It all started with the Masters of the Universe action figure line by Mattel, which was selling extremely well. The company Filmation had animated a handful of adverts to promote the figures, and Mattel decided to try and further the line’s success by asking Filmation to go beyond animating mere toy adverts, and create sixty-five cartoon episodes that eventually became He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

The premise was simple: a cartoon that advertised the Mattel action figures and nothing else. Instead, the many writers at Filmation trying to prove themselves and break into the animation industry had other ideas. Filmation had a strong reputation for being a company full of opportunities for up-and-coming talent, and as a result, a great many top animation writers started out there, such as Paul Dini, Larry DiTillio, Bob Forward and J. Michael Straczynski to name a few.