Spoiler-Free Review — Master of the Universe: Revelations

by | Aug 3, 2021 | Art, Comic, Entertainment, Media | 176 comments

A new release on Netflix is Masters of the Universe: Revelations, billed as a continuation of the storyline and setting originally shown in a series of Filmation cartoons from 1983 to 1985.Ā  If you were a child of the male persuasion younger than 13 back then, odds are you at least knew of the show, if not had at least some of the toys that Mattel put out.Ā  I was 9 years old for most of 1983, so I was right in the demographic for which Mattel was aiming.Ā  I and a good friend had most of the action figures and vehicles, watched the cartoons like crazy, and played with his Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain sets.Ā  Much of our parents’ money was spent on what were in retrospect pretty cheap toys, and much of our attention was focused on a pretty cheaply-produced cartoons:Ā  all the Heroic or Villainous men were muscular enough to make professional bodybuilders jealous, the Heroic or Villainous women (of which there were few) were identically slender and shapely without being voluptuous, animation sequences like walking and running were shamelessly re-used from one episode to the next, and so on. Ā Ā Mattel had their reasons for this (minimize expenses, maximize revenue), but none of which mattered to us or to the toyline’s bottom-line:Ā  He-Man toys sold like crazy for quite a few years.

The premise of the setting was rather basic:Ā  A megalomaniacal villain (Skeletor) was determined to become ruler of the planet Eternia by any means necessary.Ā  They key to his goal was the Power of Grayskull, which the royal Prince Adam could call upon using his Sword of Power to become He-Man, the Most Powerful Man In the Universe!Ā  Skeletor had an ever-growing gang of scurrilous henchmen to aid him in his goal of conquest, and He-Man had an increasing assortment of allies to help him defend Castle Grayskull, the repository of the source of magical power of Eternia.Ā  He-Man’s true identity was a secret known only to a select few allies.Ā  Further details were thrown into shows as necessary.

The cartoon was equally basic:Ā  Skeletor would concoct some new scheme to conquer Grayskull, usually with the assistance of some new villain and/or vehicle (bug your parents, kids!), and He-Man would thwart his scheme with the help of a new ally and/or vehicle (bug your parents, kids!)Ā  To help prevent the show from being just a commercial, each episode ended with He-Man or one of his allies advocating for some moral behavior or offering friendly advice — always be honest, be careful around strangers, don’t be judgmental about other people’s differences, etc.Ā  There was no grand storyline underlying the show, so episodes always ended with events in Eternia unchanged: Skeletor and all his henchmen are thwarted but escape, He-Man and the Forces of Good are victorious, and nobody is harmed or changed in any way.

In 2002, Mike Young Productions created a reboot of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show that aired on Cartoon Network for two seasons.Ā  The animation was far better than the Filmation show, but character designs and voice acting was intentionally done to be familiar to fans of the original series, with only a few exceptions that were changed for the better IMO.Ā  However, they did flesh out the setting in many ways, delving into the origins of He-Man and Skeletor, and many of the setting’s respective heroes and villains.Ā  It also delved into the history of Eternia and Castle Grayskull itself.Ā  I found that show to be largely very good, with only a few minor quibbles.Ā  Each of the two seasons had underlying story arcs, so it was best to watch the episodes in order.

L: Count Marzo, 1984.Ā  R:Ā  Count Marzo, 2002.

Likewise, MoTU: Revelations is meant to be watched in sequence; events from one episode lead into subsequent episodes, and characters do change substantially as the series progresses.Ā  The overarching story is Serious and Threatens the Universe, while still allowing for plenty of corny one-liners that remind me of the original show.Ā  The dialogue is also crafted with the understanding that the original fans are now middle-aged, without being so mature as to disinterest younger viewers.Ā  The character design is also very good; older fans will have no problems identifying the various characters encountered as the story goes on.Ā  They even include an Evil Warrior called Blast-Attak, who never made it into the FIlmation shows, but was one of the last action figures released as a toy.Ā  He was a robot whose primary ability was to detonate himself to damage foes, then the pieces could reform so he could search out a new group of targets.Ā  Gosh, I can’t imagine why he didn’t show up in the cartoons.

Blast-Attak, Eternian suicide bomber.

MOTU: Revelations is very specifically NOT a reboot.Ā  It picks up where the old show ends: Skeletor & Co. is still trying to gain the Power of Grayskull, He-Man & Co. are on guard to defend same.Ā  Five episodes of the first season have been released, with the second half of the first season to become available at an as-yet-unannounced date.

