 The children growing up in the 1980s, He-Man was like no other action figure they've ever seen. A muscle-bound hero truly ready for battle, with knees bent and arms flexed, He-Man and his team defending the universe against the evil minions of his arch-enemy Skeletor. Store shows were flooded with collectibles. Kids and adults alike couldn't wait to get their hands on them, transcending nearly 40 years in our mainstream pop culture. But where did it all begin? Created in 1981 from the concept art from illustrator Mark Taylor and Roger Swede, channelling the fantasy paintings of Frank Frenzedda and turning a simple big-gym action figure into a muscle-bound barbarian, Roger Swede presented the He-Man concept. The models were a barbarian, a soldier and a spaceman. Out of the three concepts, the barbarian version He-Man was chosen to be the basis of the toyline. From early sketches and concepts, the final products came out quite close to what they envisioned. With brief descriptions of the characters would appear on the toyline's unique packaging and incredible box art, accompanied by many comics, with each figure exploring the lore of Masters of the Universe. Mattel also hired comic book writers such as Donald F. Glutt and artists like Earl Norum. To create additional characters, their backstory, posters, package inlays, box art, the first wave to hit the market was the eight-back, featuring man-in-arms, zodiacs, Skeletal, Merman, Stratos, Beastman, Taylor and of course, He-Man. However, the Masters of the Universe franchise would become better known through filmations He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series. In the fall of 1983, running 130 episodes through two seasons until the end of 1984, followed in the spring of 1985 by the theatrically released The Secret of the Sword, introducing He-Man's long-lost sister, She-Ra, which then followed in Mattel's toyline, Princess of Power, aimed at bringing in a young female demographic. Let's attack the crystal castle! It's a great adventure game! When danger is near, call for She-Ra, the Princess of Power, and her friends. Having a mass 70 plus figures in the He-Man line and 30 plus for She-Ra, with various accessories and vehicles, plus lending their merchandising rights to hundreds of different items, from board games to magazines to children's books, they made everything, which was also released worldwide. On present day, we have seen a resurgence in the Masters of the Universe line from companies like Maddie Collector, keeping the franchise alive in the 90s, and also Super 7, taking the line to new heights in our current day. And let's not forget sideshow collectibles and pop culture shock, breeding new life in our beloved characters from our childhood, in the high end range of collectibles. For me, I'll always treasure my memories from He-Man. From my themed birthday parties, to the joy of getting figures for Christmas and my birthday. It was definitely a time to grow up. Stay tuned for the loudest adventure in the universe. He-Man, most powerful man on Eternia, now has a mighty Thunder Punch! Thunder Punch He-Man's loaded with caps and ready for battle with the evil Spy-Core. Spy-Core's fearsome and gruesome, with his deadly spikes, huge club and telescopic webinar. Has He-Man finally met his match? No! With a... Thunder Punch He-Man's Spy-Core! My name's Droz and that was Classic Collectibles. If you liked that and want to see more from us, if so, is it any good, make sure you hit that subscribe button and comment below with your favourite toy line from the 80s. And maybe you'll just see it in the next, upcoming episode, Classic Collectibles.