hate it when you see something in media that has great kink potential so you skedoodle post-haste to ao3 only to discover there's none fic left beef and then you have to sit there going oh I see I'M the pervert weirdo I'M the problem with society and everyone else in the world is going to heaven with a hundred innocence dollars preloaded onto their ole fashioned wholesome funtimes themepark fast pass card like fuckin oath man
Please use this ask to say more about the homoeroticism of he man and skeletor I beg you 💜🩷💜🩷
Thank you! I will ABSOLUTELY use this opportunity to talk about He-Man and Skeletor’s whole deal (in parts, because it won't post with all the videos I want to include)
Part 1/3: He-Man is Gay
So the first thing to understand about the original He-Man cartoon is that it’s gay.
There’s positions and angles that make you go hmmmmmm.
The second thing to understand about the original He-Man cartoon is that it was made to sell toys and thus is not very good. I think it’s silly and fun, and I like it a lot, but it isn’t good quality television. (If you want a good MOTU show, watch MOTU Revelations, which does some really interesting stuff with the lore in general and Teela in particular!)
I’m sure a lot of people know this but I’m repeating it for emphasis: there was a big aesthetic overlap between “cool muscular action figure” and “homosexual ideal” in the 80s. The societal perception of gay men being super effeminate was one of several factors that led to a rise in hyper-masculine styles among gay men, which was exacerbated by the general rise of bodybuilding culture. Big muscular gay dudes in leather harnesses were a Thing, and uh… so was He-Man.
But he doesn’t look like this all the time. Prince Adam is, in his day-to-day life, actually more effeminate.
He pretends to be uninterested in a lot of things, especially manly things like combat training, which causes some tension with his father, who doesn't approve of him and doesn't know about his secret life, where he transforms into a big hunk wearing nothing but a harness and underwear to go off to Snake Mountain and fight another hunk wearing nothing but a harness and underwear…
We'll get to that guy in part 2.
Side note, but on the topic of Adam's wardrobe, I’m quite fond of his nightgown, shown below in the episode The Shaping Staff. (So if anyone wants to draw Adam/He-Man in flowy fantasy dresses, there is canon support for him wearing that type of thing!)
Part 2/3: He-Man and Skeletor’s Dynamic, Canon and Otherwise
To me, this isn’t really a ship where the big bad villain dominates the hero. Oh he wants to, sure, but ultimately Skeletor is no match for He-Man in purely physical combat.
He has to use magic, trickery, or hostages to gain the advantage. And as soon as he loses it---and he always does---he’s putty in He-Man’s large, muscular hands:
Pictured: Guy who wants to be a dom sooo bad but the only person he likes is literally THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE UNIVERSE.
This just really feels like they have a rapport. Like "Same time next week?"
At a certain point you wonder why Skeletor even still bothers. For my money, it's because he likes it. We do know from that Christmas special that "getting into fights" is the activity he considers the most fun.
Maybe getting manhandled is his consolation prize for not getting to rule Eternia...
In part 3 I'll talk about when Skeletor flips the script and gets to exert some power over He-Man, however temporarily.
But first, my favorite non-canon He-Man/Skeletor interactions:
I love these videos and sometimes forget they're not as viral as I think they are, and I will quote them to people who have no idea what I'm talking about. Which is embarrassing when what I'm saying is "Yessssssss He-Man, you had your chance with this ass, but I'm afraid it's no longer yours..."
There were also a few ads for a company i don't know or care about that featured Skeletor and He-Man, for some reason. I'm linking my favorite, which has to be seen to be believed.
This kind of stuff is all the He-Man we had in between that early 2000s He-Man cartoon and the 2021 MOTU cartoon, and I treasure it.
But what about those times Skeletor gets the upper hand, if only for a little while? It doesn't happen as often as he would like, but it does happen!
And when it does, Skeletor never misses a chance to gloat, which is why we know how desperate he is to see He-Man on his knees.
The simmering potential for upsetting the status quo is a key part of their relationship for me. Skeletor is always hungry for their next battle because today could be the day he finally wins once and for all.
Ironically, when one of Skeletor's best chances at beating He-Man in the series happened, Skeletor didn't even know it! He kidnapped Prince Adam, who didn’t have access to his sword and thus couldn't transform into He-Man. Skeletor had a de-powered and easily killable He-Man in his clutches and, not knowing his secret identity, just kept him in a cave as a hostage.
There's a lot that could be explored here. First of all, it's very funny. I love when Batman villains kidnap Bruce Wayne to lure out Batman, and it's just as funny when Skeletor kidnaps Adam to lure out He-Man. More importantly, it's not very often that we get to see Adam vulnerable, and having to rely on his wits without the ability to transform is an interesting problem to give his character.
(Both the recent movie and the 2021 MOTU series have their own takes on Adam being able to transform without the sword, of course. Very different, but both interesting!)
