FANDOM FEATURE
Masterverse He-Man | Source: Mattel
The epic franchise continues to surprise collectors as a new chapter begins. by James Zahn, senior editor
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early 40 years ago, Mattel took a chance at launching a new toy brand that was steeped in science fiction and fantasy and consistently fed kids’ appetites for adventure with a steady stream of epic storytelling and new toys. Masters of the Universe (MOTU) was one of the first transmedia properties to become a franchise, and it helped to shape the entertainment and licensing businesses into the powerful forces they are today. “Back then, we weren’t even using the word ‘franchise,’” says PlayMonster President Tim Kilpin, whose first job in the toy industry was naming MOTU characters and writing stories for the mini-comics that came with each action figure. “We were making it up as we went along a little bit back in the ‘80s. The brand exploded in popularity, and we raced to keep up. New characters, new mini-comic stories, and new episodes for the TV series — it was all happening in real-time, with very little advance
planning.” Eventually, Kilpin became the marketing manager for the entire MOTU line and led the brand through its first rise and fall. According to a 1984 article from The New York Times, Mattel sold more than 70 million MOTU action figures in the first 2.5 years of the brand as kids scooped up He-Man, Skeletor, and every side character they could find. While it peaked with $400 million in sales in 1986, it crashed to just $7 million the following year. Although kids were starting to tune out, the company was still far ahead in development on some later toys that have since become some of the most legendary and sought-after collectibles on the secondary market. The most looming example: the Eternia Playset. During his time at Mattel, Mike McKittrick designed and engineered numerous figures and vehicles for the MOTU brand, including Thunder Punch He-Man and Spydor. But, in terms of scale and sheer ambition, Eternia was something unheard of. “The Eternia Playset was a huge project and I was assigned to it as the lead engineer,” McKittrick recalls. “The project was so big in scope that my manager assigned two other engineers to assist me. At that time, MOTU had already An early engineering sketch for Mattel’s Eternia Playset representing a peaked and overall top-down view of all three towers. | Source: Mike McKittrick
Eternian wizard Orko in Masters of the Universe: Revelation | Source: Netflix
sales were starting to decline. Marketing wanted something big to keep the momentum and increase sales.” Billed as “The Biggest Masters of the Universe Set Ever,” the Eternia set packed “Three Titanic Towers” into its gigantic box. The towers were connected by a monorail track on which mechanical vehicles could circle the play area. “Not only was this set meant to be enormous, but it was also meant to expand by having the existing Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain playsets attach to its sides for an even larger footprint,” McKittrick says. According to McKittrick, the initial cost estimate was “through the roof,” and the company made its way through a list of more than 20 intended features in favor of replacing them with only a handful of features that were better. Still, the playset was extraordinarily elaborate and ended up with the highest tooling bill that Mattel had ever seen. “I recall the original estimated production quota in round numbers was 60,000 units and break even, I believe, was around 40,000,” McKittrick says. “As we progressed with final engineering and started making tools, the quota dipped down to around 40,000. As we
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