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For folks heading to see Masters of the Universe this weekend, it'll be hard to miss some of the franchise's obvious inspirations. There's some Conan the Barbarian in the titular character, of course, and maybe some Arthurian legend in things like Castle Grayskull. But according to the guy who wrote the first ever Masters of the Universe stories to ever hit the market, the inspiration for He-Man's Power Sword doesn't come from high fantasy at all...

But from a classic issue of DC Comics' Superman.

The writer in question is Donald F. Glut, a frequent Marvel Comics contributor and screenwriter behind episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series and DuckTales. In 1982, Glut was brought on by Mattel and Western Comics to write mini-comic stories that would be released along with the He-Man line of toys. 20 years later, Glut spoke with journalist Matt Jozwiak in an interview currently preserved on his website, wherein he divulged the inspiration for the weapon.

"The Power Sword was a sort of homage to the various 'Power Stone' stories in the 1940s Superman comic books," said Glut.

We did some Golden Age Comics digging and found that the Powerstone (one word in the DCU) originated in 1942's Action Comics #47. Made to resemble a large ruby or diamond, the Powerstone was akin to its similarly-named swordchild in that it was a device highly sought-after by the protagonist's archfoe - in this case, mad scientist Lex Luthor. However, where the Power Sword gets its mystical traits from an ancient magic, Luthor's energy-draining crystal was of vaguely scientific origin. 

Now we posit this to movie studios everywhere: which of the two makes a better popcorn bucket? 

Masters of the Universe arrives in theaters June 5.

Need more? Here's our picks for the best DC Comics stories of all time, and here's a list of all the free DC comics you can look forward to as part of this year's Free Comic Book Day 2026 and Comics Giveaway Day 2026.