DCU Book Club Week 71: HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2012-) Issues 1-6, Jan 20 - Jan 26

I’m not sure. Good question!

Hi @Lincolnfan78 :wave:

quote=“Reaganfan78, post:18, topic:574812”]
I remember asking Santa for a He-man toy,
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:smiley: I remember the He-Man action figures!

Somehow, I completely forgot about the green tiger until the story showed him in issue 5? or 6. Then I lost it cause I remember tiger was so fun! On the show, he was a bit shy until he transformed into the battle cat.

I think the answer lies in this one-shot issue for Skeletor’s origin. I haven’t read it yet, but I will be reading it along with the 2013-2014 He-Man series.

Thank you for dropping in and sharing your report and your history with He-Man!

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Awesome, @Vroom!

Is it streaming somewhere?

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Hi @Aquamon

Thanks for jumping in on this one! I agree with you, this story has a pretty intriguing start. Glad to see ya!

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Indeed it is. Tubi has it until the end of the month.

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First time reader of He-Man here. I have no history with He-Man, aside from knowing that there was a cartoon in the past. I’ve been watching the new She-Ra Netflix series and I love it! I knew they were connected characters, but I still don’t know how.

This whole series was more brutal than I thought it would be. Maybe because the cartoons have been geared towards kids, I thought the comic would be too. Nope. While they didn’t show the torturing of Teela Na, they did show her looking beaten and a silhouette of her death. That was definitely an “oh ■■■■ this isn’t for kids” moment for me.

The last issue was definitely my favorite. It had that feeling of satisfaction, like watching the Last March of the Ents, where all this build up comes to an explosive end. The big splash of He-Man and his crew at the door of Evil-Lyn was one of the highlights of this book. Battle Cat chomping on a dude, He-Man throwing a person through the air, and people lying in pools of blood. It immediately told you, Teela Na is screwed. Then they follow that up with the Skeletor battle. Skeletor’s head broken with He-Man’s punch was so satisfying. You can see in the final punch image that Skeletor’s jaw became unhinged. I feel like I felt that punch just looking at it.

My biggest question at the end of this book though is, “Why does He-Man’s uncle have a skull for a head?” It probably has something to do with dark magic or trying to obtain more power, but that would be interesting to read more about. Him going from normal human to evil overlord.

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Hey JL! Hope your New Year is off to a great start!

Well I am now a He-Man fan! the show was before my time and it looked silly so I never gave it a chance but am so glad I did! Great time to start I feel being that they are about to come out with a new show.

  1. yes my first time reading any He-Man

  2. Saw the movie as a kid but don’t really remember any of it.

  3. I really like the world it is set in. I am a big fan of Fantasy worlds and this one looks fun.

  4. He-Man of course but also really interested in the Bird Witch lady, Skeletor and that head he was talking to and the realm/area he is in that skeletor travels to at the end.

This was a really fun story and wish it was a longer arc. I would have loved to see them travel to more places and figuring more out about themselves that they had forgotten. The dialog between HeMan/Adam and his female traveling companion was great and had me laughing a good few times.

I will post some pics w/ a few panels that had me cracking up later.
Again great story and have put the rest of the comics on here in my library to read. I was a Thundercats fan as a kid and hope that mini run is good!

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Just finished up and what I’ll say is that the first couple of issues I was kind of “eh” on – not bad, just kind of bland and without personality. But after the writer change, I started to get more into it.

I guess the moral of the story is that James Robinson is kinda overrated and Keith Giffen is a national treasure who should be protected.

I already talked about my history with the He-Man character, which is essentially…this.

As for what I like most about He-Man…if I’m being perfectly honest, I still wasn’t really into him by the end. He was okay, but he felt kind of generic, probably because he wasn’t really “him” until the last issue. Of the two characters we followed the most, I liked Teela a LOT more.

And for background, I would also say Skeletor, because I too was surprised by him calling He-Man “nephew,” and curious about the story that skull statue was talking about, implying that Skeletor was really a minion for this outside force.

