Plot: The war for Eternia continues in the second part of “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” an innovative and action-packed animated series that picks up where the iconic characters left off. With Skeletor now wielding the Sword of Power, the weary heroes of Eternia must band together to fight back against the forces of evil in a thrilling and epic conclusion to the two-part series.
Review: Just a few months ago, Kevin Smith’s faithful conclusion to the 1980s cartoon Masters of the Universe debuted. Subtitled Revelation, the limited series was divisive amongst fans, many of whom disliked the shift in focus to Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey) rather than Prince Adam (Chris Wood) and Skeletor (Mark Hamill). By the time the series reached the fifth episode cliffhanger that saw the return of Price Adam as well as Skeletor’s transformation into Skele-God. Now, the second part of Masters of the Universe: Revelation is here, wrapping up the series once and for all with five final chapters. A direct continuation of the first part, this second batch of episodes works well as a standalone season that will allay any concerns fans had about what happened in the preceding episodes.
Where the first part of Revelation served as a focus on Teela and her quest to find and save Prince Adam, part two is focused on Evil-Lyn. There is a back story on how she found herself allied with Skeletor which drives her character’s development through this entire series. There is also a good deal of time with Skeletor in these five episodes which allows for Mark Hamill to really dive into his voice work as the famous villain. But, with the main characters all back together, there is no shortage of work for everyone from Man-At-Arms (Lian Cunningham) to King Radnor and Queen Marlena (Diedrich Bader and Alicia Silverstone). There are even some fun easter eggs tied to Silverstone’s trademark performance in Clueless as well as an obvious gag involving Fisto.
But what we get the most of is a storyline that drives towards the series finale, a massive concluding battle that works as a balance to the similar sequence in the premiere episode of Part 1. This series is a well-crafted and consistent experience that works well in hindsight as a ten-chapter story and an almost five-hour film. There are many revelations made through these episodes that earn the series its subtitle. This back end of the series makes some creative decisions made by Kevin Smith and his team feel justified and will earn them back the respect of those who were not happy with what happened in Part 1.
It is worth noting that Part 2 moves a lot faster than Part 1. Maybe it was due to my expectations being in check from knowing the tone and style that this series was going for, but there is a lot more action in this five-episode half than there was in the first. But, that action does come at the cost of more characters making sacrifices that some make take issue with. While I do appreciate the follow-through on narrative decisions from Part 1 that pay off in Part 2, this half of the series does feel very reliant on shifting characters from one side to another more often than is really necessary. It never ruins the overall narrative direction of the series, but after the third or fourth twist, it begins to feel somewhat cliche.
The animation continues to hold up and proves that Kevin Smith’s iteration of this story is so much better than Netflix’s other He-Man series. That CGI monstrosity is aimed at a new generation and is definitely not my He-Man. This series is the mature answer to one of the cheesiest and most fun cartoons of all time. The voice cast is all good and the humor is silly but works on multiple levels. I love that the writers manage to slide in some very risque humor that will go right over the heads of most viewers. The action in this half also tops anything this franchise has ever done in any iteration, especially in the last two episodes which are the definition of epic.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 2 is a welcome conclusion to the classic animated series while bringing the overall tale of these characters to a mature and satisfying close. It may not wrap up the way fans would have wanted or expected, but this is truly Kevin Smith’s vision and a solid one at that. While Part 1 sets the table for many fan-favorite characters to return or meet their demise, Part 2 handles the fates of these characters respectfully while broadening the fictional world of Eternia even more. I am very pleased with the overall style of Masters of the Universe: Revelation and I am confident fans will appreciate the entire ten-episode run as a whole.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation premieres Part 2 on November 23rd on Netflix.
