Woman of the Month: She-Ra

Adora from She-Ra

This was a bit of a no-brainer.

I was intrigued by the decision to reboot She-Ra: much like Xena Warrior Princess, she started off as the Distaff Counterpart to a previously existing male character with his own show – in Xena's case it was Hercules, in She-Ra's case it was He-Man. (Coincidentally enough, up until recently a Xena reboot was also in the works without any mention of her male counterpart).

In any case, the eighties' take on She-Ra was actually a pretty fascinating one: as the long lost twin sister of Prince Adam (He-Man's alter-ego), Adora was raised by an evil faction known as the Horde, who sought to dominate the planet of Etheria. To continue with the similarities between Adora and Xena, it's Adam/Hercules who brings her to the side of the angels by showing her the truth of the world and appealing to her better nature.

Of course, the long-lost twin angle naturally leads to comparisons with Luke and Leia in Star Wars (complete with alliterative names) and there's also a debt to Wonder Woman – for as Adora soon discovers, she's the chosen warrior known as She-Ra, a woman of incredible strength and agility. Throw in a magic sword (thanks King Arthur) and you have a pastiche of several different stories rolled into one.

Which necessarily isn't a bad thing, especially when the eighties show has at least one solid, original idea to its name: how does a girl react when she discovers her whole life is a lie, and the people she's been fighting alongside are actually the bad guys? It's a surprisingly complex set-up, but one the original cartoon wasn't all that interested in exploring – after all, the main impetus of the show was to sell toys.

But if you're going to remake something, you should take the opportunity to do it better, and showrunner Noelle Stevenson does.

Adora has been thoroughly brainwashed since she was a baby, with friends, ambitions and a general sense of satisfaction amongst the Horde, which she believes is protecting the planet against violent insurgents. But she's also not an idiot, and when fate leads her to a magical sword that transforms her into She-Ra, she gets the opportunity to discover what the Horde has really been up to.

So the show also owes something to Avatar: The Last Airbender, as Adora gets a very truncated version of Zuko's arc; though in her case, the real interest lies in her newfound conflict between old friends and new. Though Glimmer and Bow are delightful, Adora also has a strong bond with Catra, who chooses to stay with the Horde of her own free will.

The writing takes this internal conflict extremely seriously, making Adora a character that struggles with her past and is largely uncomfortable in her new role as champion. But the show is also ready to have fun with its premise, embracing the gloopy pastel-and-love-hearts aesthetic of the original show in a way that manages to poke fun at it ("best friend squad!") and yet remain totally sincere. Who'd have thought they'd pull it off?

Along with everything else, the show also has to give some credit to Sailor Moon (and other anime magical girls) for She-Ra's transformation sequences, but hey – Diana, Xena, Usagi, Leia, and Adora all belong to the kick-ass princess club, and long may the tradition continue.

So I started this year with a princess, and I'm ending it with a show full of them. What great times we live in.