Since one year ago, DC has been publishing a comic featuring beloved 80s toy franchise ‘Masters of the Universe’ updating the story in a darker, more contemporary fashion. Among the changes are that Princess Adora, the hero She-Ra, was now a more sinister and brutal character than before. As a result, her masters of The Evil Horde were able to conquer the planet of Eternia and the heroic Masters became fugitives.
Now the characters step even further into the spotlight, crossing over with the DC Universe. Here’s a synopsis of the series:
He-Man’s arch enemy Skeletor uses his black magic to travel to Earth from the fantasy realm of Eternia for more power, and in following him there, He-Man and his friends run afoul of the world’s heroes.
Artist Ed Benes has even designed a new armored look for Skeletor, the franchise’s major bad guy. Benes stated, “I think that all the changes that are happening today are a result of public demand. They understand that these changes bring new life to the characters — it’s like a fresh start. It’s very good because it assumes an entirely new concept, giving more freedom to create.”
The original Masters of the Universe toys debuted in 1981 and what many may not realize, is they also debuted around the same time in DC Comics, first paired with Superman in ‘DC Comics Presents’ and then in their own miniseries. In addition, there was a month in which every DC Comic included a “Masters of the Universe” mini-comic in the center. This was a year or so before their famous cartoon debuted, making these comics their first media tie-in.
In addition to that, in recent years, Mattel has had the toy rights to both of these franchises and has released special crossover two-packs, pitting Superman against He-Man, Hawkman against Stratos and Aquaman against Mer-Man among others.
But now this epic clash comes to comics, thanks to writer Kieth Giffen (who has been writing the regular ‘Masters’ book) and artist Dexter Soy. Check out the second cover and first five pages below!
As you can see, almost all of the classic heroes have been redesigned with new modern suits of armor… and tougher attitudes.
What do you think of this modern spin? Are you excited to see these two worlds collide?
‘DC Universe Versus Masters of the Universe’ hits stands this Wednesday, September 4th!
Source: USA Today
