Front Lines - Secret Wars (Week of June 3)

By Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Grey Scherl, and Gina Maillaro

Secret Wars #3 (Of 8) by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic

Summary: Sheriff Strange is trying to report to Doom the major going ons in the world.  Doom asks why Strange catalogs all this.  Strange says its important to ensure that this “last world” is aware of any dangers that might come.  Strange reveals that Doom and him created this world.  Strange remembers what it was like before they built Battleworld.  He also points out that he could have been God here, but choose not to.  They walk through the grounds of Doom’s palace, passing what seems to be a frozen in time Molecule Man.

Strange heads to Utopolis to check out the life raft the Thors found.  He sends most of the Thors after the Cabal, keeping back the young Thor who appeared in issue 2.  Strange calls out someone hiding in the Life Raft.  Its Miles Morales!  Miles snuck onto the ship.  He remembers everything before Battleworld too.

Meanwhile, Doom talks to his wife Sue Storm.  She talks to him about rumors about “the man in the sun.”  Apparently, Johnny Storm tried to defy Doom, and Sue ordered him trapped into the sun.  But now people are treating Johnny like a folk hero.  Doom feels he is making a poor God.  He considers himself the one flawed aspect of Battleworld.  All his power, and he still can’t heal his own scarred face.

Strange talks Miles and the young Thor back to his Sanctum Sanctorum.  There Strange is keeping another Life Raft from the old world.  He opens it and the 616 versions of Starlord, Thor, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Cyclops, Black Panther, and Reed Richards emerge.  Miles and Spider-Man are real happy to see each other.  Cyclops still has the Phoenix force.  Reed seems to be a broken man because of the death of his family.  Strange says that they have been in stasis for the past eight years.  He had found them three years ago, but decided to keep them in stasis because Doom had been doing a good job as God here and he knew the heroes would try -to screw that up.  But the arrival of the Cabal has changed that.

Meanwhile, the Cabal is planning to split up and investigate Battleworld.  But before they can, the Thors arrive to get revenge.

Mike Maillaro: The biggest problem I’ve had with Secret Wars so far is that it’s been a lot of people just standing around talking to each other.  Very little action at all once we got to Battleworld, except for the Cabal slaughtering Thors last issue.   This issue did a great job explaining what is going on here, but it still just feels like everything is moving SOOOOOO slowly here.  

Grey: Totally agree. As it stands, Hickman hasn’t done more than just elaborate on his premise while letting the writers of the tie ins...well, thus far not do a whole hell of a lot. There’s so much potential but everything is going at turtle speed.

Mike: The tie-ins all seem to be “Okay, let’s take a title that is important to Marvel history...like Armor Wars or 2099...and just have a creative team do a Tangent version of them.  Use the name and just about nothing else.  GO!”    I actually have found a lot of them entertaining, I am not trying to say otherwise, I just don’t quite understand the point of them all.   Even in this issue, it’s pretty clear that Doom and Strange created this world..and want to keep it safe, but even they aren’t quite sure what it’s all about.  So basically Doom and Strange are stand ins for the Marvel editorial staff…

Grey: It was refreshing to get the answer to our question, though. There are multiple Strange’s, but this one is most just the most important, he’s actually our Dr. Strange. That said, his whole “How well do you remember eight years ago?” schtick was dumb. Because the answer is obviously “Better than you seem to expect”.

Mike: Part of me thought Strange should have just lied to them.  “When did you find the life raft?”  “OH!  Just a few minutes ago.  Can I get you some tea?”  The answer of “A while back...but I decided to keep you in stasis because Doom turns out to be a hell of a God just doesn’t seem like it would go over all that well.  

I keep sounding like I am negative about this book, but I actually thought there was a lot to like.  I loved the reunion with Peter and Miles, that was a great moment.  And Star-Lord’s comments about his own impatience made me laugh.   Strange came off as a little bit of a prick, but at this point, we don’t quite know what he’s gone through over the last 8 years, so I’m willing to give him a little bit of a pass.   It could have used a little less exposition and more action, but this might have been the most I’ve enjoyed any Hickman comic.

Grey: I feel like Reed is going to wind up the bad guy in this story because he wants his wife and kids back from the arch enemy that stole them. Like how AvX was about Cyclops being the bad guy because he kept defending his land and people from an invading force.

