Secret Wars
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, commonly known as Secret Wars, is a 12-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with art by Mike Zeck, Bob Layton, and John Beatty. It was tied in with a similarly named toy line from Mattel and a role-playing game of the same name from TSR, Inc.
Publication history
The series was conceived by Marvel Comics' editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. The series was announced under the title Cosmic Champions in the eleventh issue of the Marvel Age news magazine, cover dated February 1984. The series was renamed following feedback from Mattel's focus group, which indicated that children responded positively to the words 'wars' and 'secret.' Mattel's involvement influenced the storyline and character design, including making Doctor Doom and Iron Man's armor more high-tech to appeal to kids. They also requested new fortresses, vehicles, and weapons to increase play value and promote playsets. Shooter believed he was the only one capable of writing the series.Crossover titles include The Amazing Spider-Man #249–252, The Avengers #242–243, Captain America #292, The Incredible Hulk #294–295, Iron Man #181–183, The Thing #10–22, Fantastic Four #265, Marvel Team-Up #141, The Uncanny X-Men #178–181, and Thor #341. In 1987, Thor #383 was presented as a previously untold tale from Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars.
Plot
Premise
A cosmic entity, the Beyonder, becomes fascinated with Earth's superheroes in the mainstream Marvel universe. He creates "Battleworld," a planet in a distant galaxy, and stocks it with weapons and technology. He teleports groups of heroes and supervillains against their will to Battleworld, declaring: "I am from beyond! Slay your enemies and all that you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish!"Combatants
The heroes include the Avengers, three members of the Fantastic Four, solo hero Spider-Man, and the X-Men. Magneto is featured as a hero, but becomes non-aligned when the Avengers question his presence. The villains include the Absorbing Man, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, the Enchantress, Kang the Conqueror, Klaw, the Lizard, the Molecule Man, Titania, Ultron, Volcana, and the Wrecking Crew. The cosmic entity Galactus also appears as a villain who becomes a non-aligned entity.Conflicts
The heroes and villains have several skirmishes. Ultron is drained of energy by Galactus, who then confronts the Beyonder while Doctor Doom observes. Both are defeated and sent crashing down to Battleworld. When everyone else reaches Battleworld, Magneto leaves the heroes feeling rejected and Kang blasts Doctor Doom to the heroes' base when he tries to rally the villains. The heroes win the first skirmish, causing the villains to fall back, only to be assaulted by Ultron, having been rebuilt by Doctor Doom.The heroes then attack Magneto, but he captures Wasp and takes her to his fortress where they are trapped by the weather; the X-Men decide to join Magneto. Doom creates villainesses Titania and Volcana, then leads the remaining villains in a successful assault on the heroes and their base, which they bury under a mountain. After Thor and the Enchantress return from elsewhere, Thor vanishes trying to fight the villains. Doom has Ultron kill Kang as payback.
When the X-Men arrive to fight Magneto, they form an alliance but Wasp leaves. The Hulk is revealed to have saved everyone from the mountain. Thor also returns, having hidden his escape with lightning. The heroes find a village brought to Battleworld where Galactus has summoned his ship so he can consume the planet. Everybody fights him. Doom's faction returns and attacks the heroes, while he sneaks onto Galactus' ship and persuades Klaw to join the villains. Professor X has the X-Men fall back and then attack the villains, who are attacking volcanoes set off by Cyclops. Colossus falls in love with an alien healer named Zsaji. Wasp befriends the Lizard but is gravely wounded by the Wrecking Crew before being returned to the heroes. The second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter, is introduced.
The X-Men win another battle against the villains. Galactus sends Doom back to his base, where he notices the volcanoes and tries to fix the planet. Professor X tells Captain America to fight the villains while they take care of Galactus. Zsaji revives Wasp. In the villain's base, Hulk and Thor show Spider-Man an alien device that they have used to recreate their clothing. Spider-Man finds and wears a black costume. Galactus begins to devour the planet. Mr. Fantastic suggests they let him, so the Beyonder will take away his eternal hunger, but everyone else convinces him against it. Back at the heroes' base, Doctor Doom uses Klaw's body to create a machine that absorbs Galactus' power, even after he absorbs his own ship instead. With his newfound power, Doctor Doom steals the Beyonder's power.
