Warning: Contains spoilers for Masters of the Universe / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles of Grayskull #1! He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a franchise that has no shortage of heroes and villains that would outmatch even Marvel Comics Hulk A run for his money in terms of raw strength and physical brute, including and especially he-man himself. And now, He-Man and the Hulk just got even more alike, as Prince Adam of Eternia gets a dark new redesign in one of the coolest ongoing crossovers of the year.
in Masters of the Universe / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Grayskull Turtles #1 by Tim Seeley and Freddie E. Williams II, readers are thrown into the world of Eternia right alongside the Ninja Turtles themselves. The story begins in New York City, where the Turtles discover Shredder and Krang making evil plans with Skeletor through an interdimensional portal. When they burst into the villains’ lair to stop them, the turtles and their villains get sucked through the portal and into Eternia, resulting in everyone from both franchises getting awesome mashup remakes.
Shredder, Krang, Skeletor and more all get epic redesigns after these TMNT And he-man Continuities are merged into one, and it has everything to do with what the villains planned at the beginning of the comic. Skeletor, Krang and Shredder find a way to merge Skeletor’s black magic TMNTs mutagen UZ, turning the famous green substance an evil purple, increasing its mutating abilities. This is how most of the villains got their mashup remakes, including the normally heroic He-Man.
He-Man gets mutated by magical oz in TMNT/He-Man crossover
He-Man Becomes Master of the Universe’s Own “Straight Hulk”
He-Man is famously the greatest hero in Eternia, possibly even the entire universe (indeed, he literally lives in the center of it). However, after he is abducted by Skeletor’s minions and exposed to the new mystical mutagen, the purple ooze corrupts the valiant hero while also horribly mutating him. He-Man became a mindless storm monster with purple skin and green hair, and when he was unleashed, Mutant He-Man destroyed both the armies of Snake Mountain and the Eternian Royal Family.
Not only is the strength and appearance of Mutant He-Man reminiscent of Marvel Comics’ Hulk, but also his debut, which is very similar to the Hulk’s storyline in the first issue of The Avengers. in Avengers #1, Loki uses the Hulk to conquer the world and defeat any hero who challenges him. That’s exactly what Skeletor, Shredder and Krang do in this one Grayskull turtles surrender, using He-Man’s unparalleled strength for their own agenda. And unlike in The AvengersThe villains really pull it off.
The horror that Prince Adam feels when he looks at the brutal destruction he has caused is exactly what Bruce Banner is going through.
To make the Hulk comparison even more pronounced, Mutant He-Man returns to the ‘human’ Prince Adam after his rampage is over, and he regrets everything he did while in his savage state. The horror that Prince Adam feels when he looks at the brutal destruction he has caused is exactly what Bruce Banner is going through Every time the Hulk loses controlAn additional detail that solidifies he-man as these Lords of the Universes resident ‘Hulk’.
The TMNT/He-Man crossover wasn’t the only time He-Man became a monster
Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #1 “The Curse of Greyskull” by Tim Seeley and Eddie Nunez
It may be shocking to see He-Man as something akin to a more-villainous-Hulk, but it’s certainly not the first time He-Man has become a monster. in Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #1 “The Curse of Greyskull”, readers are taken to another universe in the ‘T-Man Multiverse’, one where Prince Adam does not become He-Man when he calls upon the power of Greyskull, he becomes “The Horror of gray school”.
The horror of Greyskull is a hulking, demonic beast that is effectively the antithesis of the classic He-Man in every way. However, this does not make the horror of Grayskull any less powerful than the original He-Man. In fact, this dark variant is arguably more terrifying for his enemies to face, because the horror of Grayskull does not hold back against the likes of Skeletor’s minions, and does not stop until he has consumed their souls. Thankfully, the horror of Greyskull is only a multiverse variant, not the main-universe He-Man – something that can’t be said for Mutant He-Man.
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For all intents and purposes, the version of he-man at that TMNT Crossover is the original He-Man, just like every crossover the TMNT experience (incl Power Rangers And Ghostbusters) is all canon in the team’s comic book continuity. This makes He-Man’s terrifying metamorphosis into mutant He-Man even more terrifying, as it truly marks the corruption of perhaps the greatest hero in the universe. Only time will tell if Prince Adam can regain his heroic standing, but until then, the world of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has its ownHulk‘.
Masters of the Universe / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles of Grayskull #1 by Dark Horse Comics is now available.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an animated series that was an outgrowth of Mattel’s popular toy line of 5.5-inch action figures. The series helped the Masters of the Universe franchise expand in popularity and ran for a total of two seasons between 1983 and 1985. The TV show was followed by She-Ra: Princess of Power in 1985.