Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Masters of the Universe/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles of Grayskull #1! Hulk a run for his money in of raw strength and physical brawn, including and especially He-Man himself. And now, He-Man and the Hulk just became even more similar, as Prince Adam of Eternia gets a dark new redesign in one of the coolest ongoing crossovers of the year.

In Masters of the Universe/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles of Grayskull #1 by Tim Seeley and Freddie E. Williams II, readers are thrown into the world of Eternia right alongside the Ninja Turtles themselves. The story begins in New York City, where the Turtles discover Shredder and Krang making evil plans with Skeletor through an interdimensional portal. When they burst into the villains’ lair to stop them, the Turtles and their villains get sucked through the portal and into Eternia, which results in everyone from both franchises getting awesome mashup redesigns.

Shredder, Krang, Skeletor and more all get epic redesigns after the TMNT and He-Man continuities get merged into one, and that has everything to do with what the villains were planning at the start of the comic. Skeletor, Krang, and Shredder find a way to merge Skeletor’s black magic with TMNT’s mutagen ooze, turning the famously green substance a sinister purple, increasing its mutating abilities. That’s how most of the villains got their mashup redesigns, including the normally heroic He-Man.

He-Man Gets Mutated by Magical Ooze in TMNT/He-Man Crossover

He-Man Becomes Masters of the Universe’s Own ‘Incredible Hulk’

He-Man is famously the greatest hero in Eternia, possibly even the entire universe (indeed, he literally lives at the center of it). However, after he is abducted by Skeletor’s minions and exposed to the new mystical mutagen, the purple ooze corrupted the valiant hero while also horribly mutating him. He-Man became a mindless rage monster with purple skin and green hair, and when he was unleashed, Mutant He-Man destroyed both armies, those of Snake Mountain and the Eternian Royal Family.

Not only is Mutant He-Man’s strength and appearance reminiscent of Marvel Comics’ Hulk, but also his very debut, which is eerily similar to the Hulk’s storyline in the very first issue of The Avengers. In Avengers #1, Loki uses the Hulk to conquer the world and defeat any hero who will challenge him. That’s exactly what Skeletor, Shredder, and Krang do in this Turtles of Grayskull issue, using the unparalleled strength of He-Man for their own agenda. And, unlike in The Avengers, the villains actually pull it off.

The horror Prince Adam feels upon looking at the gruesome destruction that he caused is exactly what Bruce Banner goes through.

To make the Hulk comparison even more pronounced, Mutant He-Man reverts to the ‘human’ Prince Adam after his rampage is over, and he regrets everything he did while he was in his feral state. The horror Prince Adam feels upon looking at the gruesome destruction that he caused is exactly what Bruce Banner goes through every time the Hulk loses control, an additional detail that solidifies He-Man as the Masters of the Universe’s resident ‘Hulk’.

TMNT/He-Man Crossover Isn’t the Only Time He-Man has Become a Monster

Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #1 “The Curse of Grayskull” by Tim Seeley and Eddie Nunez

It may be shocking to see He-Man as something akin to a more-villainous-Hulk, but it’s certainly not the first time He-Man has become a monster. In Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #1 “The Curse of Grayskull”, readers are taken to another universe within the ‘He-Man Multiverse’, one where Prince Adam doesn’t become He-Man when he calls upon the Power of Grayskull, he becomes “The Horror of Grayskull”.

All four issues of the Dark Horse Comics anthology series Masters of the Universe: Masterverse are available now.

The Horror of Grayskull is a hulking, demonic beast that’s effectively the antithesis of the classic He-Man in every way. However, that doesn’t make the Horror of Grayskull any less powerful than the original He-Man. In fact, this dark variant is arguably more terrifying for his enemies to face, as the Horror of Grayskull doesn’t hold back against the likes of Skeletor’s minions, and doesn’t stop until he has consumed their souls. Thankfully, the Horror of Grayskull is a mere multiversal variant, not the main-universe He-Man - something that cannot be said for Mutant He-Man.

For all intents and purposes, the version of He-Man in this TMNT crossover is the original He-Man, just like how every crossover the TMNT experience (including Power Rangers and Ghostbusters) is all canon in the team’s comic book continuity. That makes He-Man’s horrific metamorphosis into Mutant He-Man all the more terrifying, as it truly marks the corruption of perhaps the greatest hero in the universe. Only time will tell if Prince Adam can reclaim his heroic standing, but until then, the world of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has its very own ‘Hulk’.

Masters of the Universe/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles of Grayskull #1 by Dark Horse Comics is available now.