Mistress of the universe

He-Man is making a comeback. New episodes of “Masters of the Universe” are airing and a new… He-Man is making a comeback. New episodes of “Masters of the Universe” are airing and a new toy line is in the works. A new generation of children is being targeted to buy the brawny Mattel dolls. But does anyone remember He-Man’s much cooler twin sister She-Ra? Will She-Ra disappear forever because cartoon women are doomed as sidekicks, helpless victims of evil warlords and objects of love? Not as long as I’m around!

Born on the planet Etheria, Princess Adora (more commonly known as “She-Ra”) was kidnapped as an infant, separated from her parents and fraternal twin, Prince Adam (action figure name: “He-Man”). Growing up on Etheria, Princess Adora, like Prince Adam, learned that she too had a magical destiny. Fighting the Evil Horde, led by her archenemy Hordak, she calls upon her Sword of Protection: “For the honor of Grayskull, I am She-Ra!” With flashes of golden light and a change of costume, Adora becomes our titular heroine. Aided by her horse, Spirit, who transforms into Swift Wind, and her faithful band of rebels composed almost entirely of superpowered women, she fights to bring freedom and goodness to Etheria, while always teaching a moral in the process.

She-Ra was the epitome of feminine power. She was kind and generous, possessed strength of body, mind and heart, and had an amazing horse that turned into a flying unicorn – every little girl’s dream horse. The dolls and accessories for the characters were fantastic. You could brush their hair, play with their horses, change their clothes – and battle evil. Beat that, Barbie.

But where, I ask you, are the superheroines of today? The likes of the currently airing “The Powerpuff Girls” cannot compete with the ever-popular Batman, Superman and Spiderman characters. Notice that all these superheroes have to reaffirm that they are indeed men. The name He-Man itself is composed of a pronoun and its corresponding noun. The name She-Ra, on the other hand, translates into something close to “I am woman [She], hear me roar [Ra].”

The young girls of today need superheroines. They need She-Ra and Wonder Woman types that take charge of situations and set good examples. These impressionable minds need to idolize women other than those who have soft-core porn in their music videos. They need to realize that women can save the world as well, while balancing strength and femininity in the process. In the male dominated world of superheroes, we don’t need to bring back He-Man. We need to bring back the Princess of Power.