Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe Kills Off Skeletor & Darkseid

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe #5 by Tim Seeley, Freddie E. Williams II, Jeremy Colwell and Wes Abbott, on sale now.

If there's one thing the Injustice Universe doesn't shy away from, it's a body count. Heroes and villains have died in droves across the franchise's video games and comics, and the He-Man/Injustice crossover continues that trend. We recently saw Damian Wayne as the new Batman getting his neck snapped by Wonder Woman's lasso, and Teela of Eternia mortally wounding Diana in retaliation.

Issue 5 pulls no punches, with the bloodshed now spilling over from Earth to Eternia. With Superman realizing he needs to team with Batman and Prince Adam to save the multiverse, a new Resistance forms and, in the process, the series' two major villains, Darkseid and Skeletor, bite the dust in brutal fashion.

As Darkseid breaks into Castle Grayskull, and prepares to use the Anti-Life Equation, along with the Sorceress of Eternia's Orb of Power, to poison the multiverse, Skeletor betrays him and attacks. He's now powered up, a la Black Adam, because of the Rock of Eternity, and he wants all of that power for himself. However, Darkseid proves too mighty, and pummels the dark wizard, beating him into submission for his treachery.

That provides a window of opportunity for Superman to fly in and blindside the ruler of Apokolips. It's all part of a well-orchestrated military strategy, however, as Kal-El was simply meant to distract Darkseid. With the villain's focus is on Superman, Adam (who has been de-powered due to this breach at Grayskull) ambushes the New God, and stabs him in the chest with his inactive Sword of Power.

It's no ordinary blow, though, because the sword has been used as a key for the orb, creating a new, all-powerful weapon, which penetrates Darkseid's armor. Instead of being a full-blown killing stroke on the physical plane, it actually strips Darkseid's essence from reality and turns him into knowledge, which the elders of Grayskull store within the castle. Superman looks on as Darkseid withers away into the abyss, becoming the very thing he sought.

But with Adam badly wounded and Skeletor on the verge of death, the Man of Steel doesn't embark on the heroic road. Instead, he takes up the sword/orb, puts on Darkseid's Soul Syphon (thus granting him access to the Anti-Life Equation), and prepares to step into the Nexus of All Realities. He's looking to rewrite history, undo all the pain he was dealt, and inflicted himself, and reshape the multiverse as he sees fit.

With Kal-El a true god, he decides to wipe out one remaining stain: Skeletor. He hired the wizard to help him source magical items across the galaxy, but it's clear Skeletor was playing him and Darkseid. As the villain tries to pretend he was helping Superman, Kal-El doles out the same cruel form of justice he did to Joker by punching through Skeletor's chest.

Skeletor dies, telling Adam how much he's missed He-Man, leaving the young prince emotionally scarred, as he thought Superman was on a path to redemption. But the Kryptonian did warn him their alliance would end when Darkseid fell. Kal-El was never going to pass up the opportunity to harness these tools. Sadly, as much as he's promising to wipe out evil in the multiverse, we know the heroes who try to stop him will meet the same fate. Now imbued with godlike powers, no one's safe, and the casualty list is about to get even bigger.

CBR

The Injustice Universe Kills Off Two Major Villains