Masters of the Universe: Revolution - Even for Kings

Spinning out of the events of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, the opening episode of Masters of the Universe: Revolution kicks off with a fan-friendly opening battle sequence featuring He-Man (Chris Wood) and several recognizable characters in Subternia fighting to free the souls of fallen friends from Scare Glow (Tony Todd) whose design I still find unfortunately too similar to one of, if not the, most recognizable characters of the franchise. Honestly, there's not much reason for the likes of Snout Spout, Ram Man, and Buzz Off to be included here other than a bit of fan service for those who collected those figures, but it does deliver a big battle to kick off the new series.

After the skirmish, the episode gets serious in setting up the big themes of the season with King Randor's (Diedrich Bader) death, serious decisions for Prince Adam choosing between the role of king or champion, the introduction of a rival for the throne of Eternia, and, far from the matters of court, we catch-up with Skeletor (Mark Hamill) now apparently converted and working for Motherboard who is revealed to be tied She-Ra's most famous villain as we get our first sight of Hordak (Keith David) and the Horde. While teasing a possible romance between Adam and Teela (Melissa Benoist), the new Sorceress also gets a mission of her own in her quest to recreate Preternia as a realm for fallen heroes.

There's quite a bit set up here to be wrapped up in only five episodes so the series has its work cut out for it. When it comes to Adam's choice, ruling as king or continuing to serve as He-Man, the show better offer an alternative to the latter (say like a long lost sister?) for us to take that as a serious possibility. The Motherboard storyline does absolutely nothing for me, awkwarding sci-fi-ing up various characters, but I am curious to see what this show's version of the Horde will look like and how many of its characters, other than Hordak, we may see as well.

• Title: Masters of the Universe: Revolution - Even for Kings
• wiki: link