The story line for He-Man comes at an interesting time in DC Comics.  Although it is a DC Comic by publishing, and not by shared universe, it nonetheless is part of a similar structure of a lot of superheroics, a superhero with a secret identity and an archetypical arch-nemesis.  While DC is trying to deconstruct two of its other main heroes, Superman and Batman, it is also doing the same with He-Man, except that with He-Man it is doing so in a way which is less of a stunt and more of an epic restructuring of the character.

Eternity War started off as much less than what it has become, in fact the first few issues, while fun, looked like a Lords of the Rings redux set on Eternia.  As the series has progressed though, it has looked at numerous different aspects of the characters and helped to define what exactly made them the way that they are.  This issue takes that to the next level, as it not only examines what exactly She-Ra was doing missing all those years, but also casts a better light on just why it is that Skeletor has always been evil.  As opposed to the stunt-like storytelling elsewhere at DC, this builds the character’s backgrounds in meaningful ways, which while restructuring them, also pays homage to what made the characters so popular to begin with.  The story here is simple enough, as Skeletor and his allies plus She-Ra decide to journey to Despondos in order to find a way to stop Hordak.  Before stepping foot into the dimension, Skeletor reveals what happened to him before he left, and it drastically alters the situation.

This series has thus far had its successes and its relative lows, but this issue contains the best example of story telling thus far.  At a time when it seems to be popular to re-invent superheroes, this series proves that it is the one to do it right.  There are bound to be those who will still think that this is “just a He-Man story” but those that do so are missing one of the best comic series on the market in the past half year.  DC has proved with a few other series that it is not afraid to take chances, and while outside of its main universe, this series belongs with those few others.  After all, He-Man maybe be sci-fi/fantasy, but both genres are defined by their epic stories, and this is shaping up to be one.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Edgar Salazar
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy