Masters of the Universe #1

[26 Mar 1986]; Cover price 35p.
24 pages. Colour & B&W.
London Editions Magazines.

Cover by UNKNOWN.

Contents:

.2 Welcome, Young Warriors! Introduction. / Strange Universe fact feature. / Orko the Magician w: UNKNOWN; a: UNKNOWN.

.3 Legend of Grayskull w: Brian Clarke (uncredited); a: Selecciones Ilustradas.

.8 Your Chance to Get All This FREE competition.

.9 Skeletor's Surprise w: Brian Clarke (uncredited); a: Selecciones Ilustradas.

15 Now on Tell-a-Tale advertisement.

16 Orko to the Rescue w: Brian Clarke (uncredited); a: Selecciones Ilustradas.

22 Learn All About Stamp Collecting advertisement (half page). / Masters of the Universe Next issue information (half page).

23 Enter the Quest for the Sacred Stone of Mamod competition.

24 Join the Masters of the Universe Club advertisement.

Masters of the Universe is, by any estimation, an incredibly ropey cartoon, with continually reused artwork, tired, circular plots, and some incredibly stupid character designs. When your expectations have been sufficiently lowered by rewatching the series, coming to the spin-off comic might be a masochistic endeavour. Thankfully, this is a slightly above average package, which (when compared to its animated roots) looks fantastic.

Naturally (befitting the parent series) the cover is uninspiring and flat, though being a clear shot of the hero is an acceptable mis-step in kicking off proceedings. Inside is an introduction by Scrollos, a few facts that might blow the minds of younger readers, although might also have contributed to their reduction of salt consumption, and an Orko comic strip. The use of cartoon strips, with a primarily comedic role, has long been an important aspect in these types of comics, and Orko the Magician is typical of the type. It may be an extremely obvious joke, but that's the point.

As a five-page introduction to the world of the characters, rather than a strip in its own right, Legend of Grayskull fulfills the need to bring newcomers up to speed. For those with prior familiarity with Masters of the Universe, which must have been the greater amount, it still contains valuable information in going forward. Five thousand years of history are rushed through in a page and a half, at which point Prince Adam is introduced. The background isn't given too many quirks, and there's ties to She-Ra set in place.

The first proper story, Skeletor's Surprise, begins at Snake Mountain, where Evil-Lyn has a plan to get rid of He-Man. There's a gap in space which will appear the next day near the cave of Karnack, which will allow Skeletor to gain entrance to the heart of the Royal Palace. Warned by the Sorceress, He-Man makes his way to the cave, and there is the expected battle. Which is all fine, given the source material. However, the comic throws a surprise in the mix with the arrival of Hordak, who has found his way to Eternia to take revenge on Skeletor.

For any other title, the reliance on coincidence would be a travesty, but Masters of the Universe is that kind of place. Coincidences are part and parcel of Eternia, and as a means of introducing Hordak it is as good as any.

There's something to be said for shaking up the status quo with the introduction of another villain, as the television series had been running for a while. Or it may just have been an opportune moment to shift some new toys. It really doesn't matter, because any continuity building in a series which had a habit of hitting the reset button at the end of every episode is a good thing.

Orko to the Rescue begins with an aged Captain Caveman cosplayer hammering on the Castle doors demanding Man-at-Arms and He-Man save his village from Skeletor. Despite the late hour (and how bright it seems to be outside), they proceed to the village - while Skeletor and his cronies look on, mocking the hero for falling for the ruse. Man, you really can't trust Captain Caveman cosplayers. Orko realises what's going on, and frets that he is in the castle by himself.

This is important. A huge castle to run, and there aren't any servants around? The Great Eternian Credit Crunch must be bad if it is being felt by the nobility. You would expect there would at least be a chef on hand to whip up a sandwich for the Prince Adam after a hard day beating seven shades out of malformed villains. Or cleaning staff - the man does have a tiger for a pet, after all.

Skeletor sends the first batch of troops to take the castle, and Orko defeats them with... snakes? Sure, why not. The second wave take to the skies, and once again Orko uses magic - this time to mess with their transport. Trap-Jaw is called on to kick the door in, because if it worked on The Sweeney... This time Orko's attempts at using magic to make up for physical limitations isn't so successful, and he blows up the gates.

And throughout all of this, no-one has said: "I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll knock the gate down." Words cannot express my disappointment.

In due course He-Man turns up and does what he does best. The minor annoyance with the final panel is that it falls into the "everyone laughs, cut to the credits" type of ending. Yes, Orko is a joke character, but to have everyone in-universe acknowledge that fact seems a touch cruel somehow. It isn't as if everyone in The Real Ghostbusters treats Slimer like a source of endless amusement: "Oh, look, he's eating again. Lets all point and laugh."

One of the things superhero titles do well is tagging characters with their name, and that's the main thing missing here. A small head-shot with the name of each of the main players would have helped dealing with such a large cast. I suppose that coming to the title fresh from the endless appearances in other media might have helped in that regard, yet watching the series again (to tell characters outside the main cast apart) seems like cruel and unusual punishment, so that isn't going to happen.

Amusing, smarter than expected, and with some rather attractive art. Much better than the title's initial appearances suggests.