Molecule Man brings the villains to Volcana's apartment on Battleworld, then takes the suburb of Denver back to Earth. Doom summons the heroes to his new "Tower of Doom" where he revives Kang, sends him back to his own time, and reveals that Galactus was taken away by Nova. He kills all the heroes with a bolt when they refuse to join him and attack. Zsaji revives them at the cost of her life. They battle Klaw and monsters he created, including Ultron. Doom's powers go out of control, thanks to Klaw convincing him to use them again. While Wasp destroys Ultron, the Beyonder, who had possessed Klaw, takes back his powers and teleports Doom and Klaw away. After Zsaji's funeral, everyone finds out that the energy from the Beyonder that was released has turned Battleworld into a place where wishes are granted. Mr. Fantastic builds a portal that can take everyone home. However, the Thing, having gained the ability to revert to his original human form of Ben Grimm at will, chooses to remain on Battleworld for a year to explore the galaxy.
Aftermath
The next tie-ins with Secret Wars open right after the return of the combatants. She-Hulk replaces the Thing in the Fantastic Four, Colossus ends his romantic relationship with a heartbroken Kitty Pryde, and the Hulk's leg is injured by Ultron.Reception
Secret Wars was a best-seller when it was published in 1984, selling more copies than any other comic in the previous 25 years. While it was a financial success, it was not well received by critics when it was published, being criticized for its uninspired and juvenile content. An announcement of a sequel series, Secret Wars II, from Carol Kalish, Marvel's Direct Sales Manager at the time, was first met with boos. Kalish was even quoted saying: "Let's be honest. Secret Wars was crap, right? But did it sell?"In 2011, IGN listed Secret Wars as one of the best comic book events. Their writers found the action and goofiness of the story to be enjoyable. They also highlighted the effect it had on the Marvel Universe by introducing the symbiote and new characters. In 2011, Alex Zalben of MTV News ranked Secret Wars as the second biggest comic event ever, after only DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths event. Zalben praised the Secret Wars story and its lasting effect on the Marvel universe, as well as honoring the storyline as the "semi-official first Event Comics ever."
Battleworld
Battleworld is a patchwork planet that serves as the setting in Secret Wars. There have been three Battleworlds in total. The first was created by the Beyonder, the second was an imitation created by the Stranger pretending to be the Beyonder, and the third was created by Doctor Doom by stealing the power of the Beyonders.Publication history
The first Battleworld debuted in Secret Wars #1, and was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck.The second Battleworld debuted in Beyond!, and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Scott Kolins.
The third Battleworld debuted in Secret Wars #2, and was created by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić.
The fourth Battleworld debuted in Battleworld #1, and was created by Christos N. Gage and Marcus To.
Planet biography
First Battleworld
The Beyonder merged dozens of fragments from many planets, to create Battleworld, intended to provide an unfamiliar environment where all contestants could use their powers to the fullest. Many peoples, both alien and human, were brought along "for the ride" by this method; it was because of this that Spider-Woman II was on Battleworld, as was Zsaji, the healer, who had brief romances with both the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four and Colossus of the X-Men.In the aftermath of Secret Wars, the planet became infected with cosmic energy when the Beyonder reclaimed his stolen power from Doctor Doom. This led to a "wish fulfillment" phenomenon whereby force of will could alter reality; for example, repairing Captain America's unbreakable shield or allowing Mister Fantastic to create a way to take them quickly home. This may be due to the Beyonder's nature as an incomplete Cosmic Cube, which allows the wielder to alter reality by force of will, or was an aspect of the "heart's desire" promised by the Beyonder and granted to the winners of the Secret Wars. All the heroes left the planet, except for Ben Grimm. He stayed behind because he was able to change to and from his human form while on the planet's surface; his adventures were recounted in his own side-series while She-Hulk took his place in the Fantastic Four. After Ben returned home—he had defeated Ultron and slain his manifested dark side Grimm the Sorcerer—the planet had no more reason to exist and broke apart.
It is unknown whether all pieces returned to their home planets; the fragment of Colorado was ferried back to Earth with its citizens and the Secret Wars villains by Molecule Man.