Masters of the Universe: Old School

Masters of the Universe (Vol. 1) #1
“To Tempt the Gods!”
Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Penciler: George Tuska
Inker: Alfredo Alcala
Letterer: Adam Kubert (?!?!?)
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Editor: Dave Manak
Released: Sept. 9, 1982 

I'm not sure what my first comic book was, but it just might have been those mini-comics that came with Masters of the Universe action figures. So, why am I only now getting around to reading this comic, passed along from a family friend many, many, many years ago?

Right off the bat, the cover by George Tuska looks more like the toys themselves than the Filmation series that, to me, is the definitive version of He-Man and company. He-Man's got his ax, Teela is wearing that weird snake thing, Man-At-Arms doesn't have a mustache, Mer-Man's in the Wind Raider for some reason.

Some of you who are better versed in Masters' history than me may be pointing out, “That's not even Teela!” You're right, of course; it's actually the Goddess, who I presume is a precursor to the Sorceress, who chose a bird motif over the snake ensemble. But this was the costume the toy Teela came with. Having recently read the first Masters mini-comic in a collection on the free Hoopla library app, I've learned a lot of details were changed from the early days.

In the comic, Teela is even more scantily clad than most of the pants-averse Masters characters. But in all fairness, she's got about the same proportional amount of clothing on as He-Man, so... let's hear it for gender equality on Eternia?

We open at the Eternian royal palace, where the king and Man-At-Arms are lamenting the absence of Prince Adam from a celebration in his mother's honor. The Prince arrives – pantsless, of course, and in a blue vest rather than his pink and purple cartoon ensemble – followed by the young maiden who'd occupied his attention on the other side of a royal hedge.

After a quick recap of Marlena's arrival from Earth on Eternia, we see that Adam is the equivalent of an Eternian Bruce Wayne, adopting the rich playboy role to help cover up his secret identity of He-Man. He's pressed into service when attacked by monstrous creatures, sending him and his timid tiger pal Cringer … rushing to the Cavern of Power to transform into He-Man and Battle Cat?

Not as dramatic, or convenient, as the Sword of Power, but this was apparently still a work in progress.

They're confronted in the magic cave by Skeletor, who wants He-Man to invest in his latest real estate scheme. Wait, I'm getting him confused with Lex Luthor. Actually, Skeletor is holding the Goddess hostage, and coerces He-Man into finding three talismans to lead him to the two halves of the Sword of Power.

Again hearkening back to the toys, Skeletor has one half of the sword and tried to get the other half from the Sorcere- Goddess. But she flung his sword into another dimension before he captured her, so now Skeletor needs a righteous champion to recover both halves. (I'm not sure where the other half is, but He-Man isn't carrying it.)

We get a page of Zodac, a figure I owned but never understood, looking like a Jack Kirby character and musing about cosmic destiny and the nature of good and evil. Then, He-Man sets out to acquire the first talisman, the Cosmic Star Cluster, which is back at the palace. This allows for a moment of secret identity hijinks as the king laments that his child isn't more like He-Man.

When He-Man and Teela go to fetch the talisman, they find the court wizard under attack by various creatures. This isn't Orko, but a humanoid fellow named Tarrak, who nevertheless seems to have trouble with his spells. He-Man, Teela and an arriving-in-the-nick-of-time Man-At-Arms thwart the demons, but not before they make off with the Cosmic Star Cluster.

While the heroes wonder what their next move should be, we cut to Avion, a city of bird-people led by Stratos. He's attacked by a group of Beast-Men (I thought it was just one guy!) and flees to the palace for help.

He gets the aid he seeks, and He-Man gets the next piece of his own personal puzzle, a bird talisman that he yoinks right off Stratos' neck. Luckily, Stratos is pretty chill about the whole thing. Of course, it could also be that he just flew in from Avion and boy are his arms tired.

He-Man and Skeletor made their not-mini-comic debut in 1982's DC Comics Presents #47, and there was also promo material that appeared in other DC titles before this three-issue series. I'm probably missing some context without reading those, but this was still a fun throwback to a property that meant a lot to me as a kid. It's interesting to see these early ideas that I was familiar with from the toys but are different than what I watched on TV. It's kind of like those early “Saved by the Bell” episodes in Indiana with Hayley Mills as the teacher.

I was a bit surprised to see Adam refer to the creatures attacking the palace as “demons and monstrosities from hell” and Battle Cat calling Skeletor a “fiend from hell.” There were half a dozen references to hell in the issue, though usually more descriptive than as a curse, along with one “damnation.” Seems odd for something based on a line of children's toys, but maybe they were trying to entice an older audience? That might also explain He-Man and Battle Cat's surprisingly violent threats to Skeletor, as I'm used to being part of a much younger audience watching these characters.

I've been posting a little irregularly lately, but I plan to go through the other two issues of this limited series over the next two weeks. It may not be CapWolf, but it should be fun.