He-Man & The Masters of the Universe #6 - DC Comics - SPOILERS

[Orko's Magic Hat]

It was OK. The Sorceress's head was unnecessary. The art was a bit hit and miss in some panels. Nice to see Charger and the other Masters, I love Teela and Skeletor'e designs. I felt He-Man was drawn awkwardly throughout the comic. Orko as a bad guy? not bothered - it doesn't erase what Orko has been in the past for me, its just another take.

The one thing I disliked and probably throughout the whole series is the dialogue - its so hard to follow and doesn't flow and I hate Teela's attitude throughout.

[He-Metayer]

I read a lot of today's comics and gritty and dark does describe many of them. A great example is the Joker story currently going on in the Batman series. I don't mind it for today's MOTU because to me it does make Skeletor more of a legitimate threat and it also seems to bring the series back to more of its barbarian roots. I think this miniseries was all about showing why Adam is worthy of being He-Man and not focusing on the details of what caused the Masters to be cast under the spell in the first place, with Giffen just planting clues in this last issue. I imagine the ongoing series will answer those lingering questions, or maybe DC will just release a #0 issue to explain it. Either way, I'm looking forward to the invasion of the Horde in April!

[Larry Waters]

I think I've figured it out...

Doc Ock used the gold octobot to implant his different personalities into every character in this book. That is the ONLY reason that I can come up with to explain why these people are NOT the characters they are supposed to be.

I don't care which iteration of MOTU we're talking: Preternia, Filmation, DC comics, STAR comics, 200x... Has ANYONE working on this book EVER read a Masters property?

I hate...hate, hate, HATE...what the "creative team" (I use that term very loosely) have done over the last six months.

The story is uninspired. The characterization is 180 degrees off. The scripting and dialogue read like an angry Emo 9th-grader's fanfic. The redesigns are unnecessary and look like microwaved dog vomit. The art...my Lord in Heaven, the art is awful. I'm talking "The Search For Keldor" awful. I honestly cannot believe that these people have a job and guys like Val and Emiliano (who love the property and KNOW the property) aren't given a shot.

The ONLY think that I found enjoyable about this series is that perhaps we are finally free of the pointless and never-very-well-done "secret identity" of Adam. Peace out, blondie...sorry I ever knew ya!

I said I'd give it the full 6 issues, and I did. I won't be spending another cent on this garbage. When the ongoing series starts, I'll flip through it on the stand, and unless I'm blown away, I'm not supporting it.

I wish I had another adjective, because to call this series awful is an insult to everything awful in pop culture.

- - - Updated - - -

The writing team in the earliest interviews balked at the silliness of Filmation, often making an example of Skeletor being goofy. The absence of the secret identity, Orko, Battle Cat not talking, Adora committing atrocities and the mature themes could be DC's way of compensating for people's idea of what MOTU was.



It shows that the comic guys are doing their homework on MOTU -- Teela as a blonde AND riding Charger are pretty far back references. I feel much better about the writing team than I did.

I like THAT these things were done...I just didn't care for HOW they were done.

[MegaGearMax]

I really liked seeing Charger in the comic, but...seeing BLONDE Teela riding a unicorn beside He-Man on Battle Cat made me long for She-Ra. Also, Teela was pretty terrible in this issue. She yelled at He-Man and then wasn't really worthy in battle. Any other version of Teela would have fought savagely. This Teela seemed scared and said she can't keep up. They really made her seem like a damsel in distress a bit, which was disappointing.

I think they did that to show how overly powerful He-Man is. Teela was the top warrior before Adam got his powerup and now the role is reversed. Skeletor is way out of Teela's league and only He-Man could take him.

[Vikor]

I was entertained reading it, but I agree with most of what has been said here. This is basically spitting in the face of all that has come before. It is one thing to reboot a series and try new things, but something else to completely disregard 30 years of history.

Orko as the big bad boss?... uh, yeah, ok.

[MegaGearMax]

Teela's mother was killed before she told Teela who she was...

[heavy-eternium]

I loved these comics,they are totally revolutionary for motu parameters. I can't wait for ongoing series.

motu needed to adapt to changing times and the result was very positive, many new people are fascinated with these comics, many who did not had a great respect for motu.

[Mern-Ra]

I agree with Invicta's comment that I like that they are 'bravely experimenting', but I hope it doesn't get ANY darker than this, cuz I agree that being gritty does not equal being cool...cuz, yeah, it defintely gave me a weird feeling seeing The Sword Of Power covered in blood.

