Review: “Masters of the Universe – Masterverse”

The cover actually shows: The Metaverse is here! Let's see what's inside.

Contents (fuss)

An all-new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe story featuring artwork from some of the most famous names in comics. Deep within Castle Grayskull, the Enchantress and Zodac evaluate He-Man's worth. To save her hero's life, the Sorceress must take the Cosmic Enforcer on a journey across the multiverse!

criticism

“Masterverse” is a new He-Man volume – although that's actually a very good thing. There's a framework story, but it's fairly meaningless (it's happened a few times with He-Man). Shortly after Adam's first transformation, Zodak visits the Enchantress to learn the hero's true intentions. They both look into different parallel universes…

This is exactly what happens and so the graphics are completely different. Black and white panels, in which you can't see anything, alternate with colorful superhero-level panels, with comic-level panels from the 80s and many other styles. This at least illustrates the different universes well, and for those familiar with the subject, the odd drawing techniques, in which figures or other Easter eggs, like Procrustus', are hidden from time to time, are quite a feast.

Of course, one shouldn't expect much of an overarching plot from a volume that simply jumps across universes. So the interaction between Zodac and the witch is not the main point and is really just an appendix – despite some differences.

Because this comic has to do one thing above all else: be fun. As a result, you also get to engage in different worlds (or stories) and, for example, smile when Skeletor and He-Man prefer to play video games rather than fight (a tribute to the early days of MOTU). . Or that the black and white panels in question revolve around Duncan as a detective.

Of course, there is a real feast for fans in individual stories, for example when Keldor rules alongside Randor, or when He-Man and his band of barbarians accidentally encounter Skeletor and the witch while searching for ale(!). But the vampire Grayskull also has something here. Even the Mega-Beast makes an appearance – and if you don't know what that is… well, you already get the tape problem. The drawback at this point is that the volume is somewhat inappropriate for audiences who are not familiar with the subject and are likely to leave some question marks.

Naturally, there are a few other universes (Battlefield Teela), which we will not mention in detail now. Finally, there's a spin on the He-Man '21 series, although it's not necessarily the 1:1 version from Netflix. Because the good heroes are here fighting against evil parallel versions of themselves. This is followed by a detour into a slightly different cinematic universe and with He-Force, parts of the previous comics are then tied into the story once again.