The first episode of Masters of the Universe: Revelation makes the surprising decision to kill off Prince Adam, aka He-Man. There have been countless iterations of Masters of the Universe over the decades, but He-Man has always stood at the center of them. Wielding the mystical Sword of Power, Prince Adam is transformed into the most powerful man in the universe - more than a match for Skeletor and his fiendish friends.

But Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe: Revelation opens with a surprising decision when He-Man dies in an attempt to save the magic of Eternia from Skeletor. The first five episodes star Teela, not He-Man, as she struggles to deal with the emotional impact of learning the truth about He-Man only to watch him die. Making matters worse, although He-Man is restored to life it doesn't last long - because he's killed once again by Skeletor. And this time, he will be unable to enter the eternal life that was intended as his reward as Eternia's Champion. Why has Smith made these unexpected narrative choices?

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The clue is in the title. This is not He-Man & the Masters of the Universe - a show that focused upon Prince Adam, treating the other characters as secondary. What is more, the "Revelation" in the title is tied to Teela, with Smith explaining in one interview that the whole story is oriented around the journey of self-discovery initiated when Teela learns He-Man's true identity.

"And that’s because, if you remember the old show, at the very beginning, they would talk about, ‘Only three others know his secret.’ And it was like, the Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, and Orko, as well as Cringer. Teela, who He-Man fought [with] side-by-side, and Teela, who protected Adam when he wasn’t He-Man, was always left out of that. She was kept in the dark like Lois Lane. So our approach for the story was like, ‘What happens if she finds out? What happens when she learns who He-Man really is? And what if she learned that not from him confessing?’ It wasn’t him going, ‘You know what, I think you can handle this.’ It was by way of the adventure, of the epic."

Masterrs of the Universe Revelation Teela With Fatally Wounded Prince Adam

The core problem with He-Man is simply that he is too physically powerful a warrior, and his character is too dominating. Whatever threat the Masters of the Universe face, He-Man will naturally lie at the center of the battle against it, and the entire story will orient itself around him. The decision to kill He-Man effectively tears the sun out of the center of the show's narrative solar system, sending all the character ricocheting off on their own journeys into the darkness. The impact is most pronounced with Teela (now voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar). As one of Eternia's foremost warriors, and traditionally Prince Adam's bodyguard, she has always found herself drawn into He-Man's various adventures.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation is clearly a Hero's Journey for Teela, an origin story for a new kind of Eternian hero. It would not be surprising if, when Kevin Smith's story is done, she is the one who claims the Sword of Power and takes a stand against Skeletor. Such an approach would make Masters of the Universe: Revelation unique in the history of He-Man.

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