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Masters of the Universe | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | |
Schedule | Monthly, biweekly (DC Comics's 2012 digital series) |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date |
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No. of issues |
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Main character(s) | Masters of the Universe characters |
Collected editions | |
The Shard of Darkness | ISBN 1-59314-017-7 |
Dark Reflections | ISBN 0-97480-081-3 |
The Masters of the Universe media franchise has appeared in several comic book series. Most were small publications (known as "minicomics"), which were included as bonuses with action figures. Standalone comic-book series were also published by DC, Marvel Comics, London Edition Magazines and Image Comics. [1] [2]
The original action figures were packaged with minicomics, with stories about the characters. [3] Written by Don Glut and illustrated by Alfredo P. Alcala, these first 4 stories in booklet form had one image per page with text underneath. In the early comics He-Man is a wandering barbarian on Eternia, a world dealing with the aftermath of a war which devastated its civilizations and left behind fantastic machinery and weapons. The war opened a rift between dimensions, allowing the evil warlord Skeletor to travel to Eternia. Skeletor has set his sights on the ancient Castle Grayskull, a fortress of mystery and power; whoever controls Grayskull will become Master of the Universe. To prevent Skeletor from achieving his goal, He-Man has received special powers and weapons from the Sorceress and defends the castle from Skeletor. To distinguish these stories from the minicomics which were released as tie-ins with the TV series, fans called this first version of Eternia "mini-Eternia" (or "Min-Eternia") or more commonly "savage Eternia"
When the "Wave 2" minicomics were produced by DC Comics. They changed many aspects from the original 4 booklets. Written by Cary Cohn and illustrated by Mark Texeira. He-Man no longer is a wandering barbarian, but resides at the Royal Palace and is supported by allies such as Man-At-Arms (the Eternian master of weapons) whom DC changed to be the adoptive father to Teela. Skeletor finds one half of the Power Sword, the key to Castle Grayskull. He-Man received the other half from the Sorceress, and must prevent Skeletor from linking the two halves and gaining access to the castle. DC Comics introduced many new elements like a King and Queen, the Royal Palace, as well as more scifi-themed villains, such as Trap Jaw, to the stories.
Debuting in DC Comics Presents issue #47 (dated July 1982), the series crossed over to the DC Universe in a story that was a team-up with Superman and drawn by the great Curt Swan. The story continued in a Masters of the Universe insert preview titled "Fate is the Killer", which appeared in several DC Comics comic books dated November 1982. [4] The following month, a Masters of the Universe limited series [5] was published, written by Paul Kupperberg and pencilled by George Tuska, which lasted for three issues.
Original comic-book content was also created in Germany by Interpart/Condor Verlag for 18 issues, Ehapa Verlag for 21 issues (also appearing in their Micky Maus comics) and also by Mattel itself. [6] Both the German and British comics were often translated to provide content for other countries (although some comic books from Ledafilms of Argentina and Editora Abril of Brazil, along with Italy's Più and Magic Boy magazines provided some original material in their pages as well). [7] [8] [9] [10]
With the introduction of Hordak, the minicomics began to diverge from the He-Man and She-Ra animated series and Etheria became Hordak's base of operations.
Years earlier, Hordak had been overthrown by his minion Skeletor and banished from Eternia. He returns, accompanied by the Evil Horde, to conquer the planet. Occasionally allying with Skeletor (but usually attempting to destroy him), Hordak is opposed by He-Man.
In the mini-comic King of the Snakemen, Skeletor discovers a pool of energy buried in Snake Mountain which contains ancient emperor King Hiss. Hiss discloses that he had conquered a number of planets before invading Eternia. Large portions of the planet had fallen to the Snake Men before they were defeated by the Council of the Elders and banished to another dimension. Hiss now seeks to recover his fellow Snake Men and bring vengeance to Eternia.
Details about Eternia's past are revealed in subsequent minicomics surrounding the Three Towers: Grayskull Tower, Viper Tower and Central Tower. The giant structure is raised from underground by Hiss and Skeletor and is the focus of adventures as He-Man tries to prevent all three villains from acquiring the towers' secrets.
Hordak recognises the towers, and claims to have helped build Central Tower. The return of the Towers enhances the Sorceress' magic, and she helps King Randor in his search to discover what happened to his long-lost brother Keldor. Skeletor is determined to stop the search.
