Despite debuting over 40 years ago, there have only been a handful of video games featuring He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. But pristine copies of the very first He-Man video game, Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man, can still be found on eBay, if collectors are willing to pay a premium price.
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Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man was released on Intellivision and Atari 2600 in November 1983 and December 1983, respectively. While used copies for both systems are relatively affordable, brand-new sealed copies can run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. One of the key factors for the higher price is the original Masters of the Universe comic that was packed with the game. Used copies of the game without the comic sell for lower prices.
Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man Auction History, Explained
Only a handful of sealed and professionally graded copies of Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man have been sold on Heritage, an auction site for high-end collectors. The current record high on Heritage was a 9.4 A+ new copy that sold for $10,200 in 2022. There have been 19 other copies of The Power of He-Man that sold between $1,200 and $7,800, in addition to lower-graded copies more in line with the prices currently found on eBay.
When The Power of He-Man was released, the franchise was still in its infancy, and the video game medium couldn’t fully capture the fantasy elements of Masters of the Universe. Bizarrely, the first section of that game resembles the classic arcade title Defender as He-Man flies his Wind Raider and battles nondescript adversaries in the air and on the ground.
The second half of the game finally allows players to directly control He-Man as he faces Skeletor in a battle that looks like a cross between Breakout and the Tron arcade game. One cool touch is that He-Man can use his power sword to deflect Skeletor’s blasts if players catch it at the right angle. But rather than leading to an epic battle between the two, the game ends when He-Man is able to reach Skeletor before the theme from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series plays over a picture of the title character. From there, the game simply repeats the cycle.
The upcoming video game, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction, appears to have the potential to be the first title to embrace the spirit of the animated series that inspired it. Bitmap Bureau developed it as a 2D side-scrolling beat ’em up that allows fans to control He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, and She-Ra as they battle Skeletor’s forces across Eternia. Limited Run was set to release the game in April before it was delayed to a currently unspecified date.
Talk Masters of the Universe with us over on the ComicBook Forum!
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Forum Conversation: Who should play SPOILER in Masters of the Universe 2 (if it happens)?
Go to ForumI wouldn’t mind just finding someone completely unknown! Maybe someone who’s done a few TV shows here and there like Galitzine. It’s not a character (or budget) that necessarily warrants a big name for it, especially if She-Ra’s just crammed into a He-Man sequel
Hey!
We were talking about this afterward, and I feel like it’ll end up being someone that hasn’t had a big movie break, so I’m going with Erin Moriarty (who is the same age as Nicholas Galitzine!)