He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

based on the

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

. The series began with a digital mini-series, followed by a six issue standard mini-series. Two ongoing series, 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' and 'He-Man: The Eternity War', were produced and are now concluded. There have also been two crossover mini-series with the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

, and one with ThunderCats. Several origin one-shots and collected edition graphic novels have also been produced.

The series

''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. 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.

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

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.

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

A new series running from June 2013 to January 2015 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. 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.

''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.

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 He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...

and

Hordak Hordak is a fictional character in the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise who opposes She-Ra and He-Man, as well as the franchise's main villain, Skeletor, to whom he was once a mentor, and the cause of the latter's ambition and pursuits of evi ...

have been explored.

''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 / ThunderCats''

In 2016, DC Comics released a crossover with ThunderCats. 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.

''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 ''Injustice 2'' is a 2017 fighting game, fighting video game it is the sequel to 2013's ''Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and is the second installment in the ''Injustice (franchise), Injustice'' franchise based upon the DC Universe. It is developed ...

'', 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.

''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, Anti-Eternia's version of Prince Keldor, the man that would become Skeletor.

Collected editions

The series has been collected in the following

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

: Most of the series was also compiled into one

omnibus Omnibus may refer to: Film and television * ''Omnibus'' (film) * Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes * ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme * ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...

, excluding the latest mini-series (''Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe'' & ''He-Man & the Masters of the Multiverse''):

External links

References

{{Masters of the Universe Fantasy comics Science fantasy comics DC Comics titles

Comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

Crossover comics Comics set on fictional planets