“He-Man faces his toughest foe” in 1987

If you’ve read Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea* then you already know the story: In the eighties, Mattel’s series of Masters of the Universe toys (find at Amazon.com*) went from top of the heap to bottom of the pile almost instantly. 1986 sales at retail slowed considerably, and in 1987 the line breathed its last before fading away to history.

Fortunately, history enjoys being discovered. And that’s where this 1987 Associated Press article enters the picture. Written by Tamara Jones, this gives us a ringside seat as the He-Man empire crumbled.

“While the live tour, a summer movie and new toys in the line may guarantee He-Man one last, lucrative spin around the galaxy, the Universe may already be beyond saving.”

If you’ve any interest at all in the history of the toy industry then you’ve gotta read this article. It is worth taking the few minutes to learn how the world viewed Masters of the Universe in 1987 as the line came to its end.

Related articles

• Reading – Mastering the Universe (battlegrip.com)
• “The tyranny of He-man” (battlegrip.com)
• Masters of the Universe, Strawberry Shortcake, and Hot Wheels on Sale in 1983 (battlegrip.com)