Dark horse has released a comic book series as a prequel to the animated series Masters of the Universe: Revelation Netflix takes elements from the different versions of Masters of the Universe to date (spoilers notice)
The new comic series from Masters of the Universe While it doesn’t fully reconcile the differences between the different realities, it does establish the mythology of the new series in a way that is faithful to all the previous He-Man incarnations we’ve seen. It also shows how the creators of the series did their homework regarding the vast existing universe of Masters of the Universe.
The mythology of Masters of the Universe It is comparable to the DC Comics multiverse, and the characters remain largely the same despite the fact that the history of those characters has changed over the years in the form of reboots or reboots.
Beyond the original comics of Masters of the Universe(in which He-Man did not have the secret identity of Prince Adam of Eternia), there is the reality of the animated series of 1983, He-Man of 2002 and now the next series that is coming to Netflix, Masters of the Universe is rebooted and the story is set online to Mattel’s classic Masters of the Universe action figures, which featured Eternia’s legendary heroes from the past, such as He-Ro. This ignores the many times that the Masters of the universe have crossed paths with other properties, such as Thundercats or the DC comic series based on the video games of Injustice: Gods Among Us.
The prequel comic to Dark Horse Comics, shaping the world of the animated series, is written by Kevin Smith, Rob David and Tim Sheridan, with art by Mindy Lee, lyrics by Deron Bennett, colors by Rico Renzi, and a cover by Stjepan Sejic.
The comic is based on several specific elements of the four central realities of Masters of the Universe.
The first issue of the comic book series focuses on the poisoning of King Randor by a mysterious monster known as the Orlax of Primeria. To learn more about the beast and how its poison could be countered, He-Man is sent back through the Cosmic Corridor of Castle Grayskull, to the ancient times when the beast was first encountered by Eternia’s first champion, the King Grayskull.
King Grayskull was first introduced as an ancestor of Prince Adam and the first of Eternia’s line of kings in the 2002 animated series. Something that holds true for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, but the prequel comic goes one step further by establishing King Grayskull as the father of He-Ro, one of the first champions to wield the sword of power that happened to The Man.
The comic also establishes a revised origin for the fantastic sword.
The backstory of the Sword of Power is based on the one told in the original mini-comics that came packaged with the first figures of Masters of the Universe, mini comics that were reissued in several volumes by ECC Ediciones and that you can find here. In them instead of being empowered by King Grayskull upon his death (as in the 2002 series) or a magical artifact given to He-Ro by the Trolla wizards (as in the classic story), the Sword of Power is formed by two halves of swords, which act as the key to Castle Grayskull’s secrets when put together.
It remains to be seen how King Randor will be saved, as his life is still in danger as the first issue of the prequel to Masters of the Universe: Revelation comes to an end. However, the first issue seems to confirm the claims of Kevin Smith (showrunner of the Netflix series and co-writer of the comic) that Revelation does not intend to reinvent He-Man for a new generation of fans. In fact, if the series is anything like the comic, it may be reconciling the various conflicting elements of the story of Masters of the Universe in a single cohesive story.
See trailer of the new animated series
The first part of Masters of the Universe: Revelation premieres July 23 on Netflix.