Today’s Comic> MOTU: Origin Of Hordak

“Fine, I’ll use a potholder next time!”

Masters Of The Universe: Origin Of Hordak

DC Comics (July, 2013)

A million years ago, Zodac’s forces rallied against his brother, Hordak. Everyone died except for the siblings who had one final battle. Zodac lost, and Hordak absorbed their souls, believing he has become a god (or as he proclaims himself, master of the universe).

I’m breaking format on this one because I have a few issues with this and it filters into the main series, which I also have issues with. I need to say first, however, that this isn’t a poorly-told story. Quite the contrary, it is rather good. My problem is purely from a fan’s perspective, or at least my personal preferences. Why make Zodac and Hordak brothers? Is it the rhyming thing? And then they kill off Zodac, one of the early characters from the toyline. Could they really do nothing with the character? The two TV series set on Eternia had no trouble finding uses for him, and I think I preferred the original series take. Again, Giffen seems to borrow ideas from the re-imagined series, which makes taking him out of the story even more depressing.

I’ve read one review where they said this wasn’t really a Hordak origin tale and I disagree. I think we learn enough about his backstory (family issues, how he gained his power–although granted not how he learned to absorb souls of the dead) and we see his rise to power. Maybe they wanted to see how he formed the Evil Horde but this isn’t “Origin of the Horde”. (That would be interesting, though.) I do see a correlation with Skeletor in his origin story so I did find that interesting.

By the way, possible spoiler here: The “avatar of good vs. the avatar of evil” bit. I think we know who the former is going to actually be, snarky as the new He-Man is.

Recommendation: I’m still not into this darker take on the franchise and I think the current arc in the main series and the upcoming DC crossover may be it for me. Between this, Transformers, Voltron, and the Nolan films there seems to be a concerted effort to darken my childhood into a bloody “grim and gritty” mess, and I really don’t like it. The sad part is that the stories are well told if you’re not a fan of the original but if you are I don’t think this series is for you. It’s for people who think they can do it better by pretty much not doing it at all. I’m getting tired of that.