Masters of the Universe #3 (“Within These
Walls…Armageddon!,” February, 1983) concludes DC’s three-issue mini-series.
This one is written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by George Tuska, but inked
by Rodin Rodriguez. Here, the Heroic Warriors finish Skeletor’s job and a rival
wizard gets involved.
There’s a lot of random stuff happening here, and it’s kind
of a mess, in a “throw everything in the pot” kind of way. Man-E-Faces shows up
for no reason other than to boost sales of his action figure (or maybe because
his monster face hadn’t been controlled by Skeletor’s magic for a while – that’s
the only thing that ever happens to him). In the interests of time, I suppose, the
two halves of the Power Sword are hidden together. Seriously. Teela says
“Hoo-boy.”
Now let’s be frank: nobody cares about this Damon guy. It’s
not just because he doesn’t have an action figure or an appropriate He-Man
name – he never feels like he merits either one. He looks like a ridiculous
cartoon pirate, and he wears a hoodie tucked into his furry loincloth. He’s
impossible to take seriously, and it’s extremely satisfying to see Skeletor
open up a can on him.
Rodriguez’s inks are a substantial downgrade from Alcala’s.
They’re flatter and plainer, and the art lacks some atmosphere for it (it’s
also lacking Stratos’s beard).
After more or less cruising along for two issues, the
mini-series falls somewhat flat at the conclusion. At least Superman didn’t
show up.
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT
Read it HERE
