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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Arts and Culture devider 'He-Man' creator Roger Sweet dies at 91

'He-Man' creator Roger Sweet dies at 91

Remembering the legend behind the epic character

Published Apr 29, 2026 10:46 am
FOREVER REMEMBERED Roger Sweet is the toy designer behind the fantasy character He-Man
FOREVER REMEMBERED Roger Sweet is the toy designer behind the fantasy character He-Man
Roger Sweet, the toy designer behind creating the character He-Man, has passed away at the age of 91. His wife, Marlene, revealed the news. She had also revealed he was battling with dementia after opening a GoFundMe page last February to pay for his memory care facility bills. Coincidentally, the passing of Roger Sweet landed right on the celebration of He-Man Day. 
How He-Man came to be
Before becoming known as the most powerful man in the universe, He-Man was a simple toy design put together by Roger for Mattel. Roger modded a Big Jim action figure to add more muscles and put it in a fighting stance. This was his pitch to rival Kenner's booming success with the "Star Wars" toy line, a series of toys that Mattel had earlier turned down. Roger pitched the design to Mattel CEO Ray Wagner, and it officially hit shelves by 1982. Shortly after, the popular "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" animated series came to be. He-Man proved to have a popular run, spawning over 130 episodes that aired from 1983 to 1985. After the success of He-Man, he continued to work under Mattel until 1991.
CHILDHOOD FAVORITE 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' ran from 1983 to 1985 (Photo: IMDB | Mattel)
CHILDHOOD FAVORITE 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' ran from 1983 to 1985 (Photo: IMDB | Mattel)
He-Man lives on
Even after the series wrapped up in 1985, He-Man continued to resonate with audiences over the years through reruns, reboot series, and memes. Its most recent run was on Netflix, with two separate series being made. One was a CGI-animated series aimed toward children, whereas the other was a series produced by Kevin Smith aimed toward older audiences. Internet culture also immortalized He-Man's character through a viral video in 2006, "Fabulous Secret Powers" by Slackcircus, where scenes from the show were edited and redubbed to sing 4 Non-Blonde's "What's Up?" An upcoming film is also set to be released under Amazon's MGM Studios. It stars Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man and has Jared Leto as Skeletor. Marlene has been trying to get in touch with anyone working on the cast and crew to try in hopes that they could dedicate the upcoming film to Roger.
By the power of Greyskul, may we all have the power to remember the legacy of the iconic character Roger has left for us to enjoy. 

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