Reception
Part 1 of Masters of the Universe: Revelation holds an approval rating of 92% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10 on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Armed with an incredible voice cast, Revelation smartly updates Masters of the Universe while retaining the quirky charms of the original to create a show that's bound to please fans and newcomers alike." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 8 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Brian Tallerico, writing for RogerEbert.com, stated that "Smith and his team have threaded the needle that so many reboots fail to, making a show that feels both lovingly consistent with the source and fresh at the same time", and praised the show's visuals and voice acting. He concluded: "I think Masters of the Universe: Revelation will also send fans of it back to those originals as watchers of the '80s version show the new one to their kids". Kevin Johnson of The A.V. Club gave the show a grade of B, writing: "Smith and the creative team wink at and play into He-Man's corniest, outdated elements, but with a surprising amount of respect and admiration, while retaining a darker, richer sensibility."
Nick Schager, writing for The Daily Beast, said that the show "authentically resurrects the franchise's favorite characters while simultaneously updating them—and their adventures—for the 21st century", and concluded: "Masters of the Universe: Revelation is less about winning over newbies than about tapping into old fans' cherished memories of childhood days gone by. In that respect, it accomplishes its mission—and there is, to be sure, some chance that Powerhouse's sterling animation will alone convince a few He-Man novices to take the plunge." Amanda Dyer of Common Sense Media gave the series a score of 4 stars out of 5, describing it as "exciting and action-packed" and said that it "makes a smooth transition into a more female-centered cast by following a new journey led by Grayskull Guardian Teela."
Brian Lowry of CNN described the show's tone as "edgier and clearly more ambitious, beginning with the fact that there's actual fighting", and added that Smith "approaches it all seriously -- or at least as earnestly as you can when a guy hoists a sword and shouts "By the power of Grayskull!"". Lowry wrote: "For those expecting something truly boundary-pushing, rest assured, no one will confuse this with Clerks." Zaki Hasan, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, said that "while it's invigorating to see this world and its characters gussied up with a 2021 coat of paint, the whole venture does threaten at times to stumble under the weight of its own oppressive grimness", also adding: "It's as if Smith was so determined to emphasize how grown-up the new show is he forgot that this was originally a story for kids — and that it's OK for that to still be the case." Variety noted some fans had reacted negatively to the show compared to the overwhelmingly positive views of critics.
Part 2 has an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. Matt Fowler of IGN gave it 7 out of 10 and said it "continued on its path of rich characters, eye-popping animation, and terrifically twisted tweaks to the old He-Man formula."
Chris Jackson for Starburst Magazine, giving it 2 out of 5, noted "concerns over its ham-fisted handling of certain characters" and wrote that "overbearing exposition and a lack of action combine to take away any sense of urgency from what should have been the beginning of a non-stop five-episode thrill ride"
Revolution has an approval rating of 100% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
