3 Months After Masters Of Universe, He-Man Is Changing Genres For Next Major Appearance

Published Sep 3, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Shaun Corley has been with ScreenRant for over 5 years, and is currently the Coordinator for PR and Outreach for the Comics Team. Three months after Masters of the Universe graced theaters, He-Man is undergoing a massive genre change for his next appearance. Masters of the Universe dazzled audiences this past summer, and introduced the world of Eternia to a new generation of fans. The movie has since moved to streaming, and has been a hit there as well. Launched in 1982 by Mattel Toys, Masters of the Universe set the gold standard for action figure toy lines during that decade. Set within the “sword and planet” subgenre of fantasy, Masters of the Universe follows the adventures of the titular team, led by He-Man, as they foil the schemes of the evil sorcerer Skeletor, who seeks to possess the Power of Grayskull for himself. Just as He-Man had a number of Heroic Warriors to fight by his side, Skeletor too had an evil army at his disposal. Children in the 1980s could not get enough. The Masters of the Universe franchise waxed and waned in the years that followed, but recent years have seen a resurgence of interest, thanks to the aforementioned movie, but also a rebirth of the toy line. Masters of the Universe has expanded into other fields too, including novels. Mattel Press, who earlier this year published a Teela-centric prequel to the movie, has now released The Adventures of He-Man and Porter: Skeletor Ate My Homework, and it is the perfect on-ramp to this amazing universe. Masters of the Universe Invades the Middle-Grade Reader Genre Stephan Pastis and Will Henry Have Created a One-of-a-Kind Masters of the Universe Story Stephan Pastis, creator of the popular Pearls Before Swine comic as well as the middle-grade reader series Timmy Failure, writes The Adventures of He-Man and Porter: Skeletor Ate My Homework, with Will Henry providing gut-bustingly hilarious illustrations throughout. Like Pastis, Henry is a cartoonist, having created Wallace the Brave. These two acclaimed creators have joined forces to give middle-school readers a Masters of the Universe story all their own. Mattel Press was gracious enough to provide ScreenRant with sample pages, shared throughout. Skeletor Ate My Homework asks: what if an ordinary kid was caught up in He-Man’s battle against Skeletor, and the answer proves to be quite funny. Young Avery Porter is a big fan of Masters of the Universe, but he is struggling to process the grief over the loss of his mother. Avery’s father desperately wants to connect with his son, but does not know how. Matters become complicated when Avery is magically transported to Eternia. There, Avery meets He-Man, as well Skeletor. Skeletor is convinced Avery has what he needs to unlock Grayskull’s magic, forcing He-Man to rescue the young boy. While this may all sound heavy, Pastis and Henry will in fact have readers laughing. The classic Masters of the Universe made a trope out of Skeletor’s buffoonery and hubris, and those traits are on full display in The Adventures of He-Man and Porter. Avery successfully tricks Skeletor into thinking “homework” is the key to Grayskull, not realizing what it truly means. Pastis sprinkles gags like this throughout the book, and Henry’s illustrations elevate the jokes even further. Pastis and Henry show the lighter side of the Masters of the Universe franchise. The Adventures of He-Man and Porter Shows How Versatile the Masters of the Universe Franchise Really Is Generations of children, particularly those who came of age in the 1980s, have enjoyed Masters of the Universe. Beginning as toys with bare-bones backstories, He-Man and his friends and enemies have grown into something much more. The Adventures of He-Man and Porter encompasses much of what makes Masters so good: the larger-than-life heroes and foul, despicable villains. Many of the Heroic and Evil Warriors can be found in Skeletor Ate My Homework, even some of the lesser-known characters. The Adventures of He-Man and Porter: Skeletor Ate My Homework is also peak wish fulfillment for middle-grade readers. The book touches on themes concerning children, and treats them in a sensitive fashion. Mixing topics such as loss of a parent with the fantasy heroics of He-Man is a tricky proposition, and Pastis and Henry pull it off in a spectacular fashion. Changing genres for Masters of the Universe has worked beautifully in The Adventures of He-Man and Porter: Skeletor Ate My Homework. The Adventures of He-Man and Porter: Skeletor Ate My Homework is on sale now from Mattel Press!