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DC Comics is a comic book publisher that held the license to produce Masters of the Universe comics in the early 1980s and then again from 2012 to the present.

Pre-Crisis[]

DC's use of the Masters of the Universe characters began with the story From Eternia -- With Death!, published in DC Comics Presents #47 (dated July 1982). After this, the preview story Fate is the Killer was included as a bonus in several of DC's November 1982 publications, to promote the three-issue Masters of the Universe miniseries that ran from December 1982 until February 1983.

Additionally, DC produced the material appearing in the second wave of minicomics, although these were ultimately published by Mattel.

DC's Masters of the Universe stories bridge the gap between the original four minicomics written by Donald F. Glut, which cast He-Man as a simple jungle savage, and the Masters of the Universe Bible that refines the concepts seen in the 1983 cartoon. He-Man is the alter ego of Prince Adam. His parents were introduced, but they look much older than they will in more familiar versions. The King remains unidentifed, but the Earth bound origin of Queen Marlena is first mentioned here. Unique to DC's stories is that the Sorceress is also referred to as the Goddess, though she retains the cobra-themed design introduced in Glut's stories.

DC (1982-1983)[]

New 52[]

In July 2012, DC released a new Masters of the Universe comic book titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Masters of the Universe[]

In June 2012, DC began publishing a weekly digital-first title, Masters of the Universe, with the first chapter written by Geoff Johns, with art by Howard Porter and John Livesay.[1] The title explored the world of Eternia and tied directly into DC Comics' print title, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The digital series lasted eight issues and ended in December 2012.

DC Digital First (2012)[]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Volume one)[]

Main article: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2012 DC comic)

In July 2012, a six-issue mini-series started titled He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The series lasted until January 2013. In the story, Skeletor succeeds in capturing Castle Grayskull but ultimately fails at unlocking the secret of its power. In the course of the adventure, Skeletor murders the Sorceress before being brutally defeated by He-Man and transported to the side of an unseen villain who reveals he has been manipulating Skeletor all along.[2]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2012-2013)[]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Volume two)[]

On April 24, 2013, the second volume, an ongoing series, started with the aftermath of the first volume. 19 issues were released, consisting of 3 story arcs of 6 issues and one prelude to the next ongoing series. At the start of the first arc, a celebration of the Sorceress’ life is interrupted by an invasion of the Horde, the army of Hordak himself. Leading the charge is a human woman called Despara. He-Man’s friend Teela soon recognized Despara as her forgotten childhood friend Adora, who is destined to become She-Ra, the Princess of Power.[2] The second arc, entitled "What Lies Within" (issue 7-12) sees King Randor lead He-Man, Teela, Stratos and Moss Man into Subternia to attempt to bring the Sorceress back to life. Along the way they face the reborn Snake Men. The third arc, "The Blood of Grayskull" (issues 13 to 18) explains the origin of She-Ra. The final issue, #19, features a flashback to the youth of Prince Adam and serves as a prelude to the Eternity War.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2013-2015)[]

Origin one-shots[]

A series of one-shots detailing the origins of different characters have also been published. The origin stories of Skeletor, He-Man and Hordak have been explored.

Origin Specials (2012-2013)[]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe[]

DC released 5 collected volumes of comics that included the six issues of volume one, the nineteen issues of volume two, plus the eight digital first issues and the three character origins issues.

He-Man MOTU TPBs (2013-2015)[]


He-Man: The Eternity War[]

Main article: He-Man: The Eternity War

A second ongoing series, that continues from Volume two, started publishing in December 2014, and ended in February 2016, after 15 issues.

He-Man: The Eternity War (2015-2016)[]

DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe[]

Starting August 28, 2013, a six-issue mini-series titled DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe began publishing. It takes place between Volume two issues six and seven. Skeletor, last seen at the end of Volume one, has been sent to Earth by his mysterious ally. Once there, he sets a plan in motion to siphon off Earth's core magic. He-Man and the Masters follow Skeletor to Earth but are confronted with the heroes of the DC Universe, primarily the various factions of the Justice League.[3] Oddly both issues 4 & 5 were titled Worlds Collide. Neither story was retitled for the trade paperback collection.

DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe (2013-2014)[]

Injustice[]

He-Man / ThunderCats[]

Main article: He-Man/ThunderCats

In 2016, DC Comics released a crossover with ThunderCats.[4] The six-issue crossover lasted from October 2016, to March 2017.  Unlike the various abovelisted series and one-shots—all of which take place in the same continuity as one another, a continuity in which neither Battle Cat nor Swiftwind can talk—He-Man/ThunderCats takes place in a separate universe, one in which Battle Cat can talk.

He-Man/ThunderCats[]

Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe[]

Main article: Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe

Continuing the continuity that began with He-Man/ThunderCats, this is a six-part series that crosses over with DC Comics' Injustice Storyline, the first issue of which was released 18 July 2018 and the sixth of which was released on 2 January 2019.  Taking place after the events of He-Man/ThunderCats and after Superman's ending in Injustice 2, after defeating the robotic imposter and seizing control of Eternia, He-Man and his allies are approached by the Insurgency to help defeat Superman's despotic rule.[5]

Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe (2018-2019)[]

He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse[]

Main article: He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse

A 6-part miniseries, with the first issue released on November 20, 2019. The threat of Anti-Eternia has spread across the multiverse, conquering every version of Eternia with a ragtag group of surviving alternate He-Men banding together to save the Multiverse by recruiting the one person that could possibly help them achieve victory, Prince Keldor, the man that would become Skeletor.

He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse (2018-2019)[]

References[]

  1. Phillips, Brandy. New Masters of the Universe Digital Comic Book Debuts Today. DC Comics. Retrieved on 21 October 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 DC’s New ‘He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe’ Comics Are Secretly Awesome. Comicsalliance.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-29. Retrieved on 2015-05-12.
  3. DC vs. Masters Of The Universe #1 (of 6) (Cover A - DC) at. Tfaw.com (2013-09-04). Retrieved on 2015-05-12.
  4. Masters Of The Universe/ThunderCats Crossover Happening
  5. Seely, Tim. INJUSTICE VS. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1. dccomics.com. Retrieved on 2018-07-18.
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