‘Masters of the Universe’ Can’t Replace One of the Greatest ’80s Toy Shows

The 1980s were a veritable golden age of toy-based cartoons, and while Masters of the Universe is part of that era, the arguable king of the decade’s toy-based shows was G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Along with She-Ra, The Transformers, ThunderCats and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I.

Joe led the pack through the formative decade of action-figure-driven, “toyetic” animation. G.I. Joe’s reinvention grew from a collaboration between Hasbro and Marvel Comics. Jim Shooter assembled a creative team — including Larry Hama, Archie Goodwin and Tom DeFalco — that recast G.I.

Joe as a codename for an elite, anti-terrorist unit. As Shooter put it, "Maybe it’s like a secret squad of the best soldiers and sailors and airmen.

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