During a great battle inside Castle Grayskull, Skeletor and He-Man vanish in a titanic blast of magical energy, and both are presumed dead.Ā  He-Man’s Sword of Power, which was used to absorb most of the blast, is split into two halves, which vanish as well (this is actually canon to the original show and toyline, as He-Man came with a gray half-sword, and Skeletor came with a purple half, each of which fit together to form one sword.)Ā  Suddenly Eternia must deal with the fact that He-Man is no longer around, and the Forces of Evil find themselves scrambling to fill a power vacuum left by Skeletor’s disappearance.Ā  We later learn of a grave threat for which Teela, a former ally of He-Man’s, is recruited to help solve.Ā  Given the disrupted state of Eternia, she is joined in this mission by an unusual group of allies.Ā  Her quest takes her to locations that are familiar to fans, as well as to some locations that have only been written about in the comics.Ā  The fifth episode ends on a significant, and (for the setting) unprecedented cliffhanger.

Overall there is much to like about the show.Ā  The cast of voice actors and their work in the show is, for the most part, excellent.Ā  For example, Lena Headey brings Cercei from Game of Thrones right into the role of Evil-Lyn, a sorceress who was one of Skeletor’s closest allies — and it totally works!Ā  One hang-up I have, though, is Mark Hamill’s role as Skeletor.Ā  Hamill played the Joker in more Batman and DC universe cartoons than I care to list, and he was an absolutely phenomenal Joker.Ā  He also played the role of Fire Lord Ozai in Nickelodeon’s Avatar: the Last Airbender, and I think he crushed that role as well.Ā  But hearing the Joker’s voiceĀ  and cackle coming out of Skeletor’s skull head is jarring to me.Ā  The 2002 show’s Skeletor was voiced by Brian Dobson, and he tried to sound like the original show’s Skeletor, but didn’t really nail it, IMO.Ā  Curiously, Alan Oppeneheimer, the original voice of Skeletor, is in the show, but as Moss Man, one of He-Man’s allies, and one who appears in only the first and last episodes.Ā  As it’s been 40 years, it’s possible Alan couldn’t muster the rather nasally voice for Skeletor the way he did in 1983.Ā  Ah well.Ā  I don’t think it’s necessary to have 2021 Skeletor sound like 1983 Skeletor anyhow, but I don’t think Skeletor should remind people of the Joker.

The story is … acceptable.Ā  Eternia and the rest of the universe is in Grave Danger, He-Man is not available, and because some time has passed since he vanished, most of the old guard of Heroes is aging and/or unavailable.Ā  Teela has always been a formidable warrior in her own right, so it’s up to her to take on this Vital Quest.Ā  What we are introduced to is a sort of post-apocalyptic Eternia, and that’s interesting to me.Ā  It definitely allows one to be creative in how people and events might progress in a realm with the long-reigning most powerful forces of Good and Evil gone, presumably forever.

There are some major criticisms about the show that I don’t really share but I will address, as the show is being review-bombed on Rotten Tomatoes.

Left:Ā  Paid Reviewers. Right: Angry Comic Book Guys.

Primary Critique:Ā  OMG The Show’s Gone Woke!Ā  Much of this is in reference to He-Man being largely absent in the series, and Teela being the main protagonist.Ā  But Teela was always a significant character in the setting. At the start of the show, she was Captain of the Royal Guard, so she held a position of prominence and prestige; she was the daughter of the Sorceress of Grayskull (a fact to which Teela was not privy), and it was strongly hinted that she would be the successor to the Sorceress as the Keeper of Grayskull’s secrets.

Some of this is also due to the fact that a couple of characters have been redesigned as black people, voiced by black actors.Ā  Andra was a bit character from the comics who was a friend of Teela’s, and in this show she’s black.Ā  Likewise, King Grayskull, the original wielder of the Sword of Power and for whom Castle Grayskull is named, now appears as a gigantic black character instead of a blond-haired-blue-eyed-white-guy.Ā  My reaction:Ā  Meh.

A third element of this critique is that Teela’s character design moves well away from the initial familiar look to a significantly-muscled woman with a chiseled jawline and a half-shaven head of hair.

Teela: “I have one sword and two guns!”

Teela’s friendship with Andra (up there next to Beast-Man) is also close.Ā  Very close.Ā  Suspiciously close.Ā  Nothing overt is said or done, but there’s enough to make fan-boys wonder if Teela has switched teams in order to appeal to the LGBTQWERTY audience.Ā  But if Teela’s been snoo-snooing Andra, isn’t it only because Teela’s fetishized Andra because of her race?Ā  Grumbletarian’s take:Ā  Meh.Ā  If it turns out Teela’s shtupping Andra, it’ll probably be gratuitously thrown in, and then it might bug me.Ā  If part one bombs, Kevin Smith probably has more overt scenes drawn and lines recorded to add somewhere into the next installment of episodes so he can call people who hate his show homophobes.Ā  Identity politics infects anything it touches.

