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5th Series

Between a Rock and a Hard Place


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Plot: The king is holding an annual celebration in the city, Castle Grayskull is only guarded by Rokkon and Stonedar. Evil-Lyn sees it completely unguarded in her crystall ball (the Rock People have transformed into rocks) and she wants to use this opportunity. She considers attacking with Skeletor, but decides he has failed too many times already. So she goes to Etheria to ally (and even marry!) with Hordak. He declines though and orders his troopers to throw the witch into the Slime Pit. She can escape with a hastily opened dimensional portal. Hordak attacks the castle on his own with Mantisaur. The Rock People are imprisoned in an energy field. He-Man arrives with the Wind Raider, but Mantisaur summons thousands of insects which distract He-Man enough to let Hordak sneak close and knock him out of the air with his Hurricane Powers. He-Man can get rid off the attacking Mantisaur with a Thunder Punch but Hordak gains the upper hand in their head-to-head fight. The villain knocks the Power Sword out of He-Man's hand but just as he's about to deliver the killing blow, the magic of the sword activates and flies it back to He-Man. Now both bosses are at a stand-off, none can defeat the other. Evil-Lyn appears out of nowhere and frees Rokkon and Stonedar who can then assault Hordak from behind. The evil has been defeated once again.
Comments: Wow! This comic has it all: rivalry between the three 'leader' villains Evil-Lyn, Skeletor and Hordak (a lot of this!) and a cool and lengthy fight between He-Man and Hordak. And they're on par - He-Man couldn't have defeated his foe without the Rock People's (and indirectly Evil-Lyn's) help! Makes me wonder why Hordak didn't attack together with a few troopers who could have held off all other heroes while he was struggling with He-Man...
Thanks to Ravenscribe and Hellspawn for the scans!

Escape from the Slime Pit


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Plot: Hordak wants to test his newly constructed Slime Pit. He sends out his minions to capture some Rock People. He-Man rushes to help when Hordak is just about to slime his victims. He offers himself as a replacement for the Rock People. So he's turned into a slime monster and Hordak orders him to kill Skeletor. But in the very last moment, He-Man is freed from the slime by his own will and a spell by the Rock People. He rushes back to the Slime Pit, beats up the members of the Horde and frees the remaining prisoners.
Comments: Why doesn't He-Man beat the evil guys up in the first meeting? The situation is exactly the same! This is the question if you look at it from the logical point of view. But the Slime Pit (the coolest playset of the whole toyline!) had to be presented in all its power of course...

Eye of the Storm


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Plot: Skeletor has built a 'Stormbringer' device, a machine which can influence wheather and cause huge storms. Of course he activates it immediately. He-Man and Extendar are just playing a game called 'Glo-Disc', some sport. Snout Spout watches and he's jealous of them. He, he thinks, is not fully respected, because he's just a simple firefighter. The storm approaches. He-Man can channel the energy (the lightnings) through his Power Sword but Snout Spout is the only one to remain completely calm. He takes the Wind Raider and blasts water on the clouds. The storm is fading, but Skeletor and Webstor appear. They get He-Man into defense, but once again Snout Spout uses his water to save him. Snout Spout has seen he actually is just as important as any other heroic warrior.
Comments: The idea of someone being doubtful of his own status amongst the heroes isn't unique (compare Extendar). But it's nicely done. Only nice though, not more. The story lacks tension.
Thanks to mordred and Hellspawn for the scans!

King of the Snake Men


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Plot: Skeletor and Kobra Khan venture deep into the caves below Snake Mountain. They find a pool of energy and some ancient writing which only Skeletor is able to read. He uses his magic on the pool and King Hiss, the legendary leader of the Snake Men appears. He had been banished by the Council of Elders many centuries ago when he was trying to conquer Eternia. The Sorceress alerts Adam and as He-Man he flies to Snake Mountain. There, he finds Skeletor and Kobra Khan attacking a trustworthy looking guy. He saves the man only to find himself hypnotized by King Hiss snakes. He fell into a trap! Now He-Man has to watch Skeletor and King Hiss combining their powers to free King Hiss' whole army from the timeless dimension. But only two Snake Men from the Evil Horde appear: Tung Lashor and Rattlor. Now King Hiss wants to use the power of He-Man's sword to free his underlings. He rams the sword into the pool. But He-Man manages to break free and cause enough confusion among the bad guys to get his sword back in the very last moment. He seals the pool with a boulder and rushes away. King Hiss and the two summoned Snake Men unite to seek vengeance. Skeletor orders Kobra Khan to join them and act as his spy within the Snake Men.
Comments: A nice comic telling us something about Eternia's past.
Thanks to Marvin for the German version!