Mike: Yeah, especially with the image they used on the cover for this week’s episode.  Marvel seems to love turning beloved team leaders into real jerks...at least according to every other person in their fictional universe.  Strange definitely seemed to suggest, “Hey...what I did to you sucked, but you know what, the trains are running on time and I didn’t want you guys ruining that, so it’s all good.”  

Grey: And all Doom cares about is humble-bragging to Sue and showing off his malformed face. Honestly? I do think he has the power to fix it, but it’s that ego of his. Deep down he knows that a Doom without flaw is one without the drive to be Doom.

Mike: So basically, Doom and Thanos would make good drinking buddies.  I remember Adam Warlock had the same conversation with Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet.  Score: 3.5/5

Inhumans - Attilian Rising #1 by Charles Soule and John Timms

Summary: Four superhumans teleport into Greenland, domain of the Hulks.  They are heading to some kind of meet up when they are attacked by a nearby Mindless Hulk.  They spray him with a serum that restores his mind. The group is part of something called the Voice Unheard, the rebellion against Doom. They are working to make things better for all of Battleworld.  Their arrival has gotten the attention of the Thors.  Ghost Rider (one of the Voice) draws the Thors off so the others can finish their mission.  The Thors bring him before Medusa, Regent of Manhattan. Doom orders Medusa to question him and find out everything she can about the Voice.  If she fails, Doom with remove her from power and toss her over the Shield wall.

The Voice succeed in their mission.  They return to their base trying to figure out who else they can help.  They mention a mysterious leader a few times.

One of Medusa’s men tries to psychic probe Ghost Rider.  GR’s head explodes, though Medusa does manage to find out the phrase “The Quiet Room.”  She ends onf of her operatives to the Quiet Room, a bar in Grand Central Station. There she encounters a man called Blackagar, who knows Medusa sent her.

Maillaro: Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this one. I’m not a fan of the Inhumans, no matter how many times Marvel tries to push them, I just can’t bring myself to care.  BUT, this book wasn’t really about the Inhumans.  It was more about the Voice Unheard, a group fighting back against Doom.  Medusa and Black Bolt only played very small roles here, and I thought both were actually used well.  Charles Soule pretty much always delivers comics I enjoy reading, and this one was no exception.  

Grey: They lost me at “Inhumans”, to be totally honest. I skipped this book just like I skip everything else that they’re in. VIVA LA X-MEN!

Maillaro: Yeah, honestly, if not for this column, there was no chance...no chance in hell...of me picking this up.  Score: 4/5

Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows #1 by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert

Summary: This issue starts with Peter Parker at the dinner table tinkering with his webshooters while his wife, Mary Jane, feeds their daughter, Annie.  Spidey is exhausted.  In addition to dealing with his normal rogues, he’s also been dealing with villains usually associated with Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Moon Knight.  Peter goes to work at the Bugle and we find out the mayor is banning all rumors that New York’s superheroes are going missing.  Ben Urich has evidence that several heroes have been killed, including Punisher, Moon Knight, and Night Thrasher.  Spider-Man heads to Avengers Mansion.  Cap confirms these rumors.  He says that all of the X-Men have vanished.  The Avengers invite Spider-Man to bring his family to the Mansion to keep them safe.  When he calls MJ, she is suddenly attacked by Venom. Spidey rushes home to save her.

The Avengers have a lead on a man called Augustus Roman, head of Empire Unlimited.  They believe he is behind the deaths and disappearances of all the heroes.  They go to investigate.  Spidey is torn momentarily between helping the Avengers or saving his family, but decides his family has to come first.  Roman is revealed to be a villain calling himself Regent who is able to take the powers from all the heroes he killed.  He is easily able to kill all the Avengers.

MJ leads Venom towards a nearby burning building.  She uses the sirens of the firetruck to distract him enough for Spider-Man to take advantage.  Spidey is able to kill Venom by dropping the burning building on him.  Spider-Man decides that with the Avengers dead, and his own moral code fraying, he needs to retire.  Some time later, we see Vulture steal a purse, and Peter just ignores him.  All he cares about is himself and his family.

Mike Maillaro:  So much for a light-hearted look at Spidey as a family man.  I did enjoy this issue, but it was much grimmer than I was expecting.  Regent was a pretty bad ass villain!  I like that he escalated pretty quick from killing Night Thrasher to taking down the Avengers.

