Jack of Harts

I write my own Jack of Harts stories because I am nostalgic for the stories of my youth. Back when the Big Damn Heroes stood tall and proud and fought for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Or the Federation or the Rebel Alliance, or whatever. When the chips are down, they step forward and do something, rather than wallow in “whoa is me” angst. The world they come from is generally good, where we have generally built a world we would like to live in. It has room for improvement, but it is no dark dystopia. In short, I write stories about generally nice people defending a generally nice world from the people who would take that life away. With some snarky attitude, smart mouths, and quick wits of course. It is my way of trying to promote a positive view of the future, and what we could build in it. While making it fun for most people to read, no matter their background.

Bringing this back around to the recent He-Man remake, Teela has always been one of the cornerstones of the Masters of the Universe. The Captain of the Guard of Castle Grey Skull, daughter of the Sorceress, possibly the daughter of Man-at-Arms, the wife of Prince Adam and mother of a new generation of Masters in some stories. Brave and loyal partner to He-Man across a thousand battlefields. Seeing her react to the death of He-Man and the defeat of the other Masters could have been the brilliant start of an amazing story. Instead they reinvented her into an angsty teenager with trust issues, who throws the world away because she is angry at everyone she grew up with. Add in some longing lesbian tension, and you have the standard modern Hollywood “brave subversion” of a popular heroic character. One that is a pale imitation of the Teela we knew. This is not a nostalgic remake.

There is an art to making remakes that honor the original. Fans of the original want to see new stories, often but not always with the same characters. Sometimes they want to see the next generation, while the old characters sit in the background and encourage them. Most importantly, fans want to feel the same way they felt when they experienced the original. The most popular multimedia remakes use modern technology and methods to make better-looking stories that feel the same. Transformers has had dozens of major comics, games, TV, and movie remakes, and in every one, Optimus Prime is the kind and good leader of the Autobots, reluctant warriors who fight only when forced to. The story is different every time, but they are always true to the 1980s “Freedom is the right of all sentient beings” ideal that they were built on. The best parts of the old stories, the ones that make fans feel nostalgic for their younger days, are highlighted again for a new generation. These are popular and profitable reboots that unite fans and encourage companies to make more of them.