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This article contains spoilers for Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
The big twist at the end of Masters of the Universe: Revelation Part 2 was the reveal of Hordak (Keith David), the main villain of the original 1985 She-Ra series. Masters of the Universe: Revolution directly follows on from that, with Skeletor (Mark Hamill) working for and eventually betraying Hordak.
Episode 4 has the two duke it out in a battle right out of kids playtime, with Hordak’s legs even shapeshifting into a rocket. Skeletor manages to gain the upper-hand and seemingly kills Hordak, stabbing him through the heart. That isn’t the end of him, though.
The fifth and final episode of Revolution has Skeletor defeated and Eternia saved. It feels like the show is wrapping itself up, ready to close out this chapter in the MOTU franchise. Then, nope, we get a final scene that sends the show hurtling in an incredible new direction.
A figure in a red robe with two swords walks into a room illuminated in glowing red light. The figure has a voice with a tinge of masculine monster energy but predominantly feminine. The figure wears a skull-like mask with glowing red eyes. It looks upon Hordak, floating in a tube, the wound from his battle with Skeletor still present, and says,
“Rest, oh Exalted One. Horde Prime will make you whole again. And when you have healed, we shall return to Eternia together to destroy Skeletor.”
The figure removes their mask and the masculine monster filter is gone from their voice. It’s a woman. She continues, “and this… He-Man.”
In the scene this woman’s identity is intentionally obscured, we barely even see her real face, but the credits confirm who this character, voiced by Grey DeLisle, is.
Despara. Otherwise known in other MOTU franchises as Adora, She-Ra.
Yep, She-Ra is finally a part of this new version of He-Man. But why is she called Despara? This can be traced back to her appearance in the second volume of the DC Masters of the Universe comic in 2013. There, She-Ra’s origin story from her original TV series was reworked to be darker. She was still the twin sister of Adam/He-Man but her upbringing was far worse. Hordak gave her the new name of Despara, brainwashed her, and made her into a Force Captain, which led her to becoming an enemy of He-Man.
This looks to be the version of the character Revolution is drawing on, especially her design which is very close to that of the comic. Does this mean Revolution is simply setting up a sequel where Despara learns to be good and becomes She-Ra? Possibly, but that would need to involve some behind the scenes changes at Mattel and DreamWorks, the people behind the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power animated series.
Revolution Executive Producer Kevin Smith told us back in 2021 that, “I’ve been told over and over again the properties are owned by two different companies. Masters of the Universe is owned by Mattel. The She-Ra figures are owned by Mattel but (animated) She-Ra is owned by DreamWorks.”
He went on to explain that having She-Ra and other elements of her series appear wasn’t something that could easily be worked out but everyone involved would love for it to happen. In 2021 Smith hoped a deal could be reached and perhaps that finally happened.
It’s hard to know, especially with a She-Ra live-action series seemingly still in development at Amazon through DreamWorks, though there hasn’t been word on that since 2022. Maybe the use of Despara in Revolution is that show’s way of getting around possible legal troubles when it comes to She-Ra. If they treat Despara as a totally separate character from She-Ra, it would be a way of getting at least a She-Ra like character into this iteration of the franchise.
Whatever the case may be, we can only hope we’ll be seeing more of Despara in the future. That and a possible Christmas special Kevin Smith mentioned in 2021 he’d love to do with the team who made She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution is now streaming on Netflix.
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