As for Orko, I'm hoping that that is not him in the last panel, and his betrayal ends up being more of a Skeletor made him do it by threatening to kill his loved ones instead of just taking their memories, and that Orko's reasoning could have been that if they were alive, there was a chance that they would break the spell, which would mean he was right all along.

And even though everyone knows Adam's secret, I still hope they keep him around since he is an important character and integral as to how and why we have the He-Man we all know and love.

[facet]

Charger in the comic awesome!

Orko being the living embodiment of that orange skull thing and the traitor.... hard to swallow, but i cant think it being anyone else from that last panel, Lodoar was a good guess with all those kobold/demon looking things but it doesnt look like his hand and that would make Lodar MORE powerful the Skelator, we cant have that. The only Baddies that could have that distinction would be Hordak, Horde Prime, King Hiss, and the Unamed one.

Finally That does look like Fangman allllllll the way to the left although it is very hard to really verify that as there is not much showing of him, But good catch Darkspectar! I have to go back but I dont remember if that orange skull was the one from SLL digital comic. wanna check that out.

[iron_pride]

Best issue yet. I lvoed it. The art was cool, story was much better than previous issues. I love the fact that we can finally identify with the characters since they can identify with themselves....great issue. I can't wait to see more in a few months. Orko being evil would kind of throw a wrench in the Trolla sword stuff, so it must either be a hoax or a part of a bigger plan. Which of course it is. Awesome issue.

[tim]

Hmm... Well, the cover was nice.

[Fighting Foe Man]

Ok I am really grasping here, but I don't think the guy at the end is Orko. I think it is actually Fang Man, and here is why. At the end, the mystery bad guy mentions that "...and it is time you come know me as more than minion". Why would he say such a thing? I really don't think that Skeletor ever viewed Orko as He-Man's minion. So I started to think that maybe he meant one of Skeletor's minions. It would have to be someone not part of the regular crew, plus have something to do with a sacred red skull. Fang Man was shunted into the past in his one appearance, so that gives him ample opportunity to gain more power, discover funky artifacts, find a way to slow his aging, etc. Plus, that is Fang Man on the cover, of you see the whole picture.
469609_319377111514815_1177375269_o.jpg
Also, Fang Man has the same colored skin as Orko. And it would make so much more sense for him to have such a gnarly-looking hand, as well as command a bunch of demony-looking things.

[Barezz]

Maybe...or maybe Fang man is on the cover to try and sell some toys in March

[He-Dad]

I loved these comics,they are totally revolutionary for motu parameters. I can't wait for ongoing series.

motu needed to adapt to changing times and the result was very positive, many new people are fascinated with these comics, many who did not had a great respect for motu.

I totally agree. I love these comics for what they are. They kinda remind me of the Star Trek reboot... turning the cannon on it's head and making everything fresh again. I like the idea of Orko betraying the masters. I'm not convinced it was Orko at the end yet but it I don't hate the idea of him becoming possessed or tainted by some sort of evil. I'm very glad DC has decided to continue the series and I'm looking forward to the new issues. I'm also hoping for more one-shots or digital comics to fill in some of the gaps and flesh out more of the back story. I'ld like to see the prequel if you will to this story as well. It seems that's what the digital comics were starting to flesh out and I'ld like that to continue. All in all I'm invested and loving it.

[Fighting Foe Man]

Maybe...or maybe Fang man is on the cover to try and sell some toys in March

Nope. I stand by the big bad being Fang Man; I have to, my sanity depends on it!

[Telkan2]

[...] Perhaps that head was also part of the trick and it wasn't real? I guess we'll find out in the ongoing comic. I hope she's still alive since I want to see how Teela would deal with learning the Sorceress is her mother and all that entails. [...] Will Teela start learning magic and in an effort to take up her mother's role as Sorceress or will she want to follow in her father's footsteps?

[...] Could be the Sorceress isn't actually dead either. Or, perhaps they are setting it up for a changing of the guard like was done in the MOTUC toy bios [...]

But, with Grayskull now a red herring, is there any need for a Sorceress?

I liked the appearance of Teela's unicorn. It was an oldschool reference and it's very cool to see they included that.

The rest of the comic was... unfortunate.

Skeletor holding Sorceress' decapitated head aloft and taunting He-Man with her death? Repugnant.
Evil Orko turning traitor and possibly being the supreme bad guy at the end? That is ******** right there.
Castle Grayskull was useless all along and He-Man is the SOURCE of the Power? CG was a red herring all along? Lame.

I'm so tired of modern entertainment "reboots" trying to be "griitty" and "cool." I really do try to be open-minded with new stuff and I've been ok with some of the DC stories but, man, it's hard to be a fan of something that is now almost unrecognizable as MOTU to me. You can still tell a good, mature MOTU story without gratuitous violence, T&A, and cheap plot twists. We'll see where the regular series goes but, judging from what happens in this one, I imagine more depressing "fun" lies ahead.

