flashback or something of what happened and I like I would have loved to have seen it through Duncan's eyes first. See it through Duncan's eyes and it's like basically got Roboto just like beelining and trying to assassinate him when realistically later on it's revealed there was an evil guy behind him. Yeah exactly it was revealed that she wasn't over him at all and that he was just freaked out like turns out that she was always his protector like even though she's a little bit pissed at the fact that he took away all her abilities like fighting abilities she was still the one in there cleaning the cell cleaning up his vomit and still the one there who was always with him and helping him.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Yeah pretty much guiding him through his broody alcoholism because he did rest his entire identity on the fact that he had to be a protector he failed at that but then he didn't consider the people that remembered him for his kindness his guidance his sacrifice and then also who saw his victories in another way like Adam noticed his kindness when he was being nice to him when his father wasn't and Tila obviously recognized the fact that despite the fact that she was in a in a class full of ample warriors as well he still took the time to recognize her personally saying you know that's my girl when she got something correct and she would recognize the fact that you know they were they were kin they were connected in that way. So he has this shame over failing his oath but I think as he transitions through the movie he learns to fight not for revenge which is probably something he could have easily done he and they could have leaned into that too man of arms is trying to get revenge on Skeletor for taking everything away from him for taking away his purpose but I feel like it was better that they leaned on the fact that he was fighting for a renewed purpose in the fact that he was being better for his daughter for one because his conversation with Adam says you know I'd rather her see me as an invaluable drunk than than someone who's lost all their strength and then Adam sort of picks him up and and they both stand up together and say you know this is what we're gonna be we're gonna fight together we're gonna stand up together. And that's you know leaning on people that you need at the time when you need them and that's another trait of of that's those HR skills. Yeah exactly right fighting through with your brother that's the one that's exactly what it is but I think he he helped so many people in this movie become stronger including Robotto including his daughter Tila including Adam as well and I think all of them in that space they kind of took him for granted a little bit but he also had a lot of the work to do on his own he he could have chosen to wallow in his pity for as long as he did but then as soon as Adam came back he kicked into gear. He chose to make the decisions in order to get active again. And there was a teething period there which I can recognize as well in some real life situations too you know when somebody's let you down a bunch of times you're reluctant to let them back into the saddle again it might say and Teela shows that as well when Duncan's saying let me take the lead give me a gun let me do it he was saying nope just sit there let me drive you just be drunk and do do what you need to do. But I think her eventually falling into trusting him once again and seeing Roboto and also Duncan fight at the end and hold off all that army in the bridge it was and and then her allowing him to do that was her letting go of the control that she's had to have exactly for this whole time and it's it's Duncan falling back into that role of protector but that role of protector now has a lot more facets to it than just physical protection which I think is great for Duncan's character. Masterfully played by Idris Elber as well and I think he could have done a lot of corny things with the character called man at arms but this is probably one of the best things that they could have done. I think Travis Knight really knocked it out of the park with with his character.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Yeah no Duncan was probably like one of the best one of the best characters in the movie especially arc-wise.