Seems normal. I know I always lounge like that when I've been kidnapped and chained to a wall.
One time Skeletor steals the power of the Sorceress and uses it to become Extra Large.
For people that want that Size Difference tag...
Oh and Evil-Lyn once coated He-Man in gold and gave him to Skeletor. As a gift.
This is from the episode The Shaping Staff, which also features Faker, who I could make a whole other post about because he's an evil copy of He-Man that Skeletor created just to serve him.
So, there are occasional times where Skeletor has the power (ha) in their dynamic but it’s rare. And temporary, because it's only a matter of time before He-Man breaks those "unbreakable" chains or snaps himself out of the most powerful and ancient spell anyone's every seen through sheer will. Because he's cool like that.
Even Skeletor is often impressed. There's multiple times where he says something like "Even you can't punch through 40 ft of solid rock!" and then his skeletal jaw drops when He-Man does it anyway. Skeletor should know what He-Man is capable of more than anyone, but Adam can pull off such spectacular feats that even his main enemy can be shocked into silence by his feats of strength.
Equally frustrating to him is when He-Man solves a problem without violence at all, because Skeletor is no more capable of doing that than he is of punching through 40 ft of solid rock. Sometimes He-Man decides to try and befriend the Evil Demon from the Dark Dimension and it just works. Unfortunately for Skeletor, you can only be worthy of the power of Grayskull if you’re compassionate enough to know when not to use it!
I don't know how to conclude this whole thing, since it was more of a list than an essay, so I'll simply close with this picture of me back in college dressed as Gay Skeletor:
Please use this ask to say more about the homoeroticism of he man and skeletor I beg you 💜🩷💜🩷
Thank you! I will ABSOLUTELY use this opportunity to talk about He-Man and Skeletor’s whole deal (in parts, because it won't post with all the videos I want to include)
Part 1/3: He-Man is Gay
So the first thing to understand about the original He-Man cartoon is that it’s gay.
There’s positions and angles that make you go hmmmmmm.
The second thing to understand about the original He-Man cartoon is that it was made to sell toys and thus is not very good. I think it’s silly and fun, and I like it a lot, but it isn’t good quality television. (If you want a good MOTU show, watch MOTU Revelations, which does some really interesting stuff with the lore in general and Teela in particular!)
I’m sure a lot of people know this but I’m repeating it for emphasis: there was a big aesthetic overlap between “cool muscular action figure” and “homosexual ideal” in the 80s. The societal perception of gay men being super effeminate was one of several factors that led to a rise in hyper-masculine styles among gay men, which was exacerbated by the general rise of bodybuilding culture. Big muscular gay dudes in leather harnesses were a Thing, and uh… so was He-Man.
But he doesn’t look like this all the time. Prince Adam is, in his day-to-day life, actually more effeminate.
He pretends to be uninterested in a lot of things, especially manly things like combat training, which causes some tension with his father, who doesn't approve of him and doesn't know about his secret life, where he transforms into a big hunk wearing nothing but a harness and underwear to go off to Snake Mountain and fight another hunk wearing nothing but a harness and underwear…
We'll get to that guy in part 2.
Side note, but on the topic of Adam's wardrobe, I’m quite fond of his nightgown, shown below in the episode The Shaping Staff. (So if anyone wants to draw Adam/He-Man in flowy fantasy dresses, there is canon support for him wearing that type of thing!)
Part 2/3: He-Man and Skeletor’s Dynamic, Canon and Otherwise
To me, this isn’t really a ship where the big bad villain dominates the hero. Oh he wants to, sure, but ultimately Skeletor is no match for He-Man in purely physical combat.
He has to use magic, trickery, or hostages to gain the advantage. And as soon as he loses it---and he always does---he’s putty in He-Man’s large, muscular hands:
Pictured: Guy who wants to be a dom sooo bad but the only person he likes is literally THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE UNIVERSE.
This just really feels like they have a rapport. Like "Same time next week?"
At a certain point you wonder why Skeletor even still bothers. For my money, it's because he likes it. We do know from that Christmas special that "getting into fights" is the activity he considers the most fun.
Maybe getting manhandled is his consolation prize for not getting to rule Eternia...
In part 3 I'll talk about when Skeletor flips the script and gets to exert some power over He-Man, however temporarily.
But first, my favorite non-canon He-Man/Skeletor interactions:
I love these videos and sometimes forget they're not as viral as I think they are, and I will quote them to people who have no idea what I'm talking about. Which is embarrassing when what I'm saying is "Yessssssss He-Man, you had your chance with this ass, but I'm afraid it's no longer yours..."
There were also a few ads for a company i don't know or care about that featured Skeletor and He-Man, for some reason. I'm linking my favorite, which has to be seen to be believed.
This kind of stuff is all the He-Man we had in between that early 2000s He-Man cartoon and the 2021 MOTU cartoon, and I treasure it.
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