Review: Secret Wars (1984)

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is fun and exciting. The characters are well-written and many of them have exciting opportunities to show their stuff. The entire event is an important piece of comic book history. The artwork looks good and captures the essence of this high-stakes event.

Cons: Some of the event’s subplots are weird or uninteresting.

Overall: This classic event comic maintains much of its appeal in the modern day. The comic has unique concepts, epic battles, solid artwork, and a compelling storyline. It does great work with its cast of characters and really lets a few of them shine. Plus, the entire adventure is an important and memorable piece of comic book history. Fans interested in fun events from Marvel’s past or important moments in the history of comics should check this book out.

Story

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, by Jim Shooter, is an great comic book event. The comic starts out with a solid concept and uses this to launch a storyline that features climactic battles and daring brushes with death. Through this narrative, readers have a chance to see the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe at their finest, which is particularly true in the case of Doctor Doom. This event is also an important piece of Marvel history, as it developed the foundation for many important storylines, and general comic book history, as it essentially started comic book events. There are places where the story stumbles but none are so significant that they cannot be overlooked. All in all, the first major comic book event is still very fun to read, despite having aged a couple of decades since its publication.

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At its core, Secret Wars is a captivating and exciting story backed up by a great premise. Right from the very start, it introduces readers to the entire cast of major heroes and villains in the Marvel universe. Then, it shows how powerless they are in comparison to Galactus and how powerless Galactus is in comparison to the collection’s main villain, the Beyonder. All of this creates a high stakes situation where it feels like the heroes are always on the brink of disaster.

The structure here also works in further cultivating excitement. At first, the collection is a straightforward war between heroes and villains. Then, it evolves into a more elaborate war as the heroes and villains start utilizing more advanced strategies. Then, the war becomes more existential, as Galactus and his planet-shattering powers take center stage. Finally, Doom takes over as the collection’s villain and the heroes are forced to pull out every power they have at their disposal. The way tension and excitement ramp up ensures that the entire narrative is fun to read. 

Secret Wars also works extremely well as a showcase for a variety of different characters. The individual members of the Avengers and the X-Men each have brief opportunities to shine, especially in battle. The collection also specifically showcases Captain America’s ability as a leader and Mr. Fantastic’s ability as an extraordinary scientific mind.

However, no character is treated as excellently as Doctor Doom. Throughout this entire event, Doom shines as a character. He immediately rejects the “game” set forth by the Beyonder and attempts to subvert it. When that doesn’t work, he plays the game for a while, does well, and then finds a way to steal the Beyonder’s powers. In the end, the only thing that prevents his ultimate victory is his own inner turmoil, showing that, with a little therapy, he might be one of the greatest characters in the entire Marvel universe.

The historical importance of Secret Wars should not be understated. This is the first major crossover event in comic book history and its success altered the way major comic book publishers approached the entire storytelling process. This event introduced memorable aspects of individual series, like the introduction of She-Hulk to the Fantastic Four. It also introduced Spider-Man’s symbiote suit, which allowed for a number of fan-favorite stories to be told. Plus, the entire event laid the groundwork for the 2015 Secret Wars (Review), which is one of the most memorable events in modern Marvel history. All in all, this comic may be worthwhile for fans from a historical standpoint alone.

Unfortunately, not everything about Secret Wars is positive. Colossus’s entire romance story arc is a bit ridiculous and feels pointless rather than meaningful. In addition, the random inclusion of two new villains is poorly handled and feels out of place here. These negatives do not form a significant piece of the total collection but are a bit disheartening when they do show up.

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Art

The artwork in Secret Wars looks good and matches the epic nature of this event. As a cosmic event with high-stakes implications, the visuals in this book need to convey the serious nature surrounding everything being undertaken. Both Mike Zeck and Bob Layton are able to convey this energy through their artwork. Their work on Battleworld fills the landscapes with creativity and helps them stand out as something unique. Their work on the characters allows emotions to land and allows action scenes to work out. Plus, there are a few pages here that really capture the essence of the moment, like the ones in issue #4 that have the Avengers in a precarious position or the ones in issues #11-12 that emphasize the immense powers on display here. The artwork in this collection is definitely positive and pairs well with the already positive storytelling.

Continuity

Secret Wars is a mostly standalone event that interrupts the individual stories of a number of different Marvel comics. The prelude to Secret Wars is shown in an issue from each of these comics but witnessing these preludes is not necessary to understanding the story in Secret Wars.

These preludes can be seen in:

• Spider Man #251, collected in Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin.
• Uncanny X-Men #180, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 10.
• Iron Man #181, collected in Iron Man Epic Collection: Duel Of Iron.
• Incredible Hulk #294, collected in The Incredible Hulk: Regression.
• The Thing #10.
• Thor #341, collected in Thor by Walt Simonson Vol. 1.
• Avengers #242, collected in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 2 (Review).
• Fantastic Four #265, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 4.

The story in Secret Wars is directly continued in Secret Wars II.

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Bruce Banner gained the ability to maintain control while in Hulk’s body during Incredible Hulk #272, collected in The Incredible Hulk: Pardoned. 
• At one point, Wasp mentions Magneto’s actions in X-Men #150, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 6. 
• Rouge mentions her previous fight with the Avengers. This fight is from Avengers Annual #10, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Ms. Marvel Vol. 2 (Review). 
• Cyclops mentions recently embarking on his honeymoon. This started in Uncanny X-Men #176, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men Vol. 10. 
• The Hulk’s girlfriend was kidnapped in Incredible Hulk #294, collected in The Incredible Hulk: Regression.
• Thor’s time with Enchantress is expanded upon in Thor #383, collected in Thor Epic Collection: War of the Pantheons. 
• A recent encounter between Mr. Fantastic and Galactus is referenced. This encounter is detailed across Fantastic Four #243-244, collected in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2. 
• Dazzler’s encounters with Klaw and Galactus are referenced. These encounters are detailed in Dazzler #9 and Dazzler #10, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Dazzler Vol. 1. 
• The headaches experienced by James Rhodes are explained in Iron Man #195, collected in Iron Man Epic Collection: Duel Of Iron. 
• The man in the Iron Man armor changed in Iron Man #169, collected in Iron Man Epic Collection: The Enemy Within.