I’m not sure if I can make a sibling rivalry joke. Depends on what they’re doing with Adora in this version.
He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe #2
DC Comics (July, 2013)
“Past Imperfect” WRITER: Keith Giffen ARTIST: Pop Mhan COLORIST: Kathryn LaynoLETTERER: Saida Temofonte COVER ART: Howard Porter & Kathryn Laynd EDITOR: Michael McCalister
Despara is apparently “Adora” and she and Teela have had dreams about each other. (Insert anti-slashfic rant here.) The heroes are forced to escape to Castle Greyskull where Randor tells how he was almost abducted years ago by Hordak’s minions. Apparently the Castle holds the key to Hordak’s returning to Eternia so as Eternos has fallen Greyskull is next on the list.
What they got right: The fights are a joy to watch, if not a bit more violent than I’d like from a He-Man story. Giffen is trying to create a history and world here and whatever problem I have with what he’s doing (see the next section) I can’t say it’s a bad job.
What they got wrong: Just wrong for these characters. I suppose Giffen is ignoring Adora’s character in the original show (or more precisely The Secret Of The Sword) to create what he sees makes more sense for someone brought up as a member of the Evil Horde. That’s fine, but I don’t have to like it. At one point Randor silently says Marlena’s name, making me wonder about what’s happened to her and if she’s going the way of the Sorceress in this continuity. But the real crime here is Teela. Still assuming Giffen’s going with the re-imagined cartoon as his base, she could be mouthy and a bit snarky but this is much. She’s still mad about Adam’s jokes about her hair color change and won’t stop arguing with him about it and his unwillingness to kill people. Later she complains that Mekaneck is there because his only alleged skill is his long neck. Teela was never this big a #$@$ in any continuity, not even the re-imagining.
And I just realized: Adora, Teela, the Sorceress, possibly Marlena–Evil-Lyn is the only female character not getting the shaft thus far. Kind of surprised Giffen gained so much of my respect from his one-arc Superman run but is so easily giving these characters a New 52-style makeover.
Recommendation: Unless there’s a “redeem Orko/restore the Sorceress” storyline coming this may be the last arc I pick up. I’m just not seeing the love here. That said, if you have no prior ties to these characters it’s not a bad fantasy comic per say. Just a questionable adaptation. Not poor, just questionable, mostly in tone. Judge this one for yourselves. No Best Scene nomination, although Randor and He-Adam having a father/son moment almost earned one.
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Adding an addendum here because apparently the article was linked to at the He-Man. org forums. (Hi, folks.) Somebody mentioned that Evil-Lyn slept with someone named Nolar Blak to manipulate him, and I must have missed that part. I thought i had all of the issues to date. As for her look, I admit I didn’t pay attention to that, either. I was too busy getting annoyed at other things. I’ll have to recheck the Nolar part but as far as changes go, and depending on what’s happened to Marlena, she’s gotten the least of the problems Teela and especially the Sorceress have. (And Orko, but he’s not a female. Still sticking with my Dre-Ell theory.)
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Oh there’s more? This and issue 1 were all I had seen on the shelves and picked up. Is that why I’ve been really confused about the continuity?
I’m torn. On the one hand, I want to like this series. On the other hand, it’s just not quite getting the tone right I think.
The (so very VERY good) Darkwing Duck comic proved how you can take a silly show “seriously” (while at first glance it may seem “darker” because of said seriousness) and keep it very fun and enjoyable. I was kind of looking forward to that in this comic series. Everything, even the silliest parts, of He-Man taken seriously yet through that allowing for fun and good stories. =S
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There was a six issue miniseries, two “origin” specials (one for Skeletor and one for He-Man–neither of which I had much praise for), and I’m hearing some digital exclusive origin for Adora that I haven’t seen but possibly leads into the “Despera” nonsense in this arc.
The Darkwing comics, also reviewed on this site, were great and I’m sorry Boom lost the license since Disney doesn’t seem to be doing anything with the character right now.
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