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Hi and welcome! @Zermillion,

Yes, Sorceress, is in distress in this series. For me the moment of her being threatened to be force-fed what looked like rotten food was what made me say to myself ‘Ok, this just went to a new level’. I read a news article somewhere that a new He-Man series in development for Netflix. My guess is it will be more like the She-ra series, but that’s just my guess.

Same for me! That and Teela’s interactions with He-Man - they made me laugh.

The one shot issue for Skeletor’s origin may have the answers you seek - I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I will be reading it very soon!

Thank you so much for reading along and sharing your thoughts about the book!

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Hi @Aquamon

My New Year is going very well, thank you, and I hope the same for you as well.

Welcome! hands over a new-member welcome basket

Teela and Adam are even funnier in the 19 issue 2013-2014 series that follows this story! I’m happy you have it in your to read list! This week’s mini-series is just the beginning for Adam’s tale. :smiley:

So glad to see you in book club. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts with us!

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Teela is a force to be reckoned with.

So. much. to. uncover in the next issues! I’m :zipper_mouth_face: because I don’t want to spoil anything! But there’s so much more to come!

I considered selecting the first arc of the 2013-2014 series, but, this mini-series has information that is helpful to know to fully enjoy the 2013-2014 series, so I figured, I’d start here.

I’m happy you enjoyed it more towards the end.

Thanks for taking a trip to Eternia with us and letting us know what you thought!

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Interesting – does this mean we’ll be taking semi-frequent trips to Eternia?

Jury’s out on that one. TBD.

I’m still making my way through these, but here are some fun facts about what’s coming up for the Masters of the Universe franchise in general:

  1. It’s reportedly getting two shows on Netflix. I guess one is more kid friendly and one is more adult? I don’t know how the shows differentiate, but Kevin Smith is involved with one of them.

  2. Mattel (the originator and owner of the Masters of the Universe property) is debuting a brand new MOTU toyline at retail later in the year called “Masters of the Universe: Origins”.

Action figures will, of course, be the driving product/force in the line and will be done in the style of the 80’s figures but with more updated articulation.

  1. Wrestling fans who also like MOTU can currently find “Masters of the WWE Universe” action figures at Walmart (the line is exclusive to them). The line is a hybrid of MOTU elements and WWE wrestlers. The articulation aesthetics of these figures are identical to what will be seen in the upcoming Origins line.

If this mini-series has spurred anyone into learning more about MOTU, check out “The Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man” on Netflix. Folks from Mattel, Filmation, the movie and elsewhere (including J. Michael Straczynski) are interviewed and discuss their contributions to the MOTU franchise. It’s very well done, and I say that as someone who generally doesn’t follow the brand.

'Kay, that’s all for now. As was said in the movie: “Good journey!”

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I was tempted to try out the Netflix show when it comes out, if not sorely because of Kevin Smith.

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I’ll try out both shows, but the one with Silent Bob’s involvement is what I’m most interested in.

ponders what Eternian iterations of Jay and SB would be like

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Will do! Thanks for the info!

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Yes this is the first time.

My history of He-Man is of the 80’s TV series and I had a few toys from the show as well.

I like seeing Adam fighting and defeating the Beastman without knowing that he knew how to fight or even if he had the power to win.

I would go with Skeletor because it would be interesting to see how he was able to mind wipe all the Masters of the Universe, how he found the skull he was talking to in the series and where he went at the end of the series.

Enjoyed this series and it let me reminisce my childhood a little.

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That’s another question I had – how did he make all the others forget? Was that explained in a previous series, or in the next one?

I also wonder if it’s the best idea to do an introductory story about these characters when the characters don’t even know who they are by the end. It seems to have worked with some of the people here, so I can’t say it’s inherently a bad idea, but if I were an editor that would be something I would ask.

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Hi there @Lecouch84!

Great pick! That was fun to read.

I think Skeletor is a great villain because there’s so much mystery around him, plus his look is captivating and intriguing, and he’s clearly dangerous. Now I’m wondering if Skeletor was in the Legion of Doom, where would he rank. :thinking:

I’m glad you enjoyed the story and the trip down memory lane! Thanks for chiming in and reading along.

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