He-Man Creator Roger Sweet Dies at 91: Legacy of a Toy Legend

Roger Sweet died on Tuesday after a battle with dementia, Variety reported, citing information from TMZ.

Sweet was the lead designer for Mattel's Preliminary Design Department in the '70s and '80s. In 1976, Mattel turned down a deal to produce toys for "Star Wars," an offer that proved extremely lucrative for Cincinnati-based toy maker Kenner Products after "A New Hope" was released in 1977.

After the fact, Mattel struggled to launch a popular action figure based on original IP. Enter Sweet, who, in pursuit of a fresh idea, experimented by glueing a Big Jim action figure into a fighting stance and adding clay to its body for bulk. This became the prototype for He-Man, which he successfully pitched to then CEO Ray Wagner. He-Man officially hit the market in 1982.

A year later, in 1983, Mattel and Filmation launched the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" cartoon as a companion project to the highly popular He-Man toyline. The show took place on the magical planet of Eternia and followed the young Prince Adam. When wielding the Sword of Power, Adam would utter the now-iconic line, "By the Power of Grayskull! I have the power," which would turn him into He-Man, the galaxy's most fearsome warrior. The show ran for 130 episodes from 1983 to 1985.

Amazon and MGM, in collaboration with Mattel, are set to reboot the iconic He-Man franchise with the upcoming live-action film Masters of the Universe, slated for theatrical release on June 5. Nicholas Galitzine leads the cast as He-Man, alongside Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, and Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, as per Variety.

- ANI