Included with the She-Ra dolls beginning in 1985, these differed from the cartoon series. She-Ra used the Crystal Castle as her home, and Catra (rather than Hordak) is the primary villain.
Marvel's Star Comics imprint published 13 issues in 1986–88 and an adaptation of the live-action movie in 1987. [11] Among the creators were Mike Carlin and Ron Wilson. Within the Marvel Multiverse, it is designated as Earth-86051.
First published in the UK by London Editions Magazines, the fortnightly comic series lasted for 72 issues between 1986 and 1988, with an additional comic (Masters of the Universe Adventure) running for 28 issues between 1988 and 1991. Storylines included the battle for control of Viper Tower, a team-up of the three villainous factions and the destruction and rebuilding of Eternos. The 'Secret Files of Scrollos' strip featured origin stories for many characters including Sy-Klone, Rio Blast and Modulok, and the series included the characters of Horde Prime and Scrollos. There was also a short-lived She-Ra comic title that lasted for 14 issues between 1986 and 1987, with 3 specials including the 'Twins of Power' special featuring both He-Man and She-Ra. The later issues of both the fortnightly MOTU comic and the Adventure Magazine reprinted stories from the German MOTU comics published by Ehapa, translated into English. In September 1989 the latter comic was renamed 'He-Man Adventure' and was now based on the 'New Adventures' toy line, again reprinting stories from the German Ehapa comics until the comic was discontinued in 1991.
A newspaper comic strip, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, was produced from July 20, 1986 until 1991, written by James Shull and Chris Weber and distributed by McNaught Syndicate. [12] While most American newspapers dropped the strip mid-run, it was translated and distributed around the world. [13]
Fifteen storylines were presented over the course of the run. [14] The complete run (minus a small number of "lost strips") was published in 2017 by Dark Horse Comics as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips. [13]
Four minicomics were included with the 1989 space-themed relaunch. The story was similar to the UK magazine version of He-Man's New Adventures, differing from the cartoon series.
From 2002 to 2005 Image Comics and MVCreations published several series of comics and one-shots that mirrored tales of the 2002 Mike Young Productions show; the comic series elaborated and added to the mythos by introducing characters that never made it in after the 39 episodes of the television series. [15] The first issues were seen in the summer of 2002 in the form of special promotional/preview issues, with three mini-series continuing on after; 'The Shards of Darkness' in fall 2002, followed by 'Dark Reflections' and 'Rise of the Snake Men' in 2003. After delving into the back-stories of Skeletor's henchmen Beast-Man, Mer-Man, Trap-Jaw and Tri-Klops in a four issue 'Icons of Evil' series, a short-lived ongoing series, solely produced by MVC, continued on for eight issues in 2004. Along with these, a handful of special or 'pack-in' one-shots and trade paperback collected volumes were also produced.
Dark Horse Comics produced the first three minicomics for inclusion in Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics toy line, continuing the series of minicomics introduced in the 1980s Masters toys. The minicomics were written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Wellinton Alves, with covers by Eric Powell. According to Seeley, these minicomics would conclude the story originally planned to be the new direction of the 1980s action-figure line before it was cancelled. The story dealt with the Powers of Grayskull line, which included King Hiss and He-Ro, tying the toy continuity to the He-Man line and known as The New Adventures of He-Man. Seeley said that this comic line was intended to blend the He-Man continuities and select the best stories and ideas from MOTU history. [16]
DC took over the Masters of the Universe Classics minicomics in 2012, with artwork by Wellinton Alves and Axel Gimenez. Five more minicomics were published to be included with the MOTU Classics line action-figures; the first told the origin story of Keldor (Skeletor), the second dealt with He-Man and Skeletor's final battle after their intergalactic New Adventures. The third begins ushering in the Son of He-Man era (introduced as a new series concept by Lou Scheimer in the 1990s, but never produced); which then continues for two more issues, culminating in the Third Ultimate Battleground. [17]
This section needs to be updated.(February 2016) |
A Masters of the Universe comic book series was relaunched by DC Comics in June 2012, first appearing as a series of digital comics. This was quickly followed by a six issue mini-series and all new revised origin issues for He-Man, Skeletor and Hordak. [18] After a crossover mini-series with superheroes from the DC Comics universe in 2013, an ongoing series ran for 19 issues through 2014, before being replaced by the 'He-Man The Eternity War' 15 issue series in 2015/2016. This introduced a new back-story for He-man's sister She-ra (as Despara), Skeletor (as the half-Garn son of King Miro), Hordak, and the Snakemen; moving the storyline further along, with a new Horde invasion of Eternia and He-Man taking the Eternian throne, amongst other new developments. He-Man/ThunderCats, a crossover with another heroic 1980's action figure line, ThunderCats, was also produced for 6 issues in 2016–2017. The current DC Masters of the Universe property is a 6-part crossover series with DC Comics' Injustice Storyline. [19] The last comic book series from this run by DC Comics was He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse 6-issue limited series released from 2019-2020.
