Dial H For Hero and Power Man & Iron Fist

 

Yes, I know that Dial "H" For Heroes For Hire was another way to go with this team up.  I thought that might be a little too obvious though, so I decided to take the tale in a slightly different angle by having Robby summon forth the champion of Eternia.

Darth Vader and He-Man

 

The worlds of Star Wars and Masters of the Universe seem perfect for a crossover.  I'm sure there are plenty of kids who did just that in toy form over the years, mixing and matching action figures and playsets. It would be cool to see these famous glowing weapons up against each other.

Batman and He-Man

 

He-Man and The Masters of the Universe started to hit it big after I had stopped regularly watching cartoons, but this is an animated crossover that I would have definitely been there for.  Having seen them team up with Superman in their DC Comics Presents debut, I figured at first that MOTU was a DC property anyway, so such a tv special wouldn't have seemed completely out of the blue to me.

The Atom and He-Man

 

Sword of the Atom was an interesting turn in the life of Ray Palmer.  On one hand, the mini-series seemed like a 90-degree change in the types of tales I was used to reading about the Mighty Mite, but on the other, it was illustrated by classic Atom artist Gil Kane, lending it an extra layer of legitimacy.  

I am always happy to use the artwork of the amazing Ron Wilson, who did the He-Man image here.  I was lucky enough to pick up a page penciled and inked by him several years ago:

He-Man and Tarzan

 

This cover serves as a prequel to STF #528...

I remember getting a kick out of the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies that would sometimes play on TV after school when I was a kid.  I'm still a sucker for movies that feature lots of animals.  We even named one of our many cats Tantor after Tarzan's trusty Elephant - I'm betting we aren't the only ones who did that.

Teen Titans and Ben 10 (And More!)

 

Watching Saturday morning cartoons was a treasured time for me as a kid.  In addition to all of the colorful characters I saw, it was also a rare moment of solitude for me during the week.  I was the second youngest of seven children, so I was always in the midst of a crowd at home. On some Saturdays, I would be able to get up before everyone else and have an hour or two just to myself.  Alone time was a precious commodity to me in those days!

Thor and He-Man

 

DC Comics Presents was one of my favorite titles growing up, and I tried never to miss an issue when they hit the newsstands.  My patience was tried when Superman shared an issue with The Masters of The Universe, a property that was completely unknown to me at the time.  Why was some toy tie in taking up space when the Man of Steel could have been meeting Ragman, Wildcat, The Haunted Tank, or some other DC mainstay that the series had not featured yet?  Little did I know what a phenomenon MOTU would become in later years.  Hmmm, I still have that issue filed away, I wonder if the first comics appearance of He-Man et al has gone up in value?

If this scene seems familiar its because it is - I started this cover in STF # 3020, and forgot I completed it - consider this a "5 seconds later" image!  I gotta start taking better notes!

These two first met in STF #1777...

Thor Vs. He-Man in: "From Eternia With Death!"

Masters of the Universe seems to be having a bit if renewed interest these days.  She-Ra has been a hit on Netflix and I've read of plans to bring two more animated series from the world of MOTU to that streaming platform.  There's also a new live action movie in development - although they need to act fast, since prospective He-Man Noah Centineo has been scooped up by Warner Bros to plat Atom Smasher in the Black Adam flick.  I guess the kids that grew up watching the exploits on Eternia are at the age now where they are in charge of creating new entertainment.

These two first met in STF #1777...

Seven Swordsmen

Back in another life, when I went to acting school, I took a fencing class, and it was an absolute blast.  There were a few offensive and defensive moves to learn, and once I had them down, it was easy to choreograph battles.  We would practice in slow motion until we got it perfect and then switch to real time.  Tons of fun!

He-Man Vs. Thor

I am very encouraged by some of the production artwork coming from Thor: Ragnarok.  I really like what I see and hope that they stick to the designs.  Hela looks spot on, as does the Hulk's armor.  Best of all, it looks like Thor will finally be wearing a helmet into battle, at least in the arena scenes.

He-Man Vs. ROM

My first encounter with Masters of the Universe was seeing He-Man showing up in DC Comics Presents and being annoyed that an issue of one of my favorite comics seemed to be devoted to a toy advertisement.  I never really got into the cartoons back then for that reason.   I will say I did check out some of the more recent animated episodes and they were a lot of fun, I can see the appeal of the characters now.

The Hulk and He-Man

In recent interviews, Mark Ruffalo has hinted that The Hulk may be undergoing some personality changes in his next cinematic appearance, Thor: Ragnarok.  While I don't want the "Professor" version of the Hulk, it would be nice if he were at least a little more verbal.  He's only been allowed to utter a few words in his past film appearances, and I think that has made the character somewhat limited.  Let's hear some of his humorous nicknames for his friends and foes as well as throwing out boasts and warnings to his opponents.

She-Hulk Vs. He-Man

With William Hurt slated to appear again as Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: Civil War, rumors have been swirling about an appearance by the Red Hulk.  I think it's crazy that he would get a live action turn before Jennifer Walters.  Hasn't she paid her dues yet?  I still feel like a TV show would be great - half courtroom antics and half superhero action.  Heck, it might even be fun if they include the twist that She-Hulk knows she is a fictional character by having her address the camera directly like Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood does in House of Cards, evoking her series by John Byrne.

Thanks to Marc Tyler Nobleman, comics historian and author of Boys of Steel and Bill the Boy Wonder,  for suggesting this match up!

Spider-Man and He-Man

I'd love to see Spidey mix it up with the inhabitants of the Masters of the Universe world, if only to see his reactions to the various characters within.  I remember getting a kick out of a lot of the names and designs.  The one villain that always killed me was Stinkor, a skunk-man whose power was that he smelled really bad!  I'm sure the Web-Slinger would have a one-liner or two for that guy!

Conan Vs. He-Man in: "The Mountains of Madness!"

Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of politics and back in the movies, I keep hearing news of him returning to some of his most famous roles.  He is slated to appear in the next Terminator installment and will reteam with Danny DeVito for Triplets, a sequel to Twins.  The project that piques my interest the most, though, is the next Conan film.  At first I thought it sounded crazy that he would return to the role after all these years, but the more that I think about it, the more it seems to me that it might be very cool to see a tale of an older, battle weary barbarian.  I hope that the script lives up to the story potential.

Conan and He-Man in "Crom and Punishment!"

I have heard rumors of a return to the big screen for the Masters of The Universe franchise, and it will be interesting to see what comes of it.  The first film was the embodiment of 80's cheese, but I think that there's a cool movie possible if the property is handled in the right way.  With the right director and design team, it could be a great fantasy epic.

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to pair Prince Adam up with the greatest barbarian of all.  Of course, this much testosterone cannot be contained to a single issue, so the story will continue tomorrow!

The Thing and He-Man

This is a team up that I might not have done on my own, as the Masters of the Universe cartoon began airing a little after may Saturday morning viewing days ended, and I never really got caught up in the craze. Still, I got a lot of requests to include them so I thought I would give it a shot. I am glad I did, because I was fortunate to find images that meshed very well together and I think this is one of the more successful covers.