He-Man's Human Identity In The Masters Of The Universe Movie Calls Back To A Forgotten Reveal

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He-Man holds his sword in Masters of the uNiverse movie

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Nicholas Raymond is an author and journalist based out of Alabama, where he proudly roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. A graduate of the University of Montevallo, he has a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism.

An easy-to-miss Easter egg pertaining to He-Man's human identity in Masters of the Universe calls back to a forgotten reveal in the original cartoon. The highly anticipated trailer for the live-action Masters of the Universe reboot has finally unveiled its interpretation of Prince Adam, who the footage has introduced as "Adam Glenn."

Rather than start out as a powerless member of royalty in the fantasy kingdom of Eternia, it appears this take on Adam will be living the life of a somewhat ordinary human on Earth, not fully aware that he from another world. He-Man's reimagined backstory is undeniably a sharp departure from the source material, but it does have a connection to what came before.

He-Man's Secret Identity Is A Reference To His Mother's Past

Marlena Glenn in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Adam's surname - as revealed by the nameplate on his desk is confirmed to be "Glenn," which calls back to "Visitors from Earth," the 119th episode of the 1980s Filmation cartoon, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Following along with a detail established about He-Man's mother in DC Comics Presents #47, the cartoon confirmed that her name was Marlena Glenn.

In the series, it came to be discovered that, prior to becoming Eternia's "Queen Marlena," Marlena was actually an astronaut on Earth. After a mission gone wrong left her stuck on Eternia, she met King Randor, leading to Prince Adam's birth.

This particular connection to Earth will always remain a key part of He-Man lore, of course, but it often gets overlooked. After all, most He-Man stories spend little time discussing Marlena's past or visiting Earth.

Why Masters Of The Universe May Be Adapting Part Of Queen Marlena's Origin Story

Masters of the Universes Heroic Warriors group stand with He Man on the back of a ship in MOTU movie

The inclusion of the name "Adam Glenn" offers an interesting hint on how it's going to justify the character being stranded on Earth. As the trailer previews Charlotte Riley's look as Queen Marlena, she can be heard explaining that she sent Adam to Earth because she wanted him to be "safe" and so that no one would find him.

Being an astronaut like the cartoon character would explain how she knows of Earth's existence, but it remains to be seen if that's how Masters of the Universe plans to conjoin the worlds of Earth and Eternia. Instead of using space travel, it may be more closely in line with the 1987 live-action film, which connected the two dimensions through portals.

It's possible that, somehow, Marlena Glenn lived as a normal human being on Earth before relocating to Eternia. Knowing of its isolation from her new home, she could have decided to send Adam to the place of her birth. Going in this direction would be a clever way of paying homage to the cartoon without going as far as to make Adam the son of a crash-landed astronaut in Masters of the Universe.