Roger Sweet, Creator of the He-Man Action Figure, Dies at 91 • Hacker News Board

Re: Roger Sweet, Creator of the He-Man Action Figure, Dies at 91

#11

Post by JKCalhoun » Mon, May 04, 2026, 1:19 PM UTC

low_tech_love wrote: post #5

As someone dealing with a few cases of cancer in the family (including a child) I can’t help but think what an amazing miracle to live to 91 years old. Some people really hit the jackpot! Rest in peace.

A post a few years back by someone dying of a terminal disease said as much (and I will not forget the sentiment). Essentially: old age is a privilege, not something anyone should ever expect.

Re: Roger Sweet, Creator of the He-Man Action Figure, Dies at 91

#12

Post by JKCalhoun » Mon, May 04, 2026, 1:22 PM UTC

Not to bee too much of a Debbie-Downer here (Cynical Simon? I just made that one up), but for some reason I was surprised and horrified that they might actually design a toy first and make a cartoon around it.

That level (and insidiousness) of marketing was one of many wake-up calls I had to the world around us.

—Jaded John

Re: Roger Sweet, Creator of the He-Man Action Figure, Dies at 91

#13

Post by giannicmptr1000 » Mon, May 04, 2026, 2:37 PM UTC

mcraiha wrote: post #6

He-Man was/is quite big gay icon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_as_a_gay_icon

swords and sandal style, I loved he-man and remember how epic the sound and visuals were on the cartoon, the homo-eroticism was just the atmosphere

Re: Roger Sweet, Creator of the He-Man Action Figure, Dies at 91

#14

Post by morelikeborelax » Mon, May 04, 2026, 5:42 PM UTC

riffraff wrote: post #3

Netflix has a pretty entertaining series on old toys, and there's an episode on He-Man, which, among other tidbits, explains that Battle-cat was actually a random tiger from a different toy line (Big Jim in the Jungle IIRC) with a paint job and a saddle. Proper creativity at work!

He is quite the character on that. Great episode!