When the Tin Man goes bad

“The Battle of Roboto,” like any other He-Man minicomic, was used to introduce new things and new characters to the toyline.

This particular entry into Masters of the Universe lore features four new “play elements” for addle-minded kids to latch on: Roboto, Two Bad, the Bashasaurus and the Land Shark.

With the usual, point-blank precision of the minicomics, the writer allows each to get their day in the sun.

But in truth, the comic tells the story of Roboto, a simple robot who’s given a heart by his maker, Man-At-Arms.

This, of course, is rendered by a big heart on the chest of the robot, which makes him look especially girly. Luckily, the action figure didn’t have the heart symbol, or he would have been a peg warmer for sure. Instead, he got a neat gear contraption visible through his clear-plastic chest.

“The Battle of Roboto” is the tale of The Tin Woodsman gone bad. You see, with the heart, Roboto’s a helpful super-bot. He picks up overturned carts, he talks in a nice, friendly manner and he happily patrols the outer reaches of Eternia known as “The Nightside.”

But then Skeletor hatches a plan and swipes Roboto’s heart and turns him into the Masters of the Universe version of the Terminator.

When robots go bad, they really go bad. Luckily, He-Man shows up does his thing and ends the heavy-handed brutality of the eeeevil Roboto — because everyone hates getting beaten up by a heart-adorned robot.

Here’s what He-man.org has to say about this mini: