Who Decided He-Man Should Be Half Naked? (And Why Were We All Fine With It?)

A movie trailer sent me down a rabbit hole, and what I found is equal parts brilliant, lazy, and completely on-brand for 1980s capitalism.

Opinion: May 2026

There I was, sitting in a darkened theater waiting for my movie to start, when a preview for the new Masters of the Universe film flashed across the screen. And like every GenXer in that audience, something primal stirred — a combination of nostalgia, confusion, and a question I have apparently been carrying around since 1983: Who decided He-Man should basically be naked? And more importantly — why was that completely fine?

These are serious questions. We’re talking about a toy marketed to children featuring a man in what can only be described as a fur diaper, wielding a magic sword, living in a castle shaped like a skull. And every parent in America just… went with it.