He-Man Eternity War # 9

 By Mark Rodriguez

Hordak has become a major threat in Eternia to the point where He-Man and Skeletor's forces have to team up to stop him. Now that Hordak has put the Eye of Chronos and the Eye of Chaos in Castle Grayskull, he has immense power. He will give Eternia one final day before he starts his conquest, and top it off, he destroys the neighboring planet Primus to prevent any means of escape. 

"Dominion" begins as Hordak's words declaring himself the Master of the Universe can be heard across the cosmos. Different planets, including Earth now have Fright Zones popping up, tearing through the ground and causing merciless destruction as people flee in terror. On these planets, portal would open and armies of Horde Troopers would invade and kill and opposition. People with evil in their hearts will be spared, any planet that resists will be destroyed by Castle Grayskull. The universe itself will be remade in Hordak's image. 

In the Throne Room of Eternos, Teela, who is the new Sorceress is trying to form some sort of plan with Moss Man, Rattlor, and Fisto. Rattlor thinks they should strike now. Fisto shows that Castle Grayskull has protective Horde shielding. Moss Man further explains, the castle now remains in the heart of the Fright Zone, an area as evil as Hordak is. The planet of Eternia itself would fight them every step of the way, not to mention the army of Horde Troopers and Hordak himself. The Sorceress apologizes and says she can't find a certain clear path this time. 

Fisto wonders why Hordak doesn't destroy them and be done with it. Moss Man says maybe he's afraid to turn the powers of Grayskull upon the planet itself. Adam comes in and says it's because Hordak wants to see him kneel. He wants revenge and none of this will end until he sees the heir of Grayskull bow. Adam starts coughing and yells at everyone to leave the room. As everyone leaves, The Sorceress asks Adam is he's considering surrendering.

At Castle Grayskull, Hordak and Evil Lyn walk down the halls as the Horde Mystics chant the words Horokothan, Serpenorath, Eternaroth. Evil Lyn asks about the chant and Hordak says they are welcoming the age of Horokoth in ancient words. 

Hordak says he had accomplished more than his father could dream of. He says he got his revenge from the home oh his most hated enemy, King Grayskull. Evil Lyn says he is a king, and Hordak says the king needs a queen. He used to have Shadow Weaver but she is gone now. Evil Lyn says this is her destiny. Hordak says it will be if she is willing to pay the price. 

Suddenly the Horde Troopers start killing the Horde Mystics. They wish to kill Hordak and make him suffer as they had suffered. Hordak kills them all and leaves to find the source of this treachery with the remaining Mystics. Evil Lyn starts to chant the same words the Mystics were chanting. 

Hordak asks Modulok about this. Modulok says that something is interfering with the Horde Troopers' connection to the hive mind. The soldiers try to break into the castle and Entrapta says the shields should hold. Tri Klops says they will as he secretly shuts the shields off. The Horde Trooper army starts to storm the castle and Hordak draws his sword, saying he will slay them all. 

Evil Lyn steps closer to the flames that the mystics were conjuring up, chanting the words as her clothes fall off her. Meanwhile Grizzlor and Multi-Bot fight the Troopers when suddenly Beast Man and Trap Jaw come in and starts fighting against them too. Hordak kills his Troopers and demands to know who his real enemy is.

Skeletor arrives saying he was the one behind him. He had freed the souls from Hordak's vault and they have returned to inhabit the Horde Troopers that he had created from their fallen bodies. Now they all want to kill Hordak in revenge. Hordak punches Skeletor saying that he has no power to stop him on his own. He grabs the Overlord of Evil by the neck and says it's fitting that he will die trying to claim Castle Grayskull one last time. The last thing he will see will be the birth of a new age. He calls for his queen.

Evil Lyn appears, now with new power as she is the Sorceress of Horokoth. Hordak knocks Skeletor back and he says the age of Horokoth has begun. Horde prophecies explain that one of them will rise among the ranks and find the goddess. Just then Evil Lyn attacks Hordak and Skeletor says his arrogance has always been his undoing. Skeletor surprisingly impales Hordak with his own corrupt power sword.

Skeletor tastes the blood from the sword and says the blood of Grayskull is sweet. He congratulates Beast Man, Trap Jaw and Tri Klops for serving him well. He tosses a bag to Tri Klops, his promised fee which was well worth it. He advises him to spend it quickly though. Skeletor says Evil Lyn has never looked more ravishing. Evil Lyn says she is the face of the new age and she asks Prince Keldor is he is prepared a Horokoth has been waiting for him. Horokoth has Skeletor's ram skull like head and is the master of death.

Back to Eternos, the Sorceress tries to talk Adam out of surrendering. Adam asks if she's saying they should attack the castle directly. The Sorceress says they should seek Zodac, since he might know what to do as the master of destiny. Adam asks why hasn't Zodac revealed himself until now. He asks why haven't their goddess come to help them? Adam says the old gods have failed them and they now live and die on their own. The Sorceress leaves the room.

Skeletor appears as an image, taunting Adam having a broken sword and being a broken king. He says he wishes he could see what happens next through He-Man's eyes. Adam says he is still He-Man. Skeletor says if he remembers the first time they fought and the words he said the first time he raised the Power Sword in the throne room they are currently in. Skeletor said at the time he asked 'who are you?'. He says he is still waiting for the answer.

Skeletor asks why the goddess chose Adam instead of him. He always thought he would become the He-Man of prophecy. Skeletor says he will probably never get his answer but he no longer cares. He says the goddess chose Skeletor to be what he is and that Hordak was thinking too small. He says there will be no surrender, no conquest, no empire, and what will be coming will be much worse. 

Adam says it's not over yet and Skeletor says he continues to be valiant until the end, even without his great power. Skeletor challenges Adam to face him at Castle Grayskull and says in the end it will come down to the two of them. Adam agrees, and after Skeletor's image disappears, the prince shows snake-like eyes and flicks a snake-like tongue. 

My Thoughts- 

My god does these comics go dark. I want to start by giving my thoughts to the reveal that the Horde Troopers are essentially reanimated armored corpses used to increase Hordak's numbers while their souls remain locked in a vault. Just... what the flying hell man? Granted the classic She-Ra cartoon was  kind of weird with them. They were portrayed as robots that could be bashed to bits, but at the same time they'd also talk with each other and such. Then there were times where the heroes would beat them up and dress up as them to sneak past Hordak. So... were there robot endoskeletons under the armor or something? Either way, this comic sure went with a much darker path to explain their origins. 

So the comic raises the stakes as Hordak literally rules the universe and not even Earth is safe from him. Imagine the sheer horror of the Fright Zone just appearing in the middle of the city an armies of Horde Troopers just coming in and killing everybody. I am confused what Queen Marlena is doing there. There was a crossover in which the He-Man crew met up with the Justice League, which is canon and would take place on Earth. Perhaps the Queen decided to return to Earth and live a more normal life there. 

Skeletor made his move and it looked like he actually succeeded in killing Hordak. I'm not sure if he's actually dead for good, but we now have the problem that Skeletor having the power of Grayskull is no better. Considering Hordak ruling the cosmos is considered 'thinking too small', I have no idea what the hell Skeletor could be planning. 

The art and the action was awesome and I love Evil Lyn's new design, similar to how Hordak's new look was also cool. I enjoyed seeing Modulok make an appearance. I always thought he was a cool character and he deserves more credit. In the old cartoon he was the only character from the Horde to work for both Skeletor and Hordak and appear on both the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons.

And then we have the reveal at the end. Did Prince Adam somehow get snake powers to make up for his missing He-Man abilities, or it this King Hiss posing as him? I'll be eager to see what happens in the next issue.