Title | : | Secret Wars (1984-1985) #1 |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | - |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
Number of Pages | : | 24 |
Publication | : | First published May 10, 1984 |
Secret Wars (1984-1985) #1 Reviews
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Regardless of the fact that Marvel’s first and biggest event was birthed from the shameless promotion for their new action figure line, Secret Wars by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck is the quintessential cross-over that ushered Marvel out of the bronze age and into the modern age. All the big heroes would participate in this year-long event, set on an inter-dimensional planet simply named Battle World. Lured into a gigantic ship that materializes in the middle of Central Park, then transported to the dark corners of space. Amidst the confusion, the parameters are put forth by the godlike being, the Beyonder. The ultimate contest the battle between good and evil. The ultimate prize: a wish.
For how every hero and villain have a contrasting end game that define the philosophies for which they live by; both are equally driven by an ego that is exacerbated by the intensity of their unique abilities—the ability to produce a great amount violence within a short amount of time. Neither side trusts each other, clouded by disparate agendas that form alliances amongst their own ranks. Every point of conflict ends with some sort of fight.
From the start we see how quickly any semblance of order dissolves when high stakes are further arraigned by a lack of preparedness. Ultron goes rogue. The universe’s most powerful being, Galctus, destroys him. Who then comes comes to face his own fate as he chases down the Beyonder with a violent desire to quench himself of his eternal lust to consume worlds. But as the Beyonder puts on a display, for it is he the universes’ most powerful being not Galactus or Doom, Doom thirsts for his godlike power.
For the good guys, no hero trusts Magneto, further enraging the master of magnetism. The X-Men are weary of the Avengers as Avengers are weary of them. Reed Richards is distracted by the absence of his wife; Hulk can’t deal with his intellect, the Thing can’t deal with himself; while in this status quo, Iron Man isn’t even Tony Stark, but rather James Rhodes. A mess of a situation made worse by more than just the seemingly random circumstance, but by the bloody history they share with one another. The winner will be who is more willing to let down their ego and do what is the best for the team. And as the villains can seldom ever work together—bogged-down by an extraordinary amount of machismo— the typical comic book villain will end up the same position he was before this event; beaten down, defeated, and still filled with anguish and hate.
Marvel’s Secret Wars is a story defined by the moments in between the delightful, appropriately mapped-out action. For where else can you see X-men fight an eavesdropping Spider-man. Where Wasp crosses a love-struck Magneto. Where the Lizard falls in love with Janet. Where Jonny Storm and Colossus fall in love with the same alien lady. Where the city of Denver is transported to Battle World, and where Hulk redeems himself by holding up a gigantic rock through the shear-force of hatred he has for his own teammates. Only in Battle World. And what stands out the most is that not only each side has to deal with the ridiculous challenge in front of them, but also have to surmount the challenge that surrounds them: The ever-ominous presence of the world-eater who constantly stares off into the distance.
What move will Galactus make next?
Secret Wars first main antagonist is not the cacophony of villains, Magneto, Doom, or even the Beyonder, but the planet-eating machine. So much of the action involves making the battle world unappetizing. Not much really progresses on that front—most of the fights end in a stalemate—until Janet dies (who is eventually revived by Zsaji) and, subsequently, when She-Hulk goes after her killers. X-Men and the Avengers lay tensions aside and finally work together. The X-Men stay back to watch Galactus. Steve Rodgers and the rest of the gang attacks Doom’s base, rescue She-Hulk, and defeat the Wrecking Crew.
With Doom and crew finally imprisoned, Reed can finally focus on Galactus who is in the midst of consuming the planet. But after forcing Galactus off of Battle World, Galactus, faced with extreme hunger, attempts to consume his own ship. However, unbeknownst to everyone, Doom breaks out of his cell, dissects Klaw, and uses the sonic emitters to form a sound machine that uses the energy lenses to transfer Galactus’ cosmic power onto himself. Granted with the power of a god, Doom takes on the Beyonder.
