Wun-Dar action figure from the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. 

Canon

One hundred years before the birth of Prince Adam, Wun-Dar, a warrior from deep within the savage underground city of Tundaria, became one of the chosen guardians of the Sword of He. He proved his worth by saving a young woman who was actually The Goddess in disguise. She gave him cosmic battle armor and a ray gun that could tap into a limitless power supply. She then charged him with protecting the halves of the Sword of He, keeping them apart until the appointed time. Wun-Dar, like many before him, was known as “the He-Man.” His fighting method was savage but effective at keeping evil from touching the two halves of the Sword of Power.

Bio

One hundred years before Prince Adam® was born, Wun-Dar™, a warrior from deep in the savage underground city of Tundaria, rescued a young woman who turned out to be The Goddess of Eternia®. She provided him with cosmic battle armor and a sophisticated ray gun that could tap into almost unlimited power. The Goddess tasked Wun-Dar™ to protect both halves of the Sword of Power and keep them apart lest they fall into the hands of evil. Like many warriors before him, Wun-Dar™ became known as “the He-Man,” battling in a savage way to keep evil from obtaining the key to the great power hidden inside the long forgotten Castle Grayskull®.

The Masters of the Universe Classics line, launched in 2008, is a new line of action figures based on the classic characters from all aspects of the Masters of the Universe franchise. Available solely from Mattel’s website and aimed purely at collectors, the line also includes biographical descriptions of the characters designed to tie the diverging aspects of the mythos together.

Based on the look of the original 1980s MOTU toys, this new toy line was aimed primarily at the adult toy collector market, often available only through subscriptions (from MattyCollector). Sculpted by the Four Horsemen, these toys were updated versions of previous figures as well as characters that never before had an action figure made of them; such as Filmation’s Queen Marlena, Fang-Man, Lizard-Man, Count Marzo, Granamyr, and many others. The toy line featured many redesigned and updated action figures from the original action-figure line from the 1980s, but it also included characters from She-Ra: Princess of Power (Adora, Madame Razz, Scorpia, Shadow Weaver, and others), The New Adventures of He-Man (Mara, Crita, and more), and the Mike Young Productions series from 2002 (Faceless One, Chief Carnivus, King Chooblah, Ceratus, and others). As the line progressed, characters from all versions of MOTU lore were included, from such things such as prototypes and concept art (He-Ro, Eldor, Demo-Man, Gygor, Vykor, and others), box art from vehicles and model kits (Sky High and the Fighting Foe Men), mini comics (the Goddess, Geldor, and Procrustus), and other books, comics, and media (Despara, Strobo, Goat-Man, and more). There were also newly created figures, exclusive to the Classics toy line, such as Draego-Man, Cy-Chop, Castle Grayskullman, and others. In February 2010, the figures of He-Man and Skeletor were available as Toys “R” Us exclusives packed in two-packs with Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively, from Mattel’s DC Universe Classics action figure line; with this dual line expanded to include two-packs featuring Aquaman/Mer-Man, Hawkman/Stratos, Bizarro/Faker, Supergirl/She-Ra, and Green Lantern/Zodac.

Masters of the Universe Classics surpassed the original 1980s toy line in terms of length, running continuously for seven years with more than 150 different figures produced since its launch in August 2008. Along with the Classics series, MOTU Minis and Giants figures were also released in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Mattel ended production on the MOTU Classics and MattyCollector.com’s Club Grayskull series, with the production company Super7 now taking over the Masters of the Universe license.