The original production cel behind one of the internet’s oldest He-Man jokes is up for bid. Heritage Auctions has placed the laughing Prince Adam stock cel, the image at the heart of the “Fabulous Secret Powers” HEYYEYAA meme, in its The Art of Everything Cool Vol. VIII Signature Auction running June 19 to 21. As of Friday afternoon bidding sat at $750, with proxy bidding open until the live floor session begins the morning of June 19.
The hand-painted Filmation cel (c. 1983-85) shows Prince Adam throwing his head back in mid-laugh and was reused across multiple episodes of the original Saturday morning series. The cel figure measures 8.75 by 7.25 inches, is numbered 27 in the corner, and is presented over a print background in Very Good condition. Heritage notes that multiple-use stock cels like this one rarely survive in display-worthy shape precisely because they passed through the camera so many times.
The image’s second life began in 2005, when Slackcircus Studios cut the scene into an animated music video set to 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up.” Posted first to the Something Awful forums and then to YouTube, “Fabulous Secret Powers” became one of the earliest viral hits of the YouTube era and has passed 60 million views. Heritage leans into that history in the listing, calling the clip one of the most famous pieces of internet culture.
The meme has long since been absorbed into official MOTU channels: Mattel produced a laughing Prince Adam convention exclusive figure, the new Masters of the Universe movie includes a direct nod to the gag, and the HEYYEYAA emote shipped with this week’s Fortnite crossover. ComicBook points out that bidding on the lot has already outpaced every other He-Man cel in the sale, most of which are sitting at a couple hundred dollars or less.
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