Rock People to the Rescue


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Plot: Stonedar and Rokkon land on Eternia for the first time. They've just been greeted by He-Man when Webstor and Kobra Khan launch a surprise attack. He-Man is knocked unconcious by Kobra Khans new mist, but the Rock Warriors beat up the bad guys. He-Man suffers from amnesia now though. Webstor catches Orko and he wants to convince He-Man he and Kobra Khan are the good ones. Rokkon attacks Webstor from behind and He-Man remembers who his real friends are. Skeletor joins his beaten henchman in the desert. A few attacks from him later (which show another superpower of the Rock People), He-Man beats him so hard that he flies back to Snake Mountain.
Comments: The Rock People suck and this comic doesn't even have a coherent storyline. Just some weakly linked scenes to introduce the Rock People. Some drawings are good though.

Snake Attack!


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Plot: Extendar is visiting the royal palace. Tung Lashor and Rattlor attack. They capture the King and Queen. Extendar can't do anything against it because he doesn't want to risk their royal lives. He-Man fights them both though. He manages to knock them out, but Tung Lashor manages a strike against him with his tongue. The poisonous venom spreads and hardens around He-Man until the hero is nothing more than a helpless statue anymore. Extendar grabs his friend when the evil ones get away. He frees the most powerful man in the universe again. But the king and queen are still in the Snake Men's power! Once again, He-Man fights the two reptiles, but this time he's more careful. Everything's fine again and Extendar has proven he's a real hero.
Comments: A bit rivalry between the Snake Men and Skeletor, some new characters, some morals - there we have another minicomic. It may not be too original, but it's entertaining and well drawn.
Thanks to Jouni for the English version and Marvin for the German one!

The Fastest Draw in the Universe!


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Plot: He-Man and Orko meet their old friend Rio Blast in the prairie. They have a meal and sleep. The next morning, a herd of cattle is running around wildly. Rio Blast uses his built-in guns to lead them away, aided by He-Man with the Megalaser. When the herd is calm again, Beast Man and Kobra Khan (who had caused the stampede) attack, but they stand no chance against the good guys.
Comments: This is certainly the smallest synopsis I've ever written for a minicomic! But there simply isn't anything more in it! Apart from the 'personality show' of Rio Blast - the most annoying, stupid, non-fitting and uncool character of the whole toy line.
The whole issue is a huge disappointment. Eternia combined with Wild West - argh! And where does He-Man get the Megalaser from suddenly?

The Flying Fists of Power


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Plot: The Sorceress grants He-Man a new power: the Flying Fists. This probably means he can hit very quickly now. Along with this 'internal power' come weapons: a shield and some hurricane device similar to Hordak's. Some days later, when Prince Adam is taking a nap in the open, he's kidnapped by Skeletor. The Lord of Destruction along with a few henchmen and his prisoner approach Castle Grayskull. He threatens to kill Adam if the defenders to anything to harm him. Furthermore, they should call He-Man. Buzz-Off - not knowing Adam's secret - promises to find him. Just waiting gets boring soon, so Skeletor teases Man-at-Arms and Sy-Klone with energy blasts, but the heroes just stand their ground. Being occupied with this 'fight', Skeletor doesn't keep an eye on Adam who can sneak away, transform into He-Man and break his chains. With the help of his new power, he can repulse Skeletor's magical attack. The villains run away.
Comments: Skeletor's plan isn't all that ingenious - how many times has he already tried that? And where are Two-Bad and Beast Man when Adam escapes? Before and afterwards, they're standing right behind Skeletor! It is still a good comic though thanks to the athmospheric drawings.
Thanks to Ravenscribe for the scan!

The Hordes of Hordak


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Plot: Sy-Clone and Adam want to demonstrate the new Blaster Hawk. But Hordak shows up and kidnaps Sy-Clone. A huge army of Horde troopers invades Eternia. He-Man follows Hordak and Sy-Clone to the factory where the troopers are produced in masses. Nothing seems to be able to hurt the troopers, even He-Man can't destroy them! But Sy-Clone beats one on the chest and their secret is uncovered: they explode when someone hits their weak spot. This was also the reason why Hordak wanted to kidnap Sy-Clone - with his spinning fists he's the ultimate weapon against the troopers! Now that they know what to do, the good guys wreak havoc amongst the invaders. But new ones are produced all the time, faster than they can be beaten. The only chance is to destroy the source. But even He-Man can't reach it because more and more troopers block his way. So he throws his sword at the factory and it explodes.
Comments: After he and Skeletor failed so many times to beat the heroic warriors with new evil guys, Hordak tries something new here: a pure mass assault. That's quite innovative for the quality-driven world of Eternia! The pictures in which you can see the troopers coming out of the factory are best - very gloomy.