I agree with Penny Dreadful's assessment 1000% The only thing I would add is that their treatment of women is problematic as a whole--not just the Sorceress' gruesome end, but also allowing Evil-Lyn to be powerful only so long as she's also insane, and only more of Teela's T&A than anything else.

There seems to be a lot of people who can't stomach a cartoon character decapitated head. If its not for u that's fine. You can always enjoy the 1981 filmation cartoons.

Or we can continue to advocate to both Mattel and DC for whatever it is that we may feel is a better vision.

I don't care which iteration of MOTU we're talking: Preternia, Filmation, DC comics, STAR comics, 200x... Has ANYONE working on this book EVER read a Masters property?

I hate...hate, hate, HATE...what the "creative team" (I use that term very loosely) have done over the last six months.

The story is uninspired. The characterization is 180 degrees off. The scripting and dialogue read like an angry Emo 9th-grader's fanfic. The redesigns are unnecessary and look like microwaved dog vomit. The art...my Lord in Heaven, the art is awful [...] I honestly cannot believe that these people have a job and guys like Val and Emiliano (who love the property and KNOW the property) aren't given a shot. [...]

I wish I had another adjective, because to call this series awful is an insult to everything awful in pop culture.

My God, you know it's a cold day in the Sands of Fire when I'm agreeing with Larry Waters about...well, anything! But I do agree with him (or at least with the parts that aren't indicated by ellipses.

[JonWes]

Yeah, sorry... I was happy MOTU was getting an ongoing, but I'm not supporting this title any more.
It's just not well done. And I have liked Keith Geffen's work in the past. But this just seems incredibly sloppy and lazy. It's just not well written. The dialogue was horrible. It's one thing to have a so-so storyline, but having to read through Teela's dialogue was painful.

The death of the Sorceress was boring and not needed. And Orko as the main villain seems silly to the extreme. But I'd be willing to go with this and the new direction if it were actually executed well. Which it is not.

[Irian]

Skeletor holding Sorceress' decapitated head aloft and taunting He-Man with her death? Repugnant.

Yes,it seems to me the comic book authors have failed once again and used the unfortunate "women in refrigerators" trope. I am so tired of it.

[He-Dad]

Yes,it seems to me the comic book authors have failed once again and used the unfortunate "women in refrigerators" trope. I am so tired of it.

I thought it was a nice touch showing the viciousness of this carnation of Skeletor. Besides, remember we still had Zoar after he snapped her neck so I'm sure we haven't seen the last of her.

[Fighting Foe Man]

That is a very good point! Dare I say that the Sorceress managed to either send out her aetheral self into Zoar, or Skeletor had some kind of magical clone in his dungeon.

[Nemisythe]

Now I am not truly defending this issue or series for that matter, it was someone's attempt to produce something they thought they knew and eh.....

But has anyone considered, that maybe Evil Orko is possibly one of the Overlords of Trolla assuming the guise of an Orko gone rogue? Just trying to put it in a perspective where maybe this will cross into the new ongoing??? ( How I'm wishing it does... )

[Crusader]

That is a very good point! Dare I say that the Sorceress managed to either send out her aetheral self into Zoar, or Skeletor had some kind of magical clone in his dungeon.

Zoar was an only illusion, created by the Sorceress, that disappeared as soon as Skeletor's spell was broken. Otherwise we would have seen her with the other heroic warriors.

I assume she's also the "fallen comrade" whose death is mourned at the start of the next chapter.

[hadley]

Did nobody else notice the Bashing Beetle and the Battle Ram Chariot there at the end? That was a pretty cool easter egg.

Someone said how it was humorless, I disagree. There was plenty of humor in Teela and He-Man bickering. They kept it to a good minimum, given the tone of the comic.

It's too bad that more people don't enjoy this like I do. It's fun as hell to see MOTU back in current entertainment, and it's a neat story. I'm all for the changes they're making to convention; it's like all that old stuff, all those silly cartoons from way back when, they could still have happened. But now we're in this new future and **** is getting real. I'm really interested to see where they go from here. It's going to be a great ride.

[illicitjedi]

Someone said how it was humorless, I disagree. There was plenty of humor in Teela and He-Man bickering. They kept it to a good minimum, given the tone of the comic.

I would agree, IF any of it sounded anything at all like Teela should talk or behave. It sounds like my sixteen year old sister, not a veteran warrior.

[hadley]

Adam and Teela are pretty obviously teenagers in this version. She sounds like she should.