Masters of the Universe artwork comes in many shapes and sizes but there are some that have had more of an impact on the classic 80s franchise than others. Several artists helped to develop the look of the entire franchise, including Earl Norem, the legendary artist responsible for several striking posters that were used to promote the Masters of the Universe toy line. Now one of the original paintings by Norem has become the biggest selling item in Heritage Auctions‘ recent Masters of the Universe auction, which was filled with lots of poster art, rare toys, original sketches and more. Just like several other recent sales of hand-painted He-Man posters, this one attracted a lot of attention, leading to the large piece selling for $30,000 and once again proving just how popular the franchise is more than 40 years after its debut.
The piece in question is a 1987 painting that Norem created to help promote Mattel’s Power Gear accessories, including Cliff Climber, Scubattack, and Tower Tools, which arrived towards the end the He-Man toy line’s run. The painting, which was used as a pull-out poster in the Spring 1987 issue of the U.S. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe magazine, depicts He-Man in his new Power Gear armor, coming down the walls of Castle Grayskull to fight Skeletor and Webstor, with Man-At-Arms in support. Grayskull is a dominant part of the artwork, and the action-packed scene captures exactly the kind of adventures children of the decade were playing out with their toy collections. The poster’s original artwork measured an impressive 28.5 by 23 inches, painted with acrylics and signed by Norem, and as one of several Norem pieces to hit the auction block recently, the $30,000 price tag did not come as a surprise to anyone.
Norem was known for being one of the most prominent artists to work on the Masters of the Universe franchise during its peak, and any original paintings that make their way to auction are going to attract a lot of attention. In this particular auction, the four biggest selling items were all paintings by Norem. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a painting of He-Man riding Battlecat became the highest-priced of the four, selling for $32,500 and just beating the Grayskull siege painting into second place. Two other artworks used for posters advertising the later run of figures and accessories to hit shelves in 1986/1987 sold for $14,375 and $16, 875, all higher than any of the rare sealed action figures and other scarce items that were offered up to anyone with deep pockets and a love of the Masters of the Universe franchise.
There has been a renewed interest in Masters of the Universe thanks to the new Amazon MGM movie from director Travis Knight, which brought He-Man, Skeletor and Eternia to life in a way that many fans have been begging for over the last four decades. Unlike Dolph Lundgren’s 1987 cult classic movie, which was forced to change the look of many characters and completely abandon others due to rights issues, this year’s Nicholas Galitzine-led action adventure fully embraced the characters that 80s kids grew up with. Trap-Jaw, Spikor, Ram Man, Moss Man and Cringer/ Battlecat all made their first ever live action appearances. While the movie did not impress during its theatrical run, it massively stepped up to become one of the biggest streaming releases of the year, with a several week run as the global number one movie on Prime Video.
