Warning: contains spoilers for Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny #3!
Even Skeletor admits his past plans to destroy He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were all terrible ideas. In every incarnation of the venerable Masters of the Universe franchise, Skeletor concocts numerous schemes to defeat He-Man and take the power of Grayskull for himself. Now, in Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny #3, Skeletor is confronted by real power, and it puts his past plans into perspective.
Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny #3 is written by Tim Seeley and drawn by Eddie Nunez. The Phlogista, one of the most powerful weapons on Eternia, is within Skeletor’s grasp. Skeletor is in awe of the weapon, feeling it could finally tip the battle against He-Man in his favor.
The Phlogista helps him realize his previous schemes, involving “diamond rays and ram stones” were seriously flawed, leaving him with “nothing.”
Skeletor Is No Stranger to Powerful Objects and Devices
Although Skeletor’s origin has changed over the years, his ultimate goal remains the same: subjugate the people of Eternia with the Power of Castle Grayskull. He-Man opposes Skeletor, and the villain has cooked up some truly memorable plans to defeat him, and he alludes to them in this issue. The “diamond ray” is a reference to “The Diamond Ray of Disappearance,” an infamous episode of the classic Masters of the Universe cartoon. Likewise, the Ram Stone appeared in the 2002 reboot, and nearly helped Skeletor take Castle Grayskull.
Despite the great power of the Diamond Rays and Ram Stones, He-Man still managed to overcome Skeletor every single time. Previous issues of Forge of Destiny have hinted that Skeletor fails in these schemes because he is an outsider to Eternia, and cannot comprehend the planet’s complex nature. Yet this does not fully explain his continual losing streak, as he should have some degree of success. Clearly, there are other factors at work, and not just He-Man’s repeated intervention. Perhaps the biggest factor holding Skeletor back is he has been merely playing with toys to this point.
Skeletor Has Been Merely Toying Around…And He-Man Should Be Scared
And now that Skeletor is standing face to face with real power in the form of the Phlogista, he finally realizes this. If Skeletor obtains the Phlogista and harnesses its power, then the Diamond Ray and the Ram Stone will look like trinkets. With such power at his disposal, he would be unstoppable. Perhaps the only saving grace for Eternia is that the Phlogista is an Eternian artifact, which means Skeletor may have issues using it, just as he did the Diamond Ray. Yet as seen in this issue, it supercharges Skeletor, meaning at long last he may have found a plan to defeat He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny #3 is on sale now from Dark Horse Comics!
