Two of the first superheroes I remember loving the most as a child, after Superman of course, were He-Man: “The Most Powerful Man in the Universe” a.k.a Prince Adam and his twin sister She-Ra: “Princess of Power” a.k.a. Princess Adora.
I enjoyed seeing them in their cartoon series saving the day and I enjoyed learning lessons at the end of each episode, which was a common occurance back in the 80s.
While I was only one when He-Man was first introduced to television audiences, through reruns throughout the following years, I became a huge fan of He-Man, and my mother fed that fandom with not only action figures of He-Man, his friends and his enemies like Skeletor and Panthor, but I also had a He-Man radio and a giant two sided, two-color power sword.
And my baby sister, Tameika, was given She-Ra toys, which I often "borrowed" to reenact crossover episodes I had seen on televison.
I often played on top of my father’s silver Buick with my He-Man figures and when that Sword of Power was no longer around as I grew up, I would occasionally use sticks to put down inside my shirt and I would hold the stick aloft to transform into He-Man when trouble arose.
I enjoyed watching He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and absolutely loved the fact that he had a long-lost twin sister on another planet in another universe, who he was sent on a mission to not only save but to bring her very own Sword of Power to so she could become the superheroine known as She-Ra: Princess of Power.
I’m purposely being vague about Princess Adora’s origin story so you can go watch He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Swords which should be available at the following link on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tf2PN9I-Ghc or directly below:
I love this movie and to me it's a classic. I watch it seveal times every year. It symbolizes to me everything great about the 80s: the wholesomeness, the honor, diginity and the responisbility to help others and use your powers and abilities to make the world a better place to live.
It also showcases the power of love and family and destiny. Throughout the years, there have been more iterations of the superheroes and those values still hold true.
And while He-Man's moniker proclaimed him the "Most Powerful Man in the Universe", his sister
seemed to be even stronger than he was: which was a great thing to see, making her a great role model for girls. She had way more abilites and powers than he twin brother: she was very acrobatic, she could heal others, she was empathic and her sword, unlike her brother's, could turn into anything she wanted it to: a giant shield, rope, underwater helmet, parachute, discus, bola, chain, glider, pole, net, boomarang and more. Check out the ToonJukka's YouTube video below:
As much as I love He-Man and his theme song, which sounds very heroic, his sister's theme song was the 80's at its finest (full pop, bass, and exciting). Here's Giovanni Ricco's redesign of the original She-Ra opening:
And for comparison, here's Giovanni Ricco's He-Man opening redesigned:
It wasn't until I rewatched "The Sercet of the Swords" a month ago, how influenced I was by He-Man and She-Ra when I created my superheroes Angelo™ and Angeline™: Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™. My superheroes transform just like the sister and brother duo, but they also have different abilities and powers and happen to be exes. But, they do have the dediciation and responsibility to help others just like He-Man And She-Ra did.
This nostalgic look back makes me miss those times I would get up early to watch these great superheroes and makes me long for those days. But, I hope to create new nostalgic moments for future fans of my superheroes Angelo™ and Angeline™.
Get your copies of S.O.L.A.D.™ at https://www.tyronetonyreedjr.com/the-shop
P.S: He's one of my favorite clips from The Secret of the Swords movie:
and the music video:
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