Secret Wars (1984) or What Happens When a Toy Company Writes a Story by Way of Focus Groups (1984) or The Story Which the Russo Brothers Said They Would Come Back to Marvel Studios to Make (1984) is by release date the first true comic event. I have heard that Marvel knew DC was scheming an event themselves and thus Secret Wars was constructed to beat them to the press. What is true is that Mattel desired to make a super hero toy line and the words “secret” and “wars” tested well with kids. With a few more toylicious mandates, Jim Shooter was off and writing this 12-issue epic.
The basic synopsis starts at a similar place to Contest of Champions, cosmic being teleports Marvel characters to a space station to participate in some inane competition in order to fulfill wishes. Except in this case it is a select group of heroes alongside a selection of villains who are transported to this distant cosmos: these two factions pitted against one another at the behest of one “from beyond.’ The Beyonder, as he comes to be known, forms a composite world (Battleworld) on which the ensuing battle will take place.
And battles do certainly happen. Every issue tries to get one in whether or not it was really necessary. Fight, fight, fight. Various factions form and alliances shift. Heroes fight heroes, villains fight villains: it is kind of like a little kid playing with his, well, toys. The true challenge to both hero and villain is really how to relate to the Beyonder himself, one with a seeming omnipotence, as the Beyonder is the true opponent to the freedom of the Marvel characters.
The importance of Secret Wars as an event manifests itself in a key difference from the previous Contest of Champions. Each Marvel series leading up to Secret Wars which involved heroes taken by the Beyonder detailed the moments before their cosmic transposition, and each issue the following month had them return in some way transformed by their encounter. If you are curious how that played out it went something like this, Uncanny X-Men #180 ended with the X-Men team wandering into a gateway in Central Park leading up to Secret Wars #1’s release, only for the following month, Uncanny X-Men #181 had the X-Men returning altered and affected from the conclusion of Secret Wars which is still nearly a year from completion. Reading it now, you can stop yourself at #180 and read all 12 issues of the event, then return to #181. But at the time, you were promised changes and events that you would have to wait to see revealed.
However you view that, you can tell there was a concerted effort to make Secret Wars matter in all the ways that Contest of Champions did not. If you did not read their limited series, you would not know precisely what had happened to your favorite character. Unfortunately in many of those instances, when the event was finally revealed, it was usually fleeting or suffered far fewer pages than you would expect for how significant an impact it had on your favorite character.
In parallel with this runs my greatest struggle with this event and that is the characterizations in Secret Wars often feel divorced from the ongoing series of the time. Marvel was entering into a new golden age for their books, nearly all of these characters were in the midst of some of their greatest, if not their truly greatest, creative runs of their long histories even today. Roger Stern was just ending his time on Spider-Man, John Byrne was taking the Fantastic Four to new heights, Walt Simonson had just launched his epic run on Thor, Stern was also in the throes of his great Avengers run, Bill Mantlo was telling new stories with The Hulk, and most importantly, Chris Claremont was well on his way to making The X-Men the biggest book in comics ever. And it is his X-Men that probably most suffer the characterization maltreatment. Claremont’s clarity in his characterization is the most significant strength in his 17-year span on the X-Men. Each of those characters has a distinct and specific voice. In Secret Wars that distinction takes more the form of caricature.
I do not quite know the process here, but my assumption is that the writers of the respective books being absconded for the event gave notes to Shooter to incorporate along with some editorial mandates (see Spider-Man below as an example) but Shooter’s voice feels like a miss with most of these characters. If this were my only experience of these Marvel characters, I don’t know that I would like a one. A few characters have some shining moments, but even key motivation reveals and pathos are hampered by wooden presentation and occasional histrionics. An example is Claremont had obviously cast his vision for the gradual reformation of Magneto. It began in Uncanny #150, and here we seem him battling with his “villainy,” even being transported alongside the heroes at the beginning. Yet all of the moments with the Master of Magnetism feel unnatural. I figure it is best if I do not even begin on Colossus’s subplot or we will be here all night. At least that led to this comic.
The one character who may have the most important moments in the book is Doctor Doom, arguably Marvel’s greatest villain. He has some interesting and defining moments throughout. Tenacity had long been equated with heroism in Marvel comics, the heroes often being weaker than the villains. But in Secret Wars it is Doctor Doom’s tenacity through consistent defeats in the face of a unimaginable power that gets proven time and again. It is even rewarded as Shooter explores his career defining interest of omnipotence in mortal form (Korvac, Graviton. Count Nefaria, Secret Wars II, etc). This is not Doom’s best characterization but it is fabric on his tapestry: part of the draw to Victor is the many interpretations.
It is safe to say the greatest introduction of the book is Spider-Man’s Symbiote suit, which would go on to be the Symbiote portion of the being known as Venom. However if you are reading this story for the sake of the costume change, you may be disappointed. It is mostly a small moment in the midst of a lot of pages. A great deal of these character-altering moments are slipped in or of unexplained origin.
The art by Michael Zeck is sufficient. It has moments of excellence. It has moments of not excellence. I think the smorgasbord of inkers were inconsistent. His work a few years later for Kraven’s Last Hunt would be his career defining work and is much greater. Mostly his issues support the story but do not distract the reader for good or bad. I wish he leaned a bit more into some of his stylizing than what seems to be more of the house style. Bob Layton normally an inker and/or plotter fills in for a few middle issues that are not good.
I could keep going; you have already stopped reading; I should just get to the wrap up...
Pros:
- Iconic, historic
- Introduces the Symbiote suit (eventually Venom), The Beyonder, Titania, Volcana, Battleworld, a new Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)
- Getting a flavor for the 80s Marvel heroes, just don’t trust your tastebuds clarity
- Doctor Doom, there are better stories, but he has some moments
- crazy Klaw
- helpful for understanding Jonathan Hickman’s take on Secret Wars
Cons:
- This beast is long and it feels long. They could have easily edited content but I think money influenced the size for multiple reasons.
- Mis- and unattractive characterization hampers the endeavor: I decided not to list each.
- Mostly forced and awkward dialogue.
- Zsaji.
- Secret Wars II (1985), it is so bad that its repercussions infect the past.
Final Rating (-5/+5): +1
Should you read this:
I often see this listed in the category of Best Marvel Stories from non-comic popularist sources: if you are tracking me, you should realize I do not believe that even a little bit. My opinion of Secret Wars is that if you are reading one of the ongoing titles of a character or team who finds themselves on Battleworld, read the event in continuity... if you want. Honestly those books catch you up to speed, and I normally feel this book is a deterrent for my momentum in whichever title I am reading through the 80s. There are so many good titles at the time of Secret Wars and if anything this may become a speed bump to your reading. If you are new to comics, I would steer you clear of this event. That is not universally accepted wisdom. If your hope is to read all the important stories, then yes, read Secret Wars.
Availability:
Marvel Unlimited, Hoopla, and Comixology Unlimited all house the book. Otherwise it is the standard purchasing, borrowing, libraring means.
What else might you read:
Hickman revisited Secret Wars in 2015 to, what I believe to be, much better effect. However the best way to read it is all of Hickman’s Fantastic Four, both his Avengers and New Avengers titles, and then Secret Wars. That might be a bit much. Secret Wars II the following year is awful. Maybe train-wreck-you-can’t-turn-from awful.
The Events Master List:
1) Secret Wars (1984) +1
Next up we cross over to the Distinguished Competition in Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) (This one is good... like really good)
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