Netflix has a pretty entertaining series on old toys, and there's an episode on He-Man, which, among other tidbits, explains that Battle-cat was actually a random tiger from a different toy line (Big Jim in the Jungle IIRC) with a paint job and a saddle.
As someone dealing with a few cases of cancer in the family (including a child) I can’t help but think what an amazing miracle to live to 91 years old. Some people really hit the jackpot! Rest in peace.
A post a few years back by someone dying of a terminal disease said as much (and I will not forget the sentiment). Essentially: old age is a privilege, not something anyone should ever expect.
Not to bee too much of a Debbie-Downer here (Cynical Simon? I just made that one up), but for some reason I was surprised and horrified that they might actually design a toy first and make a cartoon around it.
That level (and insidiousness) of marketing was one of many wake-up calls I had to the world around us.
When I was 6-7 and my sister was four, I was way into He-Man. My sister's best friend at the time, a girl her age who lived down the road a ways, was too. When I went over to their house close to Christmas, I saw that their tree had nearly every single He-Man figure then available under it. I thought any girl who was this into He-Man had to be really cool.
Netflix has a pretty entertaining series on old toys, and there's an episode on He-Man, which, among other tidbits, explains that Battle-cat was actually a random tiger from a different toy line (Big Jim in the Jungle IIRC) with a paint job and a saddle.
Proper creativity at work!
He is quite the character on that. Great episode!
As someone dealing with a few cases of cancer in the family (including a child) I can’t help but think what an amazing miracle to live to 91 years old. Some people really hit the jackpot! Rest in peace.
A post a few years back by someone dying of a terminal disease said as much (and I will not forget the sentiment). Essentially: old age is a privilege, not something anyone should ever expect.
When my younger sister was in elementary school, she complained to my mother that the other kids at school had grandparents.
He-Man was/is quite big gay icon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_as_a_gay_icon
swords and sandal style, I loved he-man and remember how epic the sound and visuals were on the cartoon, the homo-eroticism was just the atmosphere
Not to bee too much of a Debbie-Downer here (Cynical Simon? I just made that one up), but for some reason I was surprised and horrified that they might actually design a toy first and make a cartoon around it.
That level (and insidiousness) of marketing was one of many wake-up calls I had to the world around us.
—Jaded John
When I was 6-7 and my sister was four, I was way into He-Man. My sister's best friend at the time, a girl her age who lived down the road a ways, was too. When I went over to their house close to Christmas, I saw that their tree had nearly every single He-Man figure then available under it. I thought any girl who was this into He-Man had to be really cool.
I had so many He-Man action figures and toy vehicles as a child in the 80s. Loved the TV show as well. This mention really brought back some memories.
non-paywall: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/arts/roger-sweet-dead-he-...
Obligatory Fabulous Secret Powers (also known as HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR7wOGyAzpw
I had one of the original toys... as a small child i was really fascinated by the absurdly muscled character.