Part one of the first season consists of five episodes, each a bit less than a half-hour long, so you can breeze through it in a few hours.Ā  Overall I like the show.Ā  The story is largely decent, the voice acting is quite good, the characters are pleasantly familiar for the most part, and I really dig the state of Eternia after the loss of its Champion.Ā  You meet characters that are totally nods to the people who liked the original canon, and they are drawn with the intent to be easily recognizable to fans.Ā  There are a few things about the show that bother me, mainly related to certain plot points and dialogue choices, but delving into them is likely to reveal spoilers.Ā  If there’s further interest, I could delve into spoiler-heavy reviews and critiques of each of the five episodes, comparing them with events and canon from the 1980’s and 2002 shows.

Even if you’ve never watched He-Man, the show is easy to get into, as they summarize the state of things in the first episode, and you don’t need to know the setting’s history to understand what’s going on and what’s at stake.Ā  It’s worth watching at least for some cheap entertainment.Ā  I won’t call it great, but it’s a decent way to pass a couple of hours.

About The Author

Grumbletarian

Grumbletarian

Air Force brat, Granite stater, temporarily self-exiled in Texas.

176 Comments

  1. waffles

    Has there ever been a thundercats reboot? Seems kinda obvious. Voltron too.

    I watched Attack on Titan’s first season on netflix. The first few episodes had a good hook and kept me watching. Unfortunately after that every character became so fucking obnoxious I was starting to regret my decision. I kept on because the show is so violent someone I hate was sure to die. Ultimately it was ok. I only watched it because the ADL said it was antisemitic.

    • AlexinCT

      Mum Rah would be fighting their cat supremacy?

      • Bobarian LMD

        BattleCat has a sad.

        Incidentally, Robot Chicken has some of the best reboots of all these properties.

    • Sean
    • CPRM

      Both have had reboots. Thundercats on cartoon Network and Voltron in the late 90s and then on Netflix. The Thundercats one was decent, the netflix Voltron was decent as well, but both had too much of the kiddy anime stuff thrown in them. the 90s voltron looked so terrible I couldn’t watch it.

    • Sensei

      Funny I had no interest in Attack on Titan even with an A list cast.

      Same for the current Kimetsu No Yaiba craze (Demon Slayer).

    • EvilSheldon

      I would say that the furries have thoroughly poisoned that particular well.

    • LCDR_Fish

      There was a Thundercats reboot in the early 00’s IIRC – around the same time as the He-Man reboot – I’ve been meaning to check them both out.

      Then, they tried this atrocity a year or two back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZBmYOCWJ9o

  2. Sean

    Great write up, but I’m probably gonna pass on the show.

    I don’t remember being a big fan when it first came out.

    • waffles

      Me either. But I was a huge fan of He Man’s cover of “What’s Going On” by 4 non blondes. That is by far the best version of the song.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Thanks for agreeing with me, A hideous Man indeed….

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        LOL!

    • EvilSheldon

      I was 5 when He-Man came out, and I remember thinking that it was kind of corny even then. Transformers were a way bigger influence on my parent’s toy budget.

    • rhywun

      Someone’s got her eyes on the prize.

      But yes, nothing else will happen unless the Machine wants it to, and they seem to be mum so far.

    • Drake

      And now everyone distracted from how many thousands of people he killed last year.

  3. Yusef drives a Kia

    My nephews went crazy for He-man/She Ra, “I Have The Power!!!”
    echoing through the house, good times.

    • AlexinCT

      Heh, Same here… I watched it when my nephew was visiting, obviously because…

  4. R.J.

    I watched it, enjoyed it, and would rate it higher than the audience on rotten tomatoes. I agree that Hamill is jarring coming out of Skeletor. I also agree that it really wasnā€™t woke. That was a big concern of mine, and it wasnā€™t woke. I was also concerned that it was post-fat Smith. His latest movies are truly awful and thankfully this was not tainted with his post-fat lack of creativity.

    • Grumbletarian

      Where he’s gone with how Eternia has progressed is mostly good. I did let my inner Statler and Waldorf out and have basically rewritten the script for episode 1, and it’s awaiting scheduling. It turned out so long it’s in two parts, and it’s pretty funny even (or especially) if you don’t care for the show.

