THE QUEEN FROM EARTH
Queen Marlena (Revelation)
Revelation settles what Filmation only hinted at: Marlena always knew her son was He-Man, and keeping that secret from the king nearly cost her the marriage.
In Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Queen Marlena is voiced by Alicia Silverstone, and in "The Gutter Rat" she tells Adam what his apparent death did to the family. Gates McFadden voices her in Revolution (2024).
The record
The facts
BEFORE REVELATION
Filmation's queen from Earth
Filmation's Queen Marlena was born on Earth. Before her ship crash-landed on Eternia she was Captain Marlena Glenn, an astronaut, and she stayed to marry King Randor; in "Visitors from Earth" a former subordinate, Major Andrea Steele, recognizes her as her old commanding officer. Linda Gary voiced her. "The Rainbow Warrior" puts her back in her flight suit to lead the counterattack on Snake Mountain in the Rainbow Explorer, and at the end of it Adam wonders why his mother chose to free him first. Her answer is that a mother always knows her own son, and the show leaves it there.[1] The main Queen Marlena entry covers that series, the 2002 series and the Netflix She-Ra.
The Marlena covered from here on belongs to Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Netflix's continuation of the Filmation story, and its 2024 sequel Revolution, two series this encyclopedia files as non-canon extras. Revelation keeps her Earth origin and gives a straight answer to the question Filmation only winked at.
[1] ^ In "The Rainbow Warrior," Adam asks why his mother freed him first at Snake Mountain, and she answers only that a mother always knows her own son. It is one of the Filmation stories that hint she knows his secret.
PART 1
We've lost our son
Revelation opens on a palace celebration, with Marlena beside Randor on the balcony for the fireworks and Teela about to be knighted. By the end of Kevin Smith's "The Power of Grayskull" the Sword of Power is broken and Teela brings word to the throne room that He-Man has fallen. Marlena understands at once what it means. "Randor... we've lost our son!" she cries, and the king, still not understanding, answers that Adam is fine.
Marlena knew all along that Adam was He-Man, and she never told her husband. The first episode gives it one line before Randor turns his grief on Duncan and banishes him from the palace; the rest waits until Part 2.
THE SIGNATURE EPISODE
The Gutter Rat
In Diya Mishra's "The Gutter Rat," Marlena finds the son she thought was dead alive at the mountain camp, and weeps as she holds him. Later, leaning on a stone ledge above the tents, he asks about the tension he can feel between her and his father, and she tells him what the years without him were like. "When you lose a child, it's like losing the light."
Randor blamed her for keeping Adam's secret, she says, and at first she resented the blame until she resented him. They were two broken souls haunting the palace, unable to agree on anything. "I was gonna leave your father, Adam. Maybe even go back to Earth." She was still with him only because Raenius put the pair of them in a Talon-Fighter and sent them to the camp, and then the war caught up with them.[2] Adam takes it as his fault, and she will not let him. "Sometimes people just fall apart."
The repair comes in Tim Sheridan's "Hope, For a Destination," on a red plain where the king and queen wait with their guards for a battle they may not survive. Randor vows to waste no more of his life and apologizes to her. "No. I'm sorry, Randor," she answers. "We will live for each other as we always have."
[2] ^ Marlena says Raenius put her and Randor in a Talon-Fighter and sent them to the camp, which matches what Raenius says in "Cleaved in Twain."
The classic series' Marlena back in her flight suit, the astronaut she was before she was queen.
Clipped from our own copy of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Rainbow Warrior (1984), 19:59 to 21:55, 1 minute 56 seconds. Nothing is added and nothing is sped up. Copyright Mattel.
REVOLUTION
The queen at the bedside
Revolution opens with Randor dying, and Gates McFadden takes over Marlena's voice. In "Even for Kings" the royal physician Mendor tells Adam that Randor forbade him to share the diagnosis with anyone but the queen and Lord Duncan, so Marlena is once again the one keeping a secret for someone she loves. Randor dies saying he was a luckier man than most, only because he was her husband and Adam's father. Before the funeral she tells Adam that coronations always follow funerals and that the crown is the price of it. "Just tell them the truth, son." In "Ascension" an explosion rocks the palace, Adam's first word is for his mother, and she answers "I'm okay, Adam" before word comes that Skeletor is attacking.
