Fabulous Secret Powers: He-Man's Queer Legacy, Explained
Masters of the Universe (2026) premiered in theaters in early June, and it couldn’t have arrived at a more fitting time, considering June is also Pride Month. For many fans, Mattel’s Masters of the Universe is a wonderfully weird sword-and-sandal media franchise offering no shortage of fantasy fun and hilariously on-the-nose character names. However, for others, Masters of the Universe goes a bit deeper. For many, He-Man is the epitome of a queer icon.
Use our guide to find out how He-Man came to have such a fabulous queer legacy.
He-Man’s Gay History, Explained
He-Man came to life in the 1980s when Mattel produced its first line of Masters of the Universe action figures. Although the franchise began as a way to appeal to its target audience of boys and to make up for missing out on Star Wars action figures, the queer undertones were present from the outset. Toy designer Roger Sweet sought to make a hypermasculine action figure, so buff and manly that he’d put other action figures to shame. In the process, he may have inadvertently tapped into gay clone culture.
In the 1970s and ’80s, the gay community began to challenge common gay stereotypes, which often depicted gay men as effeminate. They countered these stereotypes by embracing a style that emphasized their masculinity, donning attire that accentuated their muscular builds and boasted a rugged, working-class man vibe. He-Man’s action figure seemed to fit perfectly into this subculture, given that his earliest design depicted him in the scantest clothing to emphasize his overly buff build.
When the original cartoon, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983), premiered, it further solidified He-Man’s gay undertones by introducing his true identity as Prince Adam (John Erwin). It’s even harder to miss the homoerotic subtext of Prince Adam and He-Man’s cartoon design. Boasting flamboyant and eccentric outfits of leather, furry underwear, and pink-and-purple blouses and tights, He-Man was the perfect mash-up of gay clone and leather subculture alongside a dash of gay stereotypes.
It wasn’t just his design that garnered attention from the LGBTQ+ community. Many found that they related to Adam’s story in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, given that he must maintain a dual identity as Adam and He-Man. Plus, when he transforms into his buff He-Man form at the words “I have the power,” it’s like the perfect analogy for coming out and embracing the inner power to be one’s true self.
The Evolution Of He-Man’s Gay Legacy
Both fans and creatives have embraced theories about He-Man’s sexuality. He-Man has a massive fanbase of gay men and has enjoyed journalistic and academic analysis of his sexuality. Lou Schiemer, the founder of Filmation, the production company behind He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, acknowledged that his company welcomed many gay designers and that the queer aspects of Adam’s designs may not have been a coincidence. At the very least, the gay undertones weren’t lost on the studio workers, as Schiemer recalled, “Everybody was saying, ‘Prince Adam is gay.’” (via Men’s Health)
One of the most iconic odes to He-Man’s queer legacy came from an unexpected source. In 2011, the YouTube channel ProtoOfSnagem uploaded a He-Man video that quickly went viral. Originally created by the animator collective Slackcircus, the video sees Prince Adam singing and dancing to “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes. The shot of Prince Adam belting the chorus “HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA” against a rainbow-and-sparkly background became a legendary meme. Prince Adam dancing and singing to a song many critics and music enthusiasts consider one of the best LGBTQ+ anthems was a fitting ode to his queer legacy.
How Mattel Embraced He-Man’s Gay Legacy
Although Mattel has denied plans to make Prince Adam explicitly gay, the company has embraced the LGBTQ+ interpretations. In 2018, it released a special Laughing Prince Adam action figure, inspired by the “What’s Up?” music video and exclusively available at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. Not only did the company immortalize the meme that’s famous in the LGBTQ+ community, but it also gave Prince Adam a pink sword and Pride-esque rainbow boxing. Years later, the live-action Masters of the Universe included a nod to the meme by featuring “What’s Up?” as the backdrop to a climactic action scene. As the Masters of the Universe enjoys a resurgence, Mattel will likely have further opportunities to continue to embrace and acknowledge He-Man’s status as a gay icon.
