My best advice is this (and I KNOW that I don't have to tell you this, but this is for anyone who wants to set a game in a pop culture universe.)
1) Don't get so wrapped up in the universe that you don't care about the players. If you have some cool ideas for a universe, make sure you use those ideas in ways that are relevant to players.
2) If players don't get it, don't get upset. Going into the He-Man game, I thought, "no one will get any of the references I make, but that's okay." They didn't get many of them, but when they did, it added to the excitement. Players found a maguffin and I described in detail, but I never outright told them what it was. Eventually, they activated said maguffin and someone said, "wait, this is the cosmic key from the live action movie!" and it was a cool moment had by all.
Tad, as I said, I know you know these things, but they are the best advice I can give.
That being said, your campaign sounds really cool and a nice twist on the PoDW world. Have a blast and let us know what happens.