It was a little disturbing to see how far this version of Spider-Man would go to protect his family.  I know it’s an alternate reality, but it was still hard to believe that Spider-Man would ever make these kinds of decisions.  Still, it was real well written, and Adam Kubert’s art was great here.

Grey: As soon as I finished the issue I texted Steve that I had a bad feeling about the endgame here. It’s just...does the world really need to be that dark for Spidey to have a kid? I mean, yes, in MC2, the heroic age didn’t exactly end well on Pete’s way to being a full time dad, but we never had a city ruled by the guy who killed every hero but Spider-Man.

Adam Kubert is amazing, as always.

Mike:  LOL!  Yeah, I was thinking exactly that!  I am pretty terrified that this series will have to end with “Peter...you can change all of reality...but you have to kill your marriage and kid again to do it.  What say you?”  You can’t help but think that Marvel was trolling fans on this one.  Sure, you can have Mary Jane and...Annie?... but we get to kill off every other character and make Peter into one selfish prick to do it.  

Grey: Apparently the baby is named after whichever Aunt dies first, though Anna never died so much as she was COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT AFTER MAY WAS REZZED!

There are rumors that this is Slott’s last Spidey story, so, you know, my hope of hopes is he puts it back how he found it, but I know that won’t happen.

Mike: As much as I’ve enjoyed Slott’s work on Spider-Man, it’s probably about time for him to go.  He’s been on Amazing since...really early 2008, I think, part of the rotating writer team.  I don’t think he’s quite run out of ideas yet, but Spider-Verse seems like it would have been a great place to end on.   I do hope we go back to a Pre-One More Day Spider-Man too. Score: 4/5

Grey: I’d also settle for a May solo book, but I doubt that will happen.

Armor Wars #1 by James Robinson and Marcio Takara

Summary: Technopolis is a high tech city where it’s citizens are forced to wear Iron Man armors to survive the harsh environment.  The story starts with Peter Urich, Spyder-Man, being chased by several Guardsmen working for The Kingpin.  Spyder-Man apparently discovered some kind of secret, and Fisk is willing to kill to protect it.  Spyder-Man alludes the Guardsmen, but someone attacks him and there is an explosion.

Meanwhile, Baron Tony Stark is talking to Pepper about a dream he had involving his brother Arno. They were kids and didn’t need to wear armor to survive.  Pepper and Tony find it strange that no one can remember a time before everyone needed to wear armor to survive.  In modern times, Arno is major opposition to Tony.  Tony warns Arno’s daughter Kiri that she needs to be careful, her father is dangerous. Kiri also happens to be dating Peter Urich.

We find out that Jim Rhodes is the local Thor.  His deputy Happy Hogan has major news for him.  Rhodes calls Kiri and tells her to come down to the station.  Something bad has happened to Peter...hole in his chest bad.

Mike Maillaro: One thing I have to say about Secret Wars is that you constantly get the unexpected.  Instead of a story set during Armor Wars, we got a whole fully realized city of the future here.  There were a lot of moving parts in this one, and I thought Robinson juggled them real well.  It was a bit of a hard story to summarize because there was a lot of little things going on, but it was a real good read.

By the way, I thought it was kind of cool that Rhodes looked so much like Steel when he is turned into a Thor.  Score: 3.5/5

Future Imperfect #1 by Peter David and Greg Land

Summary: In Dystopia, evil future Hulk Maestro rules all.  he even keeps a museum with artifacts from all the heroes he killed along the way.  In the deserts around Dystopia, Ruby Summers searches for Dystopia runaways to help join up with her resistance movement.  She encounters Odin, and brings him back with her to the resistance’s headquarters.  When they are about to scan him to make sure he’s on the up and up, he reveals himself to be Maestro in disguise!  Before Maestro can destroy the Resistance, their leader shows up...The Thing!

