***SPOILERS***
He-Man and the Masters
of the Universe #13–15 (DC) are written by Dan Abnett and illustrated by Pop
Mhan.
#13 is a standalone flashback story that sets up the rest of
the arc: in the aftermath of his defeat of Hordak (that’s Regular Hordak, not
Giger Abomination Hordak), King Grayskull has to deal with this series’ mess of
a prophecy while King Hssss incites a coup.
It’s nice to see Grayskull with that classic look, and he
seems like a more interesting character than Space Boots He-Man has been to
this point, but again, this story is grim and gritty without much in the way of
context, and thus what could have been a poignant moment here goes by the
wayside for lack of backstory.
In #14 and #15, all the big developments from the last arc
are packed away in the closet as Space Boots He-Man accompanies Adora in search
of Anwat-Gar. (Why is she going there? Because she has a map, duh.) The covers
make it obvious where this is all generally headed—but our problem has always
been with the details. One hopes they at least leave the samurai stilts out of
it this time.
Storytelling aside, Abnett’s writing is okay. The tone of his
dialogue still isn’t consistent and the series still isn’t grounded at all, but
at least now you get the feeling that he might get there someday, especially if
he could condescend to tell some smaller-scale stories. No, the biggest problem
remains the dark tone of the series, which just doesn’t work for me at all—not
because I don’t like dark, but because with this tone, these characters simply cannot
bear any real resemblance to their classic versions, the ones we know and actually
care about. Here’s an example:
We get quite a good moment in #15 where Space Boots He-Man
actually does something quite He-Manly (albeit after having to think about it
for a while first). On the other hand, the Horde Troopers are now explicitly
living beings rather than robots (which they certainly seemed to be in #1–6),
and Space Boots He-Man is butchering them by the score in the process. So there’s
that.
I have to say that Mhan’s art is definitely growing on me.
It’s cleaner than it was earlier in this series, which helps a lot. The attention
to detail is strong, and all the little throwbacks to the 1980s are delightful—the
three towers of the old Eternia playset on Grayskull’s tapestries, for example,
or Adora’s outfit.
On the whole, these issues are nothing to get excited about,
but once again, I find myself cautiously optimistic going forward (and the
cover to #15 earned this series the tiniest bit of extra goodwill). Stay tuned.
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