When Keldor takes the palace in "The Dogs of War," she is thrown in a cell with Adam, who has lost the power and blames himself. She tells him that the power never came only from the lightning over Grayskull. "Love and the willingness to fight for what matters-- those are powers, too." She is in the ruined arena with Teela, Duncan and Orko when the season ends in "The Scepter and the Sword."
THE FIGURE TO OWN
Origins Cartoon Collection Queen Marlena
There is no Revelation Marlena figure. The Marlena on shelves now is Mattel's Origins Cartoon Collection figure, built on the Filmation design, and it comes with a space helmet that Mattel ties to her flight in "The Rainbow Warrior."
Origins Cartoon Collection Queen Marlena
Buy at BigBadToyStore, $24.99 Paid link
Full details and photosPrices and stock read from BigBadToyStore on November 2, 2026. In collaboration with BigBadToyStore. #BBTSpartner
IN BRIEF
From the Rainbow Explorer to Revolution
Filmation's Queen Marlena
The Earth-born queen of Eternia, once Captain Marlena Glenn. The main Queen Marlena entry has the full history.
The Power of Grayskull
When He-Man is reported dead, she is the first to say they have lost their son.
The Gutter Rat
Reunited with Adam, she tells him how his death broke her marriage.
Hope, For a Destination
On the eve of battle, she and Randor apologize to each other.
Even for Kings
Revolution opens on Randor's death, with Gates McFadden now voicing Marlena.
Charlotte Riley in the live-action film
The 2026 film casts her as Queen Marlena.
Questions
Revelation's Queen Marlena, answered
Who voices Queen Marlena in Masters of the Universe: Revelation?
Alicia Silverstone, named in Netflix's February 2020 cast announcement.
Who voices Queen Marlena in Masters of the Universe: Revolution?
Gates McFadden takes over the role in the 2024 sequel.
Did Queen Marlena know Adam was He-Man?
In Revelation, yes. When He-Man is reported dead she says at once that they have lost their son, and in "The Gutter Rat" she talks to Adam about the years of keeping it.
Did Marlena know in the original Filmation cartoon?
The Filmation series never says so outright. "The Rainbow Warrior" comes closest, when she tells Adam that a mother always knows her own son.
Is Revelation's Marlena still from Earth?
Yes. In "The Gutter Rat" she tells Adam she thought about leaving Randor and going back to Earth.
What happens to Marlena in Revolution?
She is at Randor's side when he dies in "Even for Kings," helps Adam through the coronation, is imprisoned with him when Keldor takes the palace, and is in the ruined arena when the season ends.
Which episodes is Revelation's Marlena in?
"The Power of Grayskull," "The Gutter Rat" and "Hope, For a Destination" in Revelation; in Revolution she is in "Even for Kings," "Ascension," "The Dogs of War" and "The Scepter and the Sword."
Is Queen Marlena in the He-Man movies?
Not in the 1987 film. Charlotte Riley plays her in the 2026 film, according to the film cast page.
Is there a Queen Marlena figure?
Yes. The figure on shelves now is the Origins Cartoon Collection Queen Marlena, made from the Filmation design, with a space helmet.
Buy the Origins Cartoon Collection Queen Marlena, $24.99 Paid link See the figure
Compiled by the heman.org desk from the Revelation episodes "The Power of Grayskull," "The Gutter Rat" and "Hope, For a Destination," the Revolution episodes "Even for Kings," "Ascension" and "The Dogs of War," and their English subtitles, with the Gutter Rat episode guide, the Filmation episode guides for "The Rainbow Warrior" and "Visitors from Earth" and the 2026 film cast page. Voice credits follow Den of Geek's report of Netflix's 2020 Revelation cast announcement and TVmaze's Revolution cast list; the figure's details come from Mattel's product listing.
Some links on this page are affiliate links that support heman.org.
Alongside
