The Birthing of Skeletor

You may... or may not... know I have just a TEENY thing about Skeletor from "Masters of the Universe".  Maybe it's because the animated series was one of the earliest series I feel like I've regularly followed while growing up.  Maybe it's because the character has a truly inspired villainous appearance.  Maybe it's because I owned at least two versions of his action figure while growing up.  (The standard removable armor version and the "battle impact" chest armor version!)  ... Or maybe it's because the character embodies a sense of menace and threat... while still being silly, and just a tidge bit "sassy".  Seriously, just watch clips from YouTube of Skeletor laying down some tongue lashings to his subordinates!  Whatever sorcery Skeletor worked on my impressionable young mind, it carried over 30 years of my life, and he's STILL one of my favorite fictional characters.  (And, thanks to my nasally Midwestern accent, I can do a KILLER impression of the man!)

Some of you may now be wondering, "Why the hell are you talking about Skeletor in a comics blog?".  To this, I say, "Time to be schooled."  Because Skeletor has an EXTREMELY valid legacy in comics, that I shall touch upon every so often in this blog, in chronological order.  I will say the ONLY medium that won't be explored in overly long detail is the mini-comics found packaged with various "Masters of the Universe" action figures.  Mainly due to the fact I have ZILCH access to those.   But I can begin the series with the comic book debut of Skeletor, his lackey Beast-Man, some guy that calls himself Man-At-Arms (I allege that, due to the fact that he's depicted without a mustache for this appearance)... and some minor characters that went absolutely nowhere named He-Man and Superman.

"DC Comics Presents #47" was the first comic book appearance of the "Masters of the Universe" franchise, and it makes sense it would debut with the early 80's cash cow of the DC Universe, Superman.  This won't be an overly complex synopsis of the book, but I shall discuss the salient points of the book... and in one particular case, a MAJOR difference to the character of He-Man in this issue.  You see, we're introduced to Prince Adam in essentially the back alleys of Eternia... Drinking, carousing with women, and getting into barroom brawls!

Admittedly, Cringor is still around, but this is a FAR cry from the usual fop that would hang around the Castle of Eternia, being lectured by King Randor... or getting his butt whipped by Teela.  (For the record, she could literally whip my butt anytime of the week.)  This must've still been in the rough character outline period where "Conan" was still the seed of the universe's development.  And while I didn't drag up any pictures, take my word for it that Man-At-Arms is baby-faced for his first appearance.  No 'stache, no Man-At-Arms in MY estimation!  (But thankfully, we're spared a first appearance by Orko in this comic.  Ugh... Lousy little jerk...)

So what's Skeletor up to in this issue?  I'll give you three guesses:

• Bemoaning another lonely Saturday night, his advances rejected by Evil Lynn... yet again.
• Engaging in a royal court debate with Randor about his legitimate claim to rulership of Eternia... and insanely high property taxes on Snake Mountain.
• Gain control of the Sword of Power, and Castle Greyskull, to truly become Master of the Universe.

... I ask again, which one sounds the most Skeletor-like?  Anyways, in his spell-casting, he manages to snag Clark Kent/Superman into Eternia to essentially act as his "champion" against He-Man.  Which initially DOES work, because remember that magic is one of Superman's weaknesses.

Of course, Superman doesn't immediately agree to Skeletor's malicious planning... or being referred to as "strangely garbed".  (No offense, Skeletor, my friend... But calling anyone else "strangely garbed": Pot, meet kettle.)  However, when He-Man arrives on the scene, to put a halt to Skeletor's plan of conquest, Skeletor puts the magic whammy on Superman.  And this time, it's to COMMAND the Man of Steel to the attack.

Alas, while I have grown in appreciation of Curt Swan's artwork, since he was never that strong in detailed fight sequences, we're short-changed some solid fisticuffs between Superman and He-Man.  But in conclusion... for a very quick wrap-up, and since I don't have the issue currently on me for reference, Superman regains his sense of common good, they both team up to battle the TRUE evil of Skeletor, and both he and Beast Man are vanquished... for now.  Because like any great villain, you cannot keep Skeletor down.  (I would lump Beast Man into that category... but calling him a "great villain" is kind of like calling NFL Superpro an essential element of the Marvel Universe.)  And in my next eventual entry in the Skeletor Comics History series, we'll see that while he didn't really cross paths with the DC Universe proper much after this, he DID figure into a "Masters of the Universe" comic run through the company name!

... And I say "much after this", because there WAS a sequel... or was it a prequel?... story insert in Superman books in 1983, about a year after this "DC Comics Presents" issue was published.  But that, too, is another story for another time!