With names like Zodac, Whiplash, Jitsu and, of course, Skeletor and He-Man, it is no wonder why The Masters of the Universe toys have reached mythical levels of toy folklore.

Over the past two years, Mattel has re-released the toys for nostalgic toy collectors. But this summer Mattel will release a new line of Masters of the Universe toys.

Your favorites are all there, with new features (Battle Cat now has missile-firing capabilities). A new Castle Grayskull will be designed as He-Man defends his land, Eternia, against the dark forces of Skeletor and Snake Mountain. Talk into the wolf scepter and give yourself an eerie, scary voice. A true evil stronghold it was.

This new release of characters celebrates 20 years for the cast of freakish superheroes.

The “Behind the Music” of The Masters of the Universe would start out like this:

In a rural town called Eternia at Castle Grayskull, a young man by the name of He-Man lived with his friends. Times were good. They laughed and partied, but the partying came to an end when an evil villain by the name of Skeletor came to throw his own party.

They began to feud bitterly over the size of their swords. Battles ravaged the once-peaceful town and all that would be left would be Orko and a rumored love affair between He-Man and Battle Cat. Battle Cat would growl and demand that He-Man ride him into battle.

In the year 2002, the rumors would be dismissed, but the fight is ready to resume. The swords will be dusted off and Battle Cat will get a sack of Meow Mix. Skeletor and his cronies have waited in the dark recesses of Snake Mountain, but now they will come to destroy He-Man and his friends. Will they succeed? That is up to you.

The 20-year history highlighting the fight between good and evil has brought us more than just toys. The Masters of the Universe have brought us cartoons, comics, books and even a movie.

The comics had limited success as DC, Marvel and Star Comics tried to move the action onto the page.

Golden Books came out with a series of side stories that gave valuable life lessons about how to defeat mutant alligators.

The cartoon series enjoyed terrific after-school success. It always ended with a food-for-thought speech about cooking at home, using electrical outlets or drugs.

Then the 1987 film, starring B-movie action star Dolph Lundgren, hit the big screen and brought the plastic action figures to life. An interesting side note to the movie is that Courtney Cox also starred as Julie Winston.

There will be plenty of time to unearth these items from your crawlspace at home. And if you sold them to the toy dealer in your hometown, then save up for the new ones due out this summer.

And remember, “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power.”