INJUSTICE VS. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1 written by the terrific Tim Seeley, art brushed by Freddie E. Williams II, colored brightly by Jeremy Colwell, and letters displayed nicely by Wes Abbott throws Eternia and the Injustice DC Universe into a blender and spits out an exciting smoothie that looks like it’s going to be a fun time.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
INJUSTICE VS. MOTU #1 SPOILERS TOO!
The DENSITY of the issue
He-Man was missing for three months in which a robot faked to be him and instilled a Dictatorship over Eternia. However, his people kind of liked things the way they were under the imposter.
Swamp Thing and Zatanna capture Prince Adam and plead for his help. He-Man didn’t believe our Injustice heroes immediately BUT, since Eternia seemed pissed at him anyway, he decided to leave with Captain Teela and Orko to the Injustice DCU.
Meanwhile back on Earth, Superman is controlling the planet using Pre-Cognitive technology from Brainiac and working with Skeletor and another Batman to make it happen. Superman’s plan is to search the multiverse for all magical artifacts in hopes to gather and destroy them. Other than Kryptonite, magic is all that stands in his way. However, the issue ends with Darkseid gracing readers with his appearance. What in the world does Seeley and Williams II have in store next?
GREAT SCOTT!
Other than the first couple pages of catching the readers up to speed, Seeley and Williams II did a great job laying out the foundation of the run ahead. Readers are given a quick reason as to why our Injustice heroes are in Eternia AND why He-Man can jet for a bit to help our DC heroes out. Magic is the key to this mini, and I’m excited to see where it’s going to go from here.
The first example of my excitement comes in the form of Moss Man. Moss Man is connected to the Green is a well-done addition by Seeley. I don’t know if that’s a new thing or not BUT the idea that Moss Man is Swamp Thing in Eternia is terrific and pure genius!
THIS IS HEAVY
The intrigue doesn’t end there. New and old readers to Injustice will love seeing an evil Superman, especially one using Brainiac Tech. But seeing another Batman hooked up to the Pre-Cognitive technology was an exciting twist by Seeley towards the end of the issue. Who is that other Batman? Superman calls him Bruce. If he’s Bruce, then who is the Batman with He-Man? My interest is peaked!
After reading the HE-MAN/ THUNDERCATS crossover event and wondering what happened to Skeletor, it was cool to see Seeley reintroduce the character into the mythos. What would He-Man be without Skeletor? Readers find out that Injustice Superman picked him up while searching for magical artifacts. Again, Seeley did a fantastic job weaving the HE-MAN/ THUNDERCATS mini into Tom Taylors INJUSTICE world nicely.
He’s also giving readers Shazam in the Injustice Universe! We get a glimpse of a boy’s shoes that have a lightning bolt on them. It’s got to be Shazam, mainly because it looks like the background of Seeley’s mini is again magical artifacts. And what would a DC comic event be without Darkseid? Darkseid is, drawn so well by Williams II. The last splash page has so much detail, and Williams II draws him in a ruthless and menacing, the way Darkseid is supposed to be.
Hello McFly!
It’s hard to nitpick a comic that is basically out of continuity implying that practically anything goes, BUT Orko gave Cyborg dreadlocks…
Really?
AND Batman laughs at Orko’s joke and wants him on the team because he makes him laugh.
Come on…
Some of the Williams II’s art was also a bit off. Batman is drawn HUGE! As in, bigger than Superman HUGE! And, his painted style isn’t bad it just makes the characters appear less real and more two dimensional, which isn’t my style.
Did this issue hit 88mph?
This sucker may not be nuclear, but Seeley’s going to give us some serious $&@$! out of the gate: He-Man, Swamp Thing, Evil Superman, possibly Shazam, and we end with Darkseid. The best part is; since this is not in continuity so he can go NUTS!
Should we come BACK in the FUTURE?
Absolutely! Jump in now, especially if you love He-Man, the Injustice Universe, or just the DCU in general. I left the issue confused on one thing: Harley calling Batman “baby bat.” Why? Does this explain the two Batmen? If you’re reading this Seeley, can’t you clean that part up for us? However, it’s just another reason to continue with the series to find out.
What did you guys think of INJUSTICE VS. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu
