Queen Marlena is one of the most quietly interesting characters in the MOTU mythology. Her backstory is the most science-fiction element of the entire property: she is an Earth astronaut, Major Marlena Glenn of NASA, who crashed her spacecraft on Eternia, met King Randor, and chose to stay. The implications of that backstory have been treated differently across every continuity, and this episode walks through how each version has handled the premise.
The Filmation version (1983 to 1985) is where the Earth-astronaut backstory was first established. Episode 51 of Season 1, The Origin of the Sorceress, includes a flashback that establishes Marlena’s arrival on Eternia and her early relationship with Randor. The Filmation treatment is matter-of-fact: Marlena is a competent astronaut, a confident leader, and she chose Eternia over Earth because she felt at home. The show does not dwell on the difficulty of the choice, the impact on her Earth family, or the strangeness of an Earth woman ruling an alien fantasy kingdom.
The DC mini-comics never address the Earth-astronaut element at all. Marlena appears as queen, full stop. The DC writers seem to have either not known the backstory or deliberately chosen to skip it.
The 200X cartoon (2002 to 2004) expanded the Marlena backstory considerably. The Mike Young Productions show treated her as a more present figure, with several episodes addressing her dual cultural identity, her continuing role as a problem-solver who brings Earth perspective to Eternian crises, and the question of what happened to the Earth space programme that lost her.
The 2018 Netflix She-Ra (which exists in a different continuity) does not feature Marlena at all, since the reboot moved away from the He-Man family tree entirely.
The 2021 to 2024 Revelation and Revolution trilogy treats Marlena as a present, active figure. The character (voiced by Alicia Silverstone) is given several monologue moments that acknowledge her Earth origin and her choice to remain on Eternia. She is the calm centre of the Randor family, the parent who knows about Adam’s secret identity and respects it.
The 2026 film (cataloged separately) features Marlena prominently with Sarah Riley in the role. Whether the film leans into the Earth-astronaut backstory is one of the open questions about the production.
Length: approximately 55 minutes.