    • Social Justice is Neither

      Yes, nothing woke about taking a beloved franchise, sidelining many of the initial characters and race-bending, gender-swapping or queer-baiting the rest. Sorry, this was progressive politics rammed into the characters and if you don’t love lesbian trans Teela your a bigot has basically been the response to criticism…fuck that noise from marxist trash.

  5. CPRM

    I agree with the audience score. At least the Masters of the Universe movie had Gwildor.

  6. rhywun

    Nerd.

    PS. I was too old for that shit.

    • Fatty Bolger

      Same here. Had some younger cousins who went absolutely crazy over it, though, and had dozens of the toys.

    • Zwak, jack off, all trades

      Yeah, I was 12 and just entering Junior High (none of that middle school BS for us). It was all Girls and MTV in ’83!

      Mmmm. Amy Madalina in a tank-top…

  7. PieInTheSky

    I got nothing

    • slumbrew

      I’ve become a huge fan of The Drinker.

      I often have Nah, it’ll be fine running through my head these days.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        I like watching his schtick along with Red Letter Media and Screen Rant much better than the actual TV shows or movies. The critique is more entertaining than the product lately.

      • Penguin

        This. ^^^

      • l0b0t

        There is an uploader on a video forum who shares all of the movies that Red Letter Media reviews on Best/Wheel Of the Worst and Half In The Bag. I find myself unable to sit through most of them – thanks for enacting that labor Jay , Mike, Rich, et al.

  8. kinnath

    I was 9 years old for most of 1983, . . . . .

    My son was 7 in 1983.

    A about a week before Christmas, my son mentions “I’d like some He-Man stuff for Christmas”. At that point, it was unobtanium. Almost as bad as beanie babies. He did not get a He-Man for Christmas. So sad.

    • R C Dean

      He did not get a He-Man for Christmas.

      Future mass shooter CONFIRMED.

  9. slumbrew

    I was 13 when it came out, so not quite the target demo, but I’ve definitely seen the shows.

    Even if I had been younger, the idea of my parents buying us toys like that is laughable.

    I’m pretty sure I never had a single sort of figurine or anything like that. Legos were a ‘yes’, but that’s it.

    • rhywun

      Same.

      I had zero interest in the typical junk targeted at boys in that era.

      • rhywun

        OK, except for Star Blazers.

      • Bobarian LMD

        I was too old as well, but in my age group, my brother and I had Micronauts, and MAC, along with old school GI Joe (With Kung Fu Grip and Life-Like Hair!).

        Also had the Mego Iron Man and Hulk action figures.

        Kirk and Spock as well.

  10. The Other Kevin

    My best friend had all the He-Man toys. I may have watched it but I wasn’t that into it. I was more into Star Wars and GI Joe.

    Funny how bad that old animation was.

    • Nephilium

      The Community episode with G.I. Joe flashbacks had several jokes about the cheap animation.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Especially Annie’s big boobs

      • Nephilium

        Which would be completely different then a big Annie’s Boobs.

  11. Ghostpatzer

    Great write-up. I’m a bit long in the tooth for that one, sounds like something I would have liked as a wee bairn. Will check it out.

  12. rhywun

    I have no doubt this will come up later, but… have some totalitarianism to round out your lunch hour – as I dig the pitchforks out of the closet.

    • Sean

      Make it for public transport too, I dare you.

      • rhywun

        He has no idea what can of worms he just opened.

        Notice he wants to impose it on “shopping” too.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Whoā€™s going to call him on it?

      • Sean

        I’m gonna laugh my ass off when all these vaxxed peeps get covid in their “safe spaces”.

      • rhywun

        “Never mind.”

    • Ghostpatzer

      The only way to patronize these businesses indoors is if youā€™re vaccinated

      * consults magic 8-ball *

      “A downturn in business lies ahead”

      • Ownbestenemy

        I think you will see a downturn in the living. We talk about desperation being the one major factor between our way of life and major civil discourse.

      • Ghostpatzer

        downturn in the living

        NYC is a long way from Indiana, but still quite prone to outbreaks of lead poisoning.

      • Sensei

        I’m assuming PA plays the role of Indiana. It certainly ain’t NJ…

      • Ghostpatzer

        Can confirm ?

      • waffles

        discourse? discord?

        I think you meant discord. The time for discourse is over, apparently.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Probably.

    • waffles

      EXCELSIOR

    • Ownbestenemy

      Not one reporter asked “if it is this dangerous and tou need to stop it now…why wait a month?”

