In tribute to the Vintage toys, each regular Origins figure (i.e. singly released) includes a minicomic. The simple stories are nicely illustrated. As with the original stories, their purpose is to spark young imaginations.

The Origins minicomics lack the depth of the best Vintage stories, but some of them are quite entertaining. More importantly they tend not to have the self-indulgent and labyrinthine plots of the very poor Classics minicomics.

The same minicomic is included with each wave of figures. I’ve not listed by wave because of inconsistent release schedules. The non-US editions don’t have any text. The galleries include these for reference (where available).

Most of the Origins minicomics are shown here, but certain factors make it hard or impractical to obtain all of them, especially the worsening distribution of several figures. This archive therefore remains incomplete.

BEAST BARRAGE

Beast Barrage is a simple story in which Skeletor orders the kidnapping of Prince Adam. The Prince has wandered off for some peace and quiet, much to the annoyance of Teela who admonishes the prince when she finds him.

The minicomic includes a number of themes from earlier Masters of the Universe lore, including the role of Teela as the prince’s guardian, Adam’s ability to transform into He-Man, and Beast Man’s mind-control power.

SUCKER PUNCH

Sucker Punch has Fisto as the protagonist. He is alarmed when He-Man appears in the Land Shark, apparently having switched sides. Fisto is knocked down and captured. Later he realises his attacker is Faker.

Fisto tricks Faker by pretending to yield. That is seemingly the end of the story, but a new theme is introduced. The broken Faker is, it turns out, just one of a horde of duplicate robots under Skeletor’s control.

SNEAK ATTACK

Sneak Attack features Ninjor surrendering himself to Stratos, the ruler of Avion. He claims that Hordak has defeated Skeletor and can only be beaten with the power of the Emerald Staff, an important artefact.

Stratos gives him the staff to defeat Hordak but recognises the deception. With He-Man’s help, the staff is recovered and all their enemies defeated. It’s a nice little story that reveals various hostilities and friendships.

DIMENSIONAL DOOM

Dimensional Doom is one of those Masters of the Universe stories that dabbles in cosmic powers; it’s not a particularly interesting theme. With Skeletor on the brink of becoming all-powerful, He-Man has to intervene.

The most interesting part is Mer-Man’s power over a leviathan; a beast so huge and strong that it crushes the Talon Fighter. Zodac turns up in that unsatisfactory cosmic balance role which never suited the character.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Double Trouble uses a core theme from the Masters of the Universe canon, namely Skeletor’s desire to enter Castle Grayskull and acquire its secrets. He’s caught after using some trickery, but he does acquire a prize.

Two favourite characters, Scare Glow and Trap Jaw, feature in this story. They’re not used particularly well though; they’re presented as easily duped villains who let Orko escape from an apparently unlocked cage.

BATTLE ARMOR REBORN

Battle Armor Reborn is a fun story that features an ambush, a battle and a rescue. Skeletor attacks the king and queen with a battalion of robots. He’s seemingly undefeatable due to his new armour.

He-Man rides to the scene on Battle Cat and fights Skeletor. The story ends abruptly with the demon’s defeat. It works pretty well as a Masters of the Universe tale because it’s a straightforward good-versus-evil battle.