Roger Sweet, Creator of He-Man, Dies at 91

Roger Sweet, the creator of the He-Man action figure, which spawned the popular ‘80s cartoon series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” died on Tuesday after a battle with dementia, TMZ reports. He was 91.

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 gluing 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 markets in 1982.

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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, MGM and Mattel will soon reboot the He-Man franchise with the upcoming action film “Masters of the Universe,” which hits theaters on June 5. Nicholas Galitzine stars as He-Man. Other cast members include Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn and Idris Elba and Man-At-Arms.

Sweet is survived by his wife, Marlene.