Nerd Processor
A Grown Man’s Love Letter to She-Ra
A celebration of the groundbreaking ’80s cartoon before it returns to TV
Growing up, I had a friend, a real good guy. We used to hang out all the time, before school and after, and I remember all the crazy adventures we used to go on, although I tended to just be a spectator. One day, after we’d been pals for years, he casually mentioned that he had a sister. I was flabbergasted! He’d never mentioned her before or given any indication she existed. The next day, he brought her over, and I fell immediately in love.
That friend’s name was He-Man, and his sister was She-Ra.
Let me assure you: This is not going to be a tale of a grown man having the hots for an animated character. I was only eight when She-Ra debuted in “The Secret of the Sword,” a special five-episode He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon event in 1985, and then, as now, my affection went far deeper than mere beauty. The reason I loved She-Ra and why I am so excited for Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power reboot series (premiering November 13) is because of everything she represented and the way her existence expanded my reality.
That’s an admittedly heavy load to put on a character created by toymaker Mattel and animation studio…
