I’ve been meaning to write up my thoughts on the DC Comics MOTU miniseries, but in the meantime the series evidently did well enough to score an ongoing title. This news broke over two months ago, but I’m rather out of the MOTU loop…plus I haven’t enjoyed the new series much.
Anyway, the first issue of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuts April 17, written by Keith Giffen and drawn by Pop Mhan. Ed Benes does the main cover (above) and there will be a variant She-Ra cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson.
Assuming you can get past Teela’s ridiculous cleavage, you might notice that creepily sexy Hordak-looking thing. The press release says this is the “return” of She-ra, who is “now known as Despara, the most lethal weapon in Hordak’s army.” So does this mean He-Man actually knew She-Ra in this universe, but then She-Ra left and somehow became Hordak’s slave again – or is this just the return of She-Ra to comics and is actually a new origin story? I don’t know.
There will be at least twelve issues of this title, since Mattycollector is offering a 12-issue subscription featuring a variant action figure cover for the first issue.
Agent 86
I only purchased the Adora/She-Ra/Despara issue, but I *think* it is basically a re-telling of "Secret of the Sword" and they're making Adora's time as a member of The Evil Horde a little more … realistic in that she's a major bad azz and slayer of rebellion members (including Flutterina who was killed by Despara, which doesn't make any sense given Flutterina's origins, but I think that was all part of the bizarre mind-wipe continuity anyway).
The She-Ra cover is awesome! Teela's ever evolving design is confusing. Sometimes she's blonde like She-Ra, other times she is a red-head. Sometimes her amour almost looks She-Ra-esque, other times she's just in a bikini.
Black Arbor
Eh, easy pass for me. I’d only want the issue with the action figure cover, and considering that the first miniseries they put out took five (FIVE!) issues to get to Adam actually becoming He-Man, I’m not willing to throw 25 bucks on a recurring series where everything takes forever to get going. I mean, I could understand it taking two, maybe three issues, tops, but five is just way too many. I didn’t even pick up the last issue, I was so dissapointed.
ridureyu
This is the same series where Skeletor messily beheaded the Sorceress, and Orko turned out to be evil, and Evil-Lyn sleeps with random dudes to gain their power, isn't it?
Kevin
Skeletor killed the Sorceress? Good Lord, I can see I'm staying from this comic. It sounds like the needlessly EXTREME Thundercats comic all over again.
jack static
Spoilers incoming: I dont think its necessarily explained, or perhaps I misread this part, but in the new dc continuity all of the masters had their minds wiped when skeletor defeated he-man, i BELIEVE despara is she-ra sent back to etheria to once again serve the horde as force captain after the mindwipe because in the digital dl mini comic for shera she (i beleive) has flashbacks to being shera that shadow weaver must wipe from her memory
adam
From what I can tell this is a variation on the whole "Adora was part of the Horde once" bit, without the Etheria/Eternia division. If you ask me this series is a load of bollocks.