Gina:  There is a certain expectation in a place that calls itself Dystopia, but this comic didn’t really delve into the society.  It really glossed over the societal details for character introductions.  I really Ruby’s character, but for someone in “the resistance” she is awfully trusting.  It is clear that she and her friends are just a bunch of kids, much like the students in Les Miserables… that does not bode well for them.  The only “complaint,”  a small but annoying detail, is when did Maestro become a shape-shifter?  Mike suggested that he could have been Banner in a “holo”, but you would think that Ruby would have noticed the mass difference carrying the guy for an hour back to the city.  Best part of the comic… old blue eyes arrives just in the nick of “Clobberin’ Time.” Score 4/5

Grey: I was REALLY happy to see Ruby again, or really anything that says “Hey, remember when X-Factor was a thing?” That said, yeah, “Odin” being a trap was pretty obvious if for no other reason than I can’t see something that big being given to PAD, since he always finds a way to exist in his own little corner of things. Should be fun from here on out, though, and I really hope that this All-New All-Different Hulk we get afterwards is up against a Banner turned Maestro. 4/5

Giant-Size Little Marvel AvX #1 by Scottie Young

Summary: On Battleworld, there is a domain known as Marville.  It is made up of Chibi versions of the Marvel heroes, and these heroes have silly little adventures.  The Lil Avengers and Lil X-Men are at perpetual war with each other.  At least until dinner time, where they all break until they play again tomorrow.

This issue is basically a series of vignettes set in Marville.  Tony Stark and Magik fighting over him breaking one of her action figures.  The X-Men and Avengers competing to convince Blob and Toad that they serve the best food on the block.  The issue ends with the arrival of mysterious twins, and Cyclops and Captain America are both determined to get the twins to join their side.

Gina: “They’re baaack.”  Truth be told, I have an affinity for the Marvel Chibi characters.  So to say the least I loved this comic.  Nothing better than Spider-man and Deadpool complaining that Cyclops got to pull off a joke, and they got no good quips.  Proof that all of the major conflicts that happen in comics boils down to a bunch of kids squabbling until it’s time to go home for Sausage Pizza Tuesday.  Score 5/5

Mike Maillaro: I enjoyed this one too, though I thought it was dumb they used the name Marville.  Marville was that awful Smallville parody comic Bill Jemas did back in 2002.  When I saw Marville on the Battleworld map, I actually cringed.  Glad to see it was Chibi Marvel instead of that garbage.  I had commented earlier that Secret Wars was a lot like Tangent was for DC.  Take a word or name that has some history for Marvel...and then just do whatever you want with that name.  At least here, that turned out to be a very good thing.

Gina: Would you have preferred the name Super Hero City?  They could totally “Hero up.”

Mike Maillaro:  YES!  That would have been perfect!  Our kids still watch Super-Hero Squad over and over again.  

Secret Wars Battleworld #2 (Of 4)

A Monster So Fowl by David F. Walker and J.J. Kirby

Summary: Blade the Vampire Slayer hunts the creatures of th enight.  He hears someone call for help.  He sees a vampire duck stalking New Duck City.  Drakula.  Blade goes to stop him.  Nearby, Howard the Duck is getting a drink.  The fight smashes the window of the bar Howard is drinking at.  Howard attacks Blade, assuming this is man on duck violence.  Blade finally convinces Howard that he’s not the bad guy. Drakula summons an army of vampire ducks and Howard and Blade prepare to fight them.  Suddenly a duck version of Blade shows up and finishes Drakula off saying the day.

Ross Against the Machines by Donny Coates and Marco Turini

Summary: In Arcade’s Killiseum, Nico Minoru is being punished by the Taskmaster for winning a fight too quickly. Meanwhile, General Ross is brought into the Arena.  He seems to show some kindness to Nico as he’s brought in.  Since Ross’s daughter was murdered in Greenland, Ross has been turned into a massive cyborg called the War Machine.

Later that night, Taskmaster tells Arcade the he wants Ross gone.  Arcade resists.  Ross has become a fan favorite, and Arcade feels there is a strong story to be told here.  The next day i the Arena, Arcade pits him against the man Arcade claims killed Ross’s daughter, Taskmaster is shocked by this turn of events.  He didn’t kill Ross’s daughter (and Ross knows it), but Ross is happy to get his hands on any one of Doom’s associates.  War Machine kills Taskmaster and subtly taunts Doom, who is pretty pissed by this turn of events.

Mike Maillaro: The Blade and Howard the Duck story was brilliant.  And a little ballsy.  They even had a brief attack on racism in the end that I was just not expecting.  Definitely the oddest comic story I’ve read in a long time.  But it really worked.  

As for the Ross story, there were some real cool twists in that one.  I also liked the nice tie-in to Planet Hulk.   I also loved how Ross didn’t really care that Taskmaster didn’t kill his daughter, he was so eager to flip off Doom, he would have killed anyone at that moment.  I really hope we get to see more of Ross’s story someplace.Score: 4/5