Masters of the Universe- Power of Fear (Dream Halloween 2003)

 By Mark Rodriguez

The year 2002 brought us the first major remake of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise. He-Man led the Masters against the evil forces of Skeletor until the second season brought in the Snake Men. There was a comic series based on the new show, however they were severely limited in what they could do. One stipulation was that they couldn't use new characters not shown on the show. Somehow they got around that for a one-time special and made a comic based on Scare Glow. Let's check it out.

Skeletor is berating his minions, Evil Lyn, Beast Man, Tri Klops and Stinkor.  He asks them why He-Man seems to show up everywhere he goes. Beast Man says maybe it's because he outsmarts him and Skeletor blasts him with his Havoc Staff. He tells them this is because he commands a bunch of fools that couldn't stop He-Men if they found him unconscious. He says he doesn't need to rely on them as he summons a flying device towards him.

Skeletor explains that he has learned the secrets of the Elixir of Schneidor  and has access to anywhere in the universe and can pluck warriors from there as well. He summons a warrior named Scare Glow. Before Skeletor can inform him of his mission, Scare Glow says that he serves no one. Skeletor sends his minions after him and Scare Glow attacks Stinkor. Stinkor sees a bunch of floating bath brushes and runs away in fear. Scare Glow tells Skeletor that he will not be a slave for anyone and will make him see his greatest fear. Skeletor blasts him and tells him that as the Overlord of Evil he has no fear. He says his talents will be useful and tells him what he must do if he ever wants to return to his home world.

Elsewhere, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Orko and Cringer watch Prince Adam try out the new Attak Trak. Adam says the vehicle works perfectly and will be handy for forest expeditions. Just then a voice is heard telling the heroes of Eternia to prepare to meet their end. Teela tells Adam to get behind them and he takes his chance to run off with Cringer. 

Scare Glow appears and introduces himself as coming from an alien world and that he has been tasked to make sure they never cause trouble for Skeletor ever again. Teela explains that he's been misled and they fight to stop the evil of Skeletor. Scare Glow says he doesn't care about their trifles, they stand in the way of his destiny. He says that he enjoys the suffering of strangers, especially if it's from his hand. He starts to glow and tells the heroes to face their fears.

Man-At-Arms sees himself surrounded by monsters that call him old and weak. Man-At-Arms sees his armor fall apart and ages rapidly as the monsters start to attack him and taunt him. Teela finds the ground around her fall apart as she leaps out to hold onto a ledge. She hears voices calling her clumsy and a failure. She says she's neither of those things as she loses her grip and falls into the abyss. 

Adam, Orko and Cringer see Man-At-Arms and Teela just freaking out over something they can't see. Orko asks what's going on and Adam says the creature must have them under some sort of spell. Adam draws his sword and transforms into He-Man, telling Orko to get help if something happens to him.

He-Man tells Scare Glow to stop or he will stop him. Scare Glow says Skeletor mentioned he's the greatest challenge for him, but he has not met an opponent he can't conquer. He-Man suddenly hears voices and see it's his parents, being disappointed that he didn't tell them his secret. He-Man explains he did this to help, but the King and Queen call him a coward and a disappointment. They turn into monsters and start to strangle him with their snake-like arms.

Orko says if he goes to get help, he might not come back in time. He casts a spell to help them see through Scare Glow's spell. He-Man struggles against the monster versions of his parents, telling them that they aren't real. He-Man snaps out of it and Scare Glow is surprised, since no one has ever broken out of his spell before. He swings his scythe at He-Man, but the hero knocks him back with his sword.

Scare Glow says he has never been defeated. He-Man says it's over for him. Scare Glow says their destruction is his only way home. He-Man says they could have helped him. Scare Glow says he doesn't need anyone's help and vanishes in a cloud of smoke. 

He-Man asks if everyone is alright. Man-At-Arms and Teela say that Scare Glow's spell felt like their nightmares come to life. He-Man thanks Orko since his magic snapped him out of it. Teela asks what happened to Adam. He-Man says he found him calling for help so he told him to head back to the palace where he'd be safe. Man-At-Arms says heading back to the palace sounds like the best idea he's heard all day. Orko says he'll put on a magic show since He-Man seemed to like it, and Man-At-Arms says he stands corrected. 

Scare Glow explains the situation to Skeletor and wants to be returned home since he did his best. Skeletor blasts him and says he still has a debt to pay. Scare Glow says he owes him nothing. Skeletor says he owes him for his wasted time. He tells him to go and not return until he's done something of merit. Scare Glow thinks to himself that he doesn't intend to stay on this planet for long. Everyone has a fear and some hide it better than others. He says Skeletor will rue the day that he finds the angst within his soul. 

The comic features a bonus story, each page of it being a pin up. He-Man pretty much explains how he helps people in need and has the help of his friends to fight the forces of evil. However, even he can't win all the time and sometimes the losses are heavy. No matter what happens, He-Man continues to move forward because the one thing worth fighting for is hope. 

My Thoughts- 

It was a cool short story, and for fans of the series, it was cool to see Scare Glow make an appearance, which was an extra treat since he wasn't on the show. Scare Glow was one of the later action figures of the original toyline to be released, alongside others like Clamp Champ, Ninjor, Rio Blast and Extendar. This made the original figure very rare and expensive. The most controversial thing about him was that while every action figure got a tagline, his tagline was 'The Evil Ghost of Skeletor'. This made people speculate that maybe he was Skeletor's ghost from the future. Despite this, he's always been portrayed as his own separate character with no memory of Skeletor being a previous version of him.

The comic is actually kind of a more modern day (2003) version of the original mini-comic that came with the action figure back in the 80's. In the mini-comic, Skeletor would summon Scare Glow and Ninjor and told them to help him defeat his enemies in exchange for him sending them back home. 

That's pretty much the story we got here, but with the characters in their 2003 designs. It was cool to see the characters' individual fears. Man-At-Arms fears he's too old to keep on fighting, Teela is afraid of being a failure and Adam has the most intense fear. Not only is he afraid of being seen as a failure to his parents, but he also feels the guilt of hiding the fact that he's He-Man.

Sadly this will be the only time we'll see this version of Scare Glow since somehow the guys behind the comics were able to use this character just this once. Aside from appearing in several versions of the He-Man comics, he didn't make his official animated debut until Master of the Universe Revelations.

The second story was a simple read, but since each page was a pin up, it was more about admiring the art. Since He-Man wore the newer Snake Men armor in the main story, it was cool to see him look more like his classic self in this story. Some pages are kind of somber as we see He-Man staring at a city going up in flames, and another city being flooded, showing the times that he has arrived too late. It shows that even he can't win all the time and it's something you wouldn't often see in the cartoons.

Overall a fun, though quick read. This was more of a bonus comic alongside the main series running at the time. A Halloween Special to throw in an extra character that people wanted to see. Keep glowing brightly Scare Glow. We'll be rooting for you if you ever run into Ghost Rider.