On July 7, 2021, Dark Horse Comics released the first issue of the four issue miniseries that serves as a prequel to the animated series Masters of the Universe Revelation released by Netflix. [20] [21] [22] [23]
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Art Book
The following is a list of the mini-comics released with the Masters of the Universe , Princess of Power , He-Man, and Masters of the Universe Classics toys.
Many of the comic books were collected into trade paperbacks:
The minicomics books have been collected into a hardcover anthology collection by Dark Horse Books:
The complete run of the newspaper comic strip produced from July 20, 1986 until 1991 (minus a small number of "lost strips") was published in 2017 by Dark Horse Comics:
DC has collected editions of their various current Masters of the Universe comic series, which began in 2012.
He-Man is a superhero and the protagonist of the sword and planet Masters of the Universe franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books, and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by his superhuman strength and in most variations, is the alter ego of Prince Adam. He-Man and his friends attempt to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull, the planet Eternia, and the rest of the universe from the evil forces of his archenemy Skeletor. He-Man is the twin brother of She-Ra.
Adora, known by her alter ego She-Ra, is a fictional superheroine in the Masters of the Universe franchise. She is introduced as the protagonist of the 1985 Filmation series She-Ra: Princess of Power, which reveals her to be the long lost twin sister of He-Man. She-Ra again appears in the 2018 reboot She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. A series of toys under her name was produced by Mattel in 1984. She has also appeared in a number of Masters of the Universe comic books, most notably in DC Comics' 2012-2018 MOTU comic series, a roughly 1,000 page single story arc, collected in the 2019 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Omnibus hardcover release. In these comics and in the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline, she also has an evil persona called Despara. As Despara, she makes an appearance at the end of Rob David and Kevin Smith's 2024 Netflix release Masters of the Universe: Revolution, the third installment of the 2021 Masters of the Universe: Revelation animated series. She also features in multiple story books, mainly Golden Books and Ladybird books, and in some MOTU games.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line Masters of the Universe. The show was one of the most popular animated shows of the 1980s.
She-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated series produced in 1985 by Filmation. A spin-off of Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, She-Ra was aimed primarily at a young female audience to complement He-Man's popularity with young males. Unlike He-Man, which was based on the Masters of the Universe toy line by Mattel, the creation of She-Ra was a collaboration between Filmation and Mattel. The initial group of characters and premise were created by uncredited writers Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski for Filmation, while the characters introduced later were designed by Mattel. Mattel provided financial backing for the series, as well as an accompanying toy line. The series premiered in 1985 and was ended in 1987, after 2 seasons and 93 episodes.
Masters of the Universe is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man and Skeletor on the planet Eternia, with a vast lineup of supporting characters in a hybrid setting of medieval sword and sorcery, and sci-fi technology. A follow-up series, She-Ra: Princess of Power revolves around He-Man's sister She-Ra and her rebellion against The Horde on the planet Etheria. Since its initial launch, the franchise has spawned a variety of products, including multiple lines of action figures, six animated television series, several comic series, video games, books and magazines, a daily newspaper comic strip, and two feature films.
Skeletor is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the Masters of the Universe franchise created by Mattel. He is usually depicted as an evil skull-faced, blue-skinned sorcerer who serves as the archenemy of He-Man. In the storyline of the franchise, Skeletor is determined to discover the secrets of Castle Grayskull, which he believes will allow him to conquer the planet Eternia and the entire universe, and become the titular Master of the Universe.