Skeletor And The Illusion Of Power

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Yeah we might go now and talk to the 80s mustache twirling villain known as Skeletor and how his relationship with power sits in this movie and how some people say that he is just a villain and some people say that there's a little bit more to him but you know there's that quote at the end when you know he-man says I have a proposition for you why don't we just end this cycle of violence and then Skeletor ends it by saying you boobed and he goes on to say it's just my nature you'll never change me with funny words. I am the villain and it feels very good to be the villain and you know I feel like that is definitely true. He's a mustache twirling villain that we really want to look at and it's refreshing to have a villain that's a villain you don't have to look at the other side of the coin for in that space. But I feel like the reason he is a villain is important to look at as well and it's because of his relationship with that with that power you know he wants the power because he wants to be strong and he wants everyone to be terrified that he has it. And that's the difference between Skeletor and Adam whereas Adam's trying to use the power to help those around him skeletor is trying to use it to control those around him two very different things. And some people can use control as a means of protection but in this case with Skeletor I think he's simply just using it as a fact to get people to follow him and fall into line.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah and I know I say because I can't I think I do like I do like when they uh do the same first letter when he does the same first letter insults it's the same thing they used to do with the cartoons it's been a long time since I've watched any of the cartoons like the old cartoons or ready the old comics. But uh Hordak who is the leader of the evil horde is like the main antagonist for Shera. I know in the I'm not sure if they say it in the Netflix He-Men shows or if it's in the Sheera shows the skeletal is actually a minion of of Hordak and I think his well in that sort of his obsession with getting power is to eventually have that power to be stronger than Hordak and take over and become yeah the new leader of the horde the evil horde but that's why I say I'm not sure if like they're gonna tie in Hordak with Skeletor at some point.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Yeah I think Skeletor works best when he doesn't have a convoluted backstory like he in that aspect I like that he's just evil for evil's sake and he has this obsession with power because he's terrified of not having it but also he's got this hollow understanding of power where he's obsessed with the sword of power in order to to get the respect and get the control of everything around him. Like he's he's got Eternia pretty much under his his fist but he still needs that sword because if that sword isn't his then somebody can come in and give that power to somebody else and he fears losing it. He he needs greater weapons he needs greater status he needs greater control and nothing internal or external will ever satisfy this need for power that he has and I think that's a a villainous motivation that I can get behind. And you know to the point where it shows itself in verbal abuse of his followers in terms of the you know the the wires cracking insults that he gives them all the time the the mass ridicule as well when we see Moss man and he just burns him in front of everybody and everybody just laughs and his laugh echoes in the laughter of the followers around him and then as he stops everybody stops around him so he's got that element of control there. And on also his escalating threats of violence especially towards Eva Lynn really show that insecurity around his fragility of power and I think yeah you can say that he's a villain for villain's sake but I also think that you can look at the why of the fact that he's a villain and and not so much the backstory but just the the motivation of you know he has this insecurity inside him where he doesn't really think that much of himself and needs external validation from others or power in order to to have that confidence in order to show that that sort of fragile well that masculinity which is in fact fragile in in his terms. But I like the fact that Jared Leto played him off as as confident in the way that he vocalized his lines because it definitely shows that that taunting that he does when Adam's at his weakest as well and that's another faculty of the of the villain that we can talk about too is the fact that he does taunt his adversaries at their moment of weakness and he really plays on their absolute weaknesses as well because he knows that Adam's relationship with his father isn't good. And then that moment of confrontation that they have who does he he have standing there in front of him for him to see his father and then he plays on the emotional disconnect that they have in terms of father and son there. And then the moment that it starts to slip out of his control is when he then you know plays the nasty card and then Adam is left holding the pieces of that and he's the first one to then blame him for the accident we'll say that ended up ending his father's life which he knows will probably live with him for a long time but it's that kind of multifaceted level of abuse that really makes him that violent character of Skeletor and all the while being extremely cartoonish extremely villainous and extremely like just larger than life in his performance of of villainy. So I I liked the fact and this is spoiler alert not that none of this hasn't been but spoiler alert at the end when he is a skull on the floor and Evelyn comes and picks him up you know the henchman is still under the control of that power that they see him have that hollow version of power and then you hear that laugh which says you know he's gonna come back because the villain always returns for one from the 80s cartoons but then also you know that element of that power hungry element of Eternium is never going away but also of humanity is never going away. So if there was going to be a sequel which I don't know if there will based on the box topper's performance I would like to see definitely more Skeletor playing him exactly the way that he was before because I think Gerard Leto is probably my favorite role that he's done yeah in this space.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Yeah but I I would see if if if if they do bring in like Dooshira movie and then eventually if ever they tie it back together like I would love to see so because Hordax's a bit more serious like he's more serious evil he's like a big company boss. He'll do horrendous things to you and he won't joke about won't laugh about won't have some little quip he'll just do it. Well yeah because Skeletor never murdered anyone that he probably could have he locked them all up in a cell yeah you know like there wasn't that element of his villainy whereas I think if you're looking at a more serious villain like Hordak may or may not be the way I think the way I think they could play off of that is and still play into sort of more of the how sort of quirky Skeletor even though he is a villain and he like he is Elon a villain he has that sort of quirkiness and quickness to him like he with his wit and his intelligence they could play like how I'd like to see if they were to do it to them to play off each other is sort of Skeletor being like sort of like the the jealous sort of type and the one who he has to try and one up Hordak and be that sort of like still doing just his evil thing but he has to show that he's the evilest.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

He's the evilest but things you could even do it as say Adam needs to take out this evil villain of this ultimate evil of Hordak and the only way he can do it is because he needs the help of Skeletor to do so and Skeletor agrees to take out Hordak because he won also wants to be the biggest villain that he could possibly be. So they're working together in that space.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

There's no love loss between Hordak and Skeletor I can see them doing it like doing a bit of a team up only for like Skeletor to try and like double cross both double cross He-Man and get rid of Hordak so that he can take control of the Horde and he becomes the big evil mastermind.

