The cutthroat toy industry is no place for children. Mastering the Universe takes you inside that world with an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the inspired creation, meteoric rise, and devastating fall of one of the top-selling toy lines ever-He-Man and the Masters of the Universe-as told by He-Man’s creator, Roger Sweet.
The outrageously muscle-bound action figure and his allies and villains created a fantasy world for boys that, at the height of MOTU’s popularity in 1986, reached $400 million in U.S.S sales, only to plummet to 7$ million domestically the following year. During its six-year run, the line sold $1.2 billion worldwide and spawned a syndicated cartoon series and a major motion picture-a feat not even in venerable Barbie can claim.
Roger Sweet and co-author David Wecker reveal the office politics that influenced the development of He-Man and MOTU, starting with Mattel’s initial call for a male action figure that could compete with the Star Wars craze-on which Mattel had notoriously missed the boat.
The authors recount the creative process, from He-Man’s origins as three characters-a barbarian, a military man, and a futuristic space man-to the moment when Mattel’s president, in choosing among several toy concepts, pointed to the He-Man prototypes and said, “Those have the power.”
Mastering the Universe is a must-read for all members of the He-man generation as well as for toy collectors, pop culture enthusiast, inventors, and anyone interested in the drama of business history-as bloody a battle ground as anything He-Man ever faced.
