History WesternAnimation / MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation

* BigBadEnsemble: Skeletor is the classic archnemesis for He-Man and leader of the evil warriors. [[spoiler:But he is killed along with He-Man in the first episode. The next BigBad we're introduced to is Tri-Clops, who is worshipping a mechanical being called Motherboard and forcefully converting others, and Mer-Man, who attacks them with his Aquatican mooks. After that, Scare Glow menaces the heroes when they journey to Subternia, before Skeletor suddenly reemerges as the BigBad and remains that way for most of Part 2. He is then co-opted by Evil-Lyn, who remains the principle antagonist for the remainder, although Skeletor still attempts to be a menace to He-Man on his own terms. The finale then reveals that Hordak is [[TheManBehindTheMan the real force behind Motherboard]] as a SequelHook]].

** In the first episode, Battle Cat overwhelms Beast Man and pins him down. In the FinalBattle after being empowered by [[spoiler:Dark-Lyn]] Beast Man is able to turn the tables and at one point gets Battle Cat in the same position.

* ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal: A major theme explored in the series is the ''revelation'' that [[spoiler:there appears to be no higher power or meaning to the universe]], which means that the rules built around the power of Grayskull are based upon tradition or dogma instead of some kind of celestial enforcement. There appears to be no immediate penalty for violating them, but the rule-breaking occurs at the end of the story over the span of days so it's not clear yet if there are any long-term consequences to the decisions made by the main players.

** [[spoiler:Even when Teela discovers that the above revelation is ''false'', and there ''is'' both meaning and a higher power to the universe, the rules don't seem to get any more real.]]

** Despite no longer having the sword, [[spoiler:Adam says he can call down the power anyway and tries it to see what would happen.]] Nobody was even aware that this was possible, and even scouring the reaches of the universe grants them no answers.

* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Subverted in "The Forge at the Forest of Power".
[[spoiler:Adam comes back to life and the sword has been reforged. He invokes the power of Grayskull and the transformation begins. Magic is restored to Eternia, the Sorceress moves to reclaim her power, the Hall of Wisdom blossoms with life, Tri-Klops orders his forces to retreat, and everything is heading toward TheStatusQuoIsGod. Then as Adam utters "I have the pow-....", Skeletor moves in and stabs Adam through his gut bringing everything to a halt.]]

Beginning with the final battle between He-Man (Chris Wood) and Skeletor (Creator/MarkHamill), the duel results in Eternia being pulled to the brink of destruction and the fracturing of He-Man's companions. With the Sword of Power missing, Teela (Creator/SarahMichelleGellar) leads an alliance of both Heroic and Evil Warriors to find the Sword, re-form the Masters of the Universe, and save Eternia.

* DistractedByTheSexy: [[spoiler: Skeletor allows the power to return when Lyn suggest they have sex. He doesn't notice her stealing the sword of power before it's too late.]]

* NeverTrustATrailer: A number of the trailers, particularly the early teasers, tended to feature the He-Man vs Skeletor battles quite heavily, implying that frequent battles would be the main focus of the story. While there are many skirmishes and one massive climatic battle, the series also involves a quest to re-forge the Power-Sword and a struggle to regain control of the magic of Grayskull.

** The doorway from Subternia to Preternia has a strong resemblance to the Doors of Durin from Film/TheFellowshipOfTheRing and Orko's confrontation with Scare Glow is similar to that of Gandalf and the Balrog including the command to "go back to your shadow!" [[spoiler:For bonus points, he later comes BackFromTheDead in bright white robes and is considerably more powerful.]]

** The exposition that opens the first episodes of Part 1 and then Part 2 presents portraits with just about all the Heroic Warriors and the Evil Warriors battling -- the portraits resembling the promotional images for the entire toy line.

** The exposition that opens each episode presents a portrait with just about all the Heroic Warriors and the Evil Warriors battling -- the portrait resembling the promotional images for the entire toy line.

* NoNameGiven: We never find out the Sorceress' real name, even while [[spoiler: her true love is begging her not to die.]]

** Despite no longer having it, [[spoiler:Adam calls down the power anyway, to see what would happen without the sword.]] Nobody was even aware that this was possible, and even scouring the reaches of the universe grants them no answers.

