Batson's Blog

After going over who may be a good Sorceress, I'm going back to Snake Mountain today to talk about another of Skeletor's henchmen: Trap Jaw. Trap Jaw was an interesting character. He's not as simple-minded as Beast Man, but he's also not exactly a rocket scientist either. He's kind of a middle-of-the-road villain in terms of his capacity to get things done.  He's got some cool powers though, which makes me hope that he's got a role in the upcoming He-Man movie. Biting through metal and able to change out his right arm into whatever kind of weapon he'd like makes him a fun character and possibly formidable weapon in the upcoming movie. Unlike some of the other characters I've blogged about already, Trap Jaw is pretty much depicted the same in all of the comics, books, action figures or TV shows that he's been featured in.  In the 2002 series, the size of his arm was a little more exaggerated.  He looked a little bit too much like Fr...

I've looked at a few different characters from the He-Man universe so far, giving my recommendations -- or my 'dream casting' --- for each of them. Today, I'm taking a look at who could play the Guardian of Grayskull, perhaps one of the most crucial parts of the Masters of the Universe character list.  She's an interesting character.  While her powers leave her vulnerable outside of Grayskull, when inside the castle she is one of the most powerful people on Eternia.  She's also one of the most important, with the goal of keeping Grayskull's secrets safe and out of the hands of Skeletor. She's been depicted in various ways.  She was quite different in each of her incarnations -- from the Filmation series to the 1987 movie to the 2002 version, courtesy of Mike Young Productions. She was much too old in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie.  They didn't cast her well at all there.  Besides that, she was weak.  Talk about a mostly useless pawn ...

One of the most entertaining characters of all of the Masters of the Universe is Evil-lyn, so her casting has to be spot on. She's essentially second-in-command, behind Skeleton, in terms of the villains.  She's ambitious, always eager to move beyond Skeletor and rule Eternia herself.  Due to her smarts and her powers, she's easily one of Skeletor's most valuable henchmen, despite her questionable loyalty. Evil-lyn was in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, played by Meg Foster. While that movie strayed from the classic Masters of the Universe cannon, Evil-lyn was one character they did well with. She wasn't precisely depicted as she was in the Filmation series and she wasn't nearly as powerful as she was in the Filmation series, but she was captivating.  The 2002 version of He-Man gave her much more respect than the Filmation series, showcasing the fact that Evil-lyn was, without doubt, smarter than any of Skeletor's other cohorts. In terms...

Alright, after going over casting choices for Teela, Beast Man and Man-At-Arms the past three days, it's time to take a look at Mer-Man --- another of Skeletor's henchmen.  Given his prominent status among Skeletor's ranks, I feel that he should be included in the new He-Man movie. Mer-Man got jipped the last time around. Evil-lyn and Beast Man both made it into He-Man's 1987 big screen debut --- even if Beast Man looked more like Grizzlor than Beast Man. Now, in terms of the version that should be produced, there are pretty much two to choose from and both are similar. There is the Filmation version and the 2002 Mike Young Productions version.  There aren't a ton of differences between the two, but I'd much rather see the 1980's version.  The 2002 version (and mini-comics version, at times) looks too much like a duck.  The Filmation version really does look like a man-fish or a Mer-Man. So, who to play Mer-Man?  The first name I'm going to t...

I'm back with another blog on how the He-Man / Masters of the Universe casting should go. After looking at Teela and Beast Man already, today's focus is on Man-At-Arms. He's Teela's father and the inventor/gadgetry whiz of Eternia. He's one of the most trusted characters in the series and is always there to save the day with a new invention or weapon. Basically, he's to He-Man what Alfred is to Batman or what Felicity Smoak is to The Green Arrow in Arrow . His depictions in comics versus the animated TV shows are, more or less, the same. Man-At-Arms in the 2002 Mike Young Productions version was, of course, much younger and more physical.  Filmation's version was never really intimidating, despite being muscular and skilled in hand-to-hand combat.  Man-At-Arms, in 2002, really was a Man-At-Arms.  He wasn't Capt. of the Guard, but he was always there with some kind of weaponry ready to aid He-Man. I'm fine with whichever version the...

Yesterday, we covered the casting of Teela.  One-by-one, I'll let you know my dream cast for the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie.  Today, we go to the villain side of things with Beast Man. For those who don't know, Beast Man is one of the staples of Skeletor's evil warriors.  He's, as his name indicates, a man beast --- a Beast Man.  He's not the brightest person --- or man beast --- in the world.  He's not exactly loyal, but he's dependable because he's not bright enough to really throw a successful coup against Skeleton.  He's also not bright enough to successfully carry out Skeletor's missions. So, it's kind of a take what you can get with him. Beast Man has pretty much been depicted the same throughout the entirety of the Masters of the Universe franchise --- whether it be comics, mini-comics, books, the 80's animated TV show or the 2002 Mike Young Productions animated show. Visually, things haven't changed much ...

I'm a huge fan of He-Man.  I should've done this a long time ago, but, with the Masters of the Universe movie progressing (seemingly), I figured it was time to do my own dream casting. I've seen every episode of He-Man (even the dull ones that didn't include Skeletor) and read the mini-comics and the books.  I'm pretty much a fanatic.  At one point I owned all of the toys.  I still own a dozen or so action figures along with Battle Cat (and a lunch box) because I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them. Given how big of a fan I am, I really want the new MOTU movie to be incredible.  I'm hoping for Transformers-level success.  We'll take it one movie at a time though, right?  That is, assuming there is even a sequel. In order for there to be a sequel, we need a good cast.  A good script, of course, would be helpful, too. Let's start with the casting of  Teela . To begin with: what version of Teela should end up on the big scre...