To understand my surprise it will be important to start from the beginning: I first encountered Secret Wars II as tie-in issues in my old black and white Essentials of X-Men comics as I wended my way through Claremont’s era. For a long while, this was about the end of what I could access sequentially in the annals of Uncanny X-Men and the seeming muddle of it left a poor taste in my mouth. Truth be told, it would be a long while before I would in fact read the limited series event comic itself. Prior to this, I would again encounter tie-in issues in diverse books and I would always remember my original protest of The Beyonder’s return.
Well this was my second time reading the limited series Secret Wars II itself. And the first time including all of the tie-ins available read within the sequence I could best assemble. I am quick to complain about Jim Shooter’s return to writing and its invasion upon every book at the time. As I began this read, I joked to a friend as it being a form of self-immolation. After the first issue of the 9-issue mini-series, everything I hated about Secret Wars II was thriving. However, as the saga wore on, I found myself begrudgingly admitting its strengths and courage, even amidst its greed. All of this to end ultimately at believing I enjoy Secret Wars II more than the original... Which leaves me dumbstruck.
Dumbstruck? Oh sorry, to get your hopes up. No, I still have things to say.
Overview:
Secret Wars II
9-issue Limited Series
Cover Dates July 1985 to March 1986
Tie-in Issues ≈33
After the success of their original event comic, Marvel was sure to attempt it again, and thus Secret Wars II was born a year later. Only this time, instead of the most popular heroes being whisked away by the mysterious Beyonder, said cosmic entity comes knocking on Earth’s door, and Marvel’s heroes (and villains) have to deal with Mr Nigh-Omnipotent on their home turf. With this as their premise, Marvel exercised an intertwining structure of madness wherein an issue of Secret Wars would release and then the story would continue in whichever ongoing series you found listed as tie-in. A triangle in the top right would likewise alert the savvy consumer that the book would contain the continuing enlightenment of The Beyonder.
The story goes as such, after the events of Secret Wars, The Beyonder rather than sating his curiosity on the absconded earthlings found it enflamed. Thus stoked, The Beyonder takes his godshow on the road and decides to witness these humans in their natural habitat. The Beyonder, sometimes known as Frank, proceeds to try all the various forms of humanity, seeking the satisfaction that learning of something other than himself has called his heart to long for. The series becomes an exploration of human desire and the role of death’s importance to the human life. He tests love, pleasure, power, service, evil, and is always left hollow.
Either in the main book or the tie-in issues, the Beyonder’s quest for fulfillment is used as contrast and compliment to the characters of the Marvel Universe. Rachel Summers of the X-Men burgeoning Phoenix power becomes an interest to the cosmically curious. Daredevil is gifted sight as a Faustian deal as The Beyonder tests the limits of human desire. The limits of Spider-Man’s heroism is put to a Jobian test. Etcetera etcetera. Though most often, The Beyonder’s attempts to aid our heroes serves more harm as the naive godling wrecks havoc in his wake.
Whether this sounds interesting, ridiculous, or overwhelming the actual execution is still not being communicated. Jim Shooter, in the 9-issue limited series, executes a satiric at times screwball tone to his narrative. The first issue involves The Beyonder instilling profound potency in a disgruntled animation executive who takes on the mantle of Thunder Sword as he proceeds to express his wrath on the Hollywood landscape. It is intentionally absurd and deconstructive. All of this to Al Milgrom’s pencilling, which many might say is bad, but really it is suited more for the comedy book, even the pages of super hero satire. Which of course fits Shooter’s wandering tone, but not an overarching event book that is being tied to every other book on the shelf.
So why am I saying that at the end of this all, I came away liking Secret Wars sequel more than its progenitor? My answer is mostly twofold.
First, this actually feels like a personal work of Jim Shooter’s. As The Beyonder wanders the substance of the life of a mortal human, I believe you are hearing Shooter’s voice and questions and delving in philosophy. Even in its bizarre tone, there is a creative courage absent in most of the original event. This feels like Jim Shooter is telling the story he wants even in the midst of the collaboration. Of course, he is Editor-in-Chief, so his way goes, but still the reader attains the headspace of Shooter. There is creative bravery here that I respect even when it fails. Far too often the original Secret Wars was senseless battle after battle, with a few of these human-to-god concepts juggled at the end. Here, you hear Shooter’s heart and I believe his true narrative language unfettered by a toy commercial. I respect that.
