Masters of the Universe
Series Bible
Courtesy of Robert Lamb

A Series Bible?

Yes, it is a bible. Can you name the first five books of the Bible? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? Nope. Wrong bible. The first five books of this bible are Locations, Heroes, Origins, Villains, and Themes. And every television show ever produced has its own bible. The bible, often penned by the series creator, is the foundation of its program. It clearly states the original vision for the new fictional world, and it establishes the principal characters and problems of the show. Bibles are used as guidelines by everyone else involved in production to guide them as they try to execute the founding vision. Series bibles are extremely difficult to obtain since they are never released to the public and always remain company property.

How did the He-Man bible come about?

Michael Halperin wrote the Masters of the Universe series bible back in December of 1982. Michael was approached by someone at Mattel who had read a sword and sorcery screenplay he had written. They called Michael in, and this was his first introduction to the toys. Up until this point, Mattel's vision was limited to its two introductory figures, He-Man and Skeletor. Mattel, upon releasing the action figures, received a number of calls and letters from kids who wanted to know who these characters were, where they came from, and who were the bad guys and who were the good guys. Mattel requested that Michael Halperin write the origins of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as a bible for the television show and for merchandising purposes. Up to that point, all that existed were the toys.

What did Michael Halperin do?

Mr. Halperin basically took two toys, a couple of storylines introduced in mini-comic books, and produced an entire universe out of them. Halperin states, "I read and studied mythology for years, often using it, as well as biblical stories, as the basis for much of the material I wrote for TV and screen--and later in books and plays. I drew on that research in writing the bible. I created the planet Eternia and its geography; the backgrounds of all the characters; how Marlena arrived at Eternia; the Mystic Wall; the transformation of Grayskull; and created the notion of Snake Mountain. Everything you see in the bible (except for the vehicles and weapons) was my creation." Pretty amazing, huh?

What's in the bible?

Read it. This is the most intense and important reading you will ever do from the Masters of the Universe canon. It charts out the geography of Eternia, maps the histories of its inhabitants, and establishes the good versus evil scenario in breathtaking clarity. These are the original ideas that fashioned the series--not to mention the toys, books, and memorabilia--that we loved as children and continue to enjoy as adults. The bible will reveal concepts that were never expressed to the public, including the moment when Adam first accepts the Power Sword from the Sorceress. You'll also learn what the Secret of Castle Grayskull is, and you will discover the evil world of Infinita. So much that is unknown is revealed to us by the series bible. Did you know that Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, and Tri-Klops were originally astronauts on Queen Marlena's space ship?

What happened to the bible?

This bible was given to the freelance and staff writers for the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series at Filmation Animation Studios in 1983. It was originally meant as a guide so they knew how the characters were supposed to act. The obvious similarities in this bible with the first few episodes are noticeable. It is also strange to see that some stories never made it to the actual series. The origins of He-Man, Skeletor, and the early origins of Castle Grayskull were all left to the imaginations of the show's audience. Of course, these origins did make it to some of the books produced under Mattel's name, but Filmation never really attempted to make episodes of these great origins. Also, origins such as Cringer's are obviously very different, as Filmation turns the bible's simple origin into an entire episode focusing on how Cringer and Battle Cat came to be in the 1985 episode "Battlecat." At times it is good that the series broke away from the series bible, but you cannot help feeling that this bible is what the cartoon should have been more like. Almost definitely, He-Man's second season was not really linked to the series bible, and the first season episodes were now the bible for the show.

So what now?

Read it!! This is the most fascinating, eye-opening literature you can read about He-Man. It's certainly worth it. Below you will find scans of the actual pages of the bible, or you can read from a printer-friendly Web version. Either way, this is one treasure the law ought to require every He-Fan to read.


Series Bible - Original Scan
These are the original 53 actual pages that make up the series bible. Here you can go through the bible page by page chronologically and see the progress of the fantastic story that began it all.

Series Bible - HTML Text
This is a simple Web document with all the text on one page. It's great for printing and for those whose modems are slower.

Series Bible - Quick Link Version
Below is a direct link to each of the individual page scans with brief descriptions of the contents of each. You won't be able to read just one!

Cover Page

Page 1 - In the beginning, God created Eternia . . .

Page 2 - and He said it would have the Vine Jungle . . .

Page 3 - and the Plain of Perpetua and the Sands of Time . . .

Page 4 - and the Mystic Mountains and the Harmony Sea . . .

Page 5 - and, of course, royalty.

Page 6 - There are portals and pure goodness,

Page 7 - but there lies the evil planet Infinita.

Page 8 - The Infinitans invade the Hall of Wisdom.

Page 9 - The Council of Elders discusses a hero.

Page 10 - The Council becomes a flashing light . . .

Page 11 - that forms Castle Grayskull.

Page 12 - Each generation has its own Man-At-Arms.

Page 13 - On Earth, a cast of characters board a space shuttle.

Page 14 - Blastoff!

Page 15 - The ship hits a rip in space, and Marlena crashes.

Page 16 - Marlena meets Randor.

Page 17 - Marlena's fellow astronauts mutate on Infinita, where Skeletor emerges.

Page 18 - Snake Mountain, my humble home.

Page 19 - Prince Adam is born.

Page 20 - Zoar summons Man-At-Arms.

Page 21 - Call her Teela.

Page 22 - Teela and Adam grow up together.

Page 23 - Adam and Teela's 18th birthday party.

Page 24 - Skeletor opens a portal on Infinita.

Page 25 - Adam toasts Duncan and Teela.

Page 26 - Sorceress beckons Man-At-Arms again.

Page 27 - Man-At-Arms takes Adam to the mythological Castle Grayskull.

Page 28 - Skeletor, Beast Man, Evil-Lyn, Tri-Klops, and Mer-Man invade Eternia.

Page 29 - Adam and Duncan go through the Evergreen Forest to find Grayskull.

Page 30 - They enter the castle's jaw-bridge.

Page 31 - The Sorceress explains about the destined champion.

Page 32 - Behold, the Sword of Power.

Page 33 - Sorceress tells Adam his awesome responsibilities.

Page 34 - "By the Power of Grayskull!"

Page 35 - He-Man emerges.

Page 36 - Sorceress leads He-Man into a secret chamber.

Page 37 - The secret of Grayskull.

Page 37a - Skeletor attacks The Royal Palace.

Page 38 - He-Man and Man-At-Arms race to the rescue.

Page 39 - Captain of the Guard Teela joins them.

Page 40 - The heroes speculate about the dangers.

Page 41 - A battle royal ensues.

Page 42 - He-Man versus Skeletor for the first time.

Page 43 - Victory is ours, but not for long.

Page 44 - Fighters for justice include Gorpo (the pre-Orko),

Page 44a - Stratos, Ram Man, Man-E-Faces,

Page 45 - Lizard Man, Spy Man (pre-Mekaneck), and Bugoff (pre-Buzz-Off).

Page 46 - Vehicles include the Wind Raider, the Battle Ram, the Attak Trak,

Page 47 - Talon Fighter, Tri-Trak (pre-Road Ripper), and the Roton.

Page 48 - The villains include Trap Jaw, Faker,

Page 49 - Black Widow (pre-Webstor), Fang Man, and Chopper (pre-Jitsu). The vehicles; Tornado Traveler, War Sled,

Page 50 - and Grinder (pre-Land Shark). Conclusion.


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© 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 Filmation. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright Mattel, Inc. 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986. All Rights Reserved.