Masters of the
Universe #13, “Lifetime Part 2,” is by Caragonne, Wilson, and Bulanadi.
Here, Adam and the resistance attempt to retrieve the Power Sword.
This is the last issue of the Star comic, and quite frankly,
the run really couldn’t have ended better than this. The only problem is that
the story is so frustratingly rushed – this would have made a great three- or
four-issue arc. A couple of corners are cut to make everything fit, but even
so, the impact of this story is substantial. Which is as it should be – when
you know you’re writing an imaginary future (and the last issue) for a dying
franchise, why leave anything on the table? Make Skeletor as big a badass as
possible! Destroy landmarks! Kill people off! And who doesn’t want to see two
He-Mans?
The art is solid, as expected. It should be noted that
the story borrows certain plot elements from the 1987 film, and not only are Blade
and Saurod here in their toy forms, but the appearances of Skeletor and Castle
Grayskull’s throne room draw heavily from the film. And it all works quite
well. (I really couldn’t tell you why Imp and Catra from She-Ra are on the cover, though.)
Thus the Masters
of the Universe comic was cancelled – and, adding insult to injury, at its
highest point. To this day, I vividly remember my bitter disappointment as a
seven-year-old subscriber when, instead of getting issue #14 in the mail, I got
Air Raiders #5. It was like
having a birthday and getting a roll of Necco Wafers instead of a cake.
But back to business: while it’s disappointingly rushed,
this is an extremely satisfying conclusion to one of the best He-Man stories of
all time.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Read it HERE
