He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2: Origins of Eternia

Comic Info

Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Skeletor #1

Reprints Masters of the Universe:  The Origin of Skeletor #1, Masters of the Universe:  Origin of He-Man #1, Masters of the Universe:  Origin of Hordak #1, and Masters of the Universe Digital Chapters 2-7 (December 2012-August 2013).  Skeletor, He-Man, and Hordak all had a beginning…and their stories are told here!  With Man-at-Arms, Battle Cat, King Randor, Evil-Lyn, Orko, and Trap-Jaw, the Masters of the Universe will have their stories told!

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, Kyle Higgins, Mike Costa, Jeff Parker, Keith Giffen, and Brian Keene, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Volume 2:  Origins of Eternia collects a number of one-shot issues of the DC Comics series and reprints digital comics.  The comics of the volume were released during the run of the first volume of Masters of the Universe and the continuing Masters of the Universe series.

I grew up with He-Man and watched the cartoon religiously.  Despite hundreds of episodes, many of the characters were rather undeveloped and unexplained (including in the mini-comics that came with toys).  Here, we get short, concise stories that explain the characters backgrounds…half this volume is entertaining and half of the volume could use some work.

Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Hordak #1

I’m a big fan of the shorts in this volume which were part of the Masters of the Universe digital comics.  These comics not only have some interesting storytelling, but they have some strong art to back them up.  The writers did an interesting weaving of the tales and I think the Evil-Lyn story is the winner here by showing that the comic can be more than just an adaptation of a toyline.

The longer issues are a bit…long.  Both the He-Man and Skeletor issues feel like some real meat is missing from what is being told.  I feel that both could almost be limited series with more exploration.  I have a soft spot for the odd Zodac who  appears in the Hordak tale.  I like that the storyline is almost that of Kirby’s New Gods…it does add some depth to the tale as a whole.

I can’t say that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a very good book, but for me, it is an entertaining book.  The storytelling is pretty shallow, but it brings back fun memories of childhood and it makes more of an episode to give these characters the dimensions that they lacked before this.  He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2:  Origins of Eternia was followed by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 3.

Related Links:

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 1

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 3

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 4:  What Lies Within

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 5:  The Blood of Grayskull

He-Man:  The Eternity War—Volume 1

Masters of the Universe (1987)

He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special (1985)