Masters of the Universe: Revelation saw He-Man's secret identity finally revealed, in the most tragic way - but why did Prince Adam keep this secret in the first place? He-Man's secret identity has been a core part of his lore since the franchise first began, likely influenced by traditional superhero tropes. He-Man is, after all, a fantastical analogue of Superman, complete with a weak and weedy secret identity, and a potential love interest who has no idea who he really is. Ironically, He-Man has had numerous crossovers with DC superheroes in the comics.
Most superheroes keep their secret identities in order to protect their loved ones, but Prince Adam is a member of Eternia's royal family, meaning everyone he knows is a target anyway. As a result, the in-universe rationale for Adam's secret has always seemed a little shaky in terms of logic. The best explanation is essentially tradition because past Champions of Grayskull have rarely been royalty and so the secrecy became simply "the way it's done."
Dark Horse has launched an official tie-in comic for Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation series, and the first issue - by Rob David, Tim Sheridan, Kevin Smith, and Mindy Lee - attempts to explain this oddity. One important line of dialogue sees Prince Adam's father, King Ragnor, lecture his son on the importance of keeping the throne and the sword separate. "He-Man is an idea," Ragnor explained to his son. "A good one, one that rallies the people, makes them feel safe." The King also explains "That puts a big enough target on his back that, if I were He-Man, the only way I could rule Eternia would be in disguise." It's a fascinating comment, suggesting Adam may well the first member of the royal family to wield the Sword of Power since the time of King Grayskull himself.
This, it seems, is the official reason Adam is supposed to keep his He-Man identity secret. It's interesting to note there may be another element to it; that Adam is aware his father would disapprove, and consequently resolved to ensure Ragnor never learned the truth. That may explain the ferocity of Ragnor's reaction when he was told of He-Man's death - and that Adam was actually He-Man.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation hints at one other possible explanation, though. When Teela (Sarah Michelle Gellar) visits the Champions in their afterlife in Preternia, she learns Adam is the only one to have chosen his weaker form. Unlike the other Champions, Adam seems to have considered this princely form to be his true self, and the Champion to merely be an alter-ego he slipped into when He-Man was needed. The more people who knew Adam was He-Man, the more his life would change beyond recognition, his relationships transformed in ways he didn't especially want - especially his relationship with Teela. Kevin Smith's Masters of the Universe: Revelation may well have finally explained the previously inexplicable.
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