Metamodern Jokes Versus Sincerity

SPEAKER_00 35:42

Well one thing they're gonna have to overcome if they're gonna do that and this is probably my biggest critique of the movie of Masters of the Universe so my biggest critique of Masters of the universe is the fact that if you are extremely tired of the tongue-in-cheek jokes that happen during serious moments of the movie then this is absolutely full of them. Masters of the universe is something that leans into something I talked with Ben Wright about called metamodernism and that's how Hollywood has forgotten to be sincere in a moment. So you can see moments where for example Adam gives his gigantic speech and and rousing speech to the other champions of Eternia and then as they're walking out during their big hero moment to that massive awesome music they start choking on the on the smoke and it's just like it just undercuts the fact that the you know the big triumph of moment has happened instead of letting the audience live and breathe in that moment it's almost just going for the cheap laugh. And I guess this is where audience are divided because on the one hand you either are okay with that because you're not fatigued with with that sort of metamodernism trope in movies or you're over it to the point where just anything can be considered a joke. And I to seriously to the people to blame is Marvel because it's definitely a Marvel trope that things are coming from even to the point where the jokes are so frequent the emotional scenes lose their uh sincerity but the only part that I liked about this metamodernism trope was the way that Adam reacted to the names like Fisto and Rem and I thought that was actually a creative spin on it. Instead of leaning into the fact that this is what the people in this legend and lore is called they made a modern sort of take on why those people were called that is because a 10 year old boy actually went through and that's how he remembers his father's men but in terms of like late phase Marvel movies especially they used it regularly to diffuse tension and I think some of them were ill timed. What what were your thoughts on that brash in terms of the comedy and the humor?

SPEAKER_01 37:40

See I'm a lot for it. I I love it like like I watch anything like Brooklyn Knight like like the whole thing is just just silly nonsense constantly that crash is my jam I love it. Because when you talk about like the smoke scene where they crash the they do the triumph moment knocking down the wall and then like the smoke all gets built up from when the wall gets knocked down and then they all start choking the smoke I thought it was fucking hilarious. I thought it was I thought it was quite goal. I thought like hell yeah and then what would happen when you knock down a giant stone wall in a sand filled or dirt filled enclosed space yeah in an enclosed space you will get a massive dust blood that will choke you if you try if you breathe it in and that shit won't settle easy it'll get fucking thrown up in the air and it'll get stagnant in the air in that cave in like the cave tunnels. And for that I was like ha that's so good.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

But do you do you think that the doing that and the approach of always making everything the butt of its own joke do you feel like it's them reassuring the audience that they know how ridiculous the source material is and therefore preventing the audience from realizing that it's silly before they actually do like we know it's silly so we'll make a joke about it. So therefore you don't think it's silly and critique us for it later.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

Yeah well I I I could understand how like a lot of people are saying like probably went a bit overboard. But what I feel is they're probably like as we've seen with a lot of reimaginings and retellings and live action adaptations and stuff like that recently is you're never gonna please everyone that you're just just not it's impossible.

Enjoying Adaptations Without Homework

SPEAKER_01 39:21

You're not gonna be able to create something from something else and everyone's gonna love it. It's just not possible um all fandoms are way too toxic for it. Like it's they're they're all like there are like uh people who aren't obviously not I'm saying everyone is but like a lot of the fandoms you'll find a gatekeepy that's like they're dead stuck on the source material. Even like people fight over like the manga to anime adaptation. Yeah and then they fight over the animated like the like like Japanese voiced anime to dub they they fight over that and then they fight over live action when live action's made and everyone hates that but then usually it's all three of them then turn their hate to the live action and I think in our day and age no matter what people try and do no they're not gonna please everyone so I think it this was their way of saying this is just something to just a fun watch don't take it seriously like you can love it you can hate it it's it's not meant to be it's not meant to be a straight off the page or straight from the old comics and in live action it is just a funny take on an old 80s cartoon that was designed to sell toys I think they landed the plane on that honestly I mean it was getting a little bit tired for me towards the end for the most part especially skeletors, quips and things like that.

