He-Man Eternity War # 8

 By Mark Rodriguez

Hordak is the major threat to Eternia now and the forces of both He-Man and Skeletor have gathered to stop him. While He-Man plans things out with the Sorceress, She-Ra has temporarily allied herself with Skeletor, Beast Man and Trap Jaw as they head into Despondos to launch a sneak attack on Hordak's power source, his vast collection of captured souls over the centuries.

The issue opens with a savage war, as Prince Adam leads the Masters and the Snake Men into all the cities that have been taken by Horde so they could take them back. As Adam leads his men onwards he sees a man in the distance, which looks like his father.

Adam awakens, now it being a day after the liberation. He hears noise outside and see some of the Snake Men destroying Horde statues and chasing down Imp. Just before one of the snakes could kill Imp, Fisto stops him and says they can't reduce themselves to act like their enemies. The Snake Men know he's speaking for Adam and let Imp live for today.

Adam is suffering from a cold, the first he has in a long time since when he was He-Man he could never get sick. He's worried about Hordak since he never stood in to stop the battles to liberate the cities he has once conquered. He also wants spaceships ready so as many Eternians as possible would be able to flee if things got out of hand. He tells Teela, the Sorceress, that he was supposed to save the world as himself, instead of He-Men but wished he knew how.

The Sorceress doesn't know what to say. Adam shattered the sword to re-ignite Mount Zoar, just as she re-ignited Snake Mountain. Adam sacrificed He-Man when he broke the sword but it also changed destiny so the Sorceress can no longer see what the future holds.

Meanwhile, Hordak heads towards Castle Grayskull, now with the Eyes of Cronos and Chaos in its usual empty sockets. Evil Lyn informs him that King Adam has taken back Eternos. Hordak is pleased, since he wishes to give them one last hope before he returns to snatch it away. Everything is ready for them to begin and Hordak says the war was won the day Evil Lyn handed over the gems to him.

Skeletor and She-Ra arrive at Despondos, a place full of pain and souls. She-Ra wonders if Skeletor's own soul is trapped somewhere since Hordak has slain him sometime in the past. She also tells him that Shadow Weaver was recently killed by Hordak as well, so her soul might also be here. Skeletor says he owes her since her magic allowed him to see his destiny whenever he touched the havok staff. It was the only way he could have broken the time-cycle he was trapped in. She-Ra says she also owes her a lot, so Skeletor says they should honor her memory.

Skeletor casts a spell, which was offering the souls a chance to get revenge on Hordak. Before they leave, he shows She-Ra an amulet she dropped when she was injured by Hordak which had a picture of her mother. She-Ra is surprised by this, but Skeletor tosses it past her. As she tries to grab it, she is grabbed by the souls that Hordak sent to Despondos personally. Skeletor bids her farewell as the souls vanish off with her.

The voice of Hordak booms all over Eternia, telling everyone that he will allow them one last day to live free before he returns to conquer them the next day. He knows many will seek refuge in the nearby planet Primus, where they think they will be safe from Hordak's reign. Just then, the planet explodes by the power of Grayskull. Everyone is shocked to see the world being destroyed before them. Hordak says with the Eyes of Grayskull, there is nowhere they can hide from him. He is the Master of the Universe.

My opinions

Well, we knew She-Ra couldn't trust Skeletor. It's not unlike him to do whatever he can to save the world from a greater evil... while still screwing the heroes helping him along the way.

Hordak flat out blew up planet Primus, the last hope Eternians had to start life over in case Eternia itself went to hell. This kind of reminds me of Dragonball Z when Brolli destroyed the home planet of captured slaves, robbing them of the hope of ever returning. Hordak, allowing them one last day to enjoy themselves before destroying everything just so he can savor his victory that much more really makes him a horrible monster.

Oh, and planet Primus was the planet where The New Adventures of He-Man took place. Yeah, that kinda-sorta sequel to the original series that saw He-Man and Skeletor continue their battle on another planet. I guess this means we won't be seeing any characters from this show make any cameos unless they change their origins.

Guess we won't be seeing this version of the characters in this one!

I have to say, this series has been intense from issue 1 to now, and it just won't let up. It seems everyone we knew and remembered from our childhood has been put through hell and back. King Hiss killed King Randor and that haunts Adam's nightmares as he has now destroyed the Power Sword. She-Ra barely survived being impaled by a giant sword, and is now attacked by the tormented souls that Hordak himself has stolen. Skeletor walks around with a staff that has his own skull from an alternate timeline. Blood left and right, everywhere you look there's death and despair. And now Hordak has powers to make him the ultimate evil that probably Horde Prime from the old cartoon could never touch.

This is super intense and I can't wait to see how all of this going to play out.