He-Man and his friends attempt to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull, the planet Eternia, and the rest of the universe from the evil forces of his archenemy Skeletor.

The television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe rapidly increased the selling of Mattel's toys and was a hit success in the 1980s, gaining 9 million viewers in its first year in the US alone and being broadcast to at least 37 countries.

In 1976, Mattel's CEO Ray Wagner declined a deal to produce a toy line of action figures based on the characters from Star Wars, due to the $750,000 license ($4,008,703.87 in 2023 dollars) required up front.

[7][8] According to his 2005 book Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea, Sweet knew that if he gave the marketing department something it could sell, he had won 90 percent of the battle.

[7][9] Sweet stated that "to sell this [to Wagner]", he glued a Big Jim figure—another Mattel toy line—into a battle action pose, added clay to its body, and had plaster casts made.

Furthermore, to sell this toy, Sweet stated that as a powerful figure, it could be applied to any context because the character had the generic name of He-Man.

[15] In more than a few comic books and animated series, He-Man's (and She Ra's) origins had been revised: his true identity was Prince Adam of Eternia, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena (an earthling), who gave birth to twins Prince Adam/He-Man and Princess Adora/She Ra (Adora was abducted by the Evil Horde led by Hordak) and ruled the Kingdom of Eternia on the planet of the same name.

Castle Grayskull was the source of He-Man's powers, where the Sorceress lived, who granted Adam his transformative abilities and communicated telepathically with him.

[21][22] A decade on from the cancellation of the Filmation cartoon series, Lou Scheimer pitched a sequel series to Mattel in 1995 called "He-Ro: Son of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" in which He-Man was now King of Eternia, married to Teela, and had a son, Dare, who inherited the Sword of Power from him, using it to become the title character He-Ro, leading his comrades into battle against a returned Skeletor.

[23] The show was ultimately not picked up, although its premise has been embraced by fans as official canon and influenced the bios for the characters in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line.

[24] The storyline in the mini-comics packaged with the figures explained that He-Man had left Eternia and pursued Skeletor into the depths of space, who had set his sights on conquering the distant world of Primus, a planet with great technological resources.

He-Man was shown to have relinquished the identity of Prince Adam altogether, basing himself on Primus where he led a team of defenders known as the Galactic Guardians.

On the planet Primus, Prince Adam posed as a traveling merchant and the nephew of Master Serbian to disguise his secret identity.

Rob David developing the series, producing it alongside Adam Bonnett, Christopher Keenan, Jeff Matsuda, and Susan Corbin.

Animation services are being provided by House of Cool and CGCG Inc.[32] He-Man and Skeletor both make cameo appearances in the 2022 film Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

[33] On April 29, 2019, actor Noah Centineo confirmed in an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he would be playing He-Man in the Masters of the Universe reboot film, which was due to begin production in July 2019 and set for a 2020 release.

On the original action figure's packaging and in the introductory sequence of the 1980s cartoon series, He-Man is claimed to be "the most powerful man in the universe".

In the 2002 series, He-Man was shown enduring the brunt of the Ram Stone of Zalasia (a gem whose mystic force could pierce any barrier or topple any obstruction).

In accordance with broadcast standards of the period, in the Filmation cartoon, He-Man could not use his sword as an offensive weapon or punch or kick anyone.

In addition, the sword gave him the ability to transform from Prince Adam into He-Man (and back) by utilizing the powers of Castle Grayskull.

In the earliest versions of the story (for example, the first four minicomics) He-Man's primary weapon was an axe, because the sword was intended to serve as a plot device that would only be used in order to gain entry into Castle Grayskull.

David Chlopecki argues that Prince Adam's appearance, such as his pink spandex clothing, conforms to gay stereotypes,[53] while NPR said the character's appearance adds to the show's gay subtext because He-Man's outfit resembles those of leather subculture,[54] and including a bondage harness,[53] which in the 1980s was considered to be homoerotic imagery.

[58] British newspaper The Daily Telegraph noted fan interpretations that the character's dual identity represents a man's struggle to accept his sexuality; Prince Adam is closeted while He-Man is "out-and-proud".

[59] Writing for The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, Matt Johnson described the series' depiction of He-Man as a "thinly veiled treatise on the state of gay male sexuality in the eighties".

[67] In 2003, HX Magazine editors compiled a list of must-see television series with attractive male leads,[68] with He-Man as himself and based on his appearance in the 2002 reboot—the only animated character to make the list—being described as the "object of all our childhood wet dreams".

[69] In the same publication, actor Andrew Hayden-Smith said 2016 he realized he was gay while playing with his He-Man figure as a child, being attracted to the character's physique—particularly his pecs.

[70] According to Mark Morse, Mattel's director of global marketing from 2008 to 2017, by 2018, when a "Laughing Prince Adam" action figure was released, the question of He-Man's sexuality and whether a future installment in the franchise should have him be openly gay had not been discussed.