      • Akira

        ā€œif it is this dangerous and tou need to stop it nowā€¦why wait a month?ā€

        Probably so that it’s harder to analyze the effect that these authoritarian measures do or don’t have on the virus.

        They do the same shit with minimum wage – they always phase it in over a couple years so that there isn’t an embarrassing spike in marginal worker unemployment (I mean among the people who typically work min-wage jobs – teenagers, ex-cons, unskilled and uneducated, etc).

    • Sensei

      Hey now. I’d just like to mention as a fellow sufferer I beat you to this at the end of the Morning Links.

      • rhywun

        Can’t read mornin’ links, batin’ workin’.

    • Penguin

      I’d call DeBlasio a tool, but he’s not.

      Tools are often useful.

      • Ghostpatzer

        Atul is a common name among our southern Asian brethren. I had a co-worker who would answer the phone “I am Atul”. Which would be appropriate for DeBlasio. or almost any politico for that matter.

  13. db

    I only watched it in syndication, when my little sister would watch it after school while I was setting a fire in the house. Wait, that came out wrong. We heated our house with a wood and coal burning stove. By the time we got home from school, the fire was out, and my job (at age 11 or so) was to get the fire going when we got home.

    Anyway, my sister was about 8 at the time and she loved She-Ra and also the He-Man programs. I remember friends having the toys when it was popular, but I wasn’t really into it. GI Joe and Transformers were more my thing when I was of the age that kind of thing made sense.

    • kinnath

      I was walking through the little cemetery that dates back to the founding of the small town I live next to.

      In the oldest section is was common to find tiny headstones for the unnamed children that didn’t survive more than a few weeks after birth.

      People forget what life is really like without modern technology and medicine.

      • waffles

        There’s a colonial cemetery in the center of my city. It has a whole rows of little angel shaped tombstones for young children.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yeah as I research my family lineage that is evident and people forget. Amazed at how a family gets stuck on a name and they have one or two “Mary” that died and finally one who lives.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Collins is up to his eyeballs in the GOF research. That SOB is more than willing to do anything to draw attention away from his culpability in all of this.

    • rhywun

      If masks worked (they don’t), this would actually make some sense because your own home is where most people catch it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        SHHHHHHH you’re harshing my narrative

  14. prolefeed

    On the last leg of our flight, Mask Nazi Roulette drew a crew who kept telling me to mask up, until some arsehole repeatedly threatened to report me to the FAA if I didn’t cover my nose (and start asphyxiating).

    Question for any lawyers: would vigorously exercising my 1st A rights and pointing out that the Mask Nazi was the sort of Good German who’d shove Jews onto cattle cars because orders:

    Would that get me in legal trouble?

    • kinnath

      Gets you a ticket to a jail cell.

    • R C Dean

      “I thought I was on an airplane to __________, not a cattlecar heading for the camps.”

    • Gustave Lytton

      IANAL, but there’s both the federal directive to mask and a general must follow the directions of the flight and cabin crew, means yes you could potentially get into legal trouble. Most likely, unless you cause a physical altercation or leave the aircraft in handcuffs, you probably won’t and more likely just to be banned from that airline (and possible loss of frequent flyer account or any similar benefits).

    • blighted_non_millenial

      Had the same experience in June. Outbound flight they handed out snacks and didn’t bother anyone for the whole flight. Inbound it was a complete 180. I kept my mouth shut for what it’s worth. I seethed for about 15 minutes and then just got back to music and reading.

  15. Mojeaux

    @kinnath and blackjack, I brought zinc and tonic water and zinc over to my friend. I said the magic words, “It has quinine in it. You know, like hydroxychloroQUININE” and she sucked it right down.

    Am currently cleaning everything with Clorox. She’s sleeping so I took my mask off. Cannot do this with that fucking thing on.

    • R C Dean

      Am currently cleaning everything with Clorox.

      That’s nice of you, but it won’t do much of anything to keep anyone from catching the ‘Vid. Especially in a house with an active ‘Vid patient, which will definitely have the virus in the air.

      • Mojeaux

        Did not know, thanks.

      • kinnath

        Tonic water helps and is available everywhere.

        The pills are a lot better and recovery is much faster.

        Amazon prime — order now should be delivered by Friday.

      • R C Dean

        Quick check shows they don’t seem to carry OTC quinine pills at CVS or Walgreens.

      • kinnath

        Yeah. I guessed that. Health food stores or something like GNC might be a better chance of finding it locally.

      • R C Dean

        Nope, not GNC either.

      • kinnath

        The one at the top of the list is the one we used.

        I keep a couple of bottles of it in the house just in case.

