Mattel has been the home of many important properties and toys for children, from Barbie to Hot Wheels and many more. But for a whole generation of kids, perhaps the biggest deal from Mattel was Masters of the Universe.

The line was the result of a few things. First, and perhaps most importantly, Mattel CEO Ray Wagner had made the mistake of declining to produce action figures based on Star Wars, leading to Kenner enjoying massive success with the film’s toy rights instead. Mattel had attempted a few times to compete with Kenner in that market, to no avail. Then, Conan the Barbarian came along and inspired Mattel designers (which designer specifically is still a topic of debate) to create the character of He-Man. The original pitch included what was called the “He-Man Trio,” which included three prototypes: a barbarian, a soldier, and a spaceman. The barbarian won out, and became He-Man himself.

The original name for the line was “Lords of Power,” but this was changed to Masters of the Universe after the marketing team believed the original name was too religious-sounding. Several other characters were soon designed for the line, including the archnemesis Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Beast Man, and Battle Cat; the initial wave of figures also included Teela, Mer-Man, Stratos, and Zodiac.

By the early 1980s the figures had proven so popular to spur a comic book, as well as the successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series. Though the franchise essentially went on hiatus beginning in the early 1990s, today it’s as popular as ever, with a new comic series, various new toys, and Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power animated series.

In August 2019, Kevin Smith announced that he is working alongside Netflix to develop a new sequel series, called Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and in early 2020 the voice cast was confirmed, with Chris Wood to voice He-Man and Mark Hamill stepping into the role of Skeletor. Netflix is also planning a CGI reboot of Masters of the Universe

Hake’s Auctions currently has an incredible example of He-Man in their current auction. The “Masters of the Universe – He-Man” Series 1/8-back AFA 85 action figure comes from the popular line of action figures by Mattel. With there being no higher graded examples of this particular figure according to the AFA Population Report, this is a rare chance for fans to add this figure to their collection. Hake’s Action #229 ends on March 11-12, 2020.