Review – Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny #3 (Dark Horse Comics)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artwork: Eddie Nunez
Colours: Brad Simpson
Lettering: AndWorld Design
Release Date: 1st November 2023

In the penultimate issue of a series that is, in my opinion, “shaping up to be Dark Horse’s best MOTU comic book offering to date”, writer Tim Seeley continues to expand his ‘He-Man: Year One’ story by delving a little deeper into the early relationship between the Most Powerful Man in the Universe and Teela.

In the wake of the Gar ambush, Man-at-Arms has taken King Randor to lay low with Chief Cougor in the Village of the Panther Men, leaving He-Man and Teela to return to Anwat Gar seeking answers. One of the most interesting narrative threads of this series has been the uncertainty surrounding He-Man’s sudden arrival on the scene, as well as the struggles with his “trusted few” trying to keep his identity secret. We get a couple of great scenes showcasing that struggle here, with He-Man and Man-at-Arms both having to pretty much lie to the faces of Teela and King Randor respectively, laying some interesting groundwork for both characters’ eventual discovery of Prince Adam’s secret and their subsequent reactions in the Netflix Revolution series.

That said, one thing that felt a little jarring to me was the lengths everyone seemed to be going to in order to keep He-Man’s identify secret, only for Adam to almost immediately reveal that same secret identity to young Dash-Shel without too much of a struggle. Either it’s a closely guarded secret or is isn’t, y’know?

Elsewhere, Skeletor reveals himself to Hera Caine, the leader of the Gar, laying out a fairly tempting proposal for the pair moving forwards. It’s always nice to see ol’ Boneface doing a bit of manipulation and scheming, rather than just ranting at his henchmen and getting punched in the face by He-Man, and I applaud Seeley for throwing these more cerebral Skeletor moments into the mix.

Once again, the artistic pairing of Eddie Nunez and Brad Simpson deliver a dynamic and authentic aesthetic, packing the pages with detail, action and Easter eggs aplenty. Perhaps the most interesting part of this tightly-structured series is its creative take on the origin story of Dash-Shel, who any MOTU fan worth their salt knows is going to end up as Sy-Klone. Nunez and Simpson do a cracking job of bringing the young Gar’s struggles to the page, and the brief skirmish near the end of the issue where Dash uses his new found abilities to attack He-Man and Teela gives them ample opportunity to flex their artistic muscle.

The final pages draw the battle lines effectively for this series’ final conflict, and give us some interesting possibilities as all the separate plot threads prepare to combine. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this is, for my money, the best MOTU comic book series that Dark Horse has published so far, and a lot of that comes down to Seeley and co. opting to tell a clean, coherent He-Man story with a simple narrative, rather than trying to pack too much into too little space. Well worth a look, and I absolutely can’t wait for the final issue next month!

Rating: 4/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]