      • Mojeaux

        I know, but it makes her feel better. She needs a clean place to be sick in.

      • R C Dean

        I figured as much. I think you are well on your way to being remembered as a kind person.

      • Ownbestenemy

        ^^^ Mojeaux the Kind

      • Tulip

        Nothing worse than being sick AND thinking I need to clean. Good for you Mojo

    • kinnath

      I hope she has a quick recovery.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Ditto. You are a good friend Mojo.

      • rhywun

        No fucking way I am watching that.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I heard a snippet on the radio about how his dearly departed mama taught him to grope kiss women as a greeting.

        It was rather vomit inducing.

      • R C Dean

        “So, Governor, when you would meet your mother, would you grab her ass, too?”

      • Ted S.

        His mother isn’t dearly departed (she turns 90 in September). It was her being alive that led him to come up with the idiotic talking point that people who didn’t want to be locked down wanted to kill people like her.

      • Endless Mike

        I guess she’s not in a rest home…

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Admittedly I didn’t catch all of it, I switched it off pretty quick.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Weā€™ll see, wouldnā€™t surprise me if nothing meaningful comes of this though.

      • Gustave Lytton

        I’m skeptical but looks like the Dem establishment is publicly coming out against him. Sharks are smelling blood and an opportunity.

      • Ownbestenemy

        ^^^ #MeToo.

      • Ownbestenemy

        And it isn’t just the AG report, Albany DA has a new case and requesting the AG report. Still, I am skeptical.

    • Penguin

      From a sidebar link in Rhywun’s NYC story.

      • Q Continuum

        I’ll take Paige Spiranac any day over her.

      • slumbrew

        ĀæPor quĆ© no los dos?

      • Ownbestenemy

        As my father once told me when I had two girls in my room “You are walking a dangerous line son”

      • Bobarian LMD

        Jealous, Dad?

      • Q Continuum

        Correct answer.

      • rhywun

        the German mixed team was disqualified for making contact with the Jamaican team

        WTF does that mean?

        Is this more coof stupidity?

  16. Nephilium

    Well, for those in the footprint of Giant Eagle grocery stores, they’re putting a full mask mandate for everyone again effective tomorrow.

    • waffles

      For what!?

      • R C Dean

        For the feelz?

      • Nephilium

        And because of the DELTA variant.

    • Ownbestenemy

      We have orders to mask up and people have done so, but once inside past the pimple-faced teen that is tasked with telling people to do so, it becomes a different story.

      Gym – mask to get through the door and then that is it. Some keep it on, but most drop it as they are exercising.
      Market – mask through the double-doors and off it goes.

      Food – we laughed. We went to Cracker Barrel this past weekend and it was “MASKS!” yet here, sit at this family style table with others.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Kroger was masked 60%+ the other day. I was reminded why I never shop there. Wife thinks that lockdown 2.0 won’t be reacted to very well. I’m skeptical. I think there is a large enough majority of the country that is pro-lockdown that its gonna happen.

      I’m even starting to see more masks in conservative churches. It’s not a good sign.

      • R C Dean

        Saw very little masking running errands in Tucson this past weekend. Of note, most of the masks were N95s, not surgical or cloth masks.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        In my area, the delineation is stark. It’s along racial lines. It’s along gender lines. It’s along socioeconomic lines. Kroger is 60% masks. Wal-Mart is 20% masks. Costco is 80%. Sam’s is 20%. The Target on the ethnic side of town is 80%, the Target on the lily white side of town is 40%.

        I’m not sure what that means as the left keeps mashing the pedal down on this transformation, but I can tell you that I’m starting to hear more on the Right start advocating for forming alternate economies.

        From Andrew Torba today (apologies for the wall of text) :

        Almost two years ago I published an article on the Gab News blog about Silicon Valley building a social credit system for the West. Exactly one year later I experienced this social credit system personally when my business and family were blacklisted by Visa after also being banned by Paypal, Stripe, Coinbase, and many other payment processors.

        Around this time I wrote a warning letter to Christians about what was happening to me and what would soon be happening, and is now happening, to many more people like me. Earlier this year I wrote about the Silent Christian Secession and the need to build our own economy to escape the pending tyranny of the global elite.

        In April I wrote that the vaccine was becoming a religious ceremonyā€“cultish evenā€“ and that Christians had an absolute right to reject it. That same month I defended the right of everyone to speak freely on Gab and openly discuss, question, and criticize the vaccines in the face of a censorship crackdown on dissent from Big Tech.

