BUFF! BANG! POW!
AS ANYONE FAMILIAR with the legend of the world’s most jacked (and least clothed) cartoon character knows, He-Man’s go-to move is thrusting his broadsword in the air and transforming from the mild-mannered Prince Adam into a ripped dude in a loincloth.
But when a fan-made He-Man tribute video hit the Internet in the summer of 2019, that moment looked a bit different. In the clip, our hero is still cutting through the sky with his sword, but his signature blond bowl cut is replaced by a massive Afro. As his bulging arm reaches upward, his hair and blade catching the morning light, he looks like he’s raising a Black-power fist and harnessing the power of Grayskull in one swift motion.
This particular He-Man’s alter ego is Demetrius Holt, a 37-year-old single dad and electrician from Maryland. In the video, Holt’s joined by four friends playing other Masters of the Universe characters: Richard Sutton as Man-at-Arms, Eric “the Smoke” Moran as Skeletor, Lynne Finley as She-Ra, and Wendell Smith as Orko. Filmed at Blerdcon, a Washington, D.C.–area convention for Black nerds, or “blerds,” the video is only 60 seconds but shows exactly who has the power. Thanks to quick-cut shots of each character and a techno mix featuring
