Developed for television by Michael Halperin, who created the original series, it was animated by Mike Young Productions.

[3] It served as an update of the 1980s Filmation series, produced to coincide with Mattel's revival of the Masters of the Universe franchise eleven years after its previous attempt.

Years later, Eternia has seen the end of tyranny and evil, and King Randor has married and ruled over a peaceful, prosperous people.

Detecting the breach from within Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress informs Man-At-Arms, Randor's captain of the guards and a trustworthy ally, that the time has come for destiny to be fulfilled.

Prince Adam, a spoiled, almost carefree heir-apparent to the throne of his father, Randor, is trained daily by the unrelenting Teela, his best friend.

There, Adam learns from the Sorceress of an approaching evil which can only be defeated by someone destined to become the warrior He-Man, and is shocked to discover that he is the chosen one.

Refusing to accept the responsibility, Adam returns home to find the palace in ruins, and that Skeletor's forces have captured his father.

Hints are made as to the fate of Skeletor's mentor, Hordak, and the future main adversaries of the second season, the Snake Men.

The first season ends on a cliffhanger in which Skeletor unites several of the other adversaries fought by the Heroic Masters into a grand council of evil.

Adam is informed of their rising by the Sorceress and finds his He-Man armor completely different upon transformation, designed to fight the Snake Men, led by King Hiss.

The third episode of this season, "Out of the Past," also reveals how the Sorceress, on a granted leave from her duties, nursed an amnesia-stricken soldier back to health and fell in love with him.

BCI Eclipse LLC (under license from Mattel Entertainment) released the entire series on DVD in Region 1, for the very first time, in three volume sets in 2008.

MV Creations also made several minicomics which were included with a few of the 200X action figures; they also created a comic of the unproduced episode 40 of the cartoon series, based on Dean Stefan's original screenplay.