Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man – When Eternia Hit the Atari 2600
Back in the early 1980s, action figures weren’t just toys—they were cultural powerhouses. Few brands embodied that better than Masters of the Universe, Mattel’s sword-and-sorcery-meets-science-fiction juggernaut. But with the video game boom in full swing, it was only natural that He-Man would make the leap from Castle Grayskull’s toy shelves to home consoles.
The ad above, from 1983, promotes The Power of He-Man for the Intellivision and the Atari 2600, marking the very first Masters of the Universe video game. Published by Mattel Electronics, it attempted to translate the epic battle between He-Man and Skeletor into the pixelated world of early gaming.
The Game Itself
The Power of He-Man was a two-part experience. Players piloted the Wind Raider in a horizontal shooter segment, dodging fireballs and enemies across treacherous terrain. Survive long enough, and you’d move on to the ground battle, where He-Man would confront Skeletor himself outside Castle Grayskull.
Of course, “battle” might be generous by today’s standards—the gameplay was simple, repetitive, and limited by the hardware. But for fans of the time, controlling He-Man in any capacity was a thrill, especially when tied to the larger Masters of the Universe craze.
The Ad’s Appeal
What’s fascinating about this advertisement is how it leans into the mythos of Eternia while also acknowledging the difficulty of the game. The copy even warns players that “it could be the last for He-Man,” emphasizing the treacherous thirty miles in the Wind Raider before even reaching Skeletor. The art is classic 1980s pulp fantasy: bold, colorful, and brimming with energy.
The screenshots tucked at the bottom highlight the stark contrast between the imaginative key art and the blocky reality of early console graphics. Still, that was par for the course in the early 80s—kids didn’t expect photorealism, they expected adventure, and the art provided the spark.
Legacy
While The Power of He-Man didn’t exactly become a gaming classic, it represents an important crossover moment: the merging of toy lines, cartoons, and video games into a single multimedia empire. In many ways, it was a blueprint for the franchise tie-ins that dominated the mid-80s and beyond.
Today, the game is remembered more as a curiosity than a masterpiece, but this ad captures the height of the Masters of the Universe craze and the optimism of an era where any world could be brought home on a cartridge.
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