Orko is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. Orko is a sorcerer and the last of his kind. He first appeared in the 1980s Filmation series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He also made feature appearances in episodes of the show's direct spinoff series, She-Ra: Princess of Power and then in the 2002 remake of the original series. In 2021, Orko returned for Masters of the Universe: Revelation which serves as a continuation of the original 1980s series.
Hordak is a fictional demonic character in the Masters of the Universe franchise who opposes She-Ra and He-Man, as well as the franchise's main villain, Skeletor, to whom he was once a mentor, and the cause of the latter's ambition and pursuits of evil. Hordak is the main antagonist of the She-Ra: Princess of Power animated series, in which he is the archenemy of She-Ra, He-Man's twin sister.
Castle Grayskull is a fictional castle that forms a central location in the Masters of the Universe toy/comic/animation universe and also appears in the 1987 live action adaptation. The concept is credited to Donald F. Glut. The toy set was invented by Roger Sweet. Castle Grayskull was a "major feature of Mattel's line", and was "one of the most famous playsets of all time".
Evil-Lyn is a supervillainess in the Masters of the Universe toy line and the accompanying cartoon series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Masters of the Universe is a 1987 American fantasy film based on the Masters of the Universe franchise by Mattel. The film was directed by Gary Goddard, produced by Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan, and written by David Odell. It stars Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Jon Cypher, Chelsea Field, Billy Barty, Courteney Cox, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Meg Foster. The film follows two teenagers who meet He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, who travels to Earth with his friends to stop their archenemy, the evil Skeletor from obtaining a cosmic key that will enable him to take over their home planet of Eternia and the entire universe.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an animated television series. Developed for television by Michael Halperin, who created the original series, it was animated by Mike Young Productions. It served as an update of the 1980s Filmation series, produced to coincide with Mattel's revival of the Masters of the Universe franchise eleven years after its previous attempt. The series ran on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block between August 16, 2002, and January 10, 2004.
The Secret of the Sword, also known as He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, is a 1985 American animated superhero film produced by Filmation. Although released before the series She-Ra: Princess of Power began, the film was a compilation of the first five episodes with minor edits made. The film was part of a trend of theatrically released animated films created by producers of TV shows and toys during the 1980s. It is part of the same continuity as the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series, and was created by the same Filmation production team and cast. It was the first He-Man theatrical film, and the first theatrical release to feature She-Ra or any Masters of The Universe/Princess of Power characters.
The Power Sword, also referred to as the Sword of Power or the Sword of Grayskull, is a fictional sword from Mattel's Masters of the Universe toy line. In the original mini-comics produced with the toyline in 1981, the Power Sword was a mystical object split into two parts, which Skeletor tries to obtain and put together in order to gain control over Castle Grayskull. In these early stories, He-Man uses an axe and a shield, rather than the magical sword.
Princess of Power is a toyline created by Mattel. Among others, it features the characters of She-Ra and Catra on planet Etheria. With its launch in 1984, the toyline spawned a variety of products, including three lines of fashion action figures. The Princess of Power logo and characters are currently used by Mattel as part of the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a comic book series by DC Comics based on the Masters of the Universe. The series began with a digital mini-series, followed by a six-issue standard mini-series. Two ongoing series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and He-Man: The Eternity War, were produced and are now concluded. There have also been two crossover mini-series with the DC Universe, and one with ThunderCats. Several origin one-shots and collected edition graphic novels have also been produced.
Masters of the Universe is an American animated superhero fantasy television series produced by Kevin Smith and Powerhouse Animation Studios. A sequel to the 1983–1985 series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Filmation, while ignoring the events of The New Adventures of He-Man (1990), the plot of Revelation explores unresolved storylines from the original 1980s series. Netflix released the first series, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, in two parts, with five episodes debuting July 23, 2021, then five additional episodes on November 23, 2021. In June 2022, Netflix announced a second series, Masters of the Universe: Revolution, which premiered its first part on January 25, 2024.
Turtles of Grayskull is an American comic book limited series written by Tim Seeley, drawn by Freddie Williams II and colored by Andrew Dalhouse. The series features a storyline that crosses-over Mattel's Masters of the Universe with Paramount/Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was first published as a minicomic series accompanying an offshoot of the Masters of the Universe action figure franchise, and will be published as an expanded series by Dark Horse Comics on September 25, 2024.
Pages of original art for an unpublished He-Man origin comic drawn by Adrian Gonzales.