Secret Wars

I'm making my way through the history of the X-Men, and I purchased this book because I didn't want to skip this 12-issue part of their story that's squeezed in between Uncanny X-Men #180 and #181. I knew that this giant multi-team crossover was created only to promote a series of Mattel action figures, so my expectations were quite low. As it happens, the story Jim Shooter created is pretty intriguing, and the book itself is packed with extra features that definitely made it well worth the purchase for any comic fan. The book doesn't shy away at all from its origins, with an introduction by Tom DeFalco detailing the Mattel connection. There are even six pages of text, with photos, describing all of the action figures. Other extras include an article from Marvel Age #12 announcing the series and several pages of original pencil artwork from Mike Zeck, Bob Layton, and John Beatty, as well as cover art from previously published volumes. The nicest extras, however, surround the story itself. There is an 18-page prologue featuring pages from eight different comic books, showing how all of the heroes were drawn to the Beyonder's mysterious fortress in Central Park. And a page at the end of the book describes what became of each of the heroes after their return to earth. The story itself covers a typical comic book theme - good pitted against evil for survival and to save the universe. But there are plenty of twists and turns, including suspicions held by the other super heroes regarding the mutant X-Men, and the layered ambiguity of villains such as Magneto and Dr. Doom. The large cast of characters means any given hero may not get a ton of pages - some issues barely featured the X-Men - but every character contributes in different and significant ways. The fact that it's a self-contained story with no cliffhanger or on-going interaction with other comics makes it an especially good read for somebody who just wants to read a fun story without needing a ton of backstory. Marvel had always interwoven characters and storylines through some of its different comic series - the so-called Marvel Universe was well-established - and spinoff books and limited-run series were getting to be more and more commonplace in the early 1980s. Whilte the artwork and dialogue of Secret Wars may not be break any new ground, the idea of placing so many different heroes and villains into one smashingly cool story-line was new, and THAT'S what makes Secret Wars a groundbreaker.

It's been many years and Jr.High/ Middle school since I read this story. Awesome

This is hands down one of the best marvel comics, it is such an iconic story overall that really shifted the way stories were told. Decades later and it still remains the best marvel comic event. Important must read especially for spider man fans where this plays a big part in his character. If there’s one word to describe this comic book it’s iconic.

I finally got around to actually reading this limited series after over 30 years. I knew the bare basics because you can't help tripping all over it while reading collections from this period like the Thing Classic softcovers, the Simonson Thor Omnibus, the X-Men masterworks, etc. Here are some of my impressions. Spoiler alert! The Beyonder being is the plot driver and is yet another omnipotent being of which the Marvel universe has many. The difference this time is that the Beyonder is pictured as sort of a "Galactus' Galactus", i.e. a being as far above Galactus as Galactus is above us. He is a being, like God, whom desire is a completely alien concept; his merest whim is instantly reality. Writer Jim Shooter mostly succeeds in dealing with such a mind boggling concept although inconsistencies abound. For example, when Dr. Doom gains the Beyonder's powers *his* whims do not become instant reality; his mother is still a prisoner in Mephisto's domain and he is shown planning to do something about that. But all in all, the basic premise was dealt with well enough and did not derail the story. There were a lot of nice character moments in this series. Dr. Doom steals the show in this regard but almost every character (and there were dozens) gets a chance to shine. There were a lot of plot elements introduced in this series that played out later in other titles. Examples are Spider-Man's alien costume, Colossus' estrangement from Kitty Pryde, and the Thing remaining behind on the battleworld. The art was underwhelming for such an important series, reportedly Marvel's counterpunch to DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths series going on at the same time. One gets the impression that penciler Mike Zeck was very rushed. I deducted a star for this alone. As a collection this is a minimal effort. One gets just the 12 issues and nothing else. But it has a price point to match so if you have (or have read) the various lead ins to this series this is a cheap way to get the main event. Despite shortcomings, the book is recommended. It was an enjoyable read. The series has been criticized as a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing but that is too harsh a judgement. One unfortunate fallout from the commercial success of this series and the aforementioned Crisis was the company wide annual mega crossover that plagues us to this day.

Back in the 80s, Marvel's Secret Wars was released a year before DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Both storylines were big deals and changed their respective universes in many ways, and it was the first major crossover event for both companies. Secret Wars affected all Marvel comic books. From Spider-Man's black costume that would ultimately become Venom, to The Thing staying off-world and continuing his solo adventures in his own series, to She-Hulk joining the Fantastic Four, and much, much more. Not to mention the coinciding action figures that were released. And I loved that the continuing comic book series jumped ahead a year and we had to figure out what happened during the Secret Wars as it was released month by month to catch us up. It was a new concept at the time, and it invigorated the comics. I purchased this trade paperback of Secret Wars 40 years later so I could reread the story and relive the experience I first read as a teenager.

To have this great and important storyline all together in one book is great. I've only read the story once or twice since I was a kid, and wanted to get it again. On to the packaging. In a word...a 5 year old could have packaged the book better. What I got was a box that was about twice as large as needed for the book. Also, and most mindbaffling...there was no protection for the book it was just the book sliding and bouncing around in the box. LUCKILY, the book seems to be undamaged. No dinged corners or folded cover or folded pages. In 20 years of ordering from amazon, I've never seen even the smallest object NOT wrapped with even a single layer of bubble wrap. I just don't get it. So, to anyone that reads this, and wants to order this book....just check the book over real carefully when you get it to make sure nothings wrong.

Secret Wars is a kind of new mythology fit for our times. When in the past the gods create and destroy the Earth and the stars seems are just point of light in this book a powerful being play with planets, stars and galaxies in the vast magnitudes as we understand them with only its effortless sheer whim. When in the past heroes and villains of antiquity travel the sea and combat monsters these heroes travel the blackness of interestelar distances and don't worship the gods but combat them grasping the infinite. The book is not a childish one, is totally epic and dense, a real tour de force. Each page asks to be read with the intensity of a whole comic as exhibit the impact the special black costume, found by a certain and dear character, is going to be in the future. Although there are two groups of "villains" and "heroes" the division is not easy as some are attracted to the other side, and even inside the heroes the status of the mutants as something apart adds complexity to the story. There are other stories that deal with multiversal powers like the several Crisis in DC and the last Secret Wars of Marvel, but they in my opinion don't reach, and even fail in transmit, the grandeur of this comic, or even worse try to be so epic but fall in the ridicule... aged as this comic is in its efficient drawing the sheer power here is really felt.

One of the best Marvel Comic stories ever written and helped set the gold standard for future crossover events in the Marvel Universe.