** After Skeletor [[spoiler:steals the power of the Champion, he chooses to stay in that form permanently, with very few consequences.]] Other characters, such as Man-At-Arms, claims that doing so was a ''choice'' that the Champions made. [[spoiler:Skeletor, who has no intention of using the power responsibly, simply doesn't care.]]

* ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal: A major theme played with in Part 2 is that [[spoiler:there appears to be no higher power or meaning to the universe]], which means that the rules built around the power of Grayskull are based upon tradition or dogma instead of some kind of celestial enforcement. There appears to be no immediate penalty for violating them, but Part 2 occurs over the span of days so it's not clear yet if there are any long-term consequences to the decisions made by the main players.

* NeverTrustATrailer: A number of the trailers, particularly the early teasers, tended to feature the He-Man vs Skeletor battles quite heavily, implying that this would be the main focus of the story. While their rivalry is still present in the series it takes a back seat to the main plot which involves reforging the Power-Sword (Part 1) and regaining control of the magic of Grayskull (Part 2).

* OutOfFocus: Adam/He-man and Skeletor in Part 1 due to being [[OnlyMostlyDead mostly dead]]. Part 2 returns them to the main cast.

** Evil-Lyn still hails from Zalesia as in the 2002 series. And in one episode there she mocked the wizard Count Marzo being reduced to surviving as a pickpocket, while here she survived by being a pickpocket in the past.

* NeverTrustATrailer: A number of the trailers, particularly the early teasers, tended to feature the He-Man vs Skeletor battles quite heavily implying that this would be the main focus of the story. While their rivalry is still present in the series it takes a back seat to the main plot which involves reforging the Power-Sword (Part 1) and regaining control of the magic of Grayskull (Part 2).

* PracticallyJoker: Creator/MarkHamill briefly voiced Skeletor in his Joker voice as a nod to himself voicing The Joker in various ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' cartoons and video games.

* BittersweetEnding: Part 2 ends on a mostly positive note, but with too much loss to be a proper HappyEnding:
** The good news: [[spoiler:Teela becomes the Sorceress, and is able to convince Evil-Lyn that while the universe is chaotic, it is also beautiful, convincing her to spare the universe and release the power of Grayskull, allowing Teela and He-Man to send the demons back to Subternia while also resurrecting Orko. Teela also becomes the first Sorceress who can leave Castle Grayskull, allowing her have a life with the people beyond the castle. Meanwhile, Adam no longer needs to hide his SecretIdentity as He-Man, and it's implied that Adam and Teela are pursuing a romantic relationship. King Randor and Queen Marlena reconcile, and Randor lifts Duncan, Cringer, and Orko's exiles, while also appointing Andra as the new Man-At-Arms]].
** However, [[spoiler:Roboto, the Sorceress, Fisto, Clamp Champ, and hundreds of other Eternians were killed by Skeletor in his quest for revenge. Preternia was destroyed by Lyn, meaning the souls of the former heroes of Eternia have been destroyed. While redeemed, Lyn begins WalkingTheEarth. The final scene shows Skeletor being assimilated by Motherboard, who is revealed to be an agent of Hordak.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:The first half ends with Skeletor coming back, him wounding Adam from behind, and taking the power of Grayskull for himself.]]

* BackFromTheDead: Unsurprisingly, [[spoiler: He-Man and Skeletor return from the dead right before the mid-season cliffhanger]] and [[spoiler: Orko]] returns in the finale although it was a case of NeverFoundTheBody.

** Zig-Zagged with Orko. In the original Filmation series, he was a powerful wizard on Trolla but his magic doesn't work properly on Eternia. In ''Revelation'' it's been changed so that he apparently was always a magical failure even on Trolla, which led to self-esteem issues. However, in episode 4 [[spoiler:Orko appears to overcome his self-doubt as he levitates a dozen or so stalactites to save his friends, then sets up a shield that withstands Scare Glow's constant attacks, and ''then'' summons golden bands that bind and banish Scare Glow. When he returns BackFromTheDead in Part 2, he's arguably [[AdaptationalBadass the most powerful interpretation of the character]], able to actually defeat Scare Glow with no harm to himself and knock down an empowered Evil-Lyn without much effort.]]