WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first part of Season 1 of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, now available on Netflix.
By the power of Mongo! Masters of the Universe: Revelation takes many bold risks to revitalize the beloved Mattel franchise for modern audiences. Kevin Smith and his team at Netflix went to great lengths to showcase the world of Eternia in ways never before seen, pushing the boundaries of storytelling audiences have come to expect from the original Filmation series. Putting aside the unexpected direction the overall narrative takes, Smith also snuck in a surprise of a different kind in the first episode -- a Blazing Saddles reference.
The premiere episode, "The Power of Grayskull" (which Smith wrote), picks up with Teela taking up Man-At-Arms' mantel from her adoptive father. The orphan girl who became Captain of the Eternian Royal Guard is mid-ceremony when word reaches Duncan that Castle Grayskull is under attack. The forces of Eternos rally to defend the castle against Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and the legions of baddies emanating from Snake Mountain. The newly minted Man-At-Arms, Teela, leads the charge with fan-favorite deep cuts, Fisto and Clamp Champ in tow. Upon entering the castle, Teela battles Evil-Lyn, initially besting Skeletor's second-in-command.
That is until Lyn sics Night Stalker on her. The mechanical steed hailed from comics in the UK but never actually made it on the Filmation series. Teela comes face-to-face with the great beast and looks to be in great peril when Man-At-Arms appears and knocks it out cold with one swift punch. While it shows that Duncan has a mean left hook, it's also likely a reference to Mel Brooks' legendary comedy film, Blazing Saddles.
Brooks' 1974 Western spoof was groundbreaking for a litany of reasons. A major part of that film's genius came from stand-up comedy icon Richard Pryor, who wrote in the character Mongo, played by Alex Karras. In Blazing Saddles, Mongo is a hulking simpleton sent to kill the hero, Sheriff Bart. He's more of a "what" than a "who." If you shoot him, it just makes him mad. He strides into Rock Ridge atop a giant bull, causing all the townsfolk to scurry away in fear. Mongo hitches his horse by the local saloon, to which some poor sap protests, "Hey, you can't park that animal over there! It's illegal."
Mongo calmly walks up and clocks the man's horse right in the face, sending it to the ground with a wide-eyed look of bewilderment. If there's an Academy Award for horses, that one deserves it for beautifully selling that stunt. The big brute would even show his poetic depth when he declared, "Mongo only pawn in game of life." Man-At-Arms shares that same philosophical side as his fellow horse-punching compadre, as he's later in exile as a benevolent protector, sporting samurai hair in Episode 3.
While it may be coincidental, it would seem to be a pretty safe bet that a noted comedy aficionado like Kevin Smith paid tribute to one of the legends, Mel Brooks. Besides, it's not like there's a multitude of other horse-punching scenes this could be a reference to. Masters of the Universe: Revelation has a surplus of quirky ideas, and this under-the-radar homage illustrates that perfectly.
Executive produced by Kevin Smith, the beautifully animated first five episodes of Masters of the Universe: Revelation are now available to stream on Netflix.
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