        God has blessed me with tremendous foresight and discernment about the Enemyā€™s next move. Itā€™s why I started Gab in 2016 long before censorship became the center of cultural and political debate that it is today. Itā€™s why I wrote these many warnings to Christians and freedom lovers everywhere about what was happening to me because I knew that it would soon be happening to all of you too.

        I donā€™t take this blessing lightly. These things weigh on my heart heavily as a husband and father of two young children. Everyday I hear stories from Gabbers about how they are being forced and coerced into taking the vaccine when they do not want to.

        I am praying that God gives them the peace and discernment they need right now. It sickens me that the Enemy is making my brothers and sisters in Christ choose between feeding their families and retaining their bodily autonomy and being true to their deeply held religious beliefs.

        This week we published several religious exemption document templates for people who need them and the response was unbelievable. Many people sent emails, Gab comments, and direct messages thanking us for publishing these and I pray to God that they helped even one person facing an impossible decision to make the right one.

        The people in power donā€™t care about Covid. They donā€™t care about the vaccines. They care about control. This entire situation is one giant demoralization campaign designed to grind us all down spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. If they can get us all to submit once, they can get us all to submit fully and forever.

        We canā€™t let that happen. Do not let them get in your head with the fear mongering, the lies, and the shapeshifting narratives. They are exposing themselves like never before in human history and we are living through a period of immense spiritual warfare.

        We must remember that we are human beings, made in the image of God. We always have choices. We always have hope. Darkness cannot and never will consume the light of Christ.

        Do not look to political leaders for help. There is no political solution to a spiritual problem. Look to Jesus Christ. Open your Bible. Pray. Put on the full armor of God and get to work building something new. They have left us no choice. We can and must rebuild from scratch and it starts in your own heart and in your own local community.

        God bless you all,

        Andrew Torba
        CEO, Gab.com
        Jesus is King

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Indicates to me that the minorities aren’t vaccinating and opting for the masks instead.

        There’s a silver lining in there.

      • waffles

        No, this is very bad. To those who say they are going to stretch this out to 2022 and beyond, I am starting to believe.

  17. Mojeaux

    Went to the grocery store in my little city. Only masked were employees.

    • limey

      Only time I’ve been in since “freedom day”, everyone except me and a couple of employees were muzzled. Since then the odd places I’ve been in (paying for fuel, etc) it’s just been employees. I’m due a trip so I’ll be interested to see if anything has changed but TMITE has ramped up the messaging so I expect the perma-maskers are just plugged right into that. Having said that, I don’t know of many of them would even if the propaganda changed because they are conditioned now. The PTB are still shocked at how easy it was.

  18. The Late P Brooks

    @kinnath and blackjack, I brought zinc and tonic water and zinc over to my friend. I said the magic words, ā€œIt has quinine in it. You know, like hydroxychloroQUININEā€ and she sucked it right down.

    Based on “things I have heard”: Does she need a decongestant?

    I have had good luck with Alka Seltzer’s cold and flu(?).

  19. Gustave Lytton

    My company has reinstated masks but they worded the announcement such that it’s easy to misunderstand which locations are affected. Willful ignorance for now. Guess the office door will be shut and locked again.

    • rhywun

      My company just sent out a “required” and “anonymous” survey about you-know-what.

      LOL OK. *ignores*

      • Ownbestenemy

        We get those. Can only be completed from this link we sent to your official email, but yeah, it is ‘anonymous’

      • rhywun

        I should hit the “Report Phish” button.

      • R C Dean

        We have to do a big announcement in advance. “You will be getting a survey, Its OK, pls. don’t delete or report as phishing.” Our participation went down after we launched our anti-phisihing campaign.

      • l0b0t

        Service industry employees in the French Quarter hate, hate, HATE when Phish, or Govt. Mule, or any of those wannabe Dead jam bands play at Jazz Fest. because it means the night will be awash with beggars, drink cagers, bathroom cheats, and folk who should stay at home when doing psychedelics.

      • Penguin

        folk who should stay at home when doing psychedelics.

        It’s been over 3 decades for me, but I have no idea why someone would want to be out & about while on psychedelics. There was enough for me to process lying in my bed listening to Echoes.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Disneyland Electrical Parade was fantastic for them. So I have heard

      • l0b0t

        The beach can be quite nice. Particularly the North Gulf coast (up around St. Marks) as the surf is full of phosphorescent algae that leave sparkling trails as one moves through the water (don’t read too much Lovecraft before attempting). Also, the FSU campus is great for late-night aggressive mountain-bike riding.

