Oct 2012: DC Comics - MOTU: The Origin of Skeletor #1

[He-Dad]

It was ok ~ Hordak was monstrous which was cool but a little over the top. All in all it was just kinda eh IMO. I hope the mini comic is better next year!

[Eternian Poet]

After careful, scientific analysis of this thread, I've come to the conclusion that if you don't like this comic, you are devoid of good taste.

I'm sorry, but there is no cure.

[Sir Reilly]

Wow, thanks for telling us.

[Eternian Poet]

That's ok. You can still enjoy life! (sort of). And I will try hard not to pity you.

[Sir Reilly]

Being a better than that, I will not tell you that you don't have good taste for liking the comic.

[Eternian Poet]

How dare you sir!

[Perkaedo]

I guess I'm in the minority of people who didn't care for this issue. I don't like the "Keldor was Miro's first born" story at all. If they had portrayed it like Loki and Odin, which is the way I've always seen it, then that I could sink my teeth into. But him being a Gar(or Half Gar, I guess) and being a true Prince/General...yeah no thanks. Did we even find out what happened to his face? And Hordak was just beyond weird...total buyer regret here.

I guess I'm in the minority, too. Worst issue so far. Sure, I liked the brotherly interaction between Keldor and Randor, and the first-born-but-not-pure spin shows an interesting dynamic and motivation to Skeletor's character, so it wasn't all bad. But Hordak? I did not care for that design at all, though I'm willing to overlook it to an extent because it's like they are trying to present him as a creature from another dimension.

But what I cannot overlook is "rise, my apprentice." Palpatine says what? Nothing is worse than an uninspired ending to a book that makes me roll my eyes and toss the book aside. What a crock of sith.

[Eterniandreams]

Well, the Keldor Motuc packaging does say:

Keldor™ Figure

Masters of the Universe® Classics
Apprentice of Hordak™

And Skeletor apprentice art was in Tomarts magazine waaaaaay before Starwars 3:

[Jean]

So Hordak's a Xenomorph and his goons look like the Engineers?

[Rodster6]

I enjoyed it alot more than the ongoing series but it didn't amaze me. All the DC MOTU comics seem so short, just as it gets going it's over! Same with the mini-comics but I can understand it with those as they are mini comics lol.

[13977]

I was really looking forward to this issue, origin stories are usually my favourite however this was not an origin story, we didn't really find out anything it was more like a prologue.
We didn't find out how this face was burnt, how be betrayed the kingdom, anything about the war he started, IMO itreally needed to be more issues instead of a one shot.
I wasn't keen on the art style or the partly coloured flash back/vision panels (I didn't like the use of partly coloured panels in the Evil Lyn issue either).
And what on Eterina was the blue cord going from his neck, though the portal into Hordak's neck

[Mike Bock]

I hate them, I seriously don't like these comics at all.
I know they are trying "new" things, new doesn't necesarily mean good.
These comics don't feel like MOTU at all, they feel like generic dark comics.

[Krueger]

I was really looking forward to this issue, origin stories are usually my favourite however this was not an origin story, we didn't really find out anything it was more like a prologue.
We didn't find out how this face was burnt, how be betrayed the kingdom, anything about the war he started, IMO itreally needed to be more issues instead of a one shot.

I think there's more to come, at least according to this interview with the writer. I don't know if this has been posted. Here's the link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2...-book/1668709/

Here's the interesting quote:

Fialkov's not done with Skeletor, either. His story continues in a He-Man origin one-shot in January that shows how Prince Adam is bestowed a mystical sword and the power of Grayskull to become He-Man.

So it appears that there will be more to this in the He-Man origin.

[TJRules]

I hate them, I seriously don't like these comics at all.
I know they are trying "new" things, new doesn't necesarily mean good.
These comics don't feel like MOTU at all, they feel like generic dark comics.

100% agree.

This newest issue (Origin of Skeletor) really shows how sucky this series has been. It asks more questions than answers. The plot is terrible, the dialogue is nauseating, and it doesn't feel like MOTU at ALL. FAIL. To the max.

[zodak74]

I really enjoyed this issue. It repeats a lot of what we already knew events-wise, but I like the bit of exploration of Keldor and Randor's relationship- it's the most we've gotten in that area. In MYP, they were already enemies from the get-go with no backstory, really. So I thought those parts were really cool. I like the art, and can handle Hordak having a completely different look from what we're used to. These comics aren't the be-all and end-all... it's just the current creators' interpretations of characters we've known for years. I find it interesting and refreshing.

[BCI Guy]

I really didn't have any issues with this comic. Loved the art (including how he handled/differentiated the flashbacks), and while the story left some questions to be answered later, I thought it told a complete, satisfying tale. I don't need (or even want) all the answers at once. It told me everything I needed for right now, but left enough that they can go back to the well to flesh things out more.

Who burned off his face? Doesn't matter right now. Its a story for a later time. All that was important to this tale was that it happened.

Hordak's look? We know he can shape change and he may or may not have (I'm not sure in THIS continuity) had his original body destroyed and replaced with a robotic one. In either case, this could just be his original form.

I thought it was a very good book. On the other hand, I've hated all 3 issues of the main series and I've ranged from apathy to meh, to OK, that was cute (the Orko book) on the digital shorts.

[Larry Waters]

I just bought the new iPad 4 and read it again.

Sucks even worse with Retina display. The "fail" really comes through in HD...

[Eternian Poet]

Sucks even worse with Retina display. The "fail" really comes through in HD...

Evil Lord of Lies.

[Larry Waters]

Evil Lord of Lies.

To each his own...I just can't bear poorly-rendered garbage.

[Dr Kain]

I read it and I felt it was down right dreadful. I would rather read Harry Potter getting it on with Malfoy fanfiction before I ever read this comic again. The artwork was awful, the narrative was horribly written, the dialog was bland, and it did not make a lick of sense.

[Sir Reilly]

Who burned off his face? Doesn't matter right now. Its a story for a later time. All that was important to this tale was that it happened.

If I was a reader unfamiliar with MotU, I would've wanted to know more. The comic's name is "The Origin of Skeletor", and at that it's not giving me the full story I would expect from such an issue.

I won't even get started on how they changed Keldor from a charismatic "by all means necessary" man into a jealous wuss.

[Captain Atkin]

I actually don't mind this look, since Hordak and his Horde are trapped in Despondos. His physical body was destroyed in the battle against King Grayskull, before his spirit was sucked into the void. I view this as being the spirit/demon of Hordak.

[Krueger]

I won't even get started on how they changed Keldor from a charismatic "by all means necessary" man into a jealous wuss.

See, I think the jealous wuss is actually more right on the money than what he was before. I think it suits the character of Skeletor more for starters and it immediately makes him more interesting, IMO. I mean, it’s not original, as there are many characters like that in the worlds of literature and film, but they usually make for strong villains.

[Eternian Poet]

I won't even get started on how they changed Keldor from a charismatic "by all means necessary" man into a jealous wuss.

That's a fair criticism. It'd be interesting to have seen how Keldor's nobility turned to resentment. Though it seems to be implied that the continual injustice directed towards him wore him down, plus it is clear that Hordak encouraged and justified Keldor's anger and resentment.

Really though, this means that the main problem is that this awesome comic was too short

[13977]

If I was a reader unfamiliar with MotU, I would've wanted to know more. The comic's name is "The Origin of Skeletor", and at that it's not giving me the full story I would expect from such an issue.

I won't even get started on how they changed Keldor from a charismatic "by all means necessary" man into a jealous wuss.

Yeah I prefer Keldor as a strong, charismatic character as well.