10 Reasons She-Ra Is Awesome: A List

Rose here, checking in with more He-Man and She-Ra musings.  Last time, I shared a list of reasons why He-Man is awesome, so today I’ll follow up with an equally awesome list for She-Ra.  I’m linking to some of Killersha’s fanart again, because it too is awesome.

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1. She can pull off an alter ego without pretending to be something she’s not.

One of the things I emphatically hate about alter egos with superpowered characters is the tendency of these characters to pretend to be something they aren’t while claiming to uphold virtues like truthfulness and loyalty. Lies of omission and evasive half-truths annoy me as well, but I have more sympathy for those situations if I accept that the character believes he/she is protecting others.  Princess Adora/She-Ra never dissembles.  She’s competent, authoritative, brave, and outgoing in both of her forms, and Adora is nearly as popular and well-liked as She- Ra.

2. She saves her brother’s ass almost every time she sees him.

She-Ra is notable for its crossover episodes with the characters from He-Man, which ran even though He-Man was out of production when She-Ra aired.  Most of them feature She-Ra hauling her twin brother out of some jam, even when He-Man ostensibly shows up to help HER in the first place.  (There are some exceptions, and He-Man does return the favor a few times.)

3. She has compassion on the guy who lied to her for her entire life.

She-Ra’s back story is that her alter ego, Princess Adora, was kidnapped as an infant and raised as a member of the Evil Horde. Hordak and Shadow Weaver were both mentor figures to her, and he clearly dislikes them after she learns how they have manipulated her. In the episode My Friend, My Enemy, She-Ra breaks a spell that has been cast on Hordak by shedding tears of compassion

4. She climbed the highest mountain on Etheria without her superpowers.

This doesn’t really need much explanation, but the episode is called The Stone in the Sword, and the setup is that stone becomes damaged, and the only way for Adora to become She-Ra again is to go through a series of epic trials to reach the Founders of Etheria.

5. She doesn’t wear a bathing suit or a pink cape. (Unless she’s a toy.)

Okay, her costume is a little bit bathing suit like, but a skirt is a big improvement over bathing attire and leotards.

6. Her sword can turn into pretty much anything she wants.

Including wings in one episode.

7. She could have gone to live in a cushy palace but chose to stay in the woods with a bunch of strangers and fight the Evil Horde.

See the aforementioned back-story. She had a chance to return home and live as a Princess, but she chose to go back to The Great Rebellion, which had been her sworn enemies until a few days before.

8.Granamyr respects her. So does the Unicorn King 

Granamyr, the great dragon I wrote about in 10 reasons He-Man Is Awesome, appears in the She-Ra episode Darksmoke and Fire. It’s a really cool episode for He-Man fans or fans of the Darksmoke dragons. I like it, even though there’s a bit of formula repetition with She-Ra having to earn the dragons’ trust.  The Unicorn Isle episodes seem more like Darksmoke retreads to me, but I do like the character of the Unicorn King, and the focus on the unicorns is a valueable addition the show’s mythos.  She-Ra’s way of earning the King’s respect is her own, despite similarities in theme.

9. She can do “snarky princess” without having a chip on her shoulder.

Everybody knows I love Princess Leia, so I’m partial to snarky princesses in general. I’m always glad to see one who can do it without being a jerk to everyone (especially the men.)

10. Her mother can fly a spaceship. And she pwns Skeletor’s ass. That is all.

Yet. This is a blatant repeat from the He-Man list, but if it applies to him, it applies to his twin sister.