      • Penguin

        OBE – hmmm…

        l0b0t – okay, I can see a nearly empty beach with psychedelic algae being a cool place to go.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Penguin – yeah something like that. šŸ˜‰

      • R C Dean

        We do those occasionally, mostly for our periodic “employee satisfaction” surveys. We usually do them in pairs, with an incentive bonus for improvement on the second one.

        I barely had to point out the perverse incentive this creates for the first one. My staff kinda trashed me and the organization. I was so proud.

        Yes, our results improved on the followup, and we got paid.

        Oh, BTW. We use surveymonkey for those, and I believe it actually is anonymous.

      • limey

        Easy to call them out when they chase you up about having not done it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        FedGov got smart and just blankets the agency until the end of the campaign. So not to raise suspicion that it isn’t anonymous. Though I agree R C, we do have some that go to surveymonkey and those are anonymous unless the link is passing on header information from the email, like…computer name.

      • rhywun

        Our external links are obfuscated so you can’t tell where they’re going.

      • Endless Mike

        We have the “optional” vaccine report – which somehow doesn’t violate HIPAA

      • R C Dean

        No, it doesn’t violate HIPAA. HIPAA places zero restrictions on your employer asking health or medical questions, and zero restrictions on you responding.

        Trust me on this. I’ve been HIPAA lawyering for 20 years.

      • Endless Mike

        So what does it do?

  20. l0b0t

    Gun Jesus is chock full of Orky know-wutz, and builds a kustom shoota worthy of the biggest Mek Boy. https://youtu.be/JT1cNraZjp0

    Also, I can haz a Krinkov plz?

  21. l0b0t

    I was a bit old for MOTU, and was more a fanboy of anime: Gundam, Dougram, Vifam, Macross, Urusei Yatsura, etc.. G.I. Joe was HUGE for me and my friends in high school; not the terrible cartoon but the wonderful Larry Hama comic and the toys for which we wrote elaborate wargaming rules and had massive battles across scratch-built carboard terrain in the garage. A new kid arrived at school and turned us on to Warhammer and Rogue Trader, but we scoffed at first because the little dudes had no articulation and couldn’t be posed dynamically.

    • Ownbestenemy

      “posed dynamically” Cuomo is that you?

    • R C Dean

      couldnā€™t be posed dynamically

      “This blows. I can’t even get a Space Marine to teabag an Orc.”

      • Ownbestenemy

        Sex sells and she hits all the marks.

  22. Ownbestenemy

    As an FedGov it looks like they are going with the “send us your vax information and if you don’t, we will assume unvaccinated and therefore subject to testing and other rules”

    I am going to use the AIDS article in our CBA as a defense I think.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Oh and I have decided to hold out, regardless of my niece. I think I can talk her down cause we are cool like that.

      • Sean

        <<===

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Have you considered taking a prophylactic like ivermectin? It’s exceedingly low-risk to you and may sate her fears as well.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Something like that along with the weekly probing I will be going through should sate that

      • R C Dean

        “I’ll pass on the nasal swab. Anal probing is more my bag.” *drops trou*

      • Scruffy Nerfherder
      • R C Dean

        I think I can talk her down

        “Alright, if I put you in the will for, say, $10K, will you shut up about the vacks? Kinda makes it a no-lose deal for you, amirite?”

  23. waffles

    I am pretty gobsmacked right now. They’re really doing the lockdown/mask/vaccine passport shit. Why can’t we be even 10% as rebellious as France?

    • Ownbestenemy

      In thoughts like that, I listen to this…

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Why canā€™t we be even 10% as rebellious as France?

      Too comfortable. Why aren’t any of us on the streets right now? Labor is a seller’s market. Inflation hasn’t taken full hold yet. The stasi have kept their targeting to largely unpopular people.

      The left may have abandoned fabianism in one sense, buy in another sense they’re still moving slower than the average person can perceive when plugged into TMITE.

      • Sean

        Too comfortable.

        “We’re aiming to fix that.”

        -Democrats.

      • rhywun

        I think Americans are just not aware of how bad it can get. No one alive has any experience with this stuff.

        Euros have longer memories and they know how bad things can get.

    • Ted S.

      I want the glasses from “They Live”.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        The people here already seem to be wearing them.

      • waffles

        For real.

      • Penguin

        So it won’t take a 10 minute fistfight to get you to put them on?

    • Rat on a train

      which would enable the wearer government to remove unwanted things from their view

  24. The Late P Brooks

    I want the glasses from ā€œThey Liveā€.

    You don’t even need them. The messages couldn’t be more obvious.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      ā€œgarbage or other peopleā€

      It’s right there. If you don’t want to see garbage people like myself, wear these glasses.