SPEAKER_00 40:48

I felt like they were well timed. It was just some of the more I'll say tear jerking moments or sincere moments of the movie that I kind of wish they stayed in for that little bit longer.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

But yeah I th I think then then everyone would be expected to take the movie more seriously.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Well that is very true as well but that's the thing that you can also look at as well you know they acknowledge the silliness but they can also then still ask the audience to care about it too.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

I don't think those two things are mutually exclusive but I I I still like I I was almost fucking furious and gonna throw shit at the screen when Roboto died. Yes like I got attached like yeah I think I guess just depends on like like what you focus on in the movie to to find your attachment like even I'll watch like I'll watch something I know like an adaptation like a live action adaptation of a something that I know and how they've done it in the live adaptation is different to how they did it in the original source but I'll see that moment and it will like my mind will flash back to the original moment and even though the live adaptation is not the same I know what that moment means and yes they've done it a different way or a different way to suit the live action aspect I'll still tear up about it because I know what that means. Yeah. I don't have to and that's a thing like with the recent season of Avatar like that's currently getting a crazy amount of heat at the moment and I there was moments in that where I was like tearing up because I remember those like parts of that from the from the TV show because it like brought me back to that. And it's the same it's the same with Masters of the universe I'm like there's no reason why you can't like the original source and then watch the like watch the live adaptation and also like that because it's not like shitting on the original source the original source is always going to be there you can always watch the original source this is I felt like they respected the original source in this one pretty well like there was lots of Easter eggs that people could see as well. Yeah but a lot of people know especially with Masters Universe like it's not gonna be a one for one and if you don't like it then the you still got the original you can watch like you can go back to original or if you prefer the newer Netflix animated shows you still have them you can watch like I don't see why you have to hate another sort of look or another retelling of a story when you still have the original. And I I think that's not it's not it's not taking anything away from original the original's always going to be there the original's always going to be the original.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

Yeah. And I think that more people should look at it from that perspective where you can see this as just that pop conflict that you can sit there and enjoy or if you want to take more from it you absolutely can like I think there are some good lessons that you can take from this especially the fact that you know it teaches that violence should always be the last answer with with Adam facing off against Skeletor and great power comes great responsibility. Yeah exactly that's another like lesson that can be molded in with this through Spider-Man but you know Adam also rejects unnecessary force he negotiates he compromises he offers Skeletor another path you know in this movie and in life really you either see strength as celebrated without compassion or when it has compassion it can sometimes be mistaken for weakness but I feel like Master of the universe suggests that there's a middle ground where Adam Duncan and Teela show that courage isn't the absence of empathy or anything like that. It's the physical capability and it's the measure of your character as well which I think is is the real embodiment of power. And I think that if you take that message from this that's really great. But if you also just look at it and watch it as a popcorn film where you can just be entertained and laugh at various different jokes that may or may not be ill-timed then that's a good way to take it as well and I think this is definitely polarizing the internet but I really like discussing the fact that we can enjoy both of those sort of perspectives at the one time so I I I I enjoyed it and I thought it was I thought it was really fun.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

No I I I like the fact it didn't take it so serious and I think I think sort of because you know how I how how much I hate the Aragon movie.

SPEAKER_00 44:57

Yes. I think it clinically and documented on this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 45:02

Well watching Master of the universe now I'm sort of like yes like it's still what is not my favourite and I don't plan on you know going and watching it every Saturday night but I think because of like like Master the Universe it sort of gave me a little bit of a different perspective on it. Like I'm too fresh maturing in your fandom I can't believe like that's the thing because like I I reread the I've read just I'm just re uh just recently reread the books and I'm now reading the Murtag book the continuation on the story of Murtag after the final book. And I that's why that's why I have to remind myself that the original source is always going to be there. If I want to I can always go back and read those books again. And I think that's the same with like adaptations of any sort and especially like when Master Universe helped me teach that where I was like I love the fact that it's not taking itself so seriously and it's just it can just be a fun watch and I don't have to think about the Netflix anime anime shows or animated shows that I watched this or the Shira show I watched this or the old 80s cartoons I used to watch when I was a kid of this or the old comics I used to read like the toys I used to play with.

SPEAKER_00 46:09

Yeah there's no homework associated with this movie.

SPEAKER_01 46:11

Yeah and I think it's like I can always go back and revisit those things. This is just another story in the universe that is Masters of the universe.

SPEAKER_00 46:21

Alright and that is it for this episode of the Phantom Portals podcast thank you so much for tuning in if you liked the show make sure you share it with a friend because that really gets the word out about our podcast helps us lots and lots we have amazing episodes on YouTube now that is full of visual features. So if you're listening to this and you want to see our faces more definitely go and check out our YouTube. And if you're YouTubing this and you don't want to see our faces anymore then go and check out the podcast there's something for everybody. So definitely go and do that. Like subscribe and share that's that's all we ask of you guys and thank you so much for sticking around till the end guys we'll see you on our next episode this is Aaron keep learning keep growing keep loving phantoms we'll see you next time by the power of grace go I have the power