“The supreme being in the universe is Doom.”
A gift of omnipotence uncontrollable for one man. His obsession, his unwillingness to sleep; terrorized by the thought of his mother’s spirit caught in the grip of Mephisto. In surprising turn, even for Doom, with newly discovered empathy he offers to take the heroes home. They refuse his offer. As the heroes plan for their next move, Emperor Doom kills them with one giant strike. But in the greatest scene in all the event, Klaw, playing the role of the jester, foretells of the little alien woman whom sacrifices her life to bring back her lover, Colossus. Her sacrifice will cause a chain reaction that involves Colossus healing Reed Richards. Then Reed Richards will find a way to resurrect the men who have fallen besides him. Klaw, just by putting these thoughts into Doom’s head, forces these essentially made-up events to come to fruition. Boom! Thor’s Hammer enters the splash page. Doom and Klaw, and what power of omnipotence split between the two, are the only ones left to defend the throne, for the Molecular Man had lifted the rest of the villains on Denver back to earth. The heroes engage in the battle of all battles, ending the reign of a god who was simply unmasked to be a prototypical madman who, deep down inside, didn’t have the confidence to handle all the power he stole. Facing off against an infinite amount of resurrections, Beyonder gets the last laugh as it turns out it was he who was controlling Klaw the whole time. He defeats Doom and takes back the power that Doom stole from him, leaving the universe in perfect order.
Shooter’s and Zeck’s Secret Wars is the first and best crossover in 616 history. It’s fun, but takes its ideas seriously. Shooter does a great job writing almost 30 different voices. Spidey ‘imagining’ the black suit is one of the both enjoyable and impactful moments you will see in Marvel’s event history. The battle world, itself, is simple but imaginative; as it allows the characters to flourish in action amongst a wonderful design of a world that looks much like the set of Star Trek: TOS. It's amazing how well this event has aged, even if the reason for its publication was simply to sell toys. -
Ini barangkali salah satu crossover besar pertama yang terjadi di jagat Marvel. Secret Wars I ini menggabungkan Avengers, X-Men, dan Fantastic Four, berikut musuh-musuh mereka. Satu hal yang jelas adalah banyaknya tokoh dalam kisah ini. Ibarat anak kecil yang sedang melakukan perang-perangan, maka hal pertama yang dilakukan adalah membagi kubu. Di Secret War ini, kubu pertama adalah kubu para pahlawan dan di kubu kedua adalah kubu para penjahat. Masalahnya, kenapa Magneto ada di kubu pahlawan?
Si "anak" yang sedang menyiapkan adegan perang-perangan di cerita ini adalah Beyonder dan dari semua tokoh yang ada di sini, hanya Galactus yang mengenal dia. Sayangnya, Galactus sudah dibikin K.O. oleh Beyonder di nomor pertama ini. Berhadapan dengan kekuatan yang tidak mereka ketahui, apa yang akan dilakukan oleh semua tokoh yang ada di situ? Sisi ini yang menarik dari Secret Wars. -
The Secret Wars starts off with a bang. While the whole concept seems more than a little contrived, I can't help but feel excited to see this assortment of heroes and villains face off against one another, even if the interpersonal and inter-team tensions irk me somewhat. Surely these heroic characters can set aside their differences when faced with such an outrageous, perilous situation? Right?
Doctor Doom's little moment of existential was by far my favourite. Good stuff. -
Does a great job of setting up the pieces and establishing the needed information on most of the expansive cast. It’s dialogue dense, but that’s to be expected with the first issue of a huge event comic like this. Looking forward to what’s to come!
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I have read this series several times, and I enjoy it very much. The first book kicks right off into the action, and does its best to keep track of the many characters introduced.
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Great stuff
What's not to like about it! It's the whole gang together for a war. What could possibly be better than that ? -
Dr Doom solos
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