New Masters Of The Universe: Genesis Comic Book Will Reveal The Origins Of Skeletor And History Of Eternia [Exclusive]

"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" has enjoyed a small renaissance over the past decade. ND Stevenson's animated series "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" rebooted the female-driven "He-Man" spin-off, before Kevin Smith led a darker continuation of the original 1980s filmation cartoon: "Masters of the Universe: Revelation." (Both series streamed on Netflix.) The trend will culminate this June with a new "Masters of the Universe" live-action film, directed by Travis Knight ("Bumblebee") and starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man leading a cast unafraid of the franchise's "meme" status.

Mattel is betting on this movie bringing new attention to "He-Man." A new "Masters of the Universe" action figure line is underway, for one. /Film can also confirm that the company is collaborating with comic publisher Dark Horse for 12-issue comic series exploring the backstories of Eternia and its people: "Masters of the Universe: Genesis," beginning this August. 

The opening three-issue arc, written by Rich Douek and illustrated by Gavin Smith, will focus on Skeletor, the skull-faced leader of the Evil Warriors always scheming to take over the throne of planet Eternia. The full synopsis reads:

"Discover the origins of your favorite heroes and villains! In issue #1, we meet Skeletor-a power-hungry demon-mage determined to seize control of Castle Grayskull, conquer Eternia, and become Master of the Universe!"

In past tellings, Skeletor was once a man named Keldor, the half-brother of Eternia's king (and He-Man's father) Randor. It remains to be seen how "Genesis" will iterate on this.

One of the variant covers for issue #1 (pictured in full below) will be drawn by comic artist Lee Bermejo, in his signature photorealistic style:

Dark Horse Books/Mattel

/Film was also supplied with the primary cover for "Masters of the Universe: Genesis" #1, drawn by Mark Buckingham, as well as line art from interior pages of the comic. Check out both below. (Keep in mind the interior artwork is unfinished; colorist Fabi Marques will be adding to the pages.)

Dark Horse Books/Mattel

Dark Horse Books/Mattel

The 1980s produced some of the most memorable bad guys ever in American cartoons. There were the super-villain terrorists of Cobra and their Commander (Christopher Collins) in "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero," as well as Megatron (Frank Welker) and his Decepticons — from the treacherous Starscream (Collins again) to the oh-so-cool Soundwave (Welker again) — in "Transformers." But of those, Skeletor (originally voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) is the most iconic, thanks to a name and design that just ooze evil camp. I'm a "He-Man" novice, but I'd recognize Skeletor anywhere.

It makes sense to launch a "Masters of the Universe" comic series with Skeletor. Yet, the most criticized part of this to-come movie is Jared Leto's casting as Skeletor: The "Masters of the Universe" trailer offered a peek of Leto's Skeletor voice and it wasn't promising, but perhaps this comic will give fans a better Skeletor fix.

Future arcs of "Masters of the Universe: Genesis" will includes stories from Cavan Scott ("Star Wars: The High Republic"), Nick Roche ("Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers"), John Harris Dunning ("Salem Brownstone"), Giovanni LaPietra ("Red Sonja") and Tiffany Smith (a voice actress who played Andra on "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" and later wrote a one-shot comic starring Andra).

"Masters of the Universe: Genesis" #1 will be published on Wednesday, August 5.