Comic Review: Injustice Vs. Masters of the Universe #1

Injustice Vs. Masters of the Universe #1

DC Comics

Writer: Tim Seely

Artist: Freddie E. Williams II

So I wake up in the morning and I get online, take a deep breath, read this comic and I….scream to the top of my lungs “WHAT’S GOING ON????”

I’m sorry. I had to put that meme in there. The opportunity would have been wasted. Anyway, on with the review.

You know when you’re a kid and you decide to pull out all your toys and cool action figures and decide “I’m going to make a really random team up, Action Man is going to fight alongside Spider-Man against Bane who’s riding a T-Rex ON THE DEATH STAR and it’s going to be cool!”

Well, this is a bit like what this comic is.

Now, I never grew up with He-Man. I watched a fair number of episodes in college with some friends and a few beers because it’s pretty hilarious looking at it now. But honestly, He-Man has some cool concepts and characters and I understand that some of the He-Man comics are actually very good, and this issue makes me want to get more into the LORE of Eternia. So well done Seely, off to a good start. The premise is exactly what you think: Batman and a number of heroes from the resistance need the help of Prince Adam to stop evil dictator Superman from the Injusticeverse. Plain, simple, straightforward.

Seely seems like a fanboy with this story, and honestly, that’s fine. This isn’t a crossover I was expecting, or thought would work, but it does, especially in the narrative of the overall plot of Injustice. It seems like this follows the timeline of Superman’s victory in Injustice 2 where he takes control of Brainiac’s ship and brainwashes everyone. Whether that is the official canon timeline or not, well we’ll have to find out and see. But the reason the Masters of the Universe are needed is great and I honestly thought the way they found this universe was brilliant. I enjoyed the He-Man/Thundercats crossover from last year, and this follows in the same spirit. As a fan of Injustice (well, SOME parts of it anyway), I was pleased to see this story unfold and find out what potentially happens after the game.

The character interactions are probably the best part of the issue. Especially with what happens with Orko and Cyborg. I look forward to seeing He-Man and his crew interact with the sheer grim absurdity that is the Injustice universe. Already we can see that this is going to be balls to the wall bonkers but at the same time is played straightforward. Honestly, I wish Seely would help Taylor writing some of these characters, Taylor clearly has his favorites in Injustice and other characters get the backpedal. Whether this crossover is going to be canon by the end of it remains to be seen, but if Taylor really wants to continue on with the Injustice universe, Seely has opened some doors for the inevitable Injustice 3 game. I mean who wouldn’t want to shout “I HAVE THE POWERRRR” before kicking the crap out of Superman in a DLC? Or even have an over the top Skeletor try and terrify Batman?

Art is by Freddie E. Williams II, someone who is no stranger to the MOTU series, drawing the Thundercats crossover. Williams’ art suits the story of how bizarre it looks. It’s very detailed and cartoonish while also looks a bit ugly and it works. Sure this isn’t going to win any awards for the art but it’s not bad either. It suits the story well, harkening back to the point that it’s as if a kid has picked all his exaggerated big muscly action figures and thrown them together. Some of the spreads giving background exposition do look great.

Honestly, if you like big random team-ups, Injustice, He-Man or just fun then this is a decent pickup. It’s certainly the right Injustice story to read for this week (don’t worry I’ve already ripped it apart in another review). It’s a crossover I didn’t expect to enjoy but I did. It’s not perfect but it’s a bit of fun. An interesting step to take for the Injustice universe and I’m curious to see where this will lead on for future stories, and the He-Man story is quite interesting too. Maybe Seeley is planning a MOTU comic after this is done and is planting seeds for future stories? He’s certainly got me interested in reading some back issues of He-Man anyway.