#8
Plot: Die gläserne Lady: Sy-Klone and Fisto are driving around in the Attack Track when a floating diamond (as large as a man) bearing a woman's face appears. It attacks the heroes with an energy beam. Adam is relaxing in the royal gardens, admiring the flowers and being entertained by Orko when Sy-Klone calls for He-Man's help. He-Man brings Man-at-Arms along, but the latter is zapped by the diamond just like the other two heroes. When He-Man approaches it, though, it changes into a beautiful woman. She introduces herself as the queen of a kingdom which has been overrun by monsters and she asks for He-Man's help to liberate her people again. Both Teela and Zoar warn He-Man to be suspicious of her story, but He-Man - blinded by the queen's beauty - follows her through a magical portal anyway - leaving even his Power Sword behind. He-Man's friends wake up again from being stunned, and before the portal closes, they rush after him. Emerging from the portal, He-Man is met and overpowered by the Evil Horde immediately. It turns out the 'queen' was in fact Evil-Lyn in disguise, sent to lure He-Man into this trap. While Hordak is still gloating over his victory, the other heroes bust in and struggle between them and the members of the Horde begins. It doesn't look too good for the heroes, but the Sorceress manages to magically send the Power Sword to He-Man who is then able to free himself, join the battle and turn its tides single-handedly. Hordak admits his defeat and he opens a portal back to Eternia for the heroes to leave.
Die Macht des Bösen: Hordak enters Eternia through one of his portals. Skeletor doesn't like the competition and he sends Beast-Man and Trap-Jaw to 'welcome' his old teacher. However, the two are immediately hypnotized and immobilized by Mantenna, prompting Skeletor himself to join the scene and free his cronies again. In the following fight, every character gets the chance to show his special powers, especially Hordak who shifts shape a few times. Eventually, he turns into a rocket flying towards Snake Mountain to conquer it, however, he's stopped by the castle's magical defenses which send him and his underlings back to the Fright Zone.
Comments: The Evil Horde was new, so it had to be introduced. Both stories give the new characters plenty of exposure, the exception being Modulok who only turns up briefly and only in 'fully assembled' form, solely relying on his laser gun to fight. Oh, and Leech looks a little too much like the toy counterpart (his hands and mouth...). There's little plot to speak of. What's strange is that the first story has quite a mature theme (Evil-Lyn using sexual attraction as a weapon to lure He-Man) to it for a kids comic.
Thanks to OmegaMan31 and Kim!