Masters of the Universe (commonly abbreviated MOTU and sometimes referred to as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe or just He-Man, after the lead hero) is a science fiction and fantasy American media franchise created by the Mattel toy company in the early 80s.
Although featuring a vast line-up of characters, the main premise revolves around the conflict between the heroic He-Man and the evil Skeletor on planet Eternia.
Since its initial launch, the franchise has spawned a variety of products, including six lines of action figures, four animated television series, several comic series, and a live action feature film (The Japanese title is usually only used for the movie).
The first cartoon series was broadcasted from 1983 to 1985. It became extremely popular in several different countries.
Designer Roger Sweet claims to be the chief creator of He-Man and MOTU, although this is not officially acknowledged by Mattel and is disputed by some other contributors. The earliest storybooks and much of the original backstory were written by Donald F. Glut, while the final production sculpt of the very first 1982 He-Man action figure was done by Tony Guerrero.