Second, this is a double-edged sword and already cited as one of my original hates of the event, but the tie-ins have more substance and heart than the effects of the original Secret Wars. Now, first I must say that not every tie-in is created equal. Some are a lie (Fantastic Four #282), some essential; some are interesting side-notes, some interruptions. But what is a boon here, the writers living with the various books get to write how their characters interact with the threat of The Beyonder. We see Nightcrawler’s faith in God shaken in the pages of X-Men. We see Matt Murdock live a day with sight restored in the pages of Daredevil. The Beyonder plays the part of the Ghost of Christmas Past to Johnny Storm in a tear-jerker Fantastic Four story. Some good writers make the most of the opportunity, using the circumstances they find themselves in to deepen their characters adeptly. Again, not every tie-in is created equal. There were also misplays such as Secret Wars II stealing the end of an ongoing story in Fantastic Four confusing the ongoing’s reader. Yet, ultimately, it allowed these characters to experience these events as themselves, rather than the plague of mis-characterization in the first Secret Wars.
(Regarding my feelings toward the Uncanny X-Men tie-ins fore-mentioned, at this point of rereading, the muddle is less and it stirs more notes of powerful nostalgia than it does frustration. Truly, it feels like I come home when I read any stage of Claremont’s run, and this particular stretch has grown and grown on me. As for the handling of Rachel... Her scheme to battle The Beyonder by destroying the universe is still just batty, but there is some meaty content. And now what felt like Rachel’s (somewhat literal) character assassination, I now see in light of her time in Excalibur.)
Pros:
- Jim Shooter digs deeper into his consistent waters of humanity alongside limitless power, but here better fishes out themes of humanity’s desire, mortality, etc. It is artistically bold if mistargeted, but with moments of poignancy.
- A smorgasbord of a great era of Marvel Comics. Claremont X-Men, Stern Avengers, Byrne Fantastic Four, Claremont New Mutants, Simonson Thor, Mantlo Hulk: it may not be the best of their respective books, but these are all some of the best, if not the single best, writers for each of those books.
- Boom Boom! (... or Time Bomb... or Meltdown... or... ) Tabitha Smith makes an odd but memorable first appearance here. She competes with Layla Miller as best little blonde girl introduced as a side character in an event book. It’s a steep competition (it isn’t).
- Molecule Man has an interesting turn here. Read Avengers #266 as an epilogue to finish his story.
Cons:
- The limited series has a strange tone for a line-wide event book. The art further frustrates expectations. Satire and absurdity abound.
- Reliance on tie-ins makes the read potentially overwhelming. It is not precisely self-contained.
- But if you read every tie-in you get a very mixed bag both in quality and relevance. Probably not worth the length.
- While it explores themes of humanity, as per usual for fantasies it struggles to express omnipotence and more so omniscience. While I would argue that everything is a work of theology, this fails to really conceive of true omni-isms.
- They make sure you know this happened in the 80s...
Final Rating (-5/+5 scale): +1
Should you read Secret Wars II:
No. While I am admitting to liking this more than the first, please hear the relativity in that statement. I used to revile this thing and it has taken me time to see it in even a degree of favor. If you were to read only one, the original is probably still the smarter read for historical purposes and even then, I still do not truly recommend Secret Wars unless you are doing a wide swath of continuity. I would propose a similar approach here. If you are reading through a book that encompasses this era, perhaps you can include the mini-series in your read. But you will be able to stumble by regardless.
Availability:
Marvel Unlimited has the series along with every tie-in except those they for which they lost the license: Rom and Micronauts.
Master Event List:
1) Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) +3
2) Secret Wars II (1985) +1 (I still can’t believe it... Everything I know is wrong)
4) Contest of Champions (1982) -3
Next Event: The X-Men’s first crossover event Mutant Massacre just beats out DC’s Legends by a month if my information is correct.
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