Review — ‘Masters Of The Universe: Forge Of Destiny’ #1 Feels Like A Saturday Morning Cartoon

Welcome to the table,

Some of my earliest memories are of a muscular man with a sword in hand screaming that he had the power. There’s just something very nostalgic about the Masters of the Universe for me. I have probably seen every episode of the original series at least once. I’ve seen most of the episodes of The New Adventures of He-Man, all of the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and 95% of the He-Man content that has been released on Netflix as of late.

I have read most of the kid’s books from the ’80s and 90’s, most of the tiny comics that came with the figures, and a slew of other related material that has come out between then and now. I dig it… In truth, I dig Skeletor and the universe the story is set in more than the sword of power and what He-Man and his friends get into, but it’s a safe bet that a story that centers around Prince Adam and his bowl-cut counterpart is going to at least be a good time. And that is what Dark Horse Comics’ Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny is. A good time.

Helmed by Tim Seeley with art by Eddie Nunez, colors by Brad Simpson, and letters by Andworld Design this exploration of the wider world of Eternia is a fun time on a Saturday night if you enjoy fun little trips to places you used to imagine in your childhood.

The book kicks off with a brief handful of pages that gives some insight into who He-Man sees Skeletor as and the Sorceress using her magical powers and keen understanding of the very Weird Fiction world of Eternia to give sage-like advance before he departs upon his mighty companion Battlecat.

It’s nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking, and that is totally okay. If you are a fan of He-Man you are going to like this story. It jumps from characters we know a ton about to an island Nation of Anwat Gar, and immediately my knowledge of childhood toys clocked statues and a blue skinned species of humanoids that made me think Sy-Klone, one of the heroes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toy line, was going to be showing up in some way very soon.

In the 80’s version, Sy-Klone was an acrobat who was blasted by one of Skeletor’s various rays and turned into a cyborg warrior. In the 2002 show, there were some changes to the character and he was more of a guardian entity who was the defender of an ancient race who once inhabited the now-deserted island of Anwat Gar, on which he had remained alone for thousands of years. His mission is to guard the Legacy Stones of the island, which are stolen by Skeletor and subsequently destroyed by He-Man to ensure safety.

After all this goes down, He-Man invites Sy-Klone to join the Masters of the Universe crew.

All of that feels very in line with whatever is coming in this series because Prince Adam is hanging out with King Randor and gets a history lesson about Anwat Gar and its ability to make all manner of powerful creations. There are some foreshadowing notes about balances of power. Then the gang of Teela, Man-At-Arms, Prince Adam, Orko… because of course that little ball of chaos is going, and a group of Elite Guards who look like Man-At-Arms but more disposable go off on a Roya Caravan to figure out why the nation of Anwat Gar has not pleaded for aid from them as so many others have during Skelitor’s rampage across the lands.

It’s honestly really fun to see how many Easter Eggs can be stuffed into this script. There is a bit with Roboto, a mechanic man who Man-A-Arms constructed that comes up in one panel, and if that does not show up as a plot point later, I am going to be a little disappointed, because clearly it was a “Look at what we are doing!” moment in the script.

There are some panels showcasing He-Man doing various feet of heroic strengths and then the story circles back to Teela journaling about what is going on. We then learn that Prince Adam, as he is wont to do, has snuck out and is partying with some new friends and then is caught and dragged back before disaster strikes at the hands of Skeletor’s right-hand woman, Evil-Lyn. All of this, of course, seems to be causing some sort of international incident as now the leadership of Anwat Gar thinks Prince Adam is responsible for the deaths of the people Evil-Lyn destroyed as he was last seen in their company.

And the issue ends. It’s kind of a great read in the sense it feels like a Saturday morning cartoon. It’s goofy, the backgrounds leave something to be desired, and the art is not always consistent, but it sure as hell feels like I should be reading this with cereal in hand and Lego underfoot.

All the things I could be critical of in a normal comic review don’t feel as important in this one, because it’s a comic about a goofy concept that, somehow, after all these years still works. If you like He-Man, you will dig this story.

Until next time, the level of absurd characters in the Masters of the Universe series that somehow just work together will always astound and delight me.