The Menace of Multi Bot


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Plot: Modulok sends his new robot Multibot to Eternia to kill He-Man. But at first, Multibot beats up Teela and Sy-Clone. Then he faces He-Man who smashes him with one blow. But Multibot reconstructs himself and he attacks again. Hordak sees He-Man's friends running away. No matter how often He-Man destroys he enemy, it always comes back from the 'dead'. Being a human, He-Man gets exhausted after a while and Multibot strikes him down. At this moment, Hordak arrives because he wants to kill He-Man himself. But Modulok also programmed Multibot to kill Hordak, so the robot attacks his 'master'! It doesn't have a chance against Hordak who then wants to turn to He-Man but has to discover many good guys have arrived to help their friend. Sy-Clone has brought some magnets which He-Man throws to Multibot. All its parts are magnetized and all the data is destroyed. Multibot has been beaten at last!
Comments: The only really remarkable thing about this comic is that the rivalry within the Horde is described. Unfortunately, we don't see how Modulok explains all this to Hordak later ;) Oh, and this comic has been published before Terminator II!

The Terror Claws Strike


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Plot: At the annual spring celebration, King Randor wants to give the Gem Of Life to a farmer as a symbol of a good harvest upcoming. Skeletor wants to steal it to cause vasts desert instead of growing crops. He visits Spikor who hands him a new weapon: the Terror Claws. King Randor is just about to give the gem away when Skeletor shows up and takes it away. Nobody is brave enough to oppose him with this fierce weapon. But He-Man follows him. After having used his Flying Fists several times, the two meet for the final fight. He-Man of course wins and returns the gem to the cheering crowd.
Comments: The story is pretty mediocre. But the artwork is great and the whole thing has a fine gloomy athmosphere!

The Treachery of Modulok!


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Plot: Skeletor's former slave Modulok joins the Evil Horde and tells Hordak of a plan to finally achieve power over Eternia. All over the royal palace, strange parts of a body are found. Man-at-Arms gathers them all and the heroic warriors decide to take them to Castle Grayskull. Adam and Teela put the box with the parts inside the castle and set off to search the Sorceress. Modulok reconstructs himself and steals a weapon from the Room of Forbidden Weapons. Teela is beaten up by him. He-Man is given a new power by the castle: the Thunder Punch. Outside, Modulok joins Hordak again who repulses Skeletor's magical attack with a force field around him. Even the combined power of Skeletor's magic and He-Man's Power Sword isn't enough. But one Thunder Punch later, the force field is gone and the members of the Horde run away. Skeletor wants to take the opportunity to conquer Castle Graskull, but He-Man stops him with a....... Thunder Punch!
Comments: The good guys have obviously learned a lot from Dr Bennel from Invasion of the Body Snappers - leaving a mysterious body somewhere without guarding it and without doing further research is hilarious! The mediocre artwork also can't save this comic anymore.

The Warrior Machine


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Plot: Hordak has captured a farmer for his experiments. He adds mechanical components to his body, making him a cyborg without his own free will: Dragstor. Adam and Extendar are watching a sports competition. Hordak and his new creation turn up. Extendar is impressed by Dragstor's abilities. Hordak promises him similar power if he comes with him. Tempted to be respected amongst the heroes, Extendar agrees. He-Man rushes to the Fright Zone, but it's too late: Hordak has already finished his experiment with Extendar giving him extendable arms and legs. The bigger he gets, the more powerful. And he too has been robbed of his free will, so Hordak uses him to attack He-Man. Or at least it seems like that. A deep look from He-Man in his eyes breaks Hordak's 'spell' and the two beat the crap out of the baddies. Extendar can now use his power for good.
Comments: Lure, temptation, that's all very well done! And the Frankenstein-like experiments of Hordak are also great! Only the solution comes a bit quickly, but they had to stick with 14 pages I guess. And why should a normal knight be called 'Extendar'? That doesn't make much